- All right, the question I get is,
what is the cheapest Tesla?
And I want to go through this, and just kind
of explain it the way I see it.
And hopefully we'll have some data to look at as well.
There's sort of a hierarchy of how you can buy a Tesla.
There's new, and you can get a custom build
where you actually can pick out every single little option
that they have, and choose it exactly how you want.
Those take a little bit longer,
and they cost a little bit more.
Or you can buy new from inventory.
Now, this is a vehicle that's already been made.
And this vehicle, you know, it's sitting there,
and it's ready to go, so you'll get it sooner.
Typically, these are floor models as well,
so you may get 10, 15, maybe even a 20% discount off
of what that car would be new.
Now, it'll have some miles on it
from maybe test drives or things like that.
But in any event, you know,
it's already been made, it's ready to go.
So you won't be able to pick exactly all the options,
but you know, you may find one
that really fits what you want anyways.
Now, the other option is to go used.
Now, there are two types of used.
There's the certified pre-owned,
which come from Tesla directly.
And then you have the third party ones.
Now, this is just you buying it from another person.
I went and did some research on,
you know, this is kind of the hierarchy.
And then I looked at what are the
actual different models you can buy.
Just to recap if you guys are completely unfamiliar.
You have the Model S that is
a flagship sedan, full-sized sedan.
The Model 3, technically, a mid-sized sedan,
but more of the size of a BMW 3 Series.
And then the Model X, which is like a smaller SUV.
I know people say it's a full-sized SUV,
because the interior storage it qualifies as that.
But really it's quite small when you look at it
compared to say a Tahoe or something like that.
So those are your models, those are the actual cars
that Tesla sells that you can buy.
They also have, you know, other ones coming out.
But this is currently what they offer.
Now, if we take a look at the new side of it the Model S
brand new, the cheapest one you can buy is 74,500.
The Model 3 currently is 49,000 because you have to buy
the long range battery and the premium upgrades.
And then the Model X the cheapest one you can buy
right now is $79,500, these are all USD.
Now, interestingly enough when I went
to go price out the new inventory.
I was just gonna get some sample values for you
to see kind of, you know, the difference in price.
There are none available on the website.
Obviously, the Model 3, there's no
such thing as inventory yet.
They're still backed up, backlogged
extremely as you heard earlier with
over 400,000 reservations still outstanding.
But the Model S and Model X,
usually, there was new inventory.
But if you go on the website right now
it's gone, it's completely gone.
So I'm not sure what's going on.
They may be taking these off to do some refreshes,
to do some other stuff, I'm not quite sure.
But very, very interesting when I was looking.
Generally, as I mentioned you can find these for,
you know, 10 to 15% cheaper, sometimes a bit more.
But that's kind of what you're
looking at for a brand new Tesla.
Now, if you go used, this is gonna vary,
but you can get a certified pre-owned
from Tesla Model S for $41,000.
And I looked, the cheapest one I could find used third party
within 100 miles of San Diego,
so your mileage may vary there, 53,000.
Then, the Model 3, there are no certified pre-owned
yet from Tesla, there will be one day.
But there are some third party used,
which I found the cheapest one at 51,000.
Again, within 100 miles of San Diego.
Now, on the Model X side it's quite a different story.
The used CPO from Tesla is $98,000,
which is crazy expensive.
You in fact could buy a cheaper one new.
And I think that's just because,
you know, the big difference between a lot of these
is that the Model X when it came out
it had Autopilot from the beginning.
These older Model S's, some of them don't have Autopilot,
so there's a big distinction there.
And they can't be retrofitted.
So it's one of those things where,
you know, they definitely have a disparity in the price,
whereas the Model X basically are all the same.
So used one or a new one they're very, very similar.
And then the used third party I saw for the Model X
was 76,000, so actually pretty reasonable.
You know, but again, you can get
a new one for just about that price.
So when it comes down to it, what is the winner?
What is the cheapest Tesla you can actually buy?
Well, it is a used Model S.
Here is one from the website that I just looked up.
It's a Model S 85, which has
pretty decent range I would say.
And, you know, 71,000 miles, it's not nothing.
But these cars' batteries are looking at about 3
to 400,000 miles before they have significant degradation.
And, you know, it's $42,000, I mean, that's a great deal.
I can tell you, I own a 2013 Model S, I love it.
You know, people say, and Elon
even talks about it, there's a big difference
between the new ones and the old ones.
I don't know if there really is.
I go in, and I get a new one, and I drive around.
Yeah, it may be quicker, and this, and that.
But it looks and feels very, very much like my 2013 model.
Also, if you buy a cheaper one you can do things
like a new front fascia, put better wheels on it.
I feel like, you know, when you have
a lower price point you can do more.
So, there you have it, let's go check it out.
I want to show you just some of the results,
and where I go find these things.
CarGurus is a website that you can
search for these kind of things.
And you can just kind of punch in,
you know, the years, the zip code, the radius,
et cetera, kind of what you're looking for.
They'll show, and you can see, yeah,
there's a lot of Model 3s on here.
You can Literally go buy one right now.
If you want to buy a Model S you can do that as well.
You know, so you can kind of see.
And then you can sort it, and price it,
and do all that kind of stuff.
48,000, yeah, see these aren't
that great in terms of the pricing there.
And then, you know, my friend Erik
has a great website called teslainventory.com,
which allows you search not only
your local area, but all over the country,
and find the actual listings from Tesla.
This is at teslainventory.com,
and this is where you can kind of see
that the prices of the Model X is pretty insane.
But if I go back to the Model S, and I look for that,
refresh my results, which it's doing now.
Yeah, you can see, so I'm in Southern California,
but this will actually pull from all over.
There's that Model S 85, that CPO
I just showed you in the presentation.
You can kind of see the price change, and these ones
are ones that you can actually buy from Tesla.
I think if I click this link,
it'll actually show you exactly that listing.
What's cool about this is that if in your area,
because if you go to tesla.com/used,
I believe it is, if you just go to tesla.com/used
it's going to show you just those in your area.
Whereas this Tesla Inventory site you'll be able
to search all across, you know,
different regions, and stuff like that.
See, that one happens to be in my area here.
But over on Tesla Inventory you can see
that there'll be other options.
You know, Texas, Dallas, stuff like that.
So you can kind of find them.
I really love Erik's site, I think he did a great job.
Yeah, so go check that out.
If you're looking for third party
used Model 3 let's say, then you can go to CarGurus.
And then if you're looking for something certified pre-owned
from Tesla you can go to teslainventory.com.
I think it's the best place to search for it.
The big deal there is that when you get it
from Tesla they're going to re-certify it for the warranty.
So you get an addition of four years on
basically everything, and then eight years on the battery.
I think that's probably the better
bet for a Model S or Model X.
But if you're looking for a Model 3,
you know, there's CarGurus.
Also, if you can get like a really good deal on one
from a third party, then that may be good as well.
So I'm not gonna say don't do it,
but definitely it's something to keep in mind.
Now, if you're curious because the Model 3,
you know, is priced similar.
I mean, it's a bit more expensive
than a used Model S as you just saw.
But, you know, there's a lot of them depending
on the options that price of the used Model S may go up.
So I just want to point you at this link,
and I'll put it in the description here.
The comparison between the two
because I do think this is important, right?
And I've said it, I was saying it before we had them,
and I'm saying it still, I prefer the Model S.
Not everyone's gonna agree with that,
but the thing people used to say is,
oh, well, of course, because it's so much more expensive.
But now that's not true.
As you can see you can get a used Model S
for even cheaper than you can get a Model 3 and much faster.
So I think it's something to consider.
Now, some of the differences here,
I mean, the performance, okay.
Let me see if I can shrink this down
for you so you can see it.
Yeah, the performance of the Model S
is gonna be better for an insanely expensive one.
But all of these cars are gonna be incredibly fast.
If you don't have a Tesla or an electric car,
it's gonna be so delightful driving it
because of the instant torque.
The instant max peak torque that
you get from zero, it's crazy.
The range will be great, there isn't a Tesla
that has bad range, except for maybe
the 40 kilowatt-hour battery pack from, you know, ages ago.
The Model S gets free supercharging,
used ones and news ones, if you use the referral code,
which by the way is expiring on July 15.
So if you're looking to get a new one
of these you should definitely use a code.
I'll put a link to mine in the description.
You can see it at the bottom of the screen there.
The Model S will definitely fit more people.
The Model 3 is decent, but I can say
from personal experience having both of these cars.
The Model S, especially if you have kids, is a better ride.
The cargo on the Model S is double of the Model 3.
And the hatchback, specifically,
makes a big difference if you ever need
to haul anything that needs to take up that space.
Also, if you want to go camping
I think it's a better option.
The displays on the Model S are better,
obviously, having a second one right behind there.
You know, I'm not here just to bash
on the Model 3, but there are definitely
a lot of benefits to having a Model S.
I would say the main thing that would lead me
towards the Model 3 over the Model S is the size,
and whether or not you want Autopilot.
Because if you buy an older Model S
it may not have Autopilot.
I don't really mind it because I don't drive a lot.
And then, you know, there's also
better handling in the Model 3.
I think because it's smaller,
kind of tighter, and all that stuff.
So there's definitely a lot to consider there.
But if you're still waiting, Model 3
is like super long down the road, or maybe,
you know it's too expensive for you,
I think that it's worth considering a used Model S.
That's what I bought, I am so thankful that I ever did.
And I think it's definitely worth something to consider.
So I'll put all the links to all
those things down in the description.
I hope that helps you guys, and I hope
it answers the question, what is the cheapest Tesla?
And it gives you some guidance kind of
from someone that's been this space that does have,
in fact, both of the kind of cars that are available.
So, let me know what you guys think about that.
Hit me up on Twitter @teslanomicsco
if you have any questions.
Also, you can reach out to me on Facebook.