Is this car for you or one of the kids ?

Neither (my kid is only 8 btw). Just was curious to check out the Model 3 and it was a nice excuse to not accompany my wife to Crate and Barrel. :)

JST's comment got me thinking about what else you can get for that price..so that's why i listed out those other cars. I do agree with JST that it seems like the overall best daily driver type car in that price range unless i'm not thinking of something else. Personally, i can't get past the Elon connection so its a non starter for me.

My ex, who’s had multiple BMWs and a Porsche, just bought the M3 Performance. (She had a Y previously and did not like its handling.) After getting over the lesser fit and finish versus the Germans, she is quite happy with it. She is committed to EVs at this point and is not ready to make the leap to Taycan, etc. But a Porsche EV is what she really wants next.

Her car and my 4 GC were comparable in price. There is no comparison in build quality (mine being far superior), but they are apples and oranges. And her car is still probably the best value in a performance EV.

She feels similarly about, Elon, BTW. He really is toxic for the company at this point.

Never too early to start planning. :)

Yup- once you get to the 70k+ price range I dont think I'd be happy with any Tesla. I keep circling around various options in that price range and can't quite settle on something. I'd also like a Taycan at some point, but just can't stomach spending what they're asking for it. Objectively, BMW probably makes the best cars in the 70kish range; that'll get you multiple options w/ the b58 or a pretty nice i4.

One thing that Model 3 test drive re-affirmed for me is that with EVs there's not a lot of reasons to get the more powerful version all else being equal. Even the base Model 3 felt more than powerful enough for a daily driver; and its not like w/ gas cars where more power also goes along with higher cylinder count (and therefore better sound and refinement). I think i had the same thought after driving a base Taycan but its been a while.

I was kind of thinking the opposite, Rob. It seems totally worth it to get the more powerful version (price-dependent, I suppose) because unlike a gas/diesel vehicle there's basically zero efficiency penalty for buying the more powerful electric model.

I am seeing that price when I build it for my zip too. Did he lower the price? I thought it was a lot more expensive nowadays or is that jus the SUV version?

The one caution I would note is making sure that you’re eligible for the tax credits which Tesla may be building into that price. I think the most recent credits have an income based sunset.

yes I was wondering that, thanks for pointing out

I could see that perspective as well. Personally, having a quicker EV doesn't really do much for me. Even the relatively "slow" ones have more than enough acceleration for public roads and feel torquey and responsive. I kinda feel like you'd quickly just get used to whatever amount of power there is and the thrill would quickly fade. I guess I feel similarly about ICE engined cars below a certain threshold of acceleration; but there's way more variation in how the power gets delivered that often correlates with a larger more powerful engine (and better transmissions too).