Matthew DeBord/BI
- I recently bought a new car, but it wasn’t a Tesla Model 3.
- The Tesla Model 3 has wildly impressed me in the multiple times I’ve driven and tested it. But while I seriously considered buying one, I ultimately chose something closer to my old Toyota Prius.
- I haven’t ruled out future Tesla ownership, of course. There’s a pretty good chance I’ll own one on the next decade.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
For various reasons, I had to buy a car recently. The details aren’t terribly important, but I ended up with a certified pre-owned Toyota RAV4 hybrid.
Of course, the vehicle that’s most influenced my thinking about cars in the past year or so has easily been the Tesla Model 3. I seriously considered ordering one, and for the record, I fully expect to own some sort of Tesla vehicle in the next 10 years.
I didn’t go for it this time around, however. And I had my reasons!
Here they are:
1. The Model 3 is a bit too new in the market. I’m no early adopter. I prefer to wait until something new has taken a few spins around the block. The Model 3 is sufficiently different from the Model S and Model X that I’d rather wait a few years while the kinks are ironed out.
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
2. I don’t have a charger at my house (yet). We don’t test enough electric and plug-in vehicles at Business Insider to justify a Level 2 home charger, so I usually just charge off a wall outlet and run the cable into my front yard.
Matthew DeBord/Business Insider
Tesla can set you up with home charging, but it is an additional initial expense. And were I to go for it, I’d be limited to charging only my Tesla, as the company’s chargers aren’t compatible with other EVs.
3. The Model 3 is still more expensive than what I like in a car.
Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
I’ve sampled several different versions of the Model 3, and while the current Standard Range Plus, rear-wheel-drive (single motor) trim level is priced under $40,000, I prefer to spend around $25,000 (or less) for my family’s basic transportation needs.
Some of this is because of my job. I test at least one new car each week, so we don’t require anything too fancy for getting around. Our "second car" can be fairly basic. We chose the RAV4 because I already had a relationship with a local dealer and because we figured a hybrid crossover with all-wheel-drive would would be a little bit better for us than the Prius we had been driving.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth increased by over $1 billion after Facebook’s FTC fine — see the houses, cars, and travels where he spends his billions
- The 12 books Elon Musk says shaped his worldview and led him to business and personal success
- Tesla’s go-private debacle was a year ago — but there are still good reasons for the company to leave the stock market
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Matthew DeBord)