[rdl]

And gas/operating cost savings, and HOV lane access. And some states have a tax credit on top of the federal credit.

(That said, I don't see much point in buying anything but the Performance model -- assuming you keep it for 5-10 years, drive a lot, it seems like it's worth the extra $30k)

[bengl3rt]

Honestly, that puts it solidly into "more than I can ever imagine paying for a car" territory. It's also too big - I can't imagine street parking a behemoth like that in San Francisco.

I quite like the Acura TSX - small, luxurious, $30k. I'd happily pay $40 for Tesla's equivalent.

[rdl]

Yeah, I agree about size (I wonder how much of it is that Elon has a 98th percentile family size -- 5 kids and at least one wife at most times). I'm happy to trade 0-3% financing for operating expenses, though, so if I could buy a $50k car which saved me $100-200/mo over a $30k car.

The sweet spot today is probably a 2y old gasoline Lexus or Acura(, or maybe an Audi or BMW if you really care about certain performance aspects -- or a diesel mb or vw if you drive exceedingly long distances), for opex, financing cost, and experience.

I think this will change before 2020, though.