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Steve Wozniak May Swap His Tesla For A Chevy Bolt (siliconbeat.com)
An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes a San Jose Mercury News article about "Apple co-founder and electric vehicle fan Steve Wozniak."
Woz posted a picture of himself, smiling, next to a new, white Chevy Bolt. General Motors gave Woz the fully electric sedan for an extended test drive. He liked it. "I expect to be switching cars soon!" Woz wrote in a photo caption.
The battery-powered Bolt is due for release late this year. The four-door hatchback has an advertised range of 200 miles per charge, with a sticker price around $37,500. The EV will compete head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3. The Tesla entry-level sedan, expected to start at $35,000, will be released late next year.
It's interesting to read Wozniak's later comments on the post. "A lot of things wrong with the Tesla model S are done correctly (my opinion) in this car... It gets down to my product ideas of balance and getting the most from the least. Try to make things simple and affordable but very adequate. This car hits my sweet spot."
And in response to the obvious question, Woz replied "Maybe one Segway would fit. And a seat can be folded down."
The battery-powered Bolt is due for release late this year. The four-door hatchback has an advertised range of 200 miles per charge, with a sticker price around $37,500. The EV will compete head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3. The Tesla entry-level sedan, expected to start at $35,000, will be released late next year.
It's interesting to read Wozniak's later comments on the post. "A lot of things wrong with the Tesla model S are done correctly (my opinion) in this car... It gets down to my product ideas of balance and getting the most from the least. Try to make things simple and affordable but very adequate. This car hits my sweet spot."
And in response to the obvious question, Woz replied "Maybe one Segway would fit. And a seat can be folded down."
When I'm trying to decide which car I should buy, the first people I look to are billionaires. Since their lifestyles and mine are so similar, and since they're obviously so much smarter than I am, I just assume that their decisions are the correct ones.
I don't respond to AC's.
As someone who'd love an electric car, I'm already out of the running with a family of four children. I don't have the cash for a "second" car
Electric cars are still bleeding edge. The amount you save on gasoline, even over the full life of the car, will not pay for the premium price. You don't buy them to save money. You buy them to help change the world (and maybe for the convenience). If battery improvements continue at their current pace, the financial break even point is still five or ten years away.
Seems like all I hear about Tesla is "we're working to become awesome" and from their owners "it's true, they are awesome."
My wife has a Tesla. Yes, their customer support is awesome. So are their cars.
You can afford to be awesome when you're selling $100k luxury cars with probably a profit margin (excluding R&D costs) of $10k-$20k each.
When you're building $30k cars with razor-thin margins of a few hundred dollars each, it's a whole 'nother ballgame. I would love it if Tesla can keep up their current policies and support with the Model 3, but I seriously doubt they'll be able to. Even the free supercharges for life is questionable for the Model 3.
Praise be to those that are wealthy. If we do what they say, we'll be just like them someday.
It's like a desktop vs a laptop.
Oh my god, now cars are breeding computer analogies! It some sort of horrible re-enforcing circle of madness.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The thing about electrics though is the gas is a small part of the savings. There just aren't significant parts to break and need replacement; though obviously depending on design.
;-)
No ICE, no oil, no maintenance. No transmission, just a straight connection from motor to wheel (linkages as necessary but no gears, etc).
Replacing a battery isn't cheap but it is a very very straightforward thing. Unlike replacing an engine, which your transmission isn't engineered for.
The 'life' of an electric vehicle should realistically be multiple years beyond even the best ICE vehicles...bringing the ownership cost down even farther.
And then take into account that if you can put in a house battery and solar, you could get your 'fuel' entirely for free. You'll never do that with an ICE even with ethanol. This perhaps ties to your 5-10 years prediction which is reasonable. But there are still lots of savings involved beyond the fuel.
The cheapest option of course is a used ICE car for $5-10K
People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people
The problem with electric cars is that windshield wipers are horrendously expensive to replace. With my previous car windshield wipers were way less than 1% of total maintenance over five years. My Leaf is about to turn 5 years old and windshield wiper replacements 75% of my total maintenance costs. This is outrageous!
-rd
Not for current cars, but that's where the Model 3 is so exciting. $35000 is the median car price for new cars in the US, and that's where the Model 3 is intended to hit. There certainly was a premium for the Model S, but the premium is no longer there for the Model 3. Heck, if Chevy is going to try to sell the compact-sized Bolt for 35000, you could say that the Model 3 will be selling at a discount being as it's a bigger car with more features (like, say, a charging infrastructure).
By my calculation, I'll save about $1000 / year on energy costs over my Honda Civic. I normally keep cars for 10 years or so, so I'll be about $10,000 ahead at the end of my ownership - which is about the premium I'd pay over buying a new Civic. That's assuming that gas stays at it's current low price - let it climb back up to $4 or $5, and I'll be way ahead.
And the worms ate into his brain.
The Tesla may look nicer, but the Bolt's body style looks a lot more functional and space efficient.
As far as Tesla quality, we really don't know what they will deliver when mass producing a much cheaper vehicle. And from what I've read on some financial reviews, there is a good chance that the Tesla will cost more than initially suggested.