Bob Lutz, car-guy-to-the-max, former VP of GM and Chrysler, with time at BMW before that, wrote this recent article --
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a26859/bob-lutz-tesla/
The opening paragraph is gloomy:
Tesla's showing all the signs of a company in trouble: bleeding cash, securitized assets, and mounting inventory. It's the trifecta of doom for any automaker, and anyone paying attention probably saw this coming a mile away. Like most big puzzles, the company's woes don't have just one source.
and the prognosis goes downhill from there mentioning competition from Audi, the lack of enough dealers to attract more buyers and other problems.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday October 30 2015, @09:08PM
I work with a guy who's had a Model S since they became available. He says he spends more, per mile, on the tires than on everything else combined.
Looking at the picture in GP's post, someone likes their car enough to spend $600 on getting stuff lubed and fluids changed. I guess it comes with the "can afford a Tesla" territory, but it's hardly a do-it-or-walk expense for the owner.