Buying a Tesla – Things You Should Know
One car that is perhaps the most popular today is Tesla. The popularity is not just because it’s named after a man who once tried to invent the death ray. This brainchild of Elan Musk has cultural prestige, doesn’t need gas to run and has a lot of visual appeal. All these are great reasons to make a car popular. However, if you’re planning to buy a Tesla, you’ll have to make sure you follow certain steps. Here they are.
Visit Tesla’s Website
You can buy a Tesla in two ways: one in its in-person show room and the other through Tesla store online. In both the cases, you’ll possibly order a car, rather than buying one on the spot.
First you may want to consider Tesla’s Design Studio. This feature on Tesla’s website allows you to poke and prod at your car until you totally customize it to make it a perfect fit for you. It will also offer you a good feel for the available range of options, that include:
Model: You can choose from the models viz. Model X, Model S, Model Y, Model 3 or the Roadster. Each of these comes with different technical specifications.
Range: Probably the most critical statistic for a Tesla, with a low end of 259 miles up to 396 miles before the car needs recharging.
Top speed: From 140 to 250 miles per hour (with much, much more promised for the Roadster).
Color and interior design: Here you’ll have to remember that customization is offered to a certain default limit and beyond that the cost of the car will increase.
Wheels: There are three options here.
Autopilot: You can add an autopilot to your car for $12,000. According to Tesla’s website, “Autopilot allows your car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane.”
Remember the big extra cost: the charging station. Buying a Tesla means that you’ll virtually definitely have to install a charging station at home. Costs of installing a home charging station range widely, but you should set a budget of an additional $1,000 or so.
This is arguably the biggest drawback of an electric car. While stopping your car for gas can take no more than a few minutes, charging your Tesla battery fully takes an hour. Even getting a decent charge takes 30 minutes or even more. Although you can’t rely on topping up this car on your way to work, there are numerous other benefits of electric cars.
Visit a Service Center
Beware of clicking purchase yet. A Tesla car is not a cheap household item that you can return easily. Check first if you have any Tesla service centers close to you.
Although Tesla doesn’t operate an ordinary chain of car dealerships, it does own and run service centers across the U.S. These work both as maintenance centers and showrooms where people can see the cars in person, ask questions and take a car out for a test drive. Make sure you take this benefit. You may need to schedule a test drive in advance, since there are relatively few cars present at each showroom.
Tesla offers two options for those who don’t live near a showroom. Firstly, they regularly throw test drive events across the country and around the world. You can look for upcoming events on Tesla’s website. Tesla allows you to return their cars in three days if you haven’t taken them for a test drive. Hence technically you can try the car out for a fortune.
You’re better off doing it the old-fashioned way, though, if you can visit a showroom.
Buy the Car
After all the above steps, it’s time to buy the car. You again have two options depending on where you live. First, showrooms located in New Hampshire, California, Virginia and Colorado can sell you a Tesla directly. In all other states, however, the law either prohibits this or is unclear. Secondly, you can buy at a Tesla store online. You can customize your car through the website’s design studio and buy it right there, including filling out any paperwork for a loan.
The process of buying a Tesla is different than other cars. But you should find it quite straightforward now with the above tips on how to buy a Tesla. You may first want to do your research about the cost, but still, you can test drive before you commit.
So, have you started researching?
