.


Remember that Bush tax break?


.

Poor people don't drive those cars. They aren't "heavy equipment"--they are "Look at MEEEEEEEEEEE-mobiles."

In effect, us taxpaying schmucks are subsidizing those rich folk looking down their noses at us.

And while driving down the road, they're probably complaining about their tax burden and welfare cheats, etc.

The couple driving the Tesla are very conscious of the environmental impact. Their home has solar panels that make the home's annual net electric bill $0.00 (it's actually negative, but due to variable rates, they're not eligible to receive a credit). For shorter drives they drive a Nissan Leaf, 0% emissions vehicle and they have timers setup to recharge their vehicles after midnight when rates go down and they're not contributing to the electric grid's peak power consumption.

Long journeys with these vehicles has its drawbacks. Where you and I can fill up and literally drive across many states in a day, their journeys are stunted by limited recharge stations and the wait to get the charge high enough with a safety buffer to their next charge station. Simple 400 mile trips can take twice a long as with gasoline powered vehicles. So it's not all glamor.

Part of your gripe is correct though. Most of us don't have the kind of purchasing power our parents did. That's a factor of stagnant wages and GOP lead recessions that keep taking the middle class backwards. However, with any great idea like the Telsa brand, the more they produce and greater they can compete with other world car manufacturers, and the lower these vehicle prices will become. It just so happens, that their technology can't be mass produced like a model T...yet.

If I could justify owning a Tesla I would pay the added expense and forget about ever using stinky old pump gasoline. Internal combustion cars are the single worst invention man has ever devised. Air conditioning & refrigeration would be another. Imagine how different the world would have to be without either.

such a fancy car be, in effect, forced to subsidize Mr. And Mrs. Wealthy Solar Panels' car?

It's jive. They don't need the "help."

A tax break is the same as a deep discount--and someone's paying for that.

The carbon footprint isn't the only issue--it's a horrible mess making all those batteries. It's just not in our backyards.

taking tax money from the poor and middle class to subsidize rich people's $100,000+ cars.

Cars that most people are going to be filling with electrons made from burning coal, which makes them just as dirty as ICE cars.

An SUV for $140,000- that can't have a roof rack- because Elon's doors. And if you're towing something with this SUV how do you get a supercharge?

Hopefully Tesla will fix the existing drive unit issue- the latest rumor is that every drive unit on every model S will need replacement. Better hope it fails while it's in warranty- a new drive unit is ~$10,000+ tax and installation. That 10K plus the money that will eventually be spent on a new battery will buy a new car.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/29834-Drive-Unit-Replacement-Poll
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/51595-Drive-unit-replacement-getting-better