Disclaimer: I do own Tesla stock, I have a CyberTruck on order. The following post is my opinion, it is not a recommendation or investment advice. I have been following Tesla for a long time and my opinion will reflect that. If you are going to purchase an electric vehicle, do your homework.
As a beekeeper, I have been trying to be more conscious to our environment. My wife and I put in a big solar array to lower our carbon footprint. Our interest in doing our part to make this world a better place started there. Now we are looking for an electric vehicle to keep on a green track.
Tesla is my choice for an electric vehicle. Tesla has been in the EV business since 2003. Elon Musk has been on a crusade to bring the world into a more sustainable energy future. I will have to say, Musk forced the hand of automobile manufacturers. All of a sudden there is a mad dash to bring EV's to market. With new battery tech and new manufacturing techniques, Tesla will soon be able to price their EV's cheaper than gas cars.
Tesla is years ahead of the competition in battery tech, full self driving, and manufacturing tech. Tesla is the only EV maker that does over the air software updates. Ford wants $150.00 from me to update my maps in my truck, something Tesla does for free. Most Tesla owners have said that their cars are completely different than when they first purchased it, because of the software updates. Volkswagen which is releasing new EV's, is trying to launch Mission T which is to try to catch Tesla by 2024. Even VW is admitting that they are four years behind Tesla right now. VW is one of the biggest automakers in the world. Tesla's stock has benefited from their industry lead, One stock analyst has Tesla at a share price of $2500.00 a share within three years.
I do believe that the Long Range Model Y with the new 4680 high nickel battery cells will be the best EV in the world. The new battery pack and the aluminum cast front and rear structure will be a better vehicle when compared to the competition. The availability of that EV may start sometime in late summer 2021. I have heard that the new battery will have a fifteen year lifespan and is well over a million mile battery. Tesla has not openly stated this, so they would not fall victim to the Osbourne effect.
The CyberTruck I ordered is supposed to have a 240 volt plug in. In the future, homeowners may be able to plug their CyberTruck and power their home during a power outage. With a 100 kilowatt battery in the CyberTruck, a home could be powered for a couple days, maybe longer with some conservation. If the power outage lasts a while, the truck could be recharged at a supercharger that is not suffering from an outage.
Tesla is more than a car company.
Tesla is:
- A software company, their full self driving, FSD (now a $10,000.00 option) will bring about Robotaxi's. If 500,000 customers buy the FSD option, that is 5 billion dollars for Tesla. Every year this will grow. Imagine calling for a taxi and a car without a driver shows up and takes you to your destination. This may make Tesla trillions. Your own Tesla vehicle could be used as a Robotaxi and could make the owner thousands of dollars a year. This may put Uber and Lyft out of business.
- Insurance Company, Tesla will soon offer insurance to all it's Tesla owners. Tesla has data on its entire fleet of EV's. This data will give them the ability to offer insurance at a cheaper rate. Now available in California. This insurance business may really impact insurance companies as more Tesla's get on the road.
- Power Company, Tesla is making micro grids. Micro grids can help make the electric grid more efficient. The Megapack has been installed in Australia and has saved the consumers millions of dollars in a very short time. Elon Musk feels that the energy business will be bigger than the EV business. Having a grid sized storage system will make the electric grid much more efficient and save on energy, especially during peak demands.
- Solar company, the Tesla solar roof with a powerwall battery storage will give many homeowners an opportunity to be much more electrical independent. Having more and more solar homes contributing to the grid, will be able to lessen our demand on coal. The extra solar power generated during the day could be stored in a Tesla grid sized Megapack.
- A semi company, Tesla semi is still in the works with production coming in the near future. With full self driving the Tesla semi could disrupt the railroad industry. Imagine a truck leaving California driving to Minnesota without a driver. Sounds scary, can that be pulled off? Maybe driver occupied during inclement weather.
- Tesla has the best supercharging network. While not widespread in Minnesota at the moment, there are several superchargers in the metro area. Mostly located next to interstates for when traveling. While you are driving down the road, your Tesla EV can tell you where the superchargers are at and can even can tell you how many charging spots are open at the moment.
