Is there any special reason why red is more expensive?

[Big_nobody]

Hi guys,

I was just wondering if there is any special reason for the red paint on M3 and MY to be more expensive than any other color. Is it because of more coats or a better quality of the paint?
Most probably I would go with white for my new purchase, but red is "intriguing" and my wife likes it

 

[sparkz]

Red paint costs more. The dye I think. If you just go to buy professional paint from a paint store, the price varies on the color. Red is more expensive than white. That’s without any other things like metallic etc.

 

[jjrandorin]

Like other manufacturers, they decided to charge more for red. They used to charge almost as much for the white, which is now free. White used to be the second most expensive color, and black was free.

They then said they would make the white free, but it was supposed to be a "different" white from the metallic white that people were paying $2,000 for... then tesla just said " F'..it" and made the same white paint people were paying 2k for, free.

Red has always been the most expensive color. I dont think the paint is inherently better or more coats (see all the gnashing of teeth by people with red painted cars about paint in door jams and such), but it just cost more.

 

[Jaye A.]

Red and white are “multi-coated”

 

[jjrandorin]

Red and white are “multi-coated”

but here in the US, white is now free and its the same paint as it was before (with all of the same complaints). Not sure if something is different in south korea though.

 

[Big_nobody]

I like white color because it's the most efficient in reflecting ambient light, so also the most environmentally friendly, as less energy is being used for cooling the car
I know, that's probably the very last thing most of the people consider when choosing the color

 

[cdswm3]

Tesla was getting so many paint warranty claims with black that they decided to use white as the standard color. Black shows every imperfection. It's too bad that even the blue and red are not that great of colors. I would of paid the extra for a blue like on the Camaro or a red like Mazda has but with the current paint colors white was good for me. Hopefully the Texas plant has a better paint shop with more choices. I agree the white was originally to be a pure white, not pearl but that idea never happened.

 

[GtiMart]

Isn't red faster? Hence the higher price?

For those of you who have had some marketing training, pricing has little to do with cost. You set a price that people are willing to pay for something. If your cost is too high to make a profit, you just don't sell that thing.

 

[ThomasD]

This article talks about the paint
Some cool info on paint colors and types (single vs multi-coat, etc.) from a pro
Found this on Facebook and found it very informative. Gentleman’s name is Tom Kellogg:

“Folks: As a professional painter, some of these terms get kind of vague and in any case they can be intentionally so. So here's the deal: Most of the old traditional paints were single base-coat paints. That is, once the primer was on, the color coat (base-coat) was all there was on there. In fact, it is most likely that Tesla's standard black finish is a single stage paint. It may have a clear coat on top of the black base-coat, but not necessarily. The rest of the Tesla finishes are at least BC/CC finishes. BC/CC stands for "base-coat" and Clear Coat." Tesla's silver, midnight silver and possibly the black metallic finishes are BC/CC systems since they have a single base layer and clear coats. BC/CC systems were developed a while ago, mostly under pressure of the environmental regs. first in place in Europe and now here in the US. Generally, these systems use much lower VOCs in the paints and now in some cases, they are water based systems. OK, now for the more expensive finishes. Here is where we get into tri-coat and multi base-coat systems. I don't know exactly what Tesla is using for their blue and red, but effectively you can't shoot that kind of red in production without it being at least a multi-coat base system. That means that after the primer is on there, there are at least two DIFFERENT color layers before clear-coating. Same thing with the pearl white: primer, solid white base, pearl base, clear coats. Ford has a current color similar to Tesla's red that you see on some of their vehicles. Lovely, but I've shot some if it and while applying the two different base coat layers isn't difficult, it costs huge amounts of money. And that's where the paint up-charges come from. More labor, more time, more expensive materials. If they want to charge me 1,000.00 extra to go from black to blue, I get it. Actually, it's a deal. Thanks for reading”
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[OCR1]

I’m not convinced that it cost Tesla any more to paint a car red versus white. They are both multi coat applications. Tesla has always offered a single color at no charge and then charged extra for any color other than the base. It switched from black to white a while back but otherwise there has consistently been an up charge for any color other than the base. This is just a marketing decision and a way to make the car look less expensive and then charge extra for a paint upgrade to improve profit margins.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Elon said it takes longer to paint their cars metalic red than non metallic. Red is also an emotional color, and people are willing to pay more for it, so that is why they charger more.

White metalic also takes longer, but it does not show defects well, and probably results in fewer warranty expenses. Wanted to offer at least one car at a no charge cost, so choose White.

Tesla used to offer plain enamel white as a no cost option, but now has upgraded to the more luxurious metalic white, also at no cost.

Other colors have their own pricing structures as well. Not all colors pricing reflect their costs.

 

[toshman]

I don’t know why it’s more. But I have a 2020 TM3 in the red and I looks really really good. I jet sealed and applied p53 wax and does it ever pop. Such a nice colour.

I took delivery on 09/04 and it only had one blemish and no swirl marks or anything. Almost perfect.

 

[SageBrush]

I was just wondering if there is any special reason for the red paint on M3 and MY to be more expensive

Of course !

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[timk225]

I’m not convinced that it cost Tesla any more to paint a car red versus white. They are both multi coat applications. Tesla has always offered a single color at no charge and then charged extra for any color other than the base. It switched from black to white a while back but otherwise there has consistently been an up charge for any color other than the base. This is just a marketing decision and a way to make the car look less expensive and then charge extra for a paint upgrade to improve profit margins.

Yes, this is what I believe Tesla did when the Model 3 came out. The "free" color was an UGLY BLACK, and to get anything other than UGLY BLACK, it cost lots of money. So while Tesla could say the car was selling for X price, and that price needed to be as low as possible, the reality is that anyone who didn't like the black paint was paying a grand or two extra to get a different color. More profits for Tesla!

 

[Vaillant]

it adds 15 hp

if you get vinyl stripes, that’s another 5 hp, but you need to go aftermarket to unlock the extra power since Tesla doesn’t offer them

 

[LionXng]

Red paint is the cheapest. That is why barns are painted red.

 

[OCR1]

Yes, this is what I believe Tesla did when the Model 3 came out. The "free" color was an UGLY BLACK, and to get anything other than UGLY BLACK, it cost lots of money. So while Tesla could say the car was selling for X price, and that price needed to be as low as possible, the reality is that anyone who didn't like the black paint was paying a grand or two extra to get a different color. More profits for Tesla!

I have always had black cars so I was pretty happy that the base color was black. I never cared much for white cars, although I do think the white paint on the Model 3 is very nice looking.

 

[MrWattson]

Not sure my info is current but, back in the day, the pigments to make red paint were significantly more costly than most.

 

[Kevy Baby]

I have always had black cars so I was pretty happy that the base color was black.

Where I live (Orange County, CA), black cars are ubiquitous. I had a black Lexus and I will never have another black car.

I never cared much for white cars, although I do think the white paint on the Model 3 is very nice looking.

I had planned on ordering a Midnight Silver Metallic. The day I was going to buy mine, I saw an MSM and a Pearl White side-by-side on the freeway. When I saw them, I changed my mind and ordered a white on white.

 

[KenC]

All that aside, I just don't understand why Tesla doesn't change colors or shades every year, like most manufacturers? It would help distinguishing cars by model year. I mean, my car being silver, everyone knows that it's a 2018, but others? I have no clue.