The Official Bay Area Ferrari Owners Group (FOG) Rally & Breakfast

There are idiots everywhere...


Kai

 

Who would claim something that dumb? The brake pedal caused acceleration? Right.

 

Fisker threatening bankruptcy, Telsa reporting profitability....hmmm

Great looking car, becoming quite common in Marin as soccer Mommy's grocery getter.

 

I think Tesla is doing a great job to be honest...check this out.

I read in the paper somewhere that they have a custom unique financing plan for prospective buyers and one that also comes with a resale guarantee from the company.

10% down with approved credit with Wells Fargo & US Bank and it's an open-ended 36-mth lease/financing type with the option to buy it outright at the end of 3 years.

With the tax benefit of $7500 (Federal) then at least $2500 from CA your 10% down is more than covered.

Then you just have to pay the monthly? Which you can also get additional breaks on.

Then they guarantee that the resale value will be the same as a Mercedes S-Class?

It's almost too good to be true...

 

Guaranteed value is 43% of purchase price.

See here:

Tesla announces cheaper way into a Model S - Apr. 2, 2013

And if you had Tesla stock you could have raised your down payment yesterday with that 8 point climb!

 

I hope they succeed, but it does have that too-good-to-be-true kind of ring to it. What is the end-game for these cars? If you bought, not leased one, what do you do with it in 5 or 6 years? Will the batteries be too tired? Can you swap motors? Can you even remove/replace the batteries, given they are built into the floor pan? (Genius packaging, btw. With everything so low to the ground, the handling dynamics are a like a late '60s slot car. That Tesla was built from a clean sheet as an electric car is why it's succeeding while Fisker (which approached design more conventionally) is failing.)

 

Are you going snag one Joe? Only two downsides I can see is the wait time to get on the order list and the longevity of the lithium batteries which are known to go kaput after a couple of years right?

And yes, I have some Tesla stock but very few & way back when it was 33 bucks a pop.

 

I saw this on Bloomberg last night, raising the question how they can be profitable at this stage.

Tesla Turns Profitable But How Did They Do It?: Video - Bloomberg

 

I am in discussion with them, but have not resolved one issue, so unclear if I will grab one -- here is the deal: all the long wait order talk is untrue. The car can be delivered as you specify in 2-3 months -- and, what they don't publicize is they have "orphan cars" from deals that fell through. Unregistered, undelivered, spread across the US. A bunch in Fremont and Socal, Arizona, etc. If you like the color and way they are equipped you can have a Model S in a matter of days, and the deduction is still yours. As far as the battery question goes, you can prepay for a new battery at the time you buy the car. They will keep it for you at the service center. It's $12k to replace it. At the top end, your battery is warranted for 8 years, unlimited miles. Who can tell what the price will be in 8 years, but we know the product will have improved substantially.

 

Is it safe to assume the prepaid battery will cost less than 12K?

 

So they said that one can pay $12k now -- but depending on the price of raw materials in 8 years the battery might cost more if bought then.

 

Sounds like you're pretty serious about a Tesla, J!

On a different topic, they say track days rain or shine but...wow!

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Wow! Looks like infineon. That's a lot of water.

 

Gotcha, I misread your original post

On another off topic note, anyone going to tomorrow's quattroporte unveil at FoSV?

 

Wow indeed.

 

I just read something interesting about the S in today's WSJ. When the pre-orders were coming in -- 15,000 as of today -- the lineup included a 40 kWh base model for $60K and a 60 kWh version for $70K, the difference being a cruising range of 160 miles vs. 230 miles. Due to lack of interest Tesla has cancelled the 40 kWh model, and henceforth the base model will be the 60 kWh version. However, if you only want to pay the $60K price they'll still take your money but they'll program your car to stop running until you recharge it, at the same intervals as if it had only the 40 kWh battery pack. Imagine that: the same costs of production for both cars, but the $60K model is deliberately disabled after 160 miles, while the $70K will motor on. It's not a bug, it's a feature!

 

When is the unveiling tomorrow? Is it invite only or open? I work around the corner in PA so may go. Thanks!

 

I will be there. Hope to see some of you.

 

Playing golf at PGA West and can not join you. Sorry!

 

Tesla CEO Musk's Math - CNBC

 

I'll be there!

 

what do you think of the car?

 

I'll be there!

SV

 

What time is the event?

 

Not sure - I fear it may be more of a Mercedes, and less of a Maser, so it will likely sell very well....