Evidence of Tesla not honoring pricing by gaming configuration discontinuations?

[sorka]

Say I if I place an order for blue but the color is discontinued or replaced by a slightly different blue and say the price of that model has gone up $10K since. Will Tesla cancel your order and tell you the ordered configuration is no longer available and to place a new order at the higher price? I've seen these kinds of shenanigans by Tesla on model trims but can't recall if it applied to colors. I know I've seen posts where someone wants to change the color and Tesla wants to charge the new higher current price of the model and push out the delivery date so it doesn't seem much of a stretch that if they had a ton of orders for a model at one price and that they raised the price a bunch, they could just cancel the orders by eliminating or changing almost anything and just say that config is no longer available.

So if the color were say white vs blue, would white have a better chance of not getting canceled since white will always be an option? Even that may not offer protection because it used to be that white was extra and black was the free color. Now black is extra and white is free/included.

Just curious to hear thoughts. Why? I'll admit to be a hypocrite. I've sworn up and down that I would never buy another Tesla but ended up ordering a white X Plaid. Partly because my wife has alway complained about the low and restricted entry of the S and if I'm going to buy another Tesla, I want to make it more agreeable to her even if it means giving up 8 tenths in the quarter and 0.5 seconds to 60. It's still way faster than my P85DL no matter how you slice it.

In the end, as much as I complain about the degradation of customer service and crippled UI, there's no way to replicate the driving experience. Maybe Lucid if they can use the supercharging network but we won't know how viable that could be for at least a few years.

 

[DerbyDave]

If you change the order, the order can be repriced at current prices, and your position may change. If Tesla makes a change where you do not get what you ordered, you can accept the new configuration or get your order fee back. Once the car is being produced, any changes may impact the price and your position in the line.
https://www.tesla.com/order/download-order-agreement

 

[sorka]

If you change the order, the order can be repriced at current prices, and your position may change. If Tesla makes a change where you do not get what you ordered, you can accept the new configuration or get your order fee back. Once the car is being produced, any changes may impact the price and your position in the line.
https://www.tesla.com/order/download-order-agreement

Was that an attempt to answer the question? I know what the order agreement says but that has nothing to do with the question itself.

 

[Tam]

Was that an attempt to answer the question? I know what the order agreement says but that has nothing to do with the question itself.

Is that practice any worse than a dealer's? In the old days, I brought a newspaper advertisement to the dealer and they said that the cheap configuration was sold out so that left me with the options of paying more or walking away empty-handed. That happened to me multiple times with different dealers.

Now, it's more modern without bringing the newspaper ad in but Tesla is pretty much catching up with a traditional dealership's sales strategy.

 

[sorka]

Is that practice any worse than a dealer's? In the old days, I brought a newspaper advertisement to the dealer and they said that the cheap configuration was sold out so that left me with the options of paying more or walking away empty-handed. That happened to me multiple times with different dealers.

Now, it's more modern without bringing the newspaper ad in but Tesla is pretty much catching up with a traditional dealership's sales strategy.

But still not an answer to my actual question.

 

[SilverGS]

I would assume that if they discontinue a color, it would potentially impact/or not the price depending on what you order as a substitute.

History is not necessarily an indicator of the future with Tesla, however they haven't changed / discontinued colors in 2 - 3 years now. Last I remember is the silver being discontinued on the Model S and subsequently on the Model 3.

 

[DerbyDave]

Pretty silly questions. Tesla will provide you with the closest car to what you ordered at no additional cost if features, specifications, or colors change. You can review the changes, and if you don't like them, they may allow you to change to something else, but you may lose your position and you may have to pay more. You can always cancel your order. You can always place a new order. If you order white or blue, it doesn't matter unless the color you order becomes unavailable. They may change to Pearl White as the standard white color, who knows? Will white cars get delivered first? It depends on their batching process. I would imagine parts availability is much more determinant on order production than color. Who knows? It is all in the contract.

 

[sorka]

Pretty silly questions. Tesla will provide you with the closest car to what you ordered at no additional cost if features, specifications, or colors change. You can review the changes, and if you don't like them, they may allow you to change to something else, but you may lose your position and you may have to pay more. You can always cancel your order. You can always place a new order. If you order white or blue, it doesn't matter unless the color you order becomes unavailable. They may change to Pearl White as the standard white color, who knows? Will white cars get delivered first? It depends on their batching process. I would imagine parts availability is much more determinant on order production than color. Who knows? It is all in the contract.

There are plenty of posts where customers were offered new configurations at the new price rather than the honoring the old price for the now non existent configuration and that they could either take it or leave it.

 

[DerbyDave]

One more thought. Tesla likes money, so high end models with extra equipment and extra priced colors may be built first, if parts are available. Ordering a standard car with standard color may slow up your delivery. If they tried to increase my price due to their required changes, I would likely get my money back.

 

[sorka]

One more thought. Tesla likes money, so high end models with extra equipment and extra priced colors may be built first, if parts are available. Ordering a standard car with standard color may slow up your delivery. If they tried to increase my price due to their required changes, I would likely get my money back.

Right. I ordered nothing extra. The lowest priced Plaid model. I'm pretty sure that if I added FSD for $10K, I'd get it sooner. I don't care about sooner. I care about locking in a price and doing what I can to ensure that I get that. If I order blue and they cancel that color, will they cancel my order or offer me a new color the color difference price without changing the entire model to the new model price assuming they raise the price $10K in between?

 

[NickFie]

I don’t think there’s a risk that blue will be discontinued. If it were dropped AND you had not postponed delivery of a car matching your specs, I suspect Tesla would let you select a different color without changing the price.

On the other hand, Tesla’s treatment of people who ordered base-level Model Y - never manufactured - forcing them to wait nearly two years, then change to higher-spec versions with much higher prices, looks like “Bait and Switch” consumer fraud.

 

[DerbyDave]

NickFie, they are doing the same with the Plaid verses the Long Range. You could get a Plaid at least a half a year sooner than a Long Range. I also don't think they will cancel an order because a color change or removal of a color. They will offer you another color with no increase in price. If you don't like the color, they may allow you to change it, but it may cost more money.

 

[goin2drt]

That is a whole lot of if’s.

 

[sorka]

I don’t think there’s a risk that blue will be discontinued. If it were dropped AND you had not postponed delivery of a car matching your specs, I suspect Tesla would let you select a different color without changing the price.

On the other hand, Tesla’s treatment of people who ordered base-level Model Y - never manufactured - forcing them to wait nearly two years, then change to higher-spec versions with much higher prices, looks like “Bait and Switch” consumer fraud.

Indeed. One of the situations that came to mind when writing my first post above.

 

[fiveten]

I had ordered a 7-seat performance Model Y with FSD. Once Tesla quit making the 7-seat performance model Y, they gave me the choice (but forget to actually tell me) of either keeping my locked in FSD price and paying the current price for the 7-seat AWD model Y or paying the new FSD price and paying the price of 7-seat AWD mode Y at the time I ordered. Not sure what the rationale for handling it that way was, and also not sure if they still do this.

 

[sorka]

If I had to predict the most likely scenario other than just getting what I ordered it would be these in the following order:

1. Plaid no longer offered without FSD. Tesla cancels and gives option to re-order at current price.
2. Plaid no longer offered without FSD. Tesla gives option to add current then price of FSD but keep base price.
3. Model X canceled entirely due to low demand and profit margin not being high enough.

The X Plaid MUST be more costly to produce than the S Plaid so it makes no sense their current pricing.

Apologize of the X discussion in the S section.

 

[goin2drt]

I am going to be the devils advocate here. Tesla ALSO keeps honoring the cheaper price with all these people playing this hold game two, three four times. They should allow one hold. After that if you don’t take delivery then back of the line, forfeit deposit and you need to order again. You all can’t have it both ways with the pricing conundrum.

 

[Midnightsun]

I am going to be the devils advocate here. Tesla ALSO keeps honouring the cheaper price with all these people playing this hold game two, three four times. They should allow one hold. After that if you don’t take delivery then back of the line, forfeit deposit and you need to order again. You all can’t have it both ways with the pricing conundrum.

Must agree with you on this. Most of use here have bought several non Tesla cars in the past. No way could one just say not now because I want the next model year coming up in a couple of months or they may put some incentives in place or there is a rumour of some change coming up. You bought a car, it is delivered to the dealership, you pick it up. I do think the 3 day window is rather dumb however with only a 100$ deposit I don't blame them as with that little money at stake one could just not take the car. A 10% deposit, a 3 week window to allow someone on vacation, or whatever preventing them from going there to actually pick up the car would solve most of this "not just yet" BS. Heck there are even people trying to sell their reservations for an additional sum, this should not be happening.

 

[Amped412]

Until the deal is done and the keys are in your hand, price is not guaranteed. Just order the car you want and Tesla should honor the price at the time you ordered. If they don’t honor the price then either pay the new price or walk away from the deal. If they’re no longer making the car you want then order a different config or a different car from a different company.

 

[doubleshot]

There are a ton of examples of people here that ordered the old version of the MS in Oct 20, different specs, different car. Lol. Tesla honored the price for the most part, gave a discount for FSD and the refresh model. Price did ultimately go up about $4k for those orders.