Going Electric: From 2008 to 2020 (Premium)

Sometime around 2017 or so, when the Tesla Model 3 was starting to show up on the streets, there was something about the idea of going electric that I found intriguing. But more than going electric, it was about the software and the idea that a car doesn’t have to be a static piece of equipment but something that can evolve with updates.

But at that time, I did not need a new car, my 2008 Pathfinder was in great shape in there was no logical justification to try and buy something that I wanted but didn’t need. Fast forward to after writing a book, saving diligently for nearly 3 years, and having a transmission that was about to fail, the timing was right…and then a pandemic.

Hitting the pause button on life in the late winter months, we sold the Pathfinder in early summer and were a ‘1 car house-hold’ for several months. And when the time for school to return got closer, it became apparent that having a second vehicle was approaching the time of being a necessity, not simply a ‘want’. For clarity, my wife works full time and even though her time in the office has been reduced significantly, she does leave the house frequently during the week - this makes coordinating pick up significantly more challenging.

We looked at quite a few different options like the Volvo XC90, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Ford Explorer, and a few others along the way but settled on the Model Y after the price was cut earlier this year.

Before jumping on the Tesla-bandwagon that is weirdly cult-ish, I did my diligence on trying to understand the tradeoffs and the benefits of going electric. What it boils down to is the ease of use and efficiency – for us.

The primary benefits are that each morning we have a full battery thanks to a charger we had installed in our garage, significantly lower cost of ownership (electric is cheaper than gas, no oil changes, spark plugs, etc), safety was a big factor but others shine here too besides Tesla and the simple fact that we liked the vehicle more than others.

And I say ‘we’ because my wife and I decided on this car together and candidly, I think she pushed us more towards the Y/Tesla than I did. I always wanted one, but it wasn’t until my wife sat in a 3 and drove that car that we both realized how much we liked the experience.

On September 1st, we placed an order for the Model Y: AWD model in white – effectively the least expensive version you can buy today but there is an RWD option coming soon that will lower the price further. We skipped all of the options when buying the car as I could not justify the additional expenses.

For starters, one option is a white interior, while it looks fantastic, I don’t trust myself or my daughter to not spill something on it. Those who have it say it’s easy to clean and I am sure it is but we went with black as white is an additional $1000.

The other options include larger wheels that are black that I know would scratch and larger rim...