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Will Elon give Autopilot free for 2018 or early 2019 buyers
- Thread starter rraghu78
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- Autopilot Model 3 Tesla Inc.
I will trade you the value of my 2018 credit for $4,000. Not everyone got the full amount depending on how your taxes are setup. Yes, I tried every way possible to maximize the credit as was still really short. With that said I paid the amount I agreed to pay and no one forced me to buy my car at the price I did.
swaltner
Active Member
This is incorrect. The tax credit for an EV purchase is a “use it or lose it” credit. If you don’t have enough tax liability to claim it in the year you purchased the car, the extra is forfeited. Some, like me, suggested doing an IRA Conversion from Traditional to Roth if you were concerned about not having enough tax liability to get the whole credit. That’s an easy way to artificially inflate your income one year.
ElectricIAC
Good-Natured Rascal
Even a middle class couple with no kids likely qualifies for that much tax liability in the majority of cases. That’s not to say that lower income shouldn’t buy a Model 3.. (doesn’t really matter now since tax credit is kaput)
Vegaforce
Member
I am a late 2018 LR RWD M3 owner, and I echo OP wishful concerns, but I do not think this will happen at all judging from Tesla's track of record. In fact, I think we are the forgotten early-ish adopters generation that helped Tesla in its make-it-or-die year.
Now for those of you that say the $7500 tax credit will cover the difference. It is not true (at least in my case).
Here is the math (for the same configuration car to compare apples to apples):
2018 Model:
M3 LR RWD: $49,000
Blue color: $1500 (Blue color upgrade was higher in 2018)
EAP: $3000
AWD upgrade: $5000
Total before tax credit: $58,500
Total after $7,500 Tax Credit: $51,000
2019 Model:
M3 LR AWD: $48,990
Blue color: $1000
Total without tax credit: $49,990
In fact, if you bought the same care in late 2019 you could factor in the $1,875 tax credit which makes it even lower (in less than a year almost)
Now for the argument that I keep hearing: Time has premium, and technology price will keep going down, yada yada yada. Yes, I understand these points, and I agree with them, but they DO NOT APPLY here. You are not comparing radio to b&w tv, and not LED tv to OLED tv. IT is the SAME FREAKIN CAR!
Yes, HW3.0 is the only new HW difference. But still, the price went down significantly (~%15 in less than a year).
The Tax credit made it a bit better for us the 2018 adopters, but Tesla harvested the biggest profit margins from the price difference -good for them.
Adding salt to injury, they just removed the premium connectivity
Am I sore? Yes. Very sore? I was at the beginning (especially that I got free EAP and FSD features for the first 10 months for free) but I am ok with it now. Do I fee entitled? HELL YEAH. Why? I have no idea, but I just wish they gave us at least EAP for free and stop removing premium stuff
All the above aside, I am still very happy with my car. Best purchase I ever made.
Now for those of you that say the $7500 tax credit will cover the difference. It is not true (at least in my case).
Here is the math (for the same configuration car to compare apples to apples):
2018 Model:
M3 LR RWD: $49,000
Blue color: $1500 (Blue color upgrade was higher in 2018)
EAP: $3000
AWD upgrade: $5000
Total before tax credit: $58,500
Total after $7,500 Tax Credit: $51,000
2019 Model:
M3 LR AWD: $48,990
Blue color: $1000
Total without tax credit: $49,990
In fact, if you bought the same care in late 2019 you could factor in the $1,875 tax credit which makes it even lower (in less than a year almost)
Now for the argument that I keep hearing: Time has premium, and technology price will keep going down, yada yada yada. Yes, I understand these points, and I agree with them, but they DO NOT APPLY here. You are not comparing radio to b&w tv, and not LED tv to OLED tv. IT is the SAME FREAKIN CAR!
Yes, HW3.0 is the only new HW difference. But still, the price went down significantly (~%15 in less than a year).
The Tax credit made it a bit better for us the 2018 adopters, but Tesla harvested the biggest profit margins from the price difference -good for them.
Adding salt to injury, they just removed the premium connectivity
Am I sore? Yes. Very sore? I was at the beginning (especially that I got free EAP and FSD features for the first 10 months for free) but I am ok with it now. Do I fee entitled? HELL YEAH. Why? I have no idea, but I just wish they gave us at least EAP for free and stop removing premium stuff
All the above aside, I am still very happy with my car. Best purchase I ever made.
Tam
Well-Known Member
You might need to learn from history.
2012 Model S 85 kWh did not come with navigation as standard. It cost a few thousand dollars more to get it.
However, if you waited for a while, that very same Model S 85 kWh in later year got navigation included with no extra charge!
"IT is the SAME FREAKIN CAR!"
Early Model S 60 kWh did not come with Supercharging standard. It cost $2,000 to get it.
If you waited for a while, that same Model S 60 kWh later does come with Supercharging as standard without extra charge!
"IT is the SAME FREAKIN CAR!"
Welcome to Tesla ownership. A car you buy today will probably become legacy by next week. With only the latest shiny version getting new things from software updates etc.
ultimately you were happy with the price you paid for what you got and the car has probably got a bit better since so you can’t complain too much.
ultimately you were happy with the price you paid for what you got and the car has probably got a bit better since so you can’t complain too much.
Vegaforce
Member
EXACTLY.
That is another example of why I said: Tesla's track of record suggests that early adopters are not treated in any special or different way. I am pretty sure I would feel bad if this happened to me in the examples you provided. Or maybe I am just another consumer with a high sense of (false) entitlement?
Tam
Well-Known Member
EXACTLY.
That is another example of why I said: Tesla's track of record suggests that early adopters are not treated in any special or different way. I am pretty sure I would feel bad if this happened to me in the examples you provided. Or maybe I am just another consumer with a high sense of (false) entitlement?
It has been the rule:
1) It costs a lot to get ahead in a line.
2) If you can wait and get to all the way down in the back of the line, it might cost less.
It's possible to change the rule of course: Just buy a majority stake in the stocks and propose your new rule and vote on it!
Regardless Tesla got more money from us that purchased in 2018 and then reduced the price and gave away Auto Pilot. I'm not saying they have to do anything, but I do feel that 'slimy' dealer feel to the whole transaction. They pushed people to buy saying it would save them but then immediately lowered the price when the tax credit got reduced. Instead I got a car that was rushed built is has less the perfect build quality and has already needed major repairs. In retrospect I should have waited.
Not to mention that not everyone would qualify for the tax rebate either... thats between them and the IRS.
I own a 2018 Buick Enclave Premium. Bought it in November 2017.
But ZOMG SOMEONEZ PAID LESS THAN ME A YEAR LATER
Prices drop. Nobody owes anyone a damn thing.
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Sure it is.
That's not apples to apples at all.
First- the late 2019 is missing $500 in hardware (homelink, 14-50 connector, phone cables, frunk mat, etc).
Also it doesn't have EAP. You'll need to drop another $7000 on FSD to make it feature-comparable as of today.
And just to make it EXTRA fair we can even add the $3000 FSD normally was for the 2018 car (even though it adds 0 functionality today on the '18 car)
So now we get $54,000 for 2018 after credit.
And... $49,990 plus $500 plus $7000, minus $1875 for...$55,615 for the 2019.
So the 2018 is actually cheaper feature-identical to the late 2019 one. By over $1500.
Even if you DO give the 2019 the $1875 tax credit.
So no, the price did not go down significantly.
Just the opposite.
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Nobody said Tesla owed them anything. I think most of us said it would be nice.
I thought Elon Musk was selling his whole dealer free experience as better. You don't haggle on the price etc... Buick you do haggle on the price and if someone got $6,000 of a year later, you did a bad job haggling.
Honestly, I wish Tesla would have dealers. Dealing with both sales and service has been subpar and my Mercedes dealer has treated me much better. The only thing is Mercedes doesn't have a electric car...
If we're making a list of things that a late 2019 (2020 VIN) is missing that a 2018 has... how about ability to reverse into a parking spot silently? That alien spaceship sound is crazy loud.
Weird thing is, I seem to have hit a pothole that dislodged the speaker wire in the front right wheel well. Quite a tragic accident for me, I plan to make a warranty claim to get that speaker wire fixed real soon.
Weird thing is, I seem to have hit a pothole that dislodged the speaker wire in the front right wheel well. Quite a tragic accident for me, I plan to make a warranty claim to get that speaker wire fixed real soon.
OK, then how about I’m just tired of hearing, and I quote, “Not fair!”
I picture there’s foot stomping involved too.
Point is, sales happen. Prices change. Way of the world. Suck it up, buttercups.
Vegaforce
Member
Sure it is...
Hmmm, I am not sure what I am missing here, but it seems you got the terminologies wrong. EAP (known now as Autopilot) was a separate package in 2018 independent of the FSD. Check my cost breakdown. EAP used to cost $3000 and FSD cost $6000 (you could save $1000 if bought them with the car).
Now all Teslas come with Autopilot standard (will cost me now $3000 to enable). The models I compared are Exactly the same except for HW3.0 coming standard now and the minor ones you mentioned. Besides the $10k price difference entails a higher tax depending on where you live.
boriszima
Member
How often do you copy and paste this similar response?
my ideology with Tesla is buy hardware and don’t pay much for software upgrades as possibly likely Tesla will give those out for free or a discount. Tesla plays around with prices fairly often. Changes price of a car then changes price of paint, removed some hardware as mentioned above and changes price again. Now that Federal tax credit is gone, prices will be same right up until demand decrease due to Model Y (speculation of course)
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