The Tesla Model S is the most important electric vehicle of the last 20 years, but it rarely makes headlines anymore, even though it was the world’s best-selling electric vehicle for a couple of years, dethroning the much more affordable Nissan Leaf. It was quite an expensive car, and higher trim level models easily exceeded $100,000 when new, which is why it’s surprising to see how cheap you can get one these days.
Granted, the Model S P90D that YouTuber Samcrac found sitting in an auction lot was listed as “dead” and with “no access.” He bought it for $10,100, which is way lower than the average price for one of these cars.
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An older used Model S is still a great EV, especially for the money
You don't have to go out and buy the latest Tesla to understand why this company changed the automotive industry; just get a used Model S and it may surprise you how good it still is today, especially considering how affordable they have become.
Had it been sold as a runner, it could easily have fetched double that, so this was an excellent deal on an EV that is still good even by today’s standards. He explains the process of gaining access to the vehicle (through the Tesla app) and powering it up, which seems pretty straightforward, and he also cleaned off months’ worth of dirt and grime, revealing a black paint job that was still in good condition.
Sam thinks the car was probably repossessed, and after sitting unused waiting to go to auction, its battery became fully drained and they were unable to get the door handles to pop out—they probably first listed it as “dead,” then, after it sat for a while, they also wrote “no access” on the windscreen. What’s remarkable about this story is that the car was, in fact, very much alive, and all it really needed was some suspension work.
This is a cool story that shows you can get an amazing deal on an older Model S if you know what you’re looking for. Sure, it may not have the tech, power or range of newer versions, but it’s still a lot of EV for the money. The P90D (with P standing for “Performance”) was the top-of-the-range model until 2017 when it was replaced by the P100D.
Its two motors provided 691 horsepower, which you can access by putting it in “Ludicrous” mode, and it was good for a 0 to 60 mph time of under 3 seconds. The 2016 model-year P90D had an EPA range rating of 315 miles, and even though we don’t know if the car in the video had its original battery pack, the fact that it shows over 200 miles with an almost full battery means it’s still a very usable car, especially considering the price and the fact that you should still have access to the vast Supercharger network.
