Man tries to buy EV for under $8,000 and ends up with the 'deal of the decade'

In a wild twist of events, one man’s hunt for a cheap EV turned into the deal of the decade when he scored a Tesla Model S for less than $8,000.

James, a YouTuber from EV Performance, set himself a brutal challenge: find a fully electric car for under £6,000, which is just under $8K. 

It had to have at least 200 miles of range, no leased battery, and be something worth getting excited about – not just an appliance on wheels.

From the start, it looked like mission impossible. 

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He flirted with quirky options like the Renault Twizy and Citroën Ami. But neither could come close to the 200-mile benchmark. 

At one point, he found a Hyundai Ioniq listed for a ridiculously low £1,270 ($1,725), but a quick phone call revealed the real price was almost 10 grand. 

Too good to be true? Absolutely.

Just as he was ready to give up, a surprise phone call changed everything. His gym trainer mentioned a client’s dad who had one sitting unused on his driveway. 

It wasn’t advertised. The owner just wanted it gone. 

Intrigued, James jumped in his car and drove an hour and a half to find out what it was.

What he found was almost too good to believe – a Tesla Model S 85, complete with seven seats, a panoramic sunroof, 19-inch wheels, and free Supercharging for life. 

The original price when new? Around £100,000 ($135,805). The price he paid? Just £5,750, or roughly $7,800.

It gets better: the Model S still does 0–60 in about 5.5 seconds, hits a top speed of 150MPH, and can still reach between 180 and 200 miles of range on a full charge. 

This wasn’t some back-alley Craigslist gamble; it was a clean, running car with proper paperwork, keys, and a shockingly low price tag.

Sure, it’s not flawless – the car’s done 164,000 miles, the media control unit has a glitchy screen, and the chrome trim has seen better days. 

But in the world of project cars, this is about as good as it gets.

The Model S is still one of the most respected electric vehicles on the road, and James may have just bought the cheapest working one in the entire UK. 

With free lifetime charging, real performance, and that premium Tesla feel, it’s no exaggeration to call this the deal of the decade.

What started as a hopeless search turned into one of the greatest second-hand wins we’ve seen. 

And if this is how his new project begins, we can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Follow James and the full build over on his YouTube channel, EV Performance, or watch the video here:

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