Rain Man
10-29-2009, 09:46 PM
I'm not, but if I was, this would be a good deal.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13622627
Colorado tax credit gives $42,000 discount on Tesla Roadster
By Tim Hoover and John Ingold
The Denver Post
Posted: 10/23/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
Updated: 10/23/2009 05:55:55 AM MDT
If you're in the market for a Euro-style sports car but don't want to increase your carbon footprint, there are at least 42,000 reasons why you may want to consider a Tesla Roadster.
Thanks to a tax credit for alternative- fuel and zero-emission vehicles that has existed for 10 years, Colorado residents who buy the new $109,900 Roadster electric sports car before Dec. 31 can get an estimated $42,083 back from the state, equating to a 38.6 percent discount. That amount is 85 percent of the difference between the price of a new Tesla Roadster and the price of a comparable liquid-fuel automobile, in this case a Lotus.
Owners of hybrid automobiles have been getting tax credits from the state for years, most of them for 50 percent to 75 percent of the difference in cost between their cars and comparable gasoline- or diesel- powered vehicles. There were 6,727 tax filers last year who got credits for alternative-fuel vehicles, costing the state $12.5 million.
"Most of them are (Toyota) Priuses and hybrid vehicles," said Mark Couch, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Only zero-emission cars, basically electric vehicles, got the full 85 percent credit.
But with the debut last year of the Roadster, a sleek two-seater that goes from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, the price tag for an electric car soared into luxury automobile territory.
That's partly why lawmakers in the 2009 session passed a measure that would limit the tax credit to no more than $6,000. But that law doesn't take effect until January, giving environmentally minded drivers — at least those who are wealthy — a window to take full advantage of the tax credit until it goes away at the end of the year.
Tesla Motors is scheduled to open its first Colorado showroom — a scaled-back store on Boulder's Pearl Street that the company is calling a gallery — this weekend.
The showroom is Tesla's first foray away from the coasts, and Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes said the company chose Colorado for a number of reasons, including the availability of the tax credit.
"It's no coincidence that we try to go to markets where they have laws on the books that try to promote clean cars," Reyes said.
There's another natural reason for Tesla to be drawn to Boulder. Kimbal Musk, a restaurateur and Internet entrepreneur who sits on Tesla's board and is the brother of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, lives there.
Kimbal Musk also mentions Colorado's tax incentive, writing: "Until it expires at the end of 2009, any Tesla Roadster buyer can take advantage of a pretty amazing tax credit by the state of Colorado to promote electric-vehicle sales in the state."
That said, Couch said officials expected to see fewer than 10 tax filers take advantage of the tax credit.
http://www.teslamotors.com/
http://www.treehugger.com/tesla-store-santa-monica1.jpg
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13622627
Colorado tax credit gives $42,000 discount on Tesla Roadster
By Tim Hoover and John Ingold
The Denver Post
Posted: 10/23/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
Updated: 10/23/2009 05:55:55 AM MDT
If you're in the market for a Euro-style sports car but don't want to increase your carbon footprint, there are at least 42,000 reasons why you may want to consider a Tesla Roadster.
Thanks to a tax credit for alternative- fuel and zero-emission vehicles that has existed for 10 years, Colorado residents who buy the new $109,900 Roadster electric sports car before Dec. 31 can get an estimated $42,083 back from the state, equating to a 38.6 percent discount. That amount is 85 percent of the difference between the price of a new Tesla Roadster and the price of a comparable liquid-fuel automobile, in this case a Lotus.
Owners of hybrid automobiles have been getting tax credits from the state for years, most of them for 50 percent to 75 percent of the difference in cost between their cars and comparable gasoline- or diesel- powered vehicles. There were 6,727 tax filers last year who got credits for alternative-fuel vehicles, costing the state $12.5 million.
"Most of them are (Toyota) Priuses and hybrid vehicles," said Mark Couch, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Only zero-emission cars, basically electric vehicles, got the full 85 percent credit.
But with the debut last year of the Roadster, a sleek two-seater that goes from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, the price tag for an electric car soared into luxury automobile territory.
That's partly why lawmakers in the 2009 session passed a measure that would limit the tax credit to no more than $6,000. But that law doesn't take effect until January, giving environmentally minded drivers — at least those who are wealthy — a window to take full advantage of the tax credit until it goes away at the end of the year.
Tesla Motors is scheduled to open its first Colorado showroom — a scaled-back store on Boulder's Pearl Street that the company is calling a gallery — this weekend.
The showroom is Tesla's first foray away from the coasts, and Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes said the company chose Colorado for a number of reasons, including the availability of the tax credit.
"It's no coincidence that we try to go to markets where they have laws on the books that try to promote clean cars," Reyes said.
There's another natural reason for Tesla to be drawn to Boulder. Kimbal Musk, a restaurateur and Internet entrepreneur who sits on Tesla's board and is the brother of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, lives there.
Kimbal Musk also mentions Colorado's tax incentive, writing: "Until it expires at the end of 2009, any Tesla Roadster buyer can take advantage of a pretty amazing tax credit by the state of Colorado to promote electric-vehicle sales in the state."
That said, Couch said officials expected to see fewer than 10 tax filers take advantage of the tax credit.
http://www.teslamotors.com/
http://www.treehugger.com/tesla-store-santa-monica1.jpg