Tesla cutting prices on all models again

The Hill ^ | 04/07/2023 | KARL EVERS-HILLSTROM

[ChicagoConservative27]

Tesla is cutting prices again to boost demand in an increasingly crowded electric vehicle (EV) market.

The EV maker on Thursday cut prices on all of its models, including a $5,000 price drop for its luxury Model S and Model X vehicles. Tesla also began taking orders on a new, cheaper Model Y that starts at under $50,000.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he’s willing to sacrifice profit margins to cement Tesla as the dominant EV manufacturer.

Tesla is the best-selling EV company in the U.S. but has gradually ceded market share as major auto companies rush to catch up. Still, Tesla can stay profitable on lower prices, while competitors such as Ford have yet to turn a profit on EVs.

[ChicagoConservative27]

I'll pass.

[political1]

I want to get from Birmingham, Alabama to Gulf Shores to sit on the beach in one charge. No stops. Until they get more miles per charge, I’m not buying one either.

[Yo-Yo]

If they weren’t so expensive and their longevity so iffy, I’d buy an electric as a second car for daily commuting.

But not as my only car.

[bray]

They put a generator in the trunk.

[kaktuskid]

Steering wheel bolt costs extra

[bak3r]

Very cool, now if he could get the cheap one sub 15k I would consider one as a 2nd vehicle for commuting.

[drwoof]

Until EVs have some kind of advantage (functional or economic) over ICE powered vehicles, I’ll pass.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Maybe if they start giving them away. Maybe. Still going to keep my ICE vehicles, though.

[Tell It Right]

If they weren’t so expensive and their longevity so iffy, I’d buy an electric as a second car for daily commuting. But not as my only car.

Even with that there are other variables to consider. My wife and I like our EV as our main car (with the ICE pickup for secondary use, either pickup chores or days we need 2 cars to split up for the day, or the few times an EV isn't a good fit for a particular drive). So I'm not anti-EV. And I'm certainly not like the Dims being all about nothing-but-EV. But I probably wouldn't get one if I lived north of about Kentucky (too cold for normal use) or if I lived in a place where power rates were much higher than we have here in Alabama (unless you generate a lot of your power with solar). Or if I lived in a 3rd world area like Commiefornia where power isn't dependable. Or if I lived in an area where driving a long distance in any direction for a weekend drive means no fast chargers to refill in 10-15 minutes (meaning you'd drive your ICE care for every trip).

If you have variables like those working against you I wouldn't get an EV. But if you are in a situation without those drawbacks against EV's, then an EV might work as well for your situation as it does for ours.

[SamAdams76]

I see a lot of Teslas at the commuter train station parking lot in Westport, CT. I would say easily one out of every 15 or so cars is now a Tesla there.

That is actually a perfect use case for an EV. Take it to work (or your commuting rail station) and then back home again. Charge it up overnight at home while you sleep.

If I wasn't so close to retiring, I would be looking into buying one for my NYC commute. I'll leave the Subaru Outback for my wife at home and for longer road trips when we are together.

[Gunslingr3]

Very cool, now if he could get the cheap one sub 15k I would consider one as a 2nd vehicle for commuting.

No new car is sold for less than $17K. Looks like you can't afford a second vehicle.

[central_va]

Tesla need to go the other direction. They need to offer ICE/Hybrid cars. Those I’d consider. Are you listening Elon?

[isthisnickcool]

I like my s550 and 911 Turbo. I think the EV’s are amusing electric razors on wheels. I have guys in Ho work for me who love their Teslas. I have to admit from a nerd standpoint they are cool.

My Ford guy talked me in to driving the Mustang EV GT SUV a couple of days ago. The quickness of the thing was stunning. At about $70k I’m tempted but for now I’m not a believer but damn it’s fun.

[Carriage Hill]

“Charge it up overnight at home while you sleep”

And have it catch fire in the garage? No thanks.

[lewislynn]

or the few times an EV isn't a good fit for a particular drive). So I'm not anti-EV. And I'm certainly not like the Dims being all about nothing-but-EV. But I probably wouldn't get one if I lived north of about Kentucky (too cold for normal use) or if I lived in a place where power rates were much higher than we have here in Alabama (unless you generate a lot of your power with solar). Or if I lived in a 3rd world area like Commiefornia where power isn't dependable.

Iow, with ICE you don't have to pick and choose or alter your lifestyle.

ICE is always the dependable choice...Which is why you haven't replaced yours with a second EV.

BTW, EV sockpuppet fake news parrot.. I'm 76, lived in "commiefornia" my entire life and never suffered a brownout or power outage.

If 1 million people in California lose power we still have 6 times (600%) the population of Alabama WITH power.

[chopperk]

Sales of EV’s have gone south,,,who wants a car that can catch fire on moments notice,,,,or at 30k miles you have to spend $30k for a new set of batteries?

[Tell It Right]

You and I are in agreement on ICE's being better than EV's for most scenarios. The way we use it doesn't require us to "alter" our "lifestyle". We still drive as much as we want wherever we want. Now we have two different arrows in our quiver so that we have the best of both worlds to choose from. In fact we drive more than we used to because there are times an EV is better than the ICE car (just like there are times the ICE car is better than the EV). Basically, in our situation having one car as EV and one car as ICE makes the two work together for us better than the sum of their parts.

Us conservatives should be about free markets. When the Dims try to make every political decision about forcing us all into one bucket (in this case everybody ditching ICE cars for EV's), us conservatives shouldn't knee-jerkingly respond with: "No, force everybody into the other bucket!" (in this case ban EV's so that ICE cars are the only option). Always and forever our response should be for the government to remove the regulations and incentives and let people decide in the free market what they want on a case-by-case basis (i.e. ICE or EV or both).

The main reason I got an EV is because I fear the Dims' stupid war on energy will keep getting worse. So I installed a lot of solar and converted my two natural gas appliances to electric and did other energy efficiency upgrades to the house. It worked as well as I anticipated (I predicted it'd provide 50% to 60% of all our power needs, and it provided 58%). So I implemented the Phase II upgrade I had originally planned (but was waiting to make sure Phase I worked well) and added to my solar and inverter capacity and battery storage and bought an EV (since my wife's car needed replacing anyway). We now buy 20% of our power from the grid because the other 80% of the power we use comes from our solar. The EV is part of that 80% energy independence by extending use of that homemade power out onto the road (for local driving, or the first 250-ish miles on a weekend trip). No natural gas bill. Little cost for gas at the pump (only for what little we drive the pickup and filling up the gas can for the lawn mower) and a small power bill.

EV's and solar wouldn't work for everybody. There are many variables that have to be in your favor for it to be worth it. (Again, the Dims are always wrong with their one-size-fits-all philosophy.) But the combination of solar and one EV and one ICE has worked well for us in Alabama since we bought the EV (June 2022) and upgraded the solar (end of August 2022). And that's with fall and winter weather (worst part of the year for solar). It'll be interesting to see the full year's results when we reach the 1-year anniversary of the solar upgrade at the end of August and see how well it all works over the spring and summer.

If I had my way, though, this project would be a bad idea because we'd soon win back control of government and energy would go back to being dependable and cheap. I did this energy project as a hedge against possible Dim forever control or in case future Republican control is either too weak or too temporary to make meaningful advances in energy.

[Harpotoo]

Why buy a battery operated toy for the rich that has stayed the same for 13 years so far...

[Honest Nigerian]

Just like Lotus 1-2-3 seemed a sure bet to dominate spreadsheet software ... forever, until Microsoft rolled them with Excel ... no guarantee that Tesla stays the dominator in EVs.

[roadcat]

We now buy 20% of our power from the grid because the other 80% of the power we use comes from our solar.

Did you buy or lease your solar setup? Like you, we have an EV as a daily driver and an ICE pickup truck for sometimes hauling. The EV is charged at home once every week or so. Thinking about installing solar in the near future, and because the technology is still evolving am thinking about leasing. We've had the EV for almost 4 years and the costs are minimal ($28 to $35 for bi-annual service, liquids and tire rotation). The truck is far more expensive with annual costs, but it is what it is.