Early tesla buyers should be given a refund or free upgrades!

[Gasaraki]

No it's no the same. The MSRP stays the same or goes up on almost all cars that are in continual production. Promos, discounts, rebates, year end sales are NOT the same as lowering the MSRP because resale is not dictated by who got a deal or did not. Cars are not traditionally treated like computers and commodities. Every buyer expects sales and the like and should expect depreciation but no one expects MSRP to go down. I know some here like to equate discounts to lowering MSRP but they are NOT the same thing. Toyotas go on sale and you can get a great deal sometimes but the MSRP goes up every year not down. When I sold my Tacoma no one asked what deals I got when bought it they go off market value. The reality is Tesla played with the numbers for specific reasons.

Just because the dealers, states, and manufactures have some sort of collusion going on to keep the MSRP the same for the whole year doesn't make it correct. Companies should be able to lower the price of their products if they want to.

 

[Nocturnal]

No it's no the same. The MSRP stays the same or goes up on almost all cars that are in continual production. Promos, discounts, rebates, year end sales are NOT the same as lowering the MSRP because resale is not dictated by who got a deal or did not. Cars are not traditionally treated like computers and commodities. Every buyer expects sales and the like and should expect depreciation but no one expects MSRP to go down. I know some here like to equate discounts to lowering MSRP but they are NOT the same thing. Toyotas go on sale and you can get a great deal sometimes but the MSRP goes up every year not down. When I sold my Tacoma no one asked what deals I got when bought it they go off market value. The reality is Tesla played with the numbers for specific reasons.

Yes it is. Nobody pays MSRP just like nobody pays suggested retail on anything else. Those are all fake prices to make it seem like you are getting a better deal.

 

[tomas]

Cmon. Technology moves on. Power/capability increases for the same price. Last I checked, the MacBook Pro I can buy today both cheaper and more powerful than the one I could buy in 2012. Same is true in ALL cars. More function every year. Price often goes down. What may be a bit deceiving with Tesla (especially the S) is that they have not reskinned it (as most makers do every 4-5 years) so it LOOKS the same, which could make you think the price/performance should be equivalent.

Here's what I got for getting my P85 new in 2012: $7500 tax credit (no longer exists after January 1). $2500 IL tax credit (no longer exists). Plus 7 years of the sheer joy of driving the car.

What did I miss out on? Gen 2 and 3 seats. Dual motor. Ludicrous. Autopilot. FSD (LOL, paying for it, not getting it). MCU 2+ and associated features. Face-lifted front. That happens. Tesla owes me nothing. It's been a great car. I could have bought ANY OTHER car on the market in 2012, and I'd have a comparable list of subsequent improvements.

Now, I DO believe there are situations where Tesla DOES owe buyers something. Because they've abandoned the model year cycle for improvements, they often spring significant improvements (or price drops) on us. So, we can order or take delivery on the wrong date and miss out on something significant. This happened to me with the Stealth P in 2018, and they made it right. At that time, I recommended to Tesla that they reward people who bought some period (maybe 90 days) prior to a significant update with credit towards their next Tesla purchase. This is a win win. Customer gets something, and Tesla gets a repeat buyer and customers who feel good instead of bad. Regardless, even this would be a huge break from standard auto practices. You got what you got. That's it.

 

[Uncle Paul]

There is a little bit of truth to the OP's point.

Elon has mentioned that the first cars coming down the line cost him much more to produce. After the volume gets up, the employees get more efficient, and less expensive ways are developed to make the cars.
In order to increase the market and sell more cars, Tesla will try to find ways to lower the costs.

What makes him seem like a troll is conveniently forgetting about all the early Tax Credits and local government/utility discounts that effectively reduce his original costs.

 

[jboy210]

Need to computers and Moore's law. Each year 1/2 price for twice the performance.

 

[Eclectic]

We bought two Teslas when they were in the $120k (each) range. I admit that I expected to be treated better for spending that much money but all we got was two cars, which is exactly what we contracted to purchase.

I would have liked to have been treated with more appreciation, but it was not the thing that got us to leave Tesla. Broken promises, that's the real problem. Had the second car (P85D) lived up to what Musk promised at the intro, we'd probably have bought a third Tesla. We learned our lesson and rather than stomp our feet in anger, we just moved on to a different manufacturer and are very happy with the new car.

 

[Dan203]

The Performance is like $20k cheaper now. Should they get a refund for that too?

 

[Knightshade]

The Performance is like $20k cheaper now. Should they get a refund for that too?

*sigh*

No. It's really not.

We've been over this math like 100 times on here.

Ps got a $7500 tax credit and a $5000 FUSC refund new buyers today don't get.

And all 2018s got about $500 in hardware new Model 3s don't get on top.

Plus they've has 12-18 months of fuel savings too.

Depending on a few variables like your color choices a P is potentially more expensive ordering today than you could've gotten one for in 2018, net price.

 

[PWlakewood]

What's a DVD?

Said the snowflake....