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Yes, You Can Still Get A Tesla Model 3 With The Full Tax Credit & Free Supercharging If You Order Now

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Published on December 22nd, 2018 |

by Paul Fosse

Yes, You Can Still Get A Tesla Model 3 With The Full Tax Credit & Free Supercharging If You Order Now

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December 22nd, 2018 by Paul Fosse

Catherine Elizabeth Riggs (age 2). A Tesla will make you feel like a kid again!

This article will be an update on a bunch of year-end Tesla topics. I’ll cover the latest news on the tax credit, the referral program, availability of inventory cars, the improved financing, the trade-in and delivery process, whether wait for the $35,000 car, and the latest on volunteering at the end of the year at a Tesla Delivery Center.

Tax Credit Update
Tesla put on a blog post yesterday reminding everyone the tax credit is expiring soon.

Full $7,500 Federal EV Tax Credit Expires in Under Two Weeks
The full $7,500 federal tax credit for Tesla customers ends in less than two weeks, and we’re doing everything we can to try to ensure those who order a vehicle today can take delivery by December 31st and take advantage of the savings. To help ensure vehicles are available, we’ve released all our fleet vehicles – like those used for test drives – and vehicles where the original customer can’t take delivery by the end of the year. Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy – and to do that, we need to get as many electric vehicles on the road as quickly as possible, which is why we are working around the clock to meet demand before the end of the year.

In addition to the $7,500 tax credit, a number of states offer other electric vehicle incentives for customers. These, combined with the reduced costs of charging your Tesla versus paying for gasoline and a lower overall cost of ownership, result in significant savings for customers and mean our vehicles are even more affordable than some may realize. For example, after factoring in estimated gas savings and government incentives, the effective price of a new Model 3 mid-range Rear Wheel Drive in California is $31,700. In addition to the federal EV tax credit, here are some other state and local/utility incentives you may not be aware of:

California offers a $2,500 state rebate, and PG&E offers an additional $800 rebate for applications submitted on or after January 1, 2019.

Connecticut customers are eligible for a $2,000 rebate for new Model 3 RWD vehicles, as well as exemption from state emissions testing and a reduced vehicle registration fee.

Massachusetts offers rebates up to $2,500 for new EV purchases.

New York offers rebates up to $2,000.

Colorado offers tax credits up to $5,000.

Pennsylvania offers rebates up to $1,750.

For the list of available state and local incentives and qualifications, visit https://www.tesla.com/support/incentives. To order a car online and take delivery by the end of the year, go to www.tesla.com or visit your nearest Tesla store for more information. You can order knowing that if you purchase a car without taking a test drive, you have three days to return it for a full refund.

The tax credit is set to be cut in half from $7,500 to $3,750 as we described here and here. As I stated at the end of November, it isn’t very likely the tax credit will be extended or eliminated. Congress is fighting over a border wall instead of the EV tax credit.

Year
2017
2018
2019

Quarter
Q1-Q4
Q1-Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4

Tax Credit Amount
$7,500
$7,500
$3,750
$3,750
$1,875
$1,875

Referral Program Extended, Yet Again
On December 17, Tesla extended its referral program, offering 6 months of free Supercharging once again for Tesla buyers using a referral code.

If someone you know has helped you by giving you a ride in their car or educated you about the Tesla or EVs in general, please use their code. If that person is me, here is my code: ts.la/paul92237.

Elon Musk has stated several times that free Supercharging is unsustainable, but Tesla keeps extending the offer. Will it be extended into next year? Your guess is as good as mine!

Tesla Model 3 Inventory is Finally Here!
The bad news is that in most parts of the country, it is too late to custom order a Tesla for 2018 delivery (you may be able to still do it in California). The good news for buyers is that Tesla kept the factories running even when there weren’t orders and pre-shipped cars around the country, to all the regions of the country! I called Tesla dealers in Florida, New York City, St. Louis (Missouri), Chicago (Illinois), Houston (Texas), and San Jose (California), and they all had a good selection of colors in Mid Range, All Wheel Drive, and Performance Model 3s. If you want a demo model, those are mostly Performance Model 3s as well as 100D and P100D Model Ss and Model Xs.

The Performance Model 3s get about $1,000 to $2,000 off the price of the car, the Model Ss and Model Xs have a little bigger discount.

When I configured my Model 3 in the late spring, the paperwork/trade-in process was a mess. It took me over a week to get trade-in value (I recommend going to CarMax for a 1 hour appraisal — in my case, I got an extra $400 and Tesla matched the offer) and financing was so slow, so I just got my own. In talking to Tesla now, they can do both the trade-in and the financing in less than a day.

The process is:

1. You order the car you want (either from the website by designing what you want or by calling the store and asking them to send you links to specific inventory models).

2. If you put down a $2,500 deposit, then you take pictures of your trade-in and fill out the credit app.

3. The next day, you test drive the car if you want (or just take it and you have 1 day to return if you have test driven a Model 3 before or 3 days if you haven’t test driven one) and you pick up the car in a few minutes.

They will value the trade-in and arrange your financing for you before you go in. What took weeks for me, they have down to less than a day!

Note: I can’t verify this, but I’ve heard rumors that if you order a low-end car (Mid Range, Black exterior, Black Interior, 18″ wheels) and they don’t have that particular combination, you may get a small upgrade (color or wheels) for free.

They send you a link and this one-page form reserves the car. This is a car that is available on December 21 in St. Louis that an Owner Advisor sent me. Once you have paid the deposit, you have the car reserved and you can schedule delivery in the next day.

Buy Now or Save a Buck a Day Waiting for the Standard Range Model 3?
The Mid Range Model 3s going for under $50,000 will sell out first and there won’t be time to receive more before the end of the year in most parts of the country. So, if you are still waiting for the $35,000 car, read this article for the details about why you won’t save much to wait (it all depends on when the $35,000 car is delivered).

The news that the AWD and performance cars are selling well around the world suggests Tesla might delay the $35,000 car a bit more.

Volunteering at the Delivery Centers
I also asked at several delivery centers if they have a program for volunteers to help with orientation of the vehicles for new customers. They took my name and number and email and will contact me if they need assistance.

Some Tesla Clubs are trying to organize this, but our club in Florida has not gotten a response from Tesla on where and when to help. It’s possible they are going to just use the new 5 minute delivery method and not do extra training this quarter.

In looking at the Tesla Motors Club forum, it confirms the delivery centers are not asking for assistance this quarter.

I do think the cars are so much different than anything else that people do need a 30 minute overview. If you have heard anything about volunteering this quarter end, let me know in the comments below.

Conclusion
This may or may not be the last offer of free Supercharging, but I’m pretty sure that after I cried wolf several times claiming this is your last chance to order a Tesla and get the $7,500 tax credit, this time really is your last chance.

In talking to several owner advisors, the Model 3s under $50,000 are going to go first. If you want one of those, order it as soon as possible. If you want an AWD or Performance model, you can probably wait till next week (maybe). Tesla Sales is closed on Sunday in most locations, closes early on Christmas Eve, and is also closed on Christmas.

Now that it only takes a day to do the paperwork and financing (maybe more if you are in a state that doesn’t allow Tesla to sell cars in your state), if you want to get the full tax credit, I’d order one now, and if you don’t like it, take Elon up on his offer that you can return it in 3 days if you haven’t had a test drive (or in one day if you have test driven one).

You can use my Tesla referral link to get 6 months free Supercharging on a Model S, Model X, or Model 3. Here’s the code: https://ts.la/paul92237

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About the Author

Paul Fosse I've been a software engineer for over 30 years, first working on EDI software and more recently developing data warehouse systems in the telecommunications and healthcare industry. Along the way, I've also had the chance to help start a software consulting firm and do portfolio management for several investment trusts. In 2010, I took an interest in electric cars because gas was getting expensive. In 2015, I started reading CleanTechnica and took an interest in solar, mainly because it was a threat to my oil and gas investments in my investment trusts. Tesla investor. Tesla referral code: https://ts.la/paul92237

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Rivian R1T pickup, R1S SUV ready for future 800V upgrade—possibly in 2022

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Rivian R1T electric pickup concept
The Michigan-based electric-vehicle hopeful Rivian claims that its upcoming R1T pickup and R1S sport-utility vehicle, both revealed last month around the LA Auto Show, will be able to recharge up to 200 miles of range in just 30 minutes—provided they’re connected to a DC fast charger capable of delivering 160 kw.

In the not-too-distant future, Rivian’s trucks may be revamped to effectively halve that charging time, when connected to the right charging hardware.

The claim brings to mind the Porsche Taycan (Mission E) and the closely related Audi e-tron GT. They’re two of the only other vehicles, as of yet, confirmed as having 800-volt architecture throughout.

DON’T MISS: Rivian R1S electric SUV goes family style with 7 seats, 410-mile range

While Rivian’s trucks are built around 400-volt components, they might be the first electric vehicles that have actually been designed from the start for an upgrade to 800 volts.

“To get to the 300-kw [charging] level that everyone wants to be at—of course us included—voltage levels have to go up to get the current levels down,” said Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe to Green Car Reports, in a long and far-reaching interview last month at the LA Auto Show. “So we’ve architected everything in the system to see higher voltages at the right time and therefore go to much higher levels of charging…but that won’t be at day one.”

Rivian R1T electric pickup concept

The leap to double the voltage can be accomplished, Scaringe outlined, by doubling the S count [the number of cells connected in series] and halving the P count [the number of cells connected in parallel]. “So we go from a peak of 450 volts to 900,” he said.

Rivian already has that double-voltage, peak 900-volt (nominal about 800V) battery pack in development, and it’s actually designed all the connectors and bus bars for production.

CHECK OUT: Electric upstart Rivian plans for dealers, but not to sell trucks

Rivian’s battery pack will have predictive modeling to pre-condition the pack (warm it or cool it) ahead of anticipated DC fast charging. According to a recent report by Teslarati, the battery is structured around modules that each contain 15 kilowatt-hours and 864 cells, in two layers, with denser packaging than in other electric models. The cells themselves are cylindrical 2170 cells—the same format as is used in the Tesla Model 3, but Rivian is anticipated to source them from LG Chem.

The cooling approach is different than what anyone else is using. Rivian’s two levels are separated by a 0.3-inch aluminum plate, with coolant running through it, part of a single cooling system. Most other packs contain the metal plate underneath—doubling as a heat sink and protection—but Rivian is instead opting for a carbon-fiber ballistic shield for the bottom of the pack.

Rivian R1T, R1S chassis

It’ll be some time before the battery pack goes to 800-volts, however, Scaringe underscores. “The reason for that is the supply base of all the high-voltage ‘stuff’ in the vehicle, the electric compressor, DC-DC converter, is all built up around a sub-450 world,” he said. “As the world builds out 800-volt capability, everything’s architected so very quickly we can switch over to 800 volts.”

Stepping up the voltage isn’t a matter of just swapping in a few components here or there. Relatively simple changes that need to be accommodated, such as the placement of connectors and the spacing of leads, need to be planned from the start.

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Future Tesla Autopilot chips may come from Samsung self-driving push

2017 Tesla Model S testing at Consumer Reports
The race to build self-driving cars is heating up, with Google (Waymo), Tesla, Uber, Lyft, Ford, GM (Cruise), and others all vying to build the first reliable self-driving system.

Now add Korean electronics giant Samsung to that list—with a twist. Its first client could be one of the major competitors in the business, Tesla.

Tesla once had a partner in developing self-driving software, Israel's Mobileye, when it first launched its Autopilot system to great fanfare in 2014.

DON'T MISS: Teslas to get new self-driving, Autopilot chip in spring 2019

After a widely reported fatal accident in Florida tied to the company's original Version 1 Autopilot system, which used the Mobileye hardware, Tesla has been on its own to develop the next-generation Autopilot 2 hardware.

In October, the company introduced new software that enabled full on-ramp to off-ramp self-driving in the system it calls Navigate on Autopilot, on existing Autopilot chips. CEO Elon Musk has since tweeted that with the upcoming faster chips, the system will be able to handle commuting from home to work without human intervention.

Industry sources told the Investors Business Times that Samsung has been on a hiring spree for electronics engineers with automotive experience.

CHECK OUT: Consumer Reports tests Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot

Musk announced in October that the company would roll out new, faster chips in the spring that will enable the company's long-promised Full Self-Driving Mode features, which many customers have pre-paid for. He tweeted that the new chip will be 50 to 200 times faster than the current hardware.

IBT sources say that Samsung has already begun assembling the chips expected to be rolled out to the Model 3 in March.

Central to Musk's plan to have Navigate on Autopilot work in more situations and on surface streets is having more drivers use the system and feed driving data back to Tesla's artificial intelligence servers. If a new chip is also on horizon, however, more data may not be enough.

READ MORE: Tesla drivers log 1 billion miles on Autopilot

Samsung has denied the rumors that it is forming a new self-driving car division.

The insiders noted that Samsung's practice is to line up a leading customer before launching new business lines.

With the Consumer Electronics Show on the horizon in Las Vegas early next month, it wouldn't be surprising to see the electronics giant introduce such a system there.

Green Car Reports reached out to Tesla for comment on this story, but had not heard back before publication.

Canada Man Drives On Sunshine With Solar & His Tesla Model 3

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Published on December 13th, 2018 |

by Kyle Field

Canada Man Drives On Sunshine With Solar & His Tesla Model 3

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December 13th, 2018 by Kyle Field

A man from Oliver in Canada is living the future today, powering his new Tesla Model 3 with a rooftop solar installation on his home.

Russell Work spoke to the folks at his local paper, the Oliver Chronicle, about his new Tesla Model 3 and how he has installed a Tesla solar system to power it. Russell made the switch to live a more sustainable life, powered by renewables. When he was finally ready to pull the trigger on his purchase, he opted for a cherry red All-Wheel Drive Tesla Model 3 Performance.

Not his Model 3. Not Canada.

“I told him it’s like pouring sunshine straight into his car,” installer Dave Malmberg of Argon Electrical & Solar Services said. “We’re going to see an increase in the very near future for these types of installations to power our cars. We’re just at the beginning (tip of the iceberg) of the EV and solar markets here in B.C. and Canada.”

Russell said that he believes Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk is a visionary who has assembled a crack team of engineers that built the Model 3 as the ideal electric vehicle, from the ground up. “What was interesting is he did not hire automotive engineers; he basically gave them a blank piece of paper and said, ‘Design me the best electric car that you can,’” Work said.

What’s great is that Work did not purchase his Model 3 Performance to save money, but to reduce his carbon footprint as a way to take action against catastrophic climate change — the top reason many people go electric. That sentiment carries through into his house as well. “We’ve made every effort possible in this house to reduce our energy footprint,” Work said.

He is clearly excited about his conversion to sustainable energy and transportation and it’s not just because it’s fun to drive. “So far we have saved the equivalent of 4,000 kilograms of CO2, and that is equivalent to 14 trees having been planted.”

The 29.3 kW solar installation on his roof was not cheap, at $23,000, but supplies enough power for his home and his electric car. At that rate, he expects that the system will take about 11 years to pay off completely, at which point the power it produces will effectively be free.

It is easy to read articles here on CleanTechnica and to forget that most of the solutions we cover can be purchased and used most places in the world today. You can order a Tesla vehicle and a Tesla solar system with energy storage today and be living a more renewably-powered life. Granted, a bike is cheaper and healthier, so if that works best for your lifestyle, jump on and get moving.

Change is coming, but it will come faster if we all do our part sooner rather than later.

If you enjoy the content here on CleanTechnica and are looking to purchase a new Tesla, feel free to use my referral link (here).

Related: Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams — New CleanTechnica Report

About the Author

Kyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor. Tesla referral code: http://ts.la/kyle623

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Tesla-rival Lucid Motors hiring is up 300% since Saudi investment – Thinknum Media

Last fall, California-based electric vehicle startup Lucid Motors ($LUCIDMOTORS) picked up a massive billion-dollar investment from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. We reported on the deal last month, nothing that Lucid had embarked on a massive hiring spree. At the time, Lucid had already doubled the number of openings at the company. As of… Continue reading Tesla-rival Lucid Motors hiring is up 300% since Saudi investment – Thinknum Media

‘Waymo’s not on our radar’ – Henrik Fisker on the future of premium shared mobility – Automotive World

At the tap of a button, your ride from the coffee shop to the airport has been confirmed – a ticker on the smartphone displays an approximate arrival time, and a pin highlights the exact pickup location. With little more than a whirr from its electric motors, a shuttle soon glides to the side of… Continue reading ‘Waymo’s not on our radar’ – Henrik Fisker on the future of premium shared mobility – Automotive World

An inside look at Rivian’s EV ambitions from AI batteries to electric jet skis

For a CEO who insists his electric vehicle startup doesn’t want to be Tesla, Rivian founder RJ Scaringe can sound a lot like Elon Musk. Just weeks before unveiling Rivian’s first vehicles — an all-electric pickup and a seven-seater SUV — at the LA Auto Show last month, Scaringe promised an impressive new battery technology… Continue reading An inside look at Rivian’s EV ambitions from AI batteries to electric jet skis

Unifor, UAW turn up the heat on GM

Unifor, UAW turn up the heat on GMThe unions representing U.S. and Canadian auto workers are intensifying their public campaign to keep open five General Motors Co. plants in North America.
As Canadian trade union Unifor argued its case Thursday at GM's Renaissance Center headquarters to keep open the automaker’s Oshawa Assembly Plant in Ontario, the United Auto Workers organized a vigil at the endangered Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant.
Unifor National President Jerry Dias said in a press conference in Windsor following his meeting with GM that the conversation was “frustrating,” but says GM did not “unilaterally shut the door.” Dias said the automaker has promised to consider Unifor's concerns and come back with any decisions by Jan. 7.
Unifor's summit with GM leaders comes as the union used four-page ads in Detroit newspapers to chastise the automaker for manufacturing in Mexico at the same time it readies to idle one plant in Canada and four plants plants in the U.S. next year. Unifor amped up efforts to keep Oshawa Assembly running last week with the launch of a social media campaign dubbed #SaveOshawaGM.
Dias held up the front-page wraparound ad during a press conference after his meeting with GM and said it was a message for the automaker and for workers in the U.S.
“The problem isn’t with the American auto worker,” Dias said. “We are standing here with American auto workers that are going to be impacted, and we are here to stand hand in hand with our sisters and brothers who work for GM in the U.S.”
Meantime, the UAW organized a vigil at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, which will wind down production entirely by June 1, affecting some 1,350 union-represented workers at the plant. Workers at Detroit-Hamtramck build the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Chevrolet Impala and plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, all of which will permanently cease production next year.
Workers at Oshawa build the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac XTS, which will be discontinued when production of those vehicles stops at the end of 2019. GM has not yet allocated new product to the plant, which is also winding down production of previous-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.
Unifor has asked GM to consider continuing production of the older trucks while it looks for a longer-term option.
“The GM restructuring decisions are extremely difficult for Oshawa, but we believe the best approach is to work together to support our employees including support for local training and transition initiatives in the Durham Region,” GM said in an emailed statement following the Thursday meeting with Unifor. “We remain committed to Canada and will continue to engage in dialogue with Unifor.”
Oshawa and Detroit-Hamtramck are among the five plants in the U.S. and Canada GM said it would idle next year as part of a sweeping restructuring of its manufacturing operations and workforce. GM will also cut some 8,000 white-collar jobs by leveraging about 6,000 layoffs. The other U.S. plants include Warren Transmission, Baltimore Operations in Maryland and the Lordstown Complex in northeast Ohio.
Lordstown, which builds the soon-to-be-discontinued Chevrolet Cruze, has become the object of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's desire after he told Lesley Stahl of CBS's “60 Minutes” that he may be interested in using Lordstown as his electric car company looks to grow.
GM's Lordstown plant is not currently for sale. Union representation at the facility poses a problem for Musk, who has fended off UAW-organizing efforts at Tesla's only assembly plant in Fremont, Calif. But Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a report Thursday that he sees a potential for Tesla in Lordstown.
“We merely ask investors to play out a scenario where Elon Musk potentially makes an offer to save the Lordstown plant (saving thousands of jobs in the Lordstown/Youngstown region) that is slated to be shut down over a dispute about EV incentives and labor union negotiations,” Jonas wrote. “In our opinion, given the parties involved in this story … we think there is a distinct possibility that the event path could evolve into something with greater significance for the stocks involved.”
The Detroit automaker said last week it would be able to offer new positions to roughly 2,700 of the 2,800 active U.S. hourly employees affected by the plant idlings. For Canadian workers, GM says it is working with dealers, local colleges and other employers to train and help secure jobs for impacted workers.
“The simple reality is we need to find a solution,” Dias said. Unifor's “campaign will escalate, it will not die down.”
nnaughton@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @NoraNaughton
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Musk, GM weigh fate of Ohio plant Trump wants saved

DETROIT (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk raised hopes again on Thursday that he could ride to the rescue of a threatened General Motors Co (GM.N) car plant at the center of a political storm about auto jobs, and GM replied, saying the Ohio factory’s fate depends on union talks next year.… Continue reading Musk, GM weigh fate of Ohio plant Trump wants saved

Fate of Ohio car plant to be settled with union next year: GM

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co said on Thursday the fate of its Lordstown, Ohio, car assembly plant, which Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk has suggested he might buy, is a matter to be settled with the plant’s union next year. FILE PHOTO: A view of the entrance to the West Plant at the… Continue reading Fate of Ohio car plant to be settled with union next year: GM