I was slightly agreeing with you. What you paragraphed above about “some luxury” seems a little vague. All German automakers, Lexus, GM, Cadillac, Ford and even many Toyota products can be custom ordered, such as the Tundra, 4Runner and Sequoia.
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Model X price cuts- yet again
- Thread starter A1TSL
- Start date
I put my deposit down for the ERAY in April 2021. They are suppose to start production this September. I am #31 on a top 5 Corvette Dealership. I would expect to get it within 6 months of start of production. Fortunately, I have a 2022 C8 to run around in so I can be patient.
Yep, Tesla knows the take rate (mix %) of their vehicle optoins/colors. If there isn't enough immediate demand from the website to have a specific vehicle in queue spoken for, all Tesla has to do is assemble their target mix to ensure that they're building vehicles that someone down the road will probably want. Basically they're not silly enough to make every "not yet purchased by somebody" car a Red Plaid with White Interior. And to your point, their build variety is so low (very few colors and physical feature option configurations) it's relatively easy to manage compared to the other OEMs.
I'm personally not sure how Tesla manages line space to slot in Model X and Model S in their Fremont, CA facility. But since they got to build their processes from the ground up, I would expect Tesla to simply dial down production of the more expensive X/S models so their supply just shifts over to other more-in-demand-thanks-to-the-IRA vehicles.
E90alex
Active Member
See this post on Reddit.
Dealers will often tell the customer they can “order” a specific car but it’s really the dealer trying to get the manufacturer to change their pre-set allocation. With most vehicles there is a limited set of configurations so chances are the configuration the customer wants is already in the pipeline for them or another local dealer and they will just swap it out.
VW is German and does not do custom orders for the US, except maybe the ID4. I had looked into ordering a Golf R in 2019 but dealers were pre-set in what they got. Even for the Spektrum program where people would “order” a special color Golf R, they still had to be approved by VWAG and sometimes had to choose a different color or take black wheels instead of silver to get a color or vice versa. Not a true custom order.
The German luxury brands do have custom ordering as do some American brands. Generally the more complicated the options list and/or the more expensive the vehicle, you can actually place a custom factory order for.
But with all that said, my point has been that Tesla has previously operated on the model of making the car only after a customer placed an order for it (exceptions for demo cars and the previously off menu, inventory only 4680 Model Y). So if that’s true, there shouldn’t been any significant excess inventory. Unless now their production capacity exceeds demand and they’re just building cars with no intended buyer in hopes someone wants it.
Well as I stated above, as to GM and Ford, I can personally tell you that yes you can "order" a specific car exactly how you want it configured. And I suspect that with most card there are actually a vast set of configurations. 11k+ for a Corvette and over a million for F series trucks. It is Tesla that has very limited options - 5 colors, 2-3 interiors, 2 wheels and 2-3 range/motor options. With my Corvette I was picking stitching color on the interior - seat belt color, caliber color, engine cover color, outdoor mirror color, spoiler type/color and ................................
I’d buy one in this scenario in a micro second. I have friends with one, it is not a $100k car.
In a perfect world GM dealers would sell for MSRP and I wouldn't be driving this ghetto-azz loaner while waiting for my glitchy Model X to be serviced.
Life is just a series of sub-optimal decisions while you try to get by.
Life is just a series of sub-optimal decisions while you try to get by.
ptronus31
Model X LR, Ultra Red, White
Unless you want ONLY the white/black 5-seat, 20" wheel model to qualify, they would have to drop the price to around $75k to allow for a few options, at least. $75k in the current config will never happen. Perhaps a de-contented version (RWD, removal of premium features, etc), but not the current config.
ptronus31
Model X LR, Ultra Red, White
I'd say you are in the minority. Tesla knows that and would have to have some way of offering options AND the tax credit.It’s exactly what I want, white/black 5 seat 20”
Tesla probably also knows the vast majority of Model X buyers have individual income over $150k per year or joint-income over $300k per year. And they wouldn't qualify for some EV tax incentive anyway.
ptronus31
Model X LR, Ultra Red, White
Tesla doesn't have dealers and they sell direct to consumer. No it's not as bad as the great recession but I don't think anyone is claiming it is. That is not really an apples to apples comparison. By the nature of how Tesla does business they should carry very little inventory.
I stand by my statement that over 1,000 vehicles in inventory, for Tesla and their business model, is inventory starting to pile up and it's a problem.
Not trying to be "doom and gloom" just saying that raising prices and adding 3yrs free supercharging isn't going to cut it. Again it's not a huge number but it's a signal they have a demand issue for MX.
I stand by my statement that over 1,000 vehicles in inventory, for Tesla and their business model, is inventory starting to pile up and it's a problem.
Not trying to be "doom and gloom" just saying that raising prices and adding 3yrs free supercharging isn't going to cut it. Again it's not a huge number but it's a signal they have a demand issue for MX.
Right which is why they need to reduce it to bring in another set of buyers. That market is no longer buying it.
henderrj
Active Member
When the model S was introduced it was in competition with cars like Mercedes s-class. By price only, agreed. And the tech was amazing. Point is that Tesla sold many more Model S than the mercedes, BMW 7 series, etc etc.
Now that the 3 and Y are available people can get their electric car/Tesla fix without having to spend the money on an s or x. To say that another way, the volume of vehicles for these upper price tier units, is just not so very great. They probably have about the right amount built every year.
Obviously they're selling a lot, still better than the old luxury car brands, but they're never going to sell a super high volume of them. They are profit centers, and they are Halo cars, which helps sell the other vehicles, so I think they'll keep making them for a long time. But they'll never sell the amount that they used to.
Tiger
Active Member
The unsold inventories are rising, this can mean only one thing, yes? More supercharging offers?
Can't verify the accuracy of this data, but the Model X has never been a high seller. Even in the "peak times of yore" that seem to be viewed through rose-tinted glasses, they were selling below 30k annual units in the USA.
carfigures.com
After Q1 this year, their SAAR for 2023 would be about 24k to 25k units. Sure, they can drop pricing to get more people into a Model X... but why would they if people are still buying at today's pricing with some Supercharging spiffs? I liked that one post about their sales volume going to zero overnight. The only way that'd happen is if buying a Model X also upgraded your Twitter account with a blue check mark.
2023 is YTD through Q1 2023.
2024 Tesla Model X Sales Figures
Tesla Model X monthly, quarterly, and yearly sales and statistics in the United States. Including data and interactive charts for the latest model year 2024 and crossover/suvs segment.
After Q1 this year, their SAAR for 2023 would be about 24k to 25k units. Sure, they can drop pricing to get more people into a Model X... but why would they if people are still buying at today's pricing with some Supercharging spiffs? I liked that one post about their sales volume going to zero overnight. The only way that'd happen is if buying a Model X also upgraded your Twitter account with a blue check mark.
2023 is YTD through Q1 2023.
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Tesla has a system of matching production to demand. When you place an order, that gives Tesla information as to which configuration you wish. Often you will be notified when it is in production or transportation.
When someone denies delivery or cancels an order, that must go into the algorithm as well.
Imagine that production is sycned to demand.
If demand increases they may decide to raise prices to reduce demand or increase production to satisify demand.
They also have many demand levers they can pull to increase demand. Lower pricing, add new configurations, qualify for tax credits/rebates, offer limited time specials (FSF?), new color, discounted FSD etc.
They can move delivery volume from areas of low demand to areas of high demand.
Gonna be hard for the buying public to know for certain what is going on behind the scenes at Tesla.
When someone denies delivery or cancels an order, that must go into the algorithm as well.
Imagine that production is sycned to demand.
If demand increases they may decide to raise prices to reduce demand or increase production to satisify demand.
They also have many demand levers they can pull to increase demand. Lower pricing, add new configurations, qualify for tax credits/rebates, offer limited time specials (FSF?), new color, discounted FSD etc.
They can move delivery volume from areas of low demand to areas of high demand.
Gonna be hard for the buying public to know for certain what is going on behind the scenes at Tesla.
