Ideas for marketing the Model S

[tdelta1000]

I could have placed this post under another thread but I schooled for dig up OLD posts.

After Tesla Motors finally settles the factory issues I think Tesla Motors should make a bold statement by offering the first 2500 Models for $39,999. It may come at a small lost but I think it would put Tesla Motors back in front of the other EV manufactures in term of pushing the EV envelope.

Other manufacturers would not expect this and be force to lower their prices or just step aside. Let me know you think and do you have any other ideas that may bring the spot light back to Tesla Motors and the Model S???

 

[efusco]

I like that...at least if that price point was after the $7500 tax credit it doesn't seem completely out of line. That said, 2000 people + already have put their money down for the $50k version, so it doesn't make much sense to retroactively reduce the price. Free upgrade to the 230mile battery or something like that would be a darn nice touch for us early adopters though.

 

[tdelta1000]

efusco,

My initial thought was that the pricing would be adjusted after the $7500 tax credit. I feel this type of program will instill confidence back into Tesla Motors and possibly put them back on the forefront of EV manufacturing.

Another thing that Tesla Motor could do is equip the first 2000 Model S with the 300 mile battery packs.

 

[PopSmith]

I like that...at least if that price point was after the $7500 tax credit it doesn't seem completely out of line. That said, 2000 people + already have put their money down for the $50k version, so it doesn't make much sense to retroactively reduce the price. Free upgrade to the 230mile battery or something like that would be a darn nice touch for us early adopters though.

I agree. At some point Tesla could offer the Model S for cheaper but I think offering a free upgrade and/or add-on would be better.

Also, why would Tesla suddenly reduce the price now? The Model S isn't competing in the same class as a Volt or Leaf. The Model S is more like an A4/A6 compared to the Volt which seems more like a price-inflated plug-in Malibu or Camry. :tongue:

It will be interesting to see how the various electric cars are advertised. Right now almost every advertisement is "We have the most MPG, buy our car!", it will be interesting to see how the various companies advertise their electric offering.

 

[ibcs]

efusco,

My initial thought was that the pricing would be adjusted after the $7500 tax credit. I feel this type of program will instill confidence back into Tesla Motors and possibly put them back on the forefront of EV manufacturing.

Another thing that Tesla Motor could do is equip the first 2000 Model S with the 300 mile battery packs.

If the first promotion was the increased range I would put down the deposit today. Excellent idea. I would like at least 244, but the 300 mile pack would be a deal maker.

---Kent

 

[Kevin Harney]

A 260 mile pack is the minimum for me.

 

[Arnold Panz]

I don't think they have any reason to cut the price unless they feel they can't sell their inventory (which, of course, doesn't exist yet). I have no idea what their expectations were for the reservations, but I would be surprised if they expected as many people to put deposits down on the S as they've already received. Perhaps they got fewer Signature reservations than they expected, but overall I would think that Tesla's pretty happy with the level of interest so far in car not scheduled to come out for almost two years, at the earliest.

It seems that Tesla is deliberately trying to avoid typical car company promotional cheesiness -- "If you buy in the next 30 days, $10,000 off!!" There is no negotiation on price, the stores are intended to make customers feel welcome, not scared that they're going to be given the super-hard sell while they're there. It's a different model than what most car companies do, and has worked so far for the Roadster, and I don't see them deviating from that with the S until/unless they become really desperate, which won't potentially happen until 2012 if they've got tons of inventory sitting in their warehouse and no buyers for the cars.

 

[waltoninn]

I believe they will sell the inventory they are capable of producing. The key here is getting the factory going, which is very important at this stage. It is a tricky scenario in that if you build up the expectations too much, and then wait too long to deliver, you loose what I would call the "expectational momentum", that point at which you have created such high expectations about a product that you better deliver, sooner than later, otherwise the public will either loose some interest, or the company looses credibility. Although it is possible to repair or remedy either one of them, it can get to the point where the introduction and/or launch is significantly stalled that your customer goes elsewhere or they just don't come back.

So, the key here is to get the factory up and running as fast as is possible.

Just some thoughts on the matter.

 

[tdelta1000]

Also, why would Tesla suddenly reduce the price now? The Model S isn't competing in the same class as a Volt or Leaf. The Model S is more like an A4/A6 compared to the Volt which seems more like a price-inflated plug-in Malibu or Camry. :tongue:

It will be interesting to see how the various electric cars are advertised. Right now almost every advertisement is "We have the most MPG, buy our car!", it will be interesting to see how the various companies advertise their electric offering.

In a marketing scene...reducing the cost of the Model S or providing an extended range battery will keep the current depositors on the waiting list, it should show that Tesla is STILL moving forward with the development & production of the Model S and that the company wants to attract more clientele.

I also think it will show that Tesla Motors is still willing to remain the leader in this market by offer incentives that other cannot afford or do not want to give.

Yes, it will be interesting to see how TM moves forward with its official marketing campaign.

 

[PopSmith]

I'm not sure what Tesla has planned for marketing the Model S but it seems to me that almost every move Tesla has been made has been carefully calculated even before most of us knew of the Roadster's existence.

Tesla is, in my opinion, doing really well on Model S reservations considering they don't even have a factory location picked out yet, as far as I know. Once news is released, and spreads, of the Model S factory going up I'd bet that they'll push into 3000+ reservations pretty quickly.

If Tesla plays it's cards right on releasing news of the factory location being picked, followed by the factory actually being production ready and finally the date SIG1 will roll off the line they won't have to do much advertising for the Model S in my opinion for quite a while.

Yes, advertising and (obviously) test-drivable vehicles will help a bundle but Tesla did get away with not doing any advertising for the company until really recently.

 

[tdelta1000]

Tesla is, in my opinion, doing really well on Model S reservations considering they don't even have a factory location picked out yet, as far as I know. Once news is released, and spreads, of the Model S factory going up I'd bet that they'll push into 3000+ reservations pretty quickly.

If Tesla plays it's cards right on releasing news of the factory location being picked, followed by the factory actually being production ready and finally the date SIG1 will roll off the line they won't have to do much advertising for the Model S in my opinion for quite a while.

Yes, advertising and (obviously) test-drivable vehicles will help a bundle but Tesla did get away with not doing any advertising for the company until really recently.

Agreed... but somewhere down the line TM will have to expand its marketing beyond the people in the know to capture the rest of the motoring public.

 

[PopSmith]

Agreed... but somewhere down the line TM will have to expand its marketing beyond the people in the know to capture the rest of the motoring public.

This is true, eventually, even if it's 5+ years from now, Tesla will have to market just like all the other automakers in order to get noticed by more and more of the public.

I'm not sure how they're planning to do any of that. I guess we'll see in a year or so what kind of marketing Tesla puts together.

 

[tdelta1000]

Popsmith, I just wanted us to bat around some ideas before Tesla Motors release their official marketing plan for the Model S.

Here are suggestions:

*Offer a reduced Model S cost to a select group of people (2.5K to 10K).

* Offer upgraded battery packs to a selected group of depositor (230 or 300 mile packs).

* Offer Tesla Motors merchandise.

* Offer 3 free Tesla Ranger visit to the original owners.

* Offer upgraded warranty packages above the base offering (4yr/40K miles) or (5yr/50 miles)

* Offer upgraded interior packages to the first 2000 Model S off of the production line. The package will not be available to any other owners.

* Offer 10 free firmware upgrades to original owners.

* Offer 10 upgraded power units to randomly selected owner within the first 3000 Models vehicles.

Nothing is set in stone but we can speculate unit Tesla Motors make their marketing plans public. :biggrin: