Thread

1. cmiles8 · 1790590664 · focus · HN ↗

   Headline is misleading. Cheaper on per-mile operating costs but typically more expensive to purchase and insure. There’s also a nasty depreciation curve to contend with. Nobody wants a 10 year old Tesla, but a 10 year old well mentioned petrol car still has a ton of life left in it.

   It still often ends up a bit cheaper across comparable vehicles but not a slam dunk and nowhere near as good as the headline suggests.

   1. bArray · 1790591672 · focus · HN ↗

      > There’s also a nasty depreciation curve to contend with. Nobody wants a 10 year old Tesla, but a 10 year old well mentioned petrol car still has a ton of life left in it.

      It's worse, there's almost no second hand market for the vehicles. There is barely anybody trained to repair them (even if they will sell you the parts) and if they are crashed significantly it's almost always a write-off.

      > It still often ends up a bit cheaper across comparable vehicles but not a slam dunk and nowhere near as good as the headline suggests.

      Only because of government meddling. Fuel is almost uniquely taxed 3 times, which pays for subsidies to pay for green energy initiatives.

      I think I'll hold out with my diesels and petrols and see how this all goes.

      1. mschuster91 · 1790592506 · focus · HN ↗

         > There is barely anybody trained to repair them (even if they will sell you the parts)

         No longer true at least in most decently urban/semi-urban Western countries/regions.

         The parts shortage is real though, it's always been a plague for Tesla, and most established manufacturers never really recovered from Covid (and in the case of wiring harnesses, Ukraine) as a lot of their supply chain closed down shop for good.

         > and if they are crashed significantly it's almost always a write-off.

         That's true of all modern vehicles, no matter the engine type. Crash resiliency comes at a cost, the frame absorbs the crash energy and permanently deforms. Yes you can bend even an aluminium frame back into shape but it will never be as strong as before, and anything carbon-composite or plastic is out of the question as well.

         1. londons_explore · 1790592901 · focus · HN ↗

            Crash damaged cars have loads of good components though - typically allowing nearly all non-crash repairs to be done by just swapping parts about, unless the manufacturer has got software locks on swapping parts.

            1. mschuster91 · 1790595326 · focus · HN ↗

               Many legislations implicitly require parts locking by anti tamper measures, which is killing off the spare market as well.

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