Why Wait for Model 3 When You Can Get Model S for $47,000 OR Less

by Iqtidar Ali | @IqtidarAlii

Important Update: From 22 Nov 2016 Tesla just increased the base Model S price by $2,000. So the minimum price of a base Model S 60 would now be $47,000 instead of $45,000, rest of the article remains valid. Check out all important updates and news from Nov 2016 on Model S.

Yes! You read it correctly $45,000 or even less depending on your location and the faster you make a choice because from Jan 2017 Free Supercharger for life will no longer be available & from Jan 20 it’s going to be the Trump’s world.

With the Federal Tax Credit of -$7,500 and State Incentives ranging from $1,000 – $8,000 you can own the base Model S for as low as $47k and even less. Let’s first review what incentives different States are offering currently.

• California(CA): $2,500
• Colorado(CO): $6,000
• Delaware(DE): $2,200
• Louisiana(LA): $8,000
• Massachusetts(MA): $1,000
• Pennsylvania(PA): $2,000
• Utah(UT): $1,500

By looking at the screen-shot I took from the Tesla Design Studio you can see that only after Gas Savings, Federal & State incentives the price goes down to $47,000 for the 60 kWh Model S while living in Louisiana.

The above calculation does not count the Lifetime Supercharger for FREE if you order the vehicle before 1st Jan 2017. Cars booked after 1st Jan next year only 400 kWh or 1000 miles worth of Supercharging will be free and this includes the Model 3 reservations as well since they are only reserved not ordered/booked at the moment.

So If we even estimate the Supercharging at $400 a year that makes it worth another $2000 in the next five years. Also, the whole EV industry is thinking about their future in after Donald Trump takes charge of the Oval Office. The President-Elect had already shown interest in cutting off the Federal Tax Credit on Electric Vehicles and if He does so this will clearly affect the cost of owning a Model 3 in the coming years.

Forgot to mention that you can also get $1,000 Off by getting the referral code from friends or family plus use the $1,000 reservation credit for the Model 3 you have already submitted, what a deal!

In my opinion, you can get the Model S now and save a lot of money and then you can even sell it to get a brand new Model 3 if you want to. Model S 60 value will not depreciate much through the years if you take good care of the vehicle and it can be upgraded to 75 kWh at any time, that would be a great deal for the 2nd owner. Also on a side-note “Supercharging on Model 3 will be enabled for an extra charge and if Model 3 is going to be a 60, 60D or 90 kWh, nobody knows yet maybe except Elon Musk”.

If you ask me my first choice if I could afford $45,000 will be the bigger & luxurious Model S.

Offcourse this is the case for the United States. Seems like the UK Government is also giving incentives from GBP 2500 – 4500 on Electric & Plug-in Vehicles and that sounds great (details here). Rest of the country visitors can see the details of EV incentives their Governments are offering on this Wikipedia Page.