You’ve seen the videos, you’ve read the articles, your friend, family member or colleague has given you a ride in their Tesla and now you’re ready to buy your own.
But before you do so there are 5 things that you need to know before buying your Tesla and we’re gonna break it down for you.
Number 1: US Federal Tax Credit
The first is the US tax credit. The US tax credit started with $7,500 in federal tax credit. Then dropped down to $3,750 and most recently dropped to $1,875.
By the end of the year, the tax credit will be completely gone and there will be no more federal tax incentive. One thing to keep in mind is every time this has happened Tesla has tried to lower and change pricing to accommodate for the tax credit expiring.
So you could bank on that but it’s always nice that the sooner you make your purchase the more tax credit you will take advantage of. Currently today $1,875.
Number 2: Buy Full Self Driving
The second is full self-driving. Those of you looking to purchase a Tesla there are two options:
1. Autopilot:
Autopilot is basically adaptive cruise control for your Tesla. It maintains its speed and dynamically adjusts depending on the car in front of it. So it can slow down and it can speed up. It can also help you remain in your lane as you’re driving. And that is the autopilot feature.
You can read more about it here.
2. Full Self Driving
The upgrade to Autopilot is the Full self-driving. Part of full self-driving is available today and part of it is not.
The part that’s available today is:
- Summon;
- Automatic lane change;
- Auto Park and so forth.
The full self-driving that will take you from point A to point B fully autonomously is not ready yet but has been promised to be feature complete by the end of the year (2019).
Because of that Elon has tweeted and has posted that the prices will be going up. And they have. He has also communicated that those prices will continue to rise as the product becomes more feature complete. As you probably can tell as full self-driving starts to become a reality and people see the benefits of it, the value of the software and hardware are really going to begin to shine. It will thus demand a higher price. Always try to purchase full self-driving as soon as you can, to reduce you having to spend a lot more for it in the future.
One thing to keep in mind is if you opt for full self-driving in your vehicle purchase you will be getting the hardware necessary in your car. No hardware update is required and your price will just include the software when it’s made available.
Number 3. The color
The third item is the color. Recently Tesla changed their base included color with their vehicles. This has gone from black to pearl white. Pearl white Model 3 color was a $1,000 upgrade. Tesla wanted to move to the white color for maintenance and price savings and so the customer now gets to reap the benefit. The white is a beautiful color and it’s not a base white.
They actually stuck with the Pearl White. It’s a beautiful color car and it’s now included free in your purchase and you don’t have to upgrade to that color. As you’re looking at purchasing your Model 3 or Model S or Model X, definitely keep the option of Pearl White available as it costs nothing and it looks amazing.
Number 4. Charging
The fourth thing that you need to know is charging. Tesla does give you a charging bag with your vehicle purchase. Inside that bag is going to be the mobile charger, as well as some adapters. You’re gonna get a J1772 adapter. This adapter allows you to charge at charge point chargers and other non-Tesla chargers.
You’re also gonna be given an adapter. A 110 adapter that allows you to plug into any standard plug in your house. And that’s gonna come in your package.
However, charging on 120 volts is super slow. It’s about three miles per hour so it is a very very slow charge and many of us decide to upgrade our charging abilities at home by installing A Tesla Wall Connector. If you do so and you install that outlet at home it’s going to enable you a faster charging. Here is a chart to show you what kind of speeds you can get with the faster outlet.
More information about Tesla Charging here.
However, the one thing that you need to know is that Tesla is no longer including that NEMA 14-50 plug with your vehicle purchase. And this is going to cost you a $30 upgrade to get this adapter. We highly recommend that you do as this is going to give you a faster charge at home.
Your only two options are the NEMA 14-50 Plug or buying the high-powered wall charger.
Number 5. Homelink (Model 3 only)
The last and final thing to know before purchasing your vehicle applies just to Model 3 owners.
When you buy your Model 3 (it doesn’t matter whether you’re buying standard or all the way up to performance) no Model 3 today when purchased comes with Homelink.
Homelink is the ability to open your garage remotely from your car without a garage door opener. Homelink is a great feature and it comes in a lot of cars today. Because it has a licensing fee that’s why to get it in your Model 3, it will require a $300 additional purchase with your car. That will allow them to install the hardware needed into the vehicle and make that option available.
The nice thing about Homelink in Model 3 is that it’s location-based. So when you come up to your house, the garage will automatically open rather than you fumbling on the screen.
Homelink is an amazing feature but it’s really important to know that Homelink is no longer available on the Tesla Model 3 without an additional purchase. So keep in mind that you will need to pay $300 extra for the Homelink feature on your Tesla Model 3.
And those are the 5 things that you need to know before buying your Tesla today and onwards until things happen to change. Hopefully, that helped you.