Comment by rdl | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rdl | Hacker News Reader

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Most of the people who can afford 100k cars (and/or who would be willing to buy 100k cars) live in SF, LA, NY, Boston, DC, etc. now. A better argument is that the total number of cars sold in those markets is like 1-2mm out of the 10mm US market, but even if Tesla just becomes Audi, that's pretty successful.

Another thing about high cost of living in places like that is maybe you're willing to spend 10% as much on a car as on a house. In Palo Alto that means you can buy two new loaded Teslas to go with your 2BR/1BA cottage; in the midwest, one used Toyota to go with a 4BR/3BA house on 5 acres.

(and Elon Musk's counterargument to all of this is that he's working on a 30-50k car next. I'm sure he'll deliver. The segment they're neglecting is the truck/commercial market -- there probably is an opportunity for someone (Textron? they make the new EV UPS/Fedex trucks) to make an awesome commercial EV platform, maybe with a CNG or LNG generator onboard. Whoever replaces with pickup truck and light commercial truck will have a next-Ford sized business, too)

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/02/149703488/oil-scare-turns-fede... is interesting

I'm in NY and I've seen very few Teslas. I'm guessing the three biggest reasons why are the small amount of fueling stations compared to California, the controversial NYT review and just simply trusting what you're used to instead of living off the bleeding edge.

I think the bigger problem is that most people don't own cars in NY since they don't really need them and they're a pain to park unless you're paying for a parking spot. Even then that parking spot may not provide the ability to charge your car.

I suspect that if more people in NYC had garages in their owns we'd be seeing more Teslas.

I've seen far more Ferraris out on the road than Teslas and they cost, at least, twice as much. This is not including vehicles that are similarly priced to even the Tesla Roadster which only increases that ratio.

I'd include Long Island (which do have traditional homes and garages) in this as well where I've never seen one on the road.

I think there are issues that exist beyond what you mentioned.

So you think it's just cultural differences between the West and East Coast? That's possible. I'm in the tech scene in NYC so I may have a lot more in common with the West Coast culture than the one here.

I have spoken with a few of my non-tech friends about Tesla and they're all pretty bearish on it so maybe you're right. What do non-tech people on the West Coast thing about it?

I think girls are more interested in "green" issues in SF than on the east coast, so if you are a rich guy buying a car to help with the mating game, a Tesla might be a better choice out here. It is also a $100k car you can buy to claim to be forward thinking on tech and the environment, rather than just flaunting wealth (which is discouraged here).

New York (City) is, quite simply, a very different market than California. Most people who park on the street want a car they are comfortable taking a lot of damage on (and can't charge the car), and most garages in NYC are very old, very tightly packed (by valets that move the cars around often), and unlikely to have electrical charging stations.

Moreover, many cars are mostly used for weekend road trips, when range is a paramount concern.

> commercial EV platform

Check out Smith Electric:

http://www.smithelectric.com

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