Model 3 Vs Elio

runt2 said:

I am really enjoying this sidetracked topic and am amazed at these ideas. But saving money and thinking outside the box are probably very common interests of Elio owners. Elioamazed, you're amazing! Especially your home purchase price and utilities/taxes/maintenance savings. My home cost was 50 times what you paid but I think i would be more happy in your setup.
I cut the cable cord about 10 years ago and just rent a redbox movie a couple of times a month. (just think watching tv is generally a waste of time) We pay $45/month for internet. I used to use tracfone cell service but am just changing to RingPlus which is free (you have to listen to ads while waiting for the person you call to answer the phone). I have always bought salvage title cars (current car is a corolla with 15k miles with purchase price of 7k). We don't waste a dime on interest since we cash flow everything - including house. Thanks for the great ideas!

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Have you tried FreedomPop for cell service? I switched to them from Tracfone. Their cheapest service is Free (500 min voice, 500 texts) and no ads, but sound quality may be poor if you live in a bad service area or have poor internet. They are able to provide free, ad-free service because calls are actually VoiP calls using data and/or internet.
I pay $8.99 for the next package up (500min talk, Unlimited text and 500mb/month data) and I pay for a few extra services besides, so my monthly bill is about $18/month.
Like the Elio, FreedomPop lets you pay for just the services you want, instead of buying the whole package. I wanted voicemail, MMS messaging, and their Premium voice quality upgrade, so I pay a bit more than free, but FREE is totally possible. The only catch is that you need a smartphone (although those are getting cheaper by the day).

If the Skyz package is too expensive or has a costly monthly fee, I will probably just hook up a FreedomPop 3G/4G wifi box to my Elio and use that, since they offer 3GB data plans for as low as $10/month.

And you thought I wasn't watching

Coss said:

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And you thought I wasn't watching

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Sorry!

But I think this topic is basically exhausted.

Well, I could close it if everyone agrees.

Coss said:

Well, I could close it if everyone agrees.

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We could moth ball it and create a general MONEY SAVING IDEAS thread. But I'd hate to close the thread and then have some new information on the Model3 vs Elio require creating another new thread rather than just adding onto this one.

Was in San Jose late last week so I drove over to Freemont and took a look at the Tesla factory where the Model 3 will eventually be built.



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RadRich said:

Ahh... don't try and throw Tesla under the bus. At least they have products on the market. In my area (Sacramento, CA), they are a dime a dozen, especially where I work. The Model S is all over the downtown. However, back on topic. I highly doubt they'll miss any production dates this time, especially since the battery manufacturing plant in Nevada will be producing the batteries, not like what happened with the Model S. Elio...

I should have used that $1k for something else. I actually bought a new Q50 last month since this Elio car probably will never happen. It gets the worst gas mileage I have ever seen. ~12.7 mpg on average. Really bad choice.

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It looks like you're missing half the point of the Elio in buying a gas guzzler. Oil is being squandered for ridiculous luxury barges and society will try to find someone to blame when shale hype dries up.

DwnSth said:

While I get they are two very different vehicles trying to accomplish different things It's amazing the public reaction to each. Tesla misses production date after productions date, over 800 million $ loss JUST last year and it's the company that will 'change the world' How many years has it been since the first Tesla rolled off a line. I still don't see any in my neck of the woods, this is their 3rd maybe 4th vehicle to market and they still can't give a production date. Elio is operating bare bones, has announced production of 100 units this year and has spent far less $'s than Musk has. I think we'll see 2017 production. I'm not anti tesla or anti electric vehicle, but I have a very nice choice of high mileage gas vehicles to choose from for a good bit less. The 200 mile range is a killer for me. My local driving will be in my ELIO, or my wrangler, and my distance driving is in my giant truck that gets 20 mpg. For the average person which is what the Model 3 is aimed at, it certainly won't make sense as a primary vehicle.

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A closer comparison would be to the more mainstream Chevy Bolt, or the cheapest electric cars available. I take it you drive long distances in that truck because it's used for work?

I'd like to see a lot more people interested in the Elio due to awareness of oil's finite nature, not just initial cost or novelty factors. There is still massive denial (esp. in America) that oil is even a finite resource. You see people squandering it all the time with idling, which wastes nearly 400k barrels per day in America alone (source).

JCar said:

It looks like you're missing half the point of the Elio in buying a gas guzzler. Oil is being squandered for ridiculous luxury barges and society will try to find someone to blame when shale hype dries up.

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The first time Oil was almost used up was about 1880. It spurred exploration which resulted in the Spindletop find (Lucas Gusher) very near me in Beaumont a couple of miles from Lamar University where I graduated from. Later a huge field was found in East Texas about 2 miles from My grandmother's Birthplace. Most of WWII was fought from production from that field.

My family was all over the 1937 school explosion which resulted from using unodorized natural gas from that field.

There were fears of running out again in the fifties and the seventies and fears of overseas dependence in the nineties. Then they find more or better production methods like fracking and we have a temporary glut.

It's a cycle which shows no sign of ending.

ALL resources are finite. But they won't run out because the price goes up as the cost to utilize them goes up decreasing the demand. If the price gets high enough, you can produce oil from non fossil methane. It just isn't worth it at current prices.

It's better to just be cheap and let the market work for us.

DwnSth said:

While I get they are two very different vehicles trying to accomplish different things It's amazing the public reaction to each. Tesla misses production date after productions date, over 800 million $ loss JUST last year and it's the company that will 'change the world' How many years has it been since the first Tesla rolled off a line. I still don't see any in my neck of the woods, this is their 3rd maybe 4th vehicle to market and they still can't give a production date. Elio is operating bare bones, has announced production of 100 units this year and has spent far less $'s than Musk has. I think we'll see 2017 production. I'm not anti tesla or anti electric vehicle, but I have a very nice choice of high mileage gas vehicles to choose from for a good bit less. The 200 mile range is a killer for me. My local driving will be in my ELIO, or my wrangler, and my distance driving is in my giant truck that gets 20 mpg. For the average person which is what the Model 3 is aimed at, it certainly won't make sense as a primary vehicle.

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I disagree. My model 3 will be my daily driver. and my Elio will be for long trips.
I am 31, single, & don't need a big vehicle to travel long distances in. If I can travel from ATL to Little Rock on my bike I think I will be more than comfortable in my elio long distances. Just my 2 cents