Will Electric Cars Still Be Overpriced and Undesirable in 12 Years? Will Electric Cars Still Be Overpriced and Undesirable in 12 Years?

Absolutely not, because some of them are neither overpriced nor undesirable right now.

Last December, I bought this supposedly “overpriced” and “undesirable” electric car…

Here’s What I Paid

Hold on a minute, you say! $50K for a car is crazy! Don’t worry, I completely agree with you!

Here’s What I Got in Return

I bought this Model Y fully aware of the following:

I received a $7,500 federal tax credit when I did my taxes this year – yes, I got it!
I also received a $5,000 Colorado tax credit when I did my taxes this year – same deal!
(And as it turns out, had I waited a week to buy my Model Y in 2024, the $7,500 would’ve been taken right off the price at purchase, rather than having to file my taxes to get that credit.)

So, my net price was $36,970, which, by the way, is quite a bit less than the average car sold in the USA. That’s still high, comparable to the $38K I once paid for a top-of-the-line RAV4 Hybrid, but still more than many people pay for cars. (And there are indeed cheaper EVs, but we’ll get to that…)

Is the Model Y “Overpriced”?

For $37K, I bought a car that:

Is the best I’ve ever owned (subjective, I know, but bear with me)
Has 76 cubic feet of cargo space
I can sleep in with the rear seats folded down and keep the interior at my preferred temperature using “camp mode”
Allows me to leave my dog inside, no matter the weather, using “dog mode,” which keeps the interior at 70º or any preferred temp
Goes from 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds – you might not care about acceleration, but a car that can accelerate like that can 1) help you merge onto the highway quicker and safer, and 2) power up hills rather than struggle in the slow lane with 18-wheelers
Includes Forward Collision Warning, Active Emergency Braking, and Lane Departure Avoidance as standard features
Has reclining rear seats (!)
Requires no keys or fobs but is controlled by my phone
Allows me to heat or cool the car from the comfort of my home or anywhere else
Can be unlocked remotely, even from the other side of the globe – handy if you forget you borrowed something from a friend and they show up to collect it while you’re elsewhere (“I’ll unlock the car for you, just let me know when you’ve got it, and I’ll re-lock the car”)
Automatically puts the car in “Park” when I open the driver’s door (it’s so quiet that I forgot to put it in Park probably 20% of the time)
Can be controlled with my voice
“Set the temp to 68”
“Turn on the windshield wipers”
“Play Darklands by The Jesus and Mary Chain”
Records any activity around the car
A friend sent me a video of someone putting a $1,000 ding in his driver door – he gave that to the police, who ticketed the driver and informed his insurance company
There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing people causing more damage to Teslas and getting caught red-handed
Lets me send any address from my phone to the car for later navigation
Has seat heaters – even in the back seats
Can charge anywhere in Tesla’s Supercharger network (I’ve already driven mine from Colorado to California once, and I’m going to do it again later this month)
Has blind spot cameras that turn on when you signal a turn (this view is after having turned, just before the Tesla automatically turned off the turn signal)
Has a panoramic glass roof

And of course, there’s MUCH more. Is it overpriced? NO WAY.

Is It Undesirable?

For the reasons I’ve outlined above, I’d argue it’s NOT undesirable. And I don’t seem to be the only one who thinks so – in 2023, Tesla sold 1.23 MILLION Model Ys.

Can You Pay Less for an Electric Car?

Yes, you could buy a Nissan Leaf for a lot less…

It’s not my choice, but I’ve driven one and it’s a decent car. I would much rather drive a Leaf than a comparably priced gas car.

Looking to the Future

I admit that there aren’t many lower-cost options now, but that will certainly change in the next 12 years. Battery prices are dropping, and we will see basic EV models competing with the lower-end ICE cars that currently exist.

Will they be great? No, but I’d argue that the cheapest car currently available in the USA – the Mitsubishi Mirage – is not a great car. I’ve never driven it, I’ve never even seen it, but there is no way it could be a great car.

Tax Credits Are a Major Factor

Finally, I’m sure people will say that without the tax credits, the Model Y is, in fact, overpriced. I would argue that point. Yes, I myself would not have bought it at $50K.

But that doesn’t mean I think it’s overpriced. I suspect it stacks up quite well against other $50K cars, so it’s not overpriced.

Not being able to afford something doesn’t mean it’s overpriced.

But battery technology continues to advance, and battery prices continue to drop, so I’m confident that EVs will become more affordable, just like any technology becomes more affordable over time. Did you buy a flat screen TV when they first came out? I sure didn’t.

Conclusion

In conclusion, no, electric cars will not be overpriced and undesirable in 12 years. They are already making a significant impact, and this is just the beginning.