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xkcd #3214: Electric Vehicles
(imgs.xkcd.com)
Title text:
Now that I've finally gotten an electric vehicle, I'm never going back to an acoustic one.
Transcript:
Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com
Source: https://xkcd.com/3214/
TCO is even better for electric. Near zero maintenance. The depreciation is real, but only if you plan to sell it at it's half life. If you plan to hold it a long time, depreciation evens out.
My EV is ten years old and cost $30k. It's paid for itself twice over in just gas. More if I factor in the zero maintenance (not totally zero. I changed the tires a few times and had to replace a trunk component). The resale on it is about $8k lower than an equivalent ICE. But for me, the EV was a good deal.
I'd definitely recommend getting a used one though. I bought mine new, and that makes the numbers worse.
It’s not though, or it is currently. It wasn’t too many years ago that teslas kept their value more than any other car. I’d argue this is a temporary market condition that is only valid for decisions now but is not predictably valid
I lean the other way. I think Tesla valuation was artificially hyped and manipulated. The car's valuation was luxury priced and tied to Elons personality. And that tanked. So I personally don't think that was normal or ever coming back.
I think the current conditions are also abnormal, with EV becoming political and a horse running amok in the white house.
The normal depreciation is probably in the middle. But when are things ever normal anymore?
Yeah normal seems to have taken a vacation
In either case it’s all tied to supply and demand. When teslas kept their value it was because huge growth they couldn’t keep up with. Now their value used is horrible but a big part of that is demand dropped, so they can make too many.
And yes it is not a good thing that in both cases too much was driven by a personality.
Personally I’m annoyed because teslas still are the most compelling EV available to me, but they always had the shadow of over-hype and now they’re toxic
In practical terms, maintenance used to be a bottleneck. Didn’t know if it still is. If you always need to go to Tesla for maintenance, it’s going to get ridiculously expensive.
And then there’s the philosophical side. Who wants to drive a car associated with filth like Elon.
Other than that, getting a used Tesla could be nice.