Last call to order a Tesla for 2018 … or should you wait for Model 3 at $ 35,000?

November 28, 2018 by Paul Fosse

Sometimes I feel like the boy who cried wolf. On October 12th, I wrote in an article that you should order a Tesla Model 3 before October 15th, otherwise delivery will not be guaranteed until the end of the year. Then, on November 11, I wrote about 5 options to still get a Tesla in 2018. Tesla did not want it to be the end of the story. As we wrote on Nov. 15, the company secured an additional trucking capacity and announced to the world that it would not use rail for shipments to the East Coast. (because it takes too much time and Tesla would not want you to lose your late in the year).

In addition, Tesla announced that it was shipping all orders received by November 30th. It's this Friday, guys!

So, why are you reading this article instead of waiting for your Tesla to be delivered? You can post your answer in the comments below, but I'm going to speculate (because that's what I'm doing) that you did not order before because you:

1. You just realized how awesome Teslas was when a friend took you to his new Tesla.
2. You were waiting for the end of your lease.
3. You wanted a Tesla before, but you were waiting for the money (bonus, inheritance of your rich uncle, etc.).
4. You did not have a good place to charge and they had just installed a convenient charging station in your office or apartment.
5. Your spouse has really messed up, so now he or she owes you a favor and is suddenly willing to let you spend your emergency funds on the Tesla (this is not a sound financial advice, but we all know that you do not have self-control).
6. You are just a very bad procrastinator.

If you still do not have this legacy, do not worry. If you miss this deadline, I will write an article in a few weeks to give you the opportunity to continue buying a Tesla before the end of the year. but the hoops you will have to go through will be far more important than what you have to do today (order one from the comfort of your own home), so if you're just a procrastinator, get out of this couch!

In fact, you do not have to leave your couch, you can order without getting up (unless you left your debit card in the next room).

Update of the tax credit

So, to summarize the federal tax situation for Tesla, the company sold its 200,000th vehicle in July of this year and we explained here and here that full credit was starting to disappear gradually from January 1, 2019 by being halved at $ 3,750. for two quarters. After that, the amount is halved to $ 1,875 on July 1, 2019, then the credit is completely eliminated (for Tesla) on January 1, 2020, as shown in the table below.

Some bills in Congress currently will change that, but given that the oil industry recently asked Congress not to extend it (and that the industry is giving a lot of money to help re-elect members of Congress), this seems unlikely for the moment. In addition, the Congress has other priorities for the lame duck session, so I would not bet on the extension to keep your bacon.

Should you wait for the car at $ 35,000?

Many people who were waiting for the Tesla Model 3, worth $ 35,000, come to the conclusion that it may not be available for a while anymore. They should perhaps buy one of the currently available models to qualify for tax credit, fuel savings. , and pleasure this year.

In addition, the resale value of a car with a larger battery and its high-end interior should also be improved. So if you could get away with it, it might be about the same financially in the long run to buy the mid-range model 3 now only if you were waiting for the cheaper car and get the tax credit and resale value lower.

Looking at the chart below, are you ready to wait another 6 to 9 months to save $ 42 a month?

If you hold a reservation on the first day, you may be able to use Model 3 at short range in the first half of 2019, but I have not heard of the standard interior since a moment, then in the table below, Suppose you can get the car with the battery at short range but not the standard badpit in the first half of 2019. In this case, it would seem that you are saving $ 12 a month in Commander now.

This is an update of my latest articles on "total cost of ownership". Please click here to learn more about how I adapted the Edmunds model to estimate costs.

Conclusion

Whether you've been waiting for 3 years for a model 3 or just heard about the car recently, I tried to demonstrate that it was better to order now rather than waiting later to order a car ( according to your personal needs). situation, of course). Agree or disagree, I would like to hear from you in the comments section below.

You can use my Tesla referral link to get a free 6-month recharge on an S model, X model, or Model 3. Here's the code: https://ts.la/paul92237

Keywords: Tax Credit for Electric Vehicles, Tesla, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model 3, Medium Range, Tesla Model 3, Standard Range, Tax Credit for Electric Vehicles

About the author

Paul Fosse Software Engineer for over 30 years, I first worked on EDI software and more recently developed data storage systems in the telecommunications and health sector. Along the way, I've also had the opportunity to help create a software consulting company and manage the portfolio of multiple investment trusts. In 2010, I became interested in electric cars because gasoline became expensive. In 2015, I started reading CleanTechnica and interested in solar energy, mainly because it threatened my oil and gas investments in my investment trusts. Tesla investor. Tesla Referral Code: https://ts.la/paul92237