Are Teslas any good?

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by tintin

It's funny, isn't it? The actual "cash" benefit of this is pretty small as a % of the cost of the car, but there's something wonderfully liberating about driving around (silently...) for free, instead of burning £1 every 4 miles or so

I suppose it is quite a small saving, compared with burning through petrol in a big V8, especially relative to the cost of the Tesla. And if you compare only the electricity costs, that you would otherwise have to pay, it's an even smaller saving.

But, yeah, you're right, it's not just about the cost savings. It is liberating to know that you can travel anywhere for free, and it's also kinda neat. It's a nice privilege/perk to be able to pull up at an exclusive parking spot in a service station, plug in and watch the battery quickly recharge, knowing that the vehicle's manufacturer is picking up the tab.

It's a bit like having all-you-can-eat broadband instead of a pay-per-gigabit connection. You might not take advantage of the unlimited data allowance all the time but it's good to know you can when you want to, without having to care about costs or monthly limits.

It is quite a substantial saving on a long trip however (compared with driving the S8). A typical trip to Southampton and back, including some driving around down there, used to cost me around £300 in petrol. That's typically about the same as the weekend's accommodation costs. Now that I can travel the country for free, it makes me want to get away and travel more or spend more on accommodation.