$35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now • Hacker News Board

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#591

Post by emiliobumachar » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:33 AM UTC

Maakuth wrote: post #553

united893 wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ... [to] borrow money to buy _a car_ is a huge red flag ... Hi Jeff Just a polite reminder that a) there's nothing wrong with financing, it's essential to the buildup of the US and b) the average US citizen doesn't have the same income distribution that the average HN reader does. The median price of a car in the us is $35K [1] and the median household income is $59k [2]; For most families in the US the car is abso…

Not to counter you, but why would a low-income household consider buying a new car? A properly maintained ten year old car these days is normally quite reliable and safe.

Key expression is "properly maintained". And there's no reasonable way to know.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#592

Post by pembrook » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:33 AM UTC

icelancer wrote: post #572

pembrook wrote: post #548

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if you've heard, but the Chevrolet Bolt has been out for years now, and is also all-electric. MSRP has been about $30k after the federal tax credit. I'd say its more likely we aren't in awe because the Model 3 has been overpromised and the "mass-market EV" feat has already been accomplished by someone else. Of course, most people are like you in that they don't know that. Because GM is hilariously bad at…

The Bolt is not even close to the Model 3 in terms of power, looks, interior, ICE, etc. Model 3 sold nearly 40k cars through 2018 and the Bolt sold fewer than 9k. To call the Bolt a failure of marketing might be true but it ignores the fact that it is simply worse than the Model 3 in essentially 100% of the areas they overlap. If the Bolt is "mass-market EV" the definition of "mass-market" needs to be revisited.

I don't disagree with you that the bolt is inferior.

I was simply explaining why HN was "ignoring the amazing fact that an electric vehicle that can travel 220 miles is 35k."

It's not worthy of awe and amazement if big old lazy GM met those standards years ago.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#593

Post by ianai » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:34 AM UTC

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #325

gcbw2 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it matter to the victim who is at fault? ...also, there's a $1,200 delivery fee. Is this the new "restock fee"? it is conveniently left out of the marketing materials.

“victim”? I don’t think that is appropriate here.

The credit system absolutely does force itself upon us. Your alternatives to the credit system are cash and I’m guessing layaway. Not to mention the things that require good credit but aren’t exactly a loan.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#594

Post by matwood » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:34 AM UTC

smolsky wrote: post #280

city41 wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars have always had delivery fees. Delivering something that weighs several tons is not cheap.

It's cheap in NorCal - my friend had a Model 3 delivered by a dude. Literally. A dude drove his car to his house and then called Uber. P.S. by "dude" I meant that the man just drove the car to the owner's place from their Fremont factory (30 min).

I know someone who had a huge problem with Tesla over this. The issue was the Tesla contract wanted my friend to take ownership of the car, and thus responsibility as soon as it left Tesla. For obvious reasons, that's not something anyone should do. They had quite a bit of back and forth until Tesla changed the wording. I'm not sure if they did it universally though.

Then Tesla registered the car improperly and took months to correct.

Most Tesla owners I talk to say the same thing, they love the car and hate everything else about dealing with Tesla. I can't imaging removing dealerships is going to make this any better with customers.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#595

Post by spectrum1234 » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:34 AM UTC

steelframe wrote: post #485

Current Tesla Model X owner. Wanted to replace our other car (ICE) with an EV. Sat in the Model 3 for exactly 15 seconds before I said, "Nope!" Never warmed up to the whole "must hit GUI elements on an LCD with my finger while driving" thing Tesla has going on for almost anything you want to do: A/C, headlights, suspension height, whatever. Interior is still second-rate. Steering column adjustment was a joke. The int…

Wow I am amazed by this comment. For me its a none issue.

How often do you adjust the steering column? I did it 4 months ago and just use my profile to drive now. Headlights are automatic..., A/C is one click to turn on and a long press to turn off.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#596

Post by emptyfile » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:36 AM UTC

natch wrote: post #402

Judgmentality wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because now you can't drive one without buying it first.

You can if your friend has one they will let you drive.

Love comments like this. Everyone has a friend with a Tesla.

You can also steal one and drive it around for a bit if you don't mind.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#597

Post by ianai » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:42 AM UTC

takeda wrote: post #334

BoorishBears wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drove a Model S. None of my cars is a Model S. I remember the “salesperson” talking about how quiet it was as wind noise whistled through the cabin like we were in a Corolla. The A4 I was driving at the time was immensely quieter at highway speeds but I nodded and played along. I’m convinced the aspirational status of Teslas means people who haven’t experienced actual luxury vechicles are buying into the hype that…

That's the noise of outside + wind. The materials used for insulating external noise add non negligible weight to the car. You can make it quieter, but at the cost of reducing MPG (or MPAh?) :(

I doubt sound dampening has to be that much of an expense or added weight. It’s just not batteries, which is Tesla’s core tech concern.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#598

Post by short_sells_poo » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:45 AM UTC

jonathankoren wrote: post #563

jedberg wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most luxury cars have almost zero engine noise inside the cabin. Also at speeds over 20mph, wind noise is louder than engine noise outside the vehicle, so electric cars aren’t really quieter than ICE except in parking lots.

That’s not always the case. It depends on the luxury car. I visited a Masarati dealer, and their selling point against a Model S was that the engine was loud. (“You want a car that that sounds like a car. You want to hear that purr and and feel that rumble. You can’t get that with a Tesla.”) Same thing happens with luxury sports cars. I test drive Ann F-Type, and the damn thing comes a button to make your car louder…

Maseratis have a signature sound, that's one of their core selling points. If you remove that, you are left with a mediocre quality car with insane depreciation.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#599

Post by lazyjones » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:52 AM UTC

Perhaps this will be the second big disruption of the car industry and market by Tesla. Volvo/Polestar has already switched to this sales concept for their electric cars, Porsche/Audi/Mercedes are taking online pre-orders like Tesla years ago. Will all traditional car makers soon use the "Amazon model" extensively to bolster their margins?

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#600

Post by gregw2 » Fri, Mar 01, 2019, 11:53 AM UTC

steelframe wrote: post #481

jeffparsons wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "financing for a car" ... "ding your credit score" To my mind the mere fact that someone would borrow money at all to buy _a car_ is a huge red flag against their creditworthiness / financial responsibility. But I keep reading online that people who otherwise seem pretty sensible do this as a matter of course. Is it possible that living in a city with functioning public transport has sheltered me to the point of na…

I just bought a car this week and got a loan because the lender gave me $3,000 for borrowing from them. I have to wait 45 days before I'm allowed to pay it off, but there's no penalty for doing so. I have a 0% interest rate for 7 years on my other car. That's literally free money.

Typically it's not free money.

You chose to forgo getting/negotiating a greater discount on the purchase price.

There's no way the lender could do business otherwise.