Quote:
Originally Posted by tomonomics
P-Lap, you may have confused my GL450 with Jakes SL.
GL450 = Three rows, 7 passengers, 94 cubic feet of cargo space (the Tesla has 66, but not sure if that includes the frunk). And the GL would not need to stop two or three times for an extended charge on the way to Maine, Carolina, etc.
The jury is still out on whether the kids would want to be dropped off at school in the 911 or a minivan with cool spaceship doors. I'm a big fan of the Model S, just not the new X.
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No I saw that GL450... the idea of buying an out-of-warranty MB or BMW makes me run for the exits. Seriously, "high end" German luxury cars are not what they once were. These cars, if daily driven, are made to last the warranty and not much more. It wholly contradicts the business strategy of mass production at these levels to continue building German cars the way they once were. It used to be a big deal to drive a BMW or Merc but now the big big deal is owning an
in-warranty BMW or Merc (until you look at the depreciation then your neighbors aren't so jealous anymore).
By the way, this model X is $150k but these are the ultra high performance models that rival any SUV today at the high end of performance. Which is a pretty smart move by Tesla, sell the most expensive ones first to the people who always have to be the first on the block with the new thing.
Sure the range is "only" 250. But how many times are you going to drive to Maine or NC? A Tesla Supercharger can get you 50 miles of driving after a mere six minutes of charging (takes longer to make toast). With all the money Tesla is making and spending, I'm sure they'll be putting down their Superchargers strategically along the most popular inter-state family vacation routes. When not on vacation the average well-heeled family will not need to charge their Model X every night since they're probably only driving 30 miles a day at most...that leaves 220 miles of juice to spare.
Now fast forwad 8-10 years and those mass produced six figure Cayenne Turbos and Range Rovers aren't worth 20% their original sticker prices because of the cost of rebuilding gas engines. OTOH that single gear Model X will have by then a cheap battery replacement because at the end of the day there's nothing exotic about electric 'motors' or batteries themselves. Their costs will fall dramatically with time and mass production like all things electronic. Meanwhile that engine rebuild for the 964 or Mercedes will still be expensive as hell, if not more expensive as specialized labor for these becomes rare. No matter how you slice it the economics are firmly on Tesla's side if you take the long view.