# Well, I've heard of Ubering in a Tesla......



## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Actually saw one on Moorpark Rd in Thousand Oaks, CA this morning. The driver was so engrossed in conversing with his pax that he found himself in a right turn only lane when he needed to go straight. No cops around to issue a citation for crossing a painted island.
Probably one of those guys doing it to "meet people" rather than make a profit after car expenses.


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

Older Chauffeur said:


> Actually saw one on Moorpark Rd in Thousand Oaks, CA this morning. The driver was so engrossed in conversing with his pax that he found himself in a right turn only lane when he needed to go straight. No cops around to issue a citation for crossing a painted island.
> Probably one of those guys doing it to "meet people" rather than make a profit after car expenses.


Our very own JayATL in the Atlanta forums is a genuine $110k Tesla driver.

He also makes 300k a year outside of Uber, running theory is that since all of his friends drive $200k+ Lamborghinis and Ferraris, he doesn't get much "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" from his Prius of the the exotic car world. So he does some Ubering for the "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" from us Peasants and to increase his Guilt-Free Cigar and Aged Whiskey collection


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

steveK2016 said:


> Our very own JayATL in the Atlanta forums is a genuine $110k Tesla driver.
> 
> He also makes 300k a year outside of Uber, running theory is that since all of his friends drive $200k+ Lamborghinis and Ferraris, he doesn't get much "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" from his Prius of the the exotic car world. So he does some Ubering for the "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" from us Peasants and to increase his Guilt-Free Cigar and Aged Whiskey collection


Ah yes, he is one of the Tesla drivers that I was remembering. The one that I saw was the "S" model, so I'm taking a guess that it's up the in the $100k territory, although when it comes to pricing, Tesla says "(battery) size does matter."


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## JayATL (Oct 17, 2016)

steveK2016 said:


> Our very own JayATL in the Atlanta forums is a genuine $110k Tesla driver.
> 
> He also makes 300k a year outside of Uber, running theory is that since all of his friends drive $200k+ Lamborghinis and Ferraris, he doesn't get much "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" from his Prius of the the exotic car world. So he does some Ubering for the "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" from us Peasants and to increase his Guilt-Free Cigar and Aged Whiskey collection


ROFL , freaking awesome post..." from his Prius of the the exotic car world". That almost killed me laughing!


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

JayATL said:


> ROFL , freaking awesome post..." from his Prius of the the exotic car world". That almost killed me laughing!


I got all those "Entertaining Driver" badges for a reason!


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

There are at least a half a dozen Teslas on UberX/Lyft/Select in Denver . 

I got a ride in one once and the guy driving said he has a full time job and wanted a tesla as it was his dream car . He gets to charge it for free so he does Uber for a few hours on saturday and sunday and it more then pays his payment and insurance . He said he'd probably be driving an accord if he wasn't doing Uber part time 
So basically he works an extra 40-50 hours a month to afford his dream car


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

Jimmy Bernat said:


> There are at least a half a dozen Teslas on UberX/Lyft/Select in Denver .
> 
> I got a ride in one once and the guy driving said he has a full time job and wanted a tesla as it was his dream car . He gets to charge it for free so he does Uber for a few hours on saturday and sunday and it more then pays his payment and insurance . He said he'd probably be driving an accord if he wasn't doing Uber part time
> So basically he works an extra 40-50 hours a month to afford his dream car


But at $110k, how did he get financing on a Tesla? Especially if he could only afford an Accord without Uber... but I suppose if you put everything in from Uber earnings towards the car, you can afford just about any payment plan. It's getting the financing that'd be the biggest hurdle...


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

steveK2016 said:


> But at $110k, how did he get financing on a Tesla? Especially if he could only afford an Accord without Uber... but I suppose if you put everything in from Uber earnings towards the car, you can afford just about any payment plan. It's getting the financing that'd be the biggest hurdle...


I mean you can get a used tesla for $50k and if you have decent credit you'll be fine on financing . I bet he could afford it without Uber but Uber was his justification 
I know for a fact I could go out and get a loan tomorrow for a $50k car and while I could afford the payments I might be eating ramen a lot lol


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## bodeguero (Dec 4, 2016)

Please note: I am NOT an accountant, nor do I pretend to be one on the Internet. If you have a finance or accounting background please feel free to make corrections or clarification!

But the primary reason why somebody would uber with a Tesla is for the insane tax benefits. You get to depreciate a portion of a high value asset plus the expenses (registration, insurance). Depending on the individual's tax situation, they may be floating between tax rates, so depreciating a big target asset can push you way down from a 33% federal tax rate to 28%, or the biggie ... from 25% all the way down to 15%.

Another quite common scenario is that you know that you're facing a giant tax bill on Apr. 15, so you go about finding ways to pare it down. Let's say it's 20K. The $7500 tax credit goes a long way, plus the EV plug-in station. Throw in a $40K solar project on the roof of the house, and your $20K tax bill is poof... gone. Throw in some earnings from Uber plus more tax breaks, and you take a $20K debit and turn it into a $10-20K _gain_.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Jimmy Bernat said:


> There are at least a half a dozen Teslas on UberX/Lyft/Select in Denver .
> 
> I got a ride in one once and the guy driving said he has a full time job and wanted a tesla as it was his dream car . He gets to charge it for free so he does Uber for a few hours on saturday and sunday and it more then pays his payment and insurance . He said he'd probably be driving an accord if he wasn't doing Uber part time
> So basically he works an extra 40-50 hours a month to afford his dream car


How much are those Tesla payments, anyway?


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

Adieu said:


> How much are those Tesla payments, anyway?


Probably 1200 if he bought it new, I have no idea


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## yojimboguy (Mar 2, 2016)

Tesla's been trying to sell me one since I took a test drive. I get an email with some kind of offer or another about once a month. 

Tesla tells me I can buy into their lower end Model S for about $1200 a month. I could actually afford that, IF I dedicated all my Uber income to paying it, so it's somewhat tempting. But not tempting enough.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

That's a buy or a lease?

Bit expensive, but not much more so than Uber Xchange....


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

However...My old man keeps getting Maserati Spam. For that money, might as well drive the real Quattroporte, and not some electric knockoff lookalike


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## yojimboguy (Mar 2, 2016)

Adieu said:


> That's a buy or a lease?
> 
> Bit expensive, but not much more so than Uber Xchange....


That was to buy. Lease prices were down around $800 a month, but the mileage limitation was a deal breaker -- I think 15,000 per year.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Adieu said:


> However...My old man keeps getting Maserati Spam. For that money, might as well drive the real Quattroporte, and not some electric knockoff lookalike


Or wait a bit for the Maserati EV they announced in October.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

The model 3 is on the way. Will cost 35K for 210 miles of range. People in my city paid 1K down just to reserve one


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Shangsta said:


> The model 3 is on the way. Will cost 35K for 210 miles of range. People in my city paid 1K down just to reserve one


You mean $10k

And in typical Musk fashion, he's selling subscriptions when it doesn't even exist yet, to fund the development

Pretty sure he'll deliver EVENTUALLY, but you ain't getting no Tesla 3 tomorrow nor the day after


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

yojimboguy said:


> That was to buy. Lease prices were down around $800 a month, but the mileage limitation was a deal breaker -- I think 15,000 per year.


How much for going over?

If it's 20 cents, it's quite tolerable for Select and up...actually quite tolerable for any class if you get free charging and maintenance.


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## xlr8ed (Apr 11, 2016)

There was a white Tesla Model S P90D doing UberX here in Boston i saw at the TNC wait lot Logan a few days ago


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## PHXTE (Jun 23, 2015)

Jimmy Bernat said:


> There are at least a half a dozen Teslas on UberX/Lyft/Select in Denver .
> 
> I got a ride in one once and the guy driving said he has a full time job and wanted a tesla as it was his dream car . He gets to charge it for free so he does Uber for a few hours on saturday and sunday and it more then pays his payment and insurance . He said he'd probably be driving an accord if he wasn't doing Uber part time
> So basically he works an extra 40-50 hours a month to afford his dream car


It might help him afford the car, but there's no way he's funding that car solely through part time ridesharing.

Seems counterproductive anyway. The money he's making with the car is just going right back out of it in the form of the miles he's putting on it.


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

PHXTE said:


> It might help him afford the car, but there's no way he's funding that car solely through part time ridesharing.
> 
> Seems counterproductive anyway. The money he's making with the car is just going right back out of it in the form of the miles he's putting on it.


I mean he's forsure covering the expense of the car it's cheaper then what people are paying for Uber or Lyft rentals even with depreciation factored in .

There are a ton of Teslas in Denver doing Uber it's crazy even have seen a few of the Model X ones

I got to drive a tesla P85 and wasn't crazy impressed I mean that no sound instant acceleration is awesome but outside of that it lacks any charterer . If I were spending that kind of cash on a car I'd buy a BMW M5 , C63 AMG or Charger Hellcat . And yes those cars aren't really in the same class when it comes to electric cars but who gives a crap . Electric cars suck , maybe when they can get 500-1000 miles on a charge but right now they're 60-250 miles a charge which is pathetic .


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## PrestonT (Feb 15, 2017)

bodeguero said:


> Please note: I am NOT an accountant, nor do I pretend to be one on the Internet. If you have a finance or accounting background please feel free to make corrections or clarification!
> 
> But the primary reason why somebody would uber with a Tesla is for the insane tax benefits. You get to depreciate a portion of a high value asset plus the expenses (registration, insurance). Depending on the individual's tax situation, they may be floating between tax rates, so depreciating a big target asset can push you way down from a 33% federal tax rate to 28%, or the biggie ... from 25% all the way down to 15%.
> 
> Another quite common scenario is that you know that you're facing a giant tax bill on Apr. 15, so you go about finding ways to pare it down. Let's say it's 20K. The $7500 tax credit goes a long way, plus the EV plug-in station. Throw in a $40K solar project on the roof of the house, and your $20K tax bill is poof... gone. Throw in some earnings from Uber plus more tax breaks, and you take a $20K debit and turn it into a $10-20K _gain_.


Taxes are incremental. When you go from 28% to 33%, only the portion above the threshold is taxeed at 33%. It rarely makes sense to spend money with no benefit but tax deduction, because your expense always exceeds the tax benefit.


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## Fernando-R (Nov 24, 2017)

UberDezNutz said:


> I mean he's forsure covering the expense of the car it's cheaper then what people are paying for Uber or Lyft rentals even with depreciation factored in .
> 
> There are a ton of Teslas in Denver doing Uber it's crazy even have seen a few of the Model X ones
> 
> I got to drive a tesla P85 and wasn't crazy impressed I mean that no sound instant acceleration is awesome but outside of that it lacks any charterer . If I were spending that kind of cash on a car I'd buy a BMW M5 , C63 AMG or Charger Hellcat . And yes those cars aren't really in the same class when it comes to electric cars but who gives a crap . Electric cars suck , maybe when they can get 500-1000 miles on a charge but right now they're 60-250 miles a charge which is pathetic .


I don't get it when people are so concern about the mileages, how often do you feel yourself driving more than 250 miles per day? And even if you do, all it takes is 30 minutes at a Tesla Supercharger which they are in a lot of places to replenish back to 180-200 miles and continue your trip.
You do know that driving 250 miles equals to basically 4 hours of driving at an average of 65+ miles per hour, right? Wouldn't you say after 4 hours of continuous driving you should take a 30 minute brake to stretch your legs, eat something, use the bathroom, etc. When you realize 30 minutes had passed and your Tesla is ready for another 3-4 hours.
And the fact that superchargers are FREE so that's free gas right there and you have no oil change, no spark plugs to replace, no engine, no transmission, the maintenance cost is basically none. All you have to pay is tires, brakes which you barely use because of the kinetic energy that gets absorbed into the battery by just letting the gas pedal go and if you happen to charge at home you get to ask your electric company to lower your KW/H rates during off peak hours which if you take advantage is when you should do your laundry and drying because all electricity in your home will be much cheaper.
I don't know... everyone with their taste and I get it if people don't like the style or shape of the car but when it comes to the range it's absurd.
The vehicles that do give me range anxiety are the Nissan Leaf with barely 80-100 range and all other vehicles with similar range too. Those I wouldn't get, but anything with a 200 miles or more is fair game and Tesla is a leader in that department.
Did you guys watch the unveiling of the new Tesla Roadster? That thing has a range of 620 miles and granted at a cost of 250K is out of reach to mere mortals but that tech will eventually go down to the Model S, X and 3 and then gasoline car owners shouldn't have any more reasonable doubts.


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

Fernando-R said:


> I don't get it when people are so concern about the mileages, how often do you feel yourself driving more than 250 miles per day? And even if you do, all it takes is 30 minutes at a Tesla Supercharger which they are in a lot of places to replenish back to 180-200 miles and continue your trip.
> You do know that driving 250 miles equals to basically 4 hours of driving at an average of 65+ miles per hour, right? Wouldn't you say after 4 hours of continuous driving you should take a 30 minute brake to stretch your legs, eat something, use the bathroom, etc. When you realize 30 minutes had passed and your Tesla is ready for another 3-4 hours.
> And the fact that superchargers are FREE so that's free gas right there and you have no oil change, no spark plugs to replace, no engine, no transmission, the maintenance cost is basically none. All you have to pay is tires, brakes which you barely use because of the kinetic energy that gets absorbed into the battery by just letting the gas pedal go and if you happen to charge at home you get to ask your electric company to lower your KW/H rates during off peak hours which if you take advantage is when you should do your laundry and drying because all electricity in your home will be much cheaper.
> I don't know... everyone with their taste and I get it if people don't like the style or shape of the car but when it comes to the range it's absurd.
> ...


Once the Range hits 200 miles I'm happy but I still would get anxiety over it , I know I said 500 -1000 miles would sell me but honestly if I had 400 miles of range I'd be happy. I don't see very many Tesla chargers stations around but maybe I'm just not looking that hard , we have multiple Teslas dealerships within 15 miles of my house and my complex that I am currently in has two free EV charging stations (which are always occupied by the same two cars it seems lol)

The Tesla Roadster is crazy impressive as are the Semis . I can't wait to see those vehicles on the road , I'm warming up to EV more and more I've just been such a Gear Head for so long that EV change is just different and I'm being stubborn to change . I recently drove another friends Tesla for a couple hours the other day and actually got sold on it and really enjoyed driving it . His is a 2914 and he picked it up a few months ago for $40k so it won't be long till these in are sub $30k which is my ceiling for car purchases at this point in my life (really it's $25k but I could spend a little extra on something that would have almost no gasoline cost) I still don't know if I could drive around people in a Tesla even at $30k and Select rates . I have a hard time justifying Select/XL rates in my $20k SUV and it has nothing to do with gas costs but more wear and tear . Both Teslas I've been in had multiple creaks and rattles nothing crazy and probably amplified by the fact they have no engine noise but that worries me about build quality . But 2007 BMW I just sold with 130k miles didn't rattle or creak at all

As you can tell I'm very back and forth on Tesla , last week I was against it and now I"m for it again . Reluctant to change is probably my issue


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## 2Cents (Jul 18, 2016)

UberDezNutz said:


> I mean he's forsure covering the expense of the car it's cheaper then what people are paying for Uber or Lyft rentals even with depreciation factored in .
> 
> There are a ton of Teslas in Denver doing Uber it's crazy even have seen a few of the Model X ones
> 
> I got to drive a tesla P85 and wasn't crazy impressed I mean that no sound instant acceleration is awesome but outside of that it lacks any charterer . If I were spending that kind of cash on a car I'd buy a BMW M5 , C63 AMG or Charger Hellcat . And yes those cars aren't really in the same class when it comes to electric cars but who gives a crap . Electric cars suck , maybe when they can get 500-1000 miles on a charge but right now they're 60-250 miles a charge which is pathetic .


I wouldn't say "he for sure is covering the expense of his car..."
This is fübr we're talking about here ;-)


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## forqalso (Jun 1, 2015)

Adieu said:


> You mean $10k
> 
> And in typical Musk fashion, he's selling subscriptions when it doesn't even exist yet, to fund the development
> 
> Pretty sure he'll deliver EVENTUALLY, but you ain't getting no Tesla 3 tomorrow nor the day after


It's a $1,000 "reservation payment" to get on the waiting list for a Model 3.

https://www.tesla.com/model3/reserve


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## Aerodrifting (Aug 13, 2017)

I have done my research on Teslas:

It depreciates rather quickly, So you can get a used one for 30-50K. Earlier models are really not that great, It lacks lots of necessities a normal car has (such as door pockets, rear cup holders etc). Given the fact the computer inside a Tesla is one of the most important parts, Older Tesla probably has outdated specs comparing to new ones. Imagine you are using a 2010 GTX 480 to play the latest video games. 

To sum it up, They are cool and I'd love to own one. But deep down I know they are not great cars and older versions are garbage. And forget about Model 3, You'd be lucky to get one by 2019, They are experiencing bottlenecks with the production.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

UberDezNutz said:


> If I were spending that kind of cash on a car I'd buy a BMW M5 , C63 AMG or Charger Hellcat . And yes those cars aren't really in the same class when it comes to electric cars but who gives a crap . Electric cars suck , maybe when they can get 500-1000 miles on a charge but right now they're 60-250 miles a charge which is pathetic .


M5 and Hellcat aren't just gas guzzlers, they're tire shredders too, which will cost you as much as or more than fuel per mile.... expect to get 5-8k mi per tire. With NO cheap tires available in your size

not sure how much of an issue that is with electric cars, but at least a lot of em seem to get free charging


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## Fernando-R (Nov 24, 2017)

Adieu said:


> M5 and Hellcat aren't just gas guzzlers, they're tire shredders too, which will cost you as much as or more than fuel per mile.... expect to get 5-8k mi per tire. With NO cheap tires available in your size
> 
> not sure how much of an issue that is with electric cars, but at least a lot of em seem to get free charging


Yes, nowadays is very easy to find free charging and you can also charge at home at lower electric fares if you call your supplier and tell them you own an electric vehicle. They will only lower the offpeak hours 9PM-5AM
The one thing that seems is approaching sadly is that as everyone knows each State makes a lot of money from gasoline taxes, given that electric vehicles don't use gasoline there seems to be a draft bill in which very soon electric car owners will have to pay a yearly fee to their home State to somehow make up for the money the State is not making. Rumors mentioned of the fee to be between $100-$200 yearly.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Yep, $100 in California. What I haven't seen mentioned is whether that will apply to hybrids. It used to be that no smog check was needed for hybrids, but that has now changed, so it could be that they will get hit with the extra fee as well.


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

Adieu said:


> M5 and Hellcat aren't just gas guzzlers, they're tire shredders too, which will cost you as much as or more than fuel per mile.... expect to get 5-8k mi per tire. With NO cheap tires available in your size
> 
> not sure how much of an issue that is with electric cars, but at least a lot of em seem to get free charging


Cars like that usually aren't daily and definitely not uber cars. So going through tires every 15k miles is no issue as it would probably take 2 years.

I've changed my opinion on Tesla anyway, I'm kind of a fan now after seeing and driving a few more


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## Elmo Burrito (Feb 3, 2017)

UberDezNutz said:


> Cars like that usually aren't daily and definitely not uber cars. So going through tires every 15k miles is no issue as it would probably take 2 years.
> 
> I've changed my opinion on Tesla anyway, I'm kind of a fan now after seeing and driving a few more


I drove Tesla S85's for 8 months in 2015. 
A couple things to consider. The range is also determined by how much you use the climate control. And like all batteries they don't do well in cold weather. Also the more Kwh they build into the EV'S the more replacement costs will be. If you use an EV for rideshare the battery replacement deadlines are cut in half. Especially if it gets charged everyday. Superchargers are tough on them. 
That means unless the price of L-ion come down drastically in the next few years, these will be disposable cars when used full time for rideshare.


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## Fernando-R (Nov 24, 2017)

Elmo Burrito said:


> I drove Tesla S85's for 8 months in 2015.
> A couple things to consider. The range is also determined by how much you use the climate control. And like all batteries they don't do well in cold weather. Also the more Kwh they build into the EV'S the more replacement costs will be. If you use an EV for rideshare the battery replacement deadlines are cut in half. Especially if it gets charged everyday. Superchargers are tough on them.
> That means unless the price of L-ion come down drastically in the next few years, these will be disposable cars when used full time for rideshare.


I think technology will make them more affordable as time goes by unless the government starts cutting incentive programs like the $7500 federal rebate or if States start cutting their incentives too or even worse start addidng extra taxes. Hopefully they will stay in place.
I have a reservation for a Model 3 but it seems I won't get it until 2019 so I was actually thinking in getting a refund on the reservation and buy a used Model S or a Chevy Volt/Bolt
I saw a couple of Model S from 2014 for 35K. Just not sure what to do yet.


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## Urbanappalachian (Dec 11, 2016)

Isn't a used Tesla supposed to be cheap, the one that they stopped making?


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## Recoup (Jan 30, 2017)

Elmo Burrito said:


> <snip>If you use an EV for rideshare the battery replacement deadlines are cut in half. Especially if it gets charged everyday. Superchargers are tough on them. That means unless the price of L-ion come down drastically in the next few years, these will be disposable cars when used full time for rideshare.


I'd like to see you back up this claim with some data. Here's what _Green Car Reports _(link) says about Tesla battery life:


Green Car Reports (April 2017) said:


> The data appears to show that capacity remains between 90 and 95 percent, on average, even at 93,000 miles. There are individual data points scattered on both sides of that line, of course. But, overall, the data offer some basis for confidence that a Tesla Model S will lose-on average-less than 15 percent of its battery capacity over the average 150,000-mile life of a vehicle.


Also, _Elektrek _(link) reports there's no evidence that Supercharging frequently is harmful, and some (low _N_) evidence that it may be beneficial (theory: faster charging means a shorter time spent at elevated temps).


Elektrek (November 2016) said:


> The study tried to explained the outliers with data on frequency of 100% state of charge, use of Superchargers, and near full discharge.
> 
> It's hard to get much out of the data at this point, but it seems that 90% charge level appears to be the ideal daily charge level and surprisingly, frequent Supercharging (twice a week to daily) appears to actually be beneficial in preventing battery degradation.


The Tesla battery warranty, btw, is 8 years, *unlimited *miles. (link)

Anecdotal evidence does support the claim that there is loss of range in sub-freezing weather, but this is mostly down to people preheating their batteries (and cabins), which is very power-intensive. It's not a permanent thing--when the weather warms up, range goes back up.

I don't own a Tesla, and don't plan to buy one (unless my rich uncle dies ) and I very seriously doubt that I would EVER use one for rideshare... but I hate to see people making unsupported assertions.


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## Fernando-R (Nov 24, 2017)

Urbanappalachian said:


> Isn't a used Tesla supposed to be cheap, the one that they stopped making?


The Model 60 S and I think the Model S 75 are not made anymore and those can be found for between $30K-$35K starting from year 2013.
If you go to Autotrader and perform a "nationwide" search you might notice the best deals for used Teslas are in California. 
The company is there, their number one buyers are there so California is the State with more Teslas on the roads. I wouldn't buy a Tesla older than 2015 NOT because of reliability but because of the perks that comes with the car. To be honest I would love to find a good deal on a 2015 and the reason I say this is because after doing some research I came to the conclusion that a LOT of Teslas on the road are leases and usually a lease is 3-4 years so coming 2018 I'm hoping a lot of those people will be returning their lease back and Tesla might sell those as CPO (Certified Pre-Owned), I'm not a pro at this so my calculations might be completely wrong but I'm still hopeful to either find a CPO 2015 Model S or sadly having to wait until 2019 for my Model 3 reservation.


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