David sends in these pics from along Church Street just outside the Decatur city-limits and notes…
This location has 4 HPWC (High Power Wall Chargers) which puts 25 to 50 miles per hour back into the car battery. These are located underneath the grey Tesla logo. And there are 4 Superchargers which puts 150 miles back onto the battery in 20 to 30 minutes. These are located to the left of the building and are the white & red stands. All charging is free for life.
I keep seeing the word “dealership” but was under the impression Tesla can’t have dealerships in Georgia for some anti-competitive, archaic, protectionist, good-ole-boy BS reason and that this is just a service center. What’s the scoop?
I thought it was that they actually needed physical dealerships in order to sell in Georgia. The problem comes when you sell without a dealership and you’re only allowed to do that up to a certain number of vehicles and then there’s even something about those needing to be considered “custom.” That’s what I understand without actually going to look up details…which I’m not inclined to do right now.
The problem is that they would sell factory direct, without an intermediate dealer. That’s what the old boys don’t like. I don’t think it has to do with a physical building. My impression is that the “dealer’ here is actually a direct operation.
Yes. And one of the arguments Tesla makes is that, if they were sold by independent dealers, those dealers would have less incentive to sell them because Teslas need little to no service, and the service center is a big part of a dealer’s business.
Look for a push to change this in the legislature, though it will be a fight. Right now Tesla is under the 150 unit per year threshold. But judging by how many I’ve seen on the road (and the other models in the works), that number will keep rising.
Signs!
Well played
Not well played at all. Just a cheap knock off of the original, by the just as aptly named Five Man Electrical Band!
It is not a dealership. It is a showroom and service center. And technically there is nothing dealers can do to keep you from purchasing the car in any state. You order the car online. Car is delivered to a showroom, service center or to your house and then you have to take your paperwork down to the department of motor vehicles to register the car/pay your taxes.
“You order the car online.”
So what you’re saying is, as long as the car is purchased online and not in the showroom, they’re not violating state laws that limit direct sales of automobiles in Georgia?
That’s what the court case is going to be about, I’m sure.
I’m hoping they are going to give out free samples, like Jenni’s ice cream is on Thursday.
Brianc – there can be no court case about purchasing a car online. That train of thought would make purchasing an Apple computer from Apple illegal. The issue the dealers have is not selling a car through a independent dealer. Because dealers are looking out for you, you always get the best deal and the car buying experience is so wonderfully – so they claim.
“there can be no court case about purchasing a car online”
I get that. Is that what people are doing though, buying online and picking up in the showroom?
And I wonder how successful that process will be when they are trying to sell a more mass market type car (the under $40k model they’ve promised).
It’s sort of a internet purchase. You can test drive and get a very gentle sell pitch.
You build it virtually online to specifications and options as you wallet will allow. You confirm and reserve online with a credit card $2500 and they build it and deliver it to the showroom. Much of the dealership interface is done on the phone or online. The showroom is more customer service and maintenance.
There is no haggling and no obnoxious stuff. It was very pleasant overall.
The thought of not buying gas again intrigued me, so I checked out the Model S on the website yesterday. I should have seen this coming, but, almost NOTHING is standard on that car. With a base MSRP of over $60k you’d think leather would be standard, but nope. And the high wattage plug you need to recharge the battery in just 20 minutes? That’s a $2,000 option — so much for “free” recharging. Even with the tax credits (shameless welfare for the 1% in my view) I could not see the car being worth it versus gas-powered alternatives that are frankly superior in almost every measurable way.
Are Teslas considered prestigious? People will pay a ridiculously high price for something that is generally accepted as elite, sophisticated, and prestigious–e.g. homes, cars, private schools, clothing.
Yes, they are prestigious. They are beautiful cars, I would not mind having one. But for the price they are charging you can get an equally (if not more) prestigious car with better performance. Heck, as you add even pretty basic options to the Model S you quickly creep into the price range of the M3.
“People will pay a ridiculously high price for something that is generally accepted as elite, sophisticated, and prestigious”
I think it’s a different kind of prestige. If you’re familiar with Clark Howard, you know that he doesn’t care at all about prestige, though he could buy pretty much any car he wants. The guy’s a multi-millionaire and still buys used clothes! Yet, he bought a Tesla. For him it was about buying a high-performing car that didn’t use oil. Others probably like the fact that Tesla is NOT one of the old, prestigious nameplates associated with yuppies.
Threadjack, but I’ve been wondering about this for awhile: the term “yuppie–is it still used, and if so, to whom does it apply now? The original yuppies are no longer “y” as in young. They may not still be “upwardly mobile” or “professionals” depending on how they did in the last recession and whether they have retired already. And originally “yuppie” was a play on the term “hippie” which is what yuppies were when they were even younger. So is it appropriately to call current young, upwardly-mobile, professionals “yuppies”? Or is there a new term, e.g. OWTOP, “On Way To One Percenter”?
I like the car, like the company, but per my personal definition of “afford”, if I could afford a Tesla I could afford not to drive at all, which would definitely be the option I’d choose. I am, however, interested to see how much of the flagship model ends up in the planned ~$35 k model, which I would consider paying.
Also, to Dem’s point, I don’t think people are buying Teslas to save money on buying gas, or because it represents a better “value” than its gas-powered competitors.
” Even with the tax credits (shameless welfare for the 1% in my view) ”
The tax credit is equally applicable to the Nissan Leaf, so I don’t have much of a problem with it.
Yes, but of course tax credits and deductions of all kinds are indexed by income or some proxy for income. So, the case for a credit as applied to the Leaf is one thing. The case for a $10,000+ tax credit for a Tesla, which ranges from at least $60k to well over $120k, is a different matter altogether. I’m all for lower taxes across the board but find it especially distasteful for the government to be so directly and substantially subsidizing the purchase of ultra-luxury items like this.
Haven’t really looked into how the combination of federal and state subsidies work, but I’m sure they are more important to sales of the Leaf than the Tesla. So if they want to limit it by income, that’s fine.
Oh, and I have a far bigger problem with states subsidizing expensive private schools with tax credits that go mostly to high earners.
Are you saying that the Tesla provides more in tax credits than the Leaf? My understanding is that they were on equal footing — $7500 federal and $5000 state.
Even if that’s true, he would still have a point because the credits wouldn’t help people who don’t pay more than a certain amount in taxes (I’m assuming the credits are non-refundable). On the other hand, it wouldn’t be a mainly “one percent” benefit either.
I know at least in the case of the state credit that the $5k can be applied over a five year period, so in order to take full advantage of it you need only have $1000 per year in GA tax liability. Hardly 1%ers, as you note.
So as long as someone makes over 60k in taxable income, a 25k car would essentially maximize the state tax credit because the credit is 20% UP to 5k of purchase price.
That was supposed to be “over 36k in taxable income”, but I’m not accounting for the federal subsidy and federal taxes. Probably more like 70k to maximize both.
My understanding is that they’re on equal footing in terms of the credits.
So is the Nissan Leaf considered elite? Just because a handful of high-end Tesla’s qualify for the tax credit doesn’t necessarily make the it “shameless welfare”. Like solar panels, the goal of the credit is to help a new technology reach a point where the economies of scale make it more affordable to the masses. Quite frankly I’m shocked that Georgia, of all states, offers such a credit (though after yesterday I doubt it will be around for long 😉
Tesla is the poster child of what an electric car could / should be. It has done more to push the acceptability of electric as alternative than the prius or the leaf. Making the electric car cool is easily as important as making the car affordable for wider adoptation.
I could list 10+ reasons why I bought the car. Its cool and fun. It has about $15K savings in gas and oil over 100K miles. It has 10% of the moving parts and no high pressure hoses, so maintenance is less. It is much cheaper to own than a M model BMW and just as fast.
Its American made! The “S” is kick starting a paradigm shift that I hope leaves Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and other oil despots irrelevent.
No, I don’t feel guilty about using the tax breaks which are acheiving the goal of more electric cars on the road.
“It is much cheaper to own than a M model BMW and just as fast.”
I guess that’s possible, but keep in mind that only the P85 is as fast as an M3. The base Model S is a lot slower than the M3 or even the Audi S4. And with the P85, you’re looking at a base price of $95,000, much higher than the M3. With options, the P85 is going to quickly climb into Panamera and 911 price ranges.
They’re all cool cars — like I said I looked into the Tesla and thought it might be an option for me. From a driving enthusiast perspective I just don’t see the value, and I don’t care about going electric just for the sake of going electric. To each is own, of course.
You should drive it. Instant torque. I have no intention of going >90mph anymay.
“Tesla is the poster child of what an electric car could / should be. It has done more to push the acceptability of electric as alternative than the prius or the leaf. Making the electric car cool is easily as important as making the car affordable for wider adoption.” << That is why Musk designed and made Tesla.
They are quite impressive vehicles.
Metro Atlanta has the second-highest penetration of electric cars, and it’s almost certainly due to the state tax credit, which is one of the most generous in the country. And yes, there has already been a push to at least reduce it. The auto dealer lobby is one of the most powerful, and though some among their ranks also sell electric cars (not Teslas), I don’t think they’re convinced they represent a good business model for them due to the low level of service required.
Frankly, if I made the rules I would probably offer even more generous tax credits to those who don’t own a car at all, but that’s just my part of my personal, not altogether unselfish, crusade to reduce the number cars on the road, whatever they run on.
Until the region offers vastly better public transit (yay, Clayton County!) coupled with smart land use decisions, many Atlantans – myself included – have no realistic choice but to drive. For example, there’s no way I’m going to bike in 90-degree humidity from the College Park MARTA station to my job on Old National Hwy so I may as well drive an electric car instead of gas if the numbers work out, no?
“many Atlantans – myself included – have no realistic choice but to drive. ”
That’s obviously the other reason, along with the tax credit, that electric car sales have been higher here than other places. People have long commutes, with few options. I was only half serious about tax credits for not owning a car, but I would definitely be in favor of tax credits for employers who do as much as possible to allow their employees to work from home, among other things, to reduce car commuting.
I saw somewhere recently that Georgia was second only to California in sales of the Leaf.
I saw the same thing. I know several Leaf drivers, and every single one of them leases the car b/c it is essentially free with the tax credit. Starting in about 18 months when a lot of the leases start ending, I expect to see a surplus of used Leafs on the market and you should be able to get one pretty cheaply, unless of course GA passes another unjustifiable credit.
Thanks for this info, by the way. May have to look into leasing a Leaf while the tax credit is still meaningful.
“I expect to see a surplus of used Leafs on the market and you should be able to get one pretty cheaply, unless of course GA passes another unjustifiable credit.”
Not following this. How would the price of used Leafs be affected?
If there is no tax credit, I expect a lot of used Leafs sitting on lots just as there were a lot of new Leafs sitting on lots before the tax credits. No one was willing to pay $30k+ for the car. The dealerships will have to drop prices to move the used cars as I don’t expect many to buy the cars off their leases. I know someone who parked his recently paid off car in his garage for 2 years b/c the Leaf lease, combined with the tax credit and no gas is cheaper than putting gas in his car. But, that analysis doesn’t hold true if he has to pay $20k for Leaf at the end of the lease.
I see what you mean now. There wouldn’t be a tax credit available for buying the cars at the end of their lease.
As this subject seems to interest a lot of people, here’s a link to a recent Freakonomics podcast, about how (until recently) Norway was the second largest Tesla market in the world.
http://freakonomics.com/2014/10/16/how-can-tiny-norway-afford-to-buy-so-many-teslas-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/