Matthew Donegan-Ryan Profile picture
Cybertruck news breaker and 13X Tesla 🚗 owner | Event tech M&A advisor | new venture: @fajansa

Mar 21, 2023, 14 tweets

THREAD: A TESLA MODEL 3 IS RIDICULOUSLY CHEAPER THAN A PRIUS🧵.

Not just cheaper total cost of ownership after fuel and maintenance costs.

Not just cheaper with the Federal tax credit.

But an equivalently optioned Toyota Prius costs more out the door (OTD) in 15 major markets… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

@MDouhne @TeslaBoomerMama @herbertong @farzyness @DillonLoomis22 @WholeMarsBlog @SawyerMerritt @4Kpodcast @live_munro 2 weeks ago some friends of mine were about to have a baby and wanted a new, safe, and fuel-efficient car. They looked at a Model 3 and a new Prius.

I gave them some advice and a day later they send me a pic of their new Model 3.

@MDouhne @TeslaBoomerMama @herbertong @farzyness @DillonLoomis22 @WholeMarsBlog @SawyerMerritt @4Kpodcast @live_munro I asked why they chose the @Tesla Model 3 and they gave me the usual benefits (safety, EV, operating system, low maintenance, acceleration, comfort, storage, etc).

But then hit me with the big one: it was over $10 GRAND CHEAPER THAN A NEW PRIUS IN SEATTLE!

I asked how that was possible as the Prius supposedly starts around $28k and they said by the time you add equivalent options that are standard with all Teslas, you get up to the Limited trims. Then there’s huge dealer markups.

I decided to compare the price of a Model 3 to a Prius in 15 major metros. I'll share the results in the remainder of the thread or you can watch my 12-minute video with commentary here:

I asked my Tesla sales rep for the Out the Door (OTD) cost of a Model 3 in 15 major markets. This means MSRP + Delivery + Order Fee ($44,630) and local City and State tax and registration fees.

He provided the breakdown below less than an hour later. On average, you can buy a… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Some States offer additional EV incentives to most buyers (like New Jersey's $4,000 rebate).

Other States like California have income and household restrictions on their massive State subsidies that can bring the price of a Model 3 down to $24,398 OUT tesla.com/support/incent…twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

To determine the price of a Limited Prius in each metro area, I used Toyota's convenient online reservation tool: Smartpath. This provided the OTD price and allowed for a reservation payment.

Unfortunately, many dealers opted out of using it and I had to contact some dealers… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Every dealer I found, except for one outside Boston, had huge DEALER MARKUPS AS HIGH AS $13,568!

The average dealer markup was $5,955.

Some of these markups included unwanted, unneeded, expensive dealer accessories.

Many of these cars were not yet on dealer lots and every… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Here's a breakdown of how much cheaper a #teslamodel3 is in each metro area:

BOTTOM LINE: a Tesla Model 3 is cheaper by an average of $404 WITHOUT ANY FEDERAL OR STATE TAX INCENTIVES.

The Model 3 is cheaper by $7,904 with the Federal Tax Credit (max joint income $300k, max head of household filer $225k, all others max income $150k).

And if you qualify… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

If you found this thread useful, please follow, subscribe on YouTube, and RT the first post in this thread:


I'll answer all the questions I can in the comments below and on YouTube

For more thread goodness, check out all the Cybertruck secrets I revealed after Tesla Investor Day:

📸 credit thanks to @MDouhne!

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