Is Tesla a Luxury Car Brand? (Here's the Truth)

With government tax credits, Tesla cars are now more affordable. Does this mean Tesla is no longer a luxury vehicle? How does it stack up against other brands like Honda and Toyota?
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[@InitiallyJayKay]

I will say, the lack of charging infrastructure can be seen as a hidden "cost". For those that don't own a home and rent, charging at home overnight isn't a possibility, so effort has to be put into finding a public charger, paying to use said charger, and waiting.

[@waynesbeenthere9681]

It may make sense to also assess the long-term affordability of a long ranged Y or 3 . A real world 270 to 280 fuel range vs a basic 3 play it safe real-world two hundred mile range could be an important consideration.

[@ivictus2004]

I am selling my 2019 honda fit for more than i paid for new and bought a base model 3. Tax credit plus proceeds from honda fit and a bit of savings makes it super worth it. Huge upgrade and no gas. Easy choice.

[@kpdkchristian2570]

Great video. One suggestion, A-class should be compared to 2 series, not 3 series. C class is more comparable to 3 series, that's why the 3 is so much more expensive on the graph.

[@DougGarrison]

I see a lot of comments repeating the same old question: "What about replacing the battery?". With a 150,000 mile 8 year warranty, a reasonable person would assume that the battery will probably last at least 10 years and 200,000 miles. I know it's not super scientific but I looked up Kelly blue book on a 2013 200,000 mile BMW 3 series and it's 1700 to 3000 dollars. So there's no value in the BMW at that point either. I would just walk away from either car at that point. But with the Tesla you could have invested the $33,000 savings over the 10 years and probably have enough cash to buy a new one.

[@masonross243]

I drive 40,000 miles/year for work and had to replace my car this year. I did this same comparison but between Honda CR-V and the Model Y. Price difference was just over $6k with the tax credit. With how much I drive, the two pretty much broke even when you consider gas/electric and oil changes. Even taking into account installation of a charger at home and the increase in insurance.

[@edhcb9359]

Did you take into account resale and that Teslas are garbage?

[@CalmerThanYouAre1]

Did they talk about the fuel savings for a Tesla vs. a Corolla? It didn’t appear to be accounted for properly from wherever they pulled this chart.

[@rand0md00d]

Some workplaces are nice enough to provide free charging too, which basically wipes out that entire fuel cost from cost of ownership. But one key cost not mentioned is replacing the battery. How often does that happen and how much does that cost?

[@happyhippo1710]

Battery is under warranty for over 10 years and it is like replacing an engine. how often do you replace an engine?

[@fortnitehub5232]

@@happyhippo1710but won’t that lower the resale value if battery is worn out

[@happyhippo1710]

@@fortnitehub5232 Resell value is only if you are planning on selling the car. When most people buy cars, they are keeping it to the wheels fall off. A car is not an asset, don't buy it thinking it will appreciate in value, drive it and don't worry. If you are concerned then lease it.

[@stevemichelson]

How did you take into account residual value of the vehicles in your comparisons? Was it assumed to be zero after 10 years for each car? At 10 years, depending on mileage, a Tesla owner might need to replace the battery to keep it viable for long trips, which should be taken into account.

[@DallinBunnell]

In Utah, RWD vehicles are not ideal due to the snowfall. So, should we consider paying extra in a cash down payment the different in price between the RWD and the AWD long range?

[@NateBest]

That’s my thinking. I’m looking at getting one but I’m in Canada and wouldn’t dream of RWD. Guess I’m buying “luxury” then. Lol

[@fortnitehub5232]

@@NateBestor get performance for a bit more and you can a lot more upgrades

[@Motivationexpresswaytosuccess]

from the prices i guess yes ? what do you think ?

[@sbs5130]

Is the cost of energy based on home charging or "public" charging? A plug-in electrified vehicle is much less of a value to someone who cannot charge at home.

[@marcISagg]

Ive never seen a tesla with over 200k on its same drivetrain. 10 years of ownership graph is skewed forsure the batteries will not last must longer than its warranty

[@izzyp8784]

I purchased a 2023 civic sport for $26k and was told it was the new basic model.

[@maz155.8]

I like the money guy show!

[@factsondeck1552]

You too ?

[@MitchellEdelman]

Luxury is a price point in the financial order of operations. With the federal rebates the bottom line Tesla's are less than Camrys and Priuses. It may make sense if an EV makes sense for you. For sure get insurance quotes before buying any vehicle, some insurance providers charge an EV premium, some don't.

[@readysetmoses]

Tesla is definitely a luxury brand

[@RyansTechReviews29]

In California, it’s pretty hard to get a Tesla for under 40k unless it is used. The 3 long range itself is already 40k after tax rebates, you still need to add in all the other fees and you’re looking at over 45k easily.

[@tmwei396]

I don't consider price as a determining factor for deciding if a brand is luxury or not. Chevrolet, Dodge, Ram, Ford have models with base prices of over $100K and they're far from being luxury. BTW, Tesla don't even consider themselves as a luxury brand. The "review" of Tesla is pretty much like all other pro-Tesla reviews I've seen and they all seem to leave out an important consideration for owning a Tesla. If you don't go on long road trips then this is not an issue but it is for me because I go on long (1000+ miles) trips multiple times a year and for me the amount of time necessary to adjust my route to find a charging station and the time needed to charge my car is a huge issue compared to my ICE vehicles. With my ICE vehicle and I literally get off at any exit off any interstate and immediately find a gas station to fill up my car and 3-5 minutes later I'm back on the road again. I don't need to worry about what brand of gas or what nozzle the pump has because it is all standardized. I don't need to go out of my way to find a charging station hoping that one will be available and is working and it's compatible with my EV's charging standard and I have the app for it. With ICE I can literally pay at the pump with any one of my credit cards. Heck, I can even pay cash inside if I wanted to. I get that EVs work for some people but they still have a lot of work to do for the rest of us. Most importantly they need to standardize charging and improve the infrastructure. Price is not the issue here, it's convenience and time.

[@guinea_horn]

Ain't no one reading all that, but from a financial perspective, whether or not any car is considered a luxury car is 100% down to the price inclusive of insurance and maintenance. Nothing else is relevant

[@patchworks4102]

I do about 10-15 road trips per year of 750 to 1700 miles in a tesla, and never once in the last 5 years has charging been a problem, and never once have I had to change my route. Unless you live in a crazy remote country, this argument died 7 years ago.

[@tmwei396]

@@patchworks4102 It's not an argument, it's an opinion. Just because sitting there for over an hour to charge up every couple of hundred miles isn't a problem for you doesn't mean it won't be a problem for others. As I said, EVs may work for some but still doesn't work for others. I like how you said you never once had to change your route. Though that might be true but I suspect you do have to make a lot more stops than you'd like resulting in more frequent stops because there's a charging station coming up and you still have plenty of range left but not enough to get to the next one on your route so you'll have to stop to top off. Maybe you don't mind more stops and spending about an hour or more each time. Maybe you don't value time as much as others do but time is valuable to me. One our 1100-mile trips I start off with a full tank and I only need to stop 3 times and it takes less than 3 minutes to fill up a 16 gallon tank each time and I'm good for another 400 miles. Whatever. That "argument" might have died with you 7 years ago but it certainly hasn't for most people. At this point I can't think of a good enough reason to get an EV when it comes to convenience which is most important to me.

[@mavfan1]

If a Model 3 is a luxury vehicle then every fugly base pickup truck is a luxury vehicle.

[@koolkat6783]

Awesome information and unbiased. Thanks

[@sbs5130]

In The Money Guy universe, what is considered the opposite of "luxury?" "Value?"

[@buckibanker]

Isnt there a cap on the tax credit based on AGI?

[@Oaky]

It's just a hard cut off. Under $300K for a married couple

[@Oaky]

Another interesting thing to add. If you pay cash, you can use the tax credit the same day to reduce the msrp.

[@Joenzinator]

@@Oaky Dang that stinks! I was considering getting one.

[@Quantris]

guess I'll hire a homeless to buy it for me

[@buckibanker]

@Joenzinator yeah it sucks. People making over 300k are the ones that can afford the higher end EVs

[@brent1041]

Should have added in a prius since that’s probably the cheapest new car over the long term.

[@storyofmylife7080]

The question is not is it does it have luxury cars or not? The question was is Tesla is general a luxury brand?

[@kevywevy84]

Now imagine buying a cheaper new EV or a used EV. I've done both. I'll never go back to gas. It's too expensive!

[@McCEi]

The analysis is wrong, the model 3 should be compared to a honda accord or camry

[@pat-orl]

Naw

[@RyansTechReviews29]

They look so bland. The 3 long range is 20k more than the base Camry. The 3 base is already 10k more.

[@jstyleent]

All you have to do is buy a used model 3 from previous years to lower your costs even more. They’re reliable and you don’t have to worry about any messed up motors. They have no issues, regardless of how many miles are on the car. Motors will be just as strong and responsive as they were brand new. The drive train doesn’t weaken over time and like Brian said, no maintenance.

[@thedopplereffect00]

Make sure it has new tires!

[@gosman949]

but those batteries! Oh my!! those batteries can cost a fortune to replace!

[@tonyc6996]

Previous owner of Tesla and other luxury brands. Absolutely not luxury in any way shape or form. I'd even go as far as saying my 2023 Palisade Calligraphy is 100x more luxurious than my Tesla and Hyundai is far from luxury

[@SuperEman500]

Haha, Luxury? No massaging seats, no Night Vision Assist, i'll stick with my Audi S8

[@HoagMurkula]

Ive never driven a 900k kms tesla. I Have driven a 900k kms volkswagen

[@borisgurevich3237]

You guys forgot to mention the cost of purchase an electric charge station at home and the increased electric bill. Plus the reliability has been in question recently

[@Joenzinator]

They accounted for the electricity costs. It was just called "Fuel" in the chart for simplicity.

[@IrisP989]

Not correct. You don’t need to purchase that station. We are charging regularly. What increase in an electric bill?… We are paying $40 to $50 a month to charge our car and that’s without solar…

[@thedopplereffect00]

A 120V charger is $250 for a Tesla. Most people don't need more than that.

[@leozardo7186]

As someone who likes cars very much and all the history behind them, Tesla is not a luxury brand and it doesn't build luxury and good quality car. They are, yes a novelty, but also expansive and cheaply made.

[@cbell5017]

Never considered Tesla a luxury brand. It’s just an EV.

[@JakeYT7]

You are missing two things in your analysis, one critical and one important but not as critical. First, you did not include salvage value. It is PROBABLY a lot lower for the Tesla due to the batteries (although, salvage value is a sticky issue). On that same topic, at the end of the window, will the batteries need to be replaced. Second, you did not consider value - the baseline Civic and Corolla are VERY baseline. The Model 3 (and I WOULD include the Model Y as well here) come with a lot of standard stuff. Also, not sure you can use the same insurance costs for all 5 vehicles - when I did the personal analysis a Civic became A LOT more expensive due to insurance. Also, EV insurance seems to be increasing significantly due to expensive repairs but that is not a quote I went out and got myself. Finally, kudos for discussing the used market - even if I am not as big of a bandwagon guy as others there.

[@b.cdrisk2035]

So yes, the answer is yes

[@Devinn504]

No the answer is no. An expensive car doesn’t make it a luxury one. Not to mention they’re built like shit. Lol

[@b.cdrisk2035]

@@Devinn504 "luxury" in this context means expensive. Plus very few charging stations and a short charge life make owning a Elon-mobile not worth it

[@fortnitehub5232]

@@b.cdrisk2035no model 3 are very affordable and mass produced. Accords are more exclusive then teslas where l live

[@Bacciagalupe]

: )

[@johnristheanswer]

Never believe any video with the word " truth " in it.

[@Motivationexpresswaytosuccess]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@SuperKenndog]

I’m still not sold on the EV hype. The assumption that there is zero maintenance is false. That’s for starters. Secondly, having to plan out trips and hoping to God that there is a charging station available isn’t a mindset I’m cool on adopting yet. I can find a gas station anywhere and everywhere with zero problems. Not to mention the fact that whatever “environmental caring” is supposedly created by going to EVs, don’t go down the rabbit hole of figuring out how all of the raw materials are sourced. Game over.

[@Joenzinator]

It's certainly makes more sense in a 2 car household, where one car has an ICE.

[@b.cdrisk2035]

Everything would be so much easier if we had a european-style train system that could cheaply and quickly take you from large metro to large metro

[@HoagMurkula]

​@@b.cdrisk2035not everyone lives in a city.

[@SuperKenndog]

@@b.cdrisk2035 agreed

[@BittermanAndy]

All the same FUD I've been hearing since 2011. Not any more true when you repeat it than when the oil companies made it up.

[@Corn_Pops_Rusty_Razor]

Electric cars may not need oil, but they do have every other maintenance required for ICE engines. Coolant, transmission, brake, suspension/driveline, etc. The systems are almost exactly the same minus the engine/motor. To think an EV requires no maintenance is naive.

[@jack073]

lol, tell me you know nothing about cars without telling me

[@Corn_Pops_Rusty_Razor]

@@jack073 says the guy that knows nothing. Go to any mechanic or even any auto magazine and they will tell you exactly what I said. A quick Google search proves me right. Gears and moving parts need to be kept lubricated.

[@thedopplereffect00]

EVs don't have transmissions. The coolant doesn't experience the same extreme temperature of an engine, and the brakes are rarely ever used in an EV so they're likely to last over 100k

[@Corn_Pops_Rusty_Razor]

@@thedopplereffect00 they absolutely do have single speed transmissions that regulate the power of the electric motor and turn the wheels. Porsche is even developing a two speed gear box.

[@thedopplereffect00]

@@Corn_Pops_Rusty_Razor calling a single gear a transmission is kind of funny. Do you know why transmissions fail?

[@HoagMurkula]

Ill take a vw tdi over a tesla anyday. I can make my own fuel out of plastic waste to save $$$

[@025MikeMiller]

ABSOLUTELY NOT! The material and build quality of Tesla is awful. Their build philosophy is to build as cheap as possible and hype to inflate pricing. I consider a Camry more luxurious than a 3. Mazda's latest offerings are far more luxurious than Tesla, even the S. Price does not equal luxury.

[@GetThemLyrics]

They’ve drastically improved build quality in the last two years. Also the prices have came way down.

[@Devinn504]

@@GetThemLyricsnah they’re still built like shit

[@artic2312]

I agree, I feel like Tesla is known for being the prominent electric car but it really doesn’t have anything to offer other than that. Self driving isn’t really worth it and the build quality isn’t as good as other electric cars from other brands.

[@arnofleck]

Firstly, Teslas built outside of Fremont (Shanghai, Berlin) have vastly better build quality, and there's nothing wrong with them. Secondly, the amount of features that come standard is hardly comparable to other brands. And thirdly, the software suite and integration and charging network is also unparalleled. Teslas are by no means perfect, but they do offer good value for the money.

[@saulgoodman2018]

NO, Tesla is not luxury. Luxury is not about price.

[@frederickvalencia4976]

I find the tesla not apeal to me. (1) horrible for the invorment (2) you can't work on your own car (3) not guaranteed that will last forever (4) you can't modify to your invorment (5) if you decide to run away from the law because you used the wrong pronoun they can just lock you out/how many charging stations in middle of the woods/Canada or Mexico

[@MikeyB_1972]

Don't you need to factor in the cost of battery replacement in 5 to 7 years? Or however long they last… Our old Chevy volt, the batteries crapped out, the dealer wanted $18,000 for new batteries and a car that was 15 years old. at some point, the residual value of these things has to take in consideration that in order to keep it on the road, there are tens of thousands of dollars that need to be spent on your batteries. If you divide that over the depreciation schedule, you have to include that cost in the monthly amortization… If you don't, then you are basically getting rid of a car without any residual value at the end because it will be worthless nobody wants to buy it to replace the batteries.