Is there a better car than 3/Y in general for the same price, not just eletric?
I wonder how many Tesla will sell when they reach the 30-35k price range 
I already said, I think not. Especially if you don’t just take sale price, but the total 5y cost of ownership. But I’m no “gearhead”, I can be wrong.
Elon said that there will be no standard range Model Y, and who knows, maybe they will discontinue standard range Model 3 as well? He thinks that standard range is too little and he wants all Teslas to go at least 300 miles. So I would not expect to see 3/Y for 30k soon 
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Non-electric cars seem so outdated nowadays.
- So many parts that can break.
- So many liquids to replace and so many services needed.
- A lot of brake replacements compared to a Tesla which won’t use the brakes at all in most cases (reverse charging).
- Expensive periodic costs (gas).
- Air pollution and noise.
- Usually no way that you’ll be able to drive several 100.000km with the car.
- No way to refill at home while sleeping.
- Outdated displays and connectivity.
The display in the Tesla 3 is really amazing. Flat internet (12.-/month) for Spotify, Youtube, Google Maps in Europe. And so many cool features like air conditioning flow control etc.
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Weird… no one is asking why 140km/day? Why not Train + scooter/bike?
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@ma0 You can save a lot of time with a car if you’re not commuting into a major traffic jam area.
On topic: If a 2006 Polo was fine for her (e.g. image may be a factor as she’s self-employed which might justify a more expensive car depending on the business) you can buy a (used) car for a lot less than 20k that would work fine.
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Tesla on subscription 
?
Ah you did the classic mistake of doing a Tesla testdrive. Now you will want one so badly until you get it.
Advantages of the Tesla:
- One of the safest cars in the world, if I ever crash in a car then preferably in my Model S
- Autopilot is extremely valuable when you have such a 140km commute (did that for 1.5 years), I usually drive 95% on the highway with Autopilot, it’s equal to driving first class train minus the unreliability of SBB (used to commute 3h every day by train for 2+ years)
Good alternatives: Hyundai Kona
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Yes.
Really? I find autopilot annoying, as it needs me to shake the wheel every damn minute (thanks EU), so I might as well be steering. But cruise control is very useful. I put 120 and then just follow a car and it keeps the distance. What is perhaps a bit dangerous is that both autopilot / cruise control tend to brake unexpectedly, for no apparent reason. Like, ok, if a car leaves the highway and a part of it is still in my lane, and that car already starts slowing down (wrong, don’t do that people!) then my Tesla always goes into panic mode. Or if a vehicle joins the highway, Tesla will be very careful and sharply brake to let it in. But sometime you just drive and it brakes, then I wonder what does the driver behind me think about it.
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ma0 asking the right questions!
An electric car will cost less when considering TCO If you drive at least 20k km per year.
But if it is only 140 km per day, why not consider the SR+, the leasing is way lower.
No reason to go for performance or long range.
Btw good job in landing the daughter of somebody who “owns the block” eheh
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I would advise against it. Yes, if you really only do these 140 km then sure. But if you want to use the car for trips on the weekend, then the LR is worth it. Seriously, you don’t want to have an expensive and powerful car and worry all the time that the battery will run out. Add to it that you should never leave the car charged under 20% or over 90% because the battery does not like it. So if you arrive somewhere with 10%, you better plug it in instantly! Leave home with 100% and make a stop for a couple of hours with 95%? Not good!
Model 3 is a real pleasure to drive on a road trip, but for this you need the long range.
Well, realistically you’ll get 80% of the range they are advertising as it was calculated with ideal conditions (hot California weather) and the fact that you won’t drive it to 0km range. So 330km for standard and 450km for dual range (in the cold winter probably even less). If she wants to drive to Frankfurt, Paris, Milano, Wien or some other close cities, then it might be a pain in the ass to charge it so often on the way. Then you get some additional features with the higher range. 4.6 sec instead of 5.6 sec for 0-100, so you are driving a AMG A45 or Golf 7R in terms of acceleration. All 5 seats heated instead of only front seats. LED fog lights. Great sound system. All in all just more premium features.
The 10k are absolutely worth it, I think that is out of the question.
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That is a tough statment : All the things you listed are luxury items (acceleration of a race car you don’t need, 5 seated heats (aaand the battery is drained), sound system and so on) and have nothing to do with bringing you safely from point A to point B.
Drove the Tesla myself for a while, and I agree it is a really nice car. However I think right now you want to justify an expensive purchase to get that thing by saying it is worth it.
BTW travelling in a half empty car to Paris is cheaper and faster by train (did back and forth for 50CHF cheapest from Zurich, you seem to come from Basel where it is even a better deal since everything is highspeed. For the other cities I can’t tell right now.
Personally I would optimize the car for the daily journey only, means 140 km a day (uff, self- employed and such a big travel ?), one person travelling inside. So as small as possible and efficient as possible. If one or two times in a year you need something else, rent it. In the end it will become cheaper.
That would be the mustachian, optimized way. Everything else is a lifestyle choice
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sorry i couldn’t resist.
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I agree. It seems we’re not only looking for the cheapest solution but we’re kind of evaluating the extra fun the Tesla would bring. Like, if you take it to Paris, you can make stops on the way and turn it into a cool road trip. With the train, you’re not as flexible.
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You are right of course. The mustachian way would be to look for the cheapest option and thus not even thinking about a Tesla 3. It’s still a 50-60k car in the end. But there is more to life than optimizing costs, sometimes it’s also about fun and enjoying life.
We’ll think about it.
You said yourself: FI, happiness, mid-life crisis & depression - #3 by Cortana
Go get that car and then you can tell us about it. 
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Really love this discussion and follow it with pack popcorn in my hand. Usually you buy a car out of nessecesy (e.g. more space - kids,…) or you buy it out of emotions. If you do the secnod thing, you try to explain it rationally… LOL (we all do that).
Tesla is a great car, know 5 people driving it and everybody tells me similar phantastic feedback. Buy it, emjoy it and tell us about it.
P.S. My son is pushing me to order the Cybertruck. And I am so glad that the size of that monster is too big for my garage space. Otherwise my triggerfinger would probably preordered that bus already.
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Well would not say the cheapest option is the optimised way, Far from that.
For instance I work as an external Account manager, doing more than 40k km a year, and that only because distances in CH are Pretty small. I do not need to transport much material, but obviously a certain comfort is necessary.
For instance I would say the heated seats (or seated heats), for me that is pure luxury (and actually not fan of it), on the other hand having the package for the blindspot, cruise control, lane correction is kind of a must for safety reasons, as well as connectivity to the phone. So I would get my car optimised for that situation. Right now I got a Skoda Superb (all paid by company, just have to add a ridiculous small amount on the taxable income), Got it from my predecessor. Personnaly I would say it is too big for what I am using it for, and will probably get a smaller one. (Reduces taxes and gas consumption, even if I am already pretty good with about 4.8L/100)
Finally my point is not you should not buy it and that there is a fun factor. No denial. Just wanted to point out the rationalising of the extra cost to justify the buy. If you think that the money spend is justified by the fun factor, you are totally right to get it. The fact is however you need a commuter car for 140km a day. For the few times you want fun (roadtrip, getting from 0-100 in 4.6s etc.), how about a rental ? In the end cheaper and you will have both of the two.
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I don’t think you can pre-order the cybertruck in Europe? The big one produced in USA will not reach Europe. I think for Europe they will make it smaller and produce it in Berlin, but it’s gonna take while. So don’t feel too safe yet!