So is this where the founders all get to come in and contemplate, compare, and contrast their expensive luxury toys? And then move on to another thread on HN and wax philosophical about economic inequality?
HN is now (fortunately? unfortunately?) large enough that multiple groups of people with different consumer identities coexist under the same forum. I'd guess that startup founders are a minority by user count.
As a founder of a startup, I don't own a Tesla (nor do I wax philosophical about economic inequality often), but there are plenty of articles and comment threads that I find valuable. It's also healthy to keep abreast of a broad understanding of what people find interesting. It just so happens that Teslas are at an intersection of featureset and price that interests a lot of people here and I find that valuable for HN content.
Also, a model 3 is something like $40k-50k (realistically) which is probably above the range for a ramen profitable founder but certain well within range of most of the middle class to upper-middle class such that I wouldn't consider it an expensive luxury toy.
I took delivery of the Model 3 a couple weeks ago. IMO it’s going to be a phenomenal car even with just the base model (ie no autopilot, no leather, no larger battery.) I suggest test driving when able to see what I’m talking about. The instant torque, the balance and stability of the car. It’s just a fun driving experience. Coupled with the safety of the car and the integrated infotainment/controls in the large screen, there’s no car can compare.
So the base model really is 35k. If you’re in California, you get 2500 tax credit + 7500 federal. That’s 25k + tax. Sure it’s not something everyone can afford but definitely not in the expensive luxury toy range. IMO it’s more in the “deal of a lifetime” category than the “expensive luxury toy” category.
Actually, the Federal tax credit was supposed to disappear in the tax bill, but like magic, when the smoke cleared and the dust settled at the end of the all-Republican final negotiations, it was unchanged. I think you misunderstand the current political climate. It's more likely that the phase-out will disappear.
