You do realize as Apple releases new or revised versions of iPhones the previous versions lower in price. My phone and my sons phone are the same. His bought a year after mine was $200 cheaper.
Public Service Announcement: Prices change. Do not buy widget X if you're not willing to pay the price for widget X at the time of sale. If it goes on sale later, someone else gets lucky, but you still have your widget. If you're that worried about it, lease the thing. Then at the end you'll have nothing, regardless of how much that nothing costs someone else
I just took delivery of my Tesla Model S. I did not pay for Ludicrous mode. (+$20k) You mentioned free ludicrous mode... when did that happen? My Controls say Chill, Sport, Insane and Insane+. Is there one more mode? Or do i have Ludicrous, and not know it>? THanks
Insane and Insane+ are what a Performance car without Ludicrous displays. The "free" Ludicrous was a promotion for existing Tesla owners who bought Performance cars. They have since dropped the price, and you will likely be able to buy Ludicrous for a lot less than a few days ago. edit: Technically, raised the base price of the P's, but included Ludicrous at no extra charge.
Since this is representative of many such condescending statements that things tend to decrease in value over time and therefore I am an idiot and a loser to complain that Tesla has decreased the price by 10% literally overnight (as well as lied about FSD prices, about price drops not happening again, etc etc). Perhaps you have no concept of future value and don't apply it to your finances but most people do when buying commodity items like a car. It is fair to expect some stability in the future value.
If only Tesla would HIDE and change their prices based on how much they can stick you for the way all other dealers do (let me talk to my manager). Also buy a TV when the new model comes out and then see what people are paying in a year.
I don't think stability is a word that you can apply to the resale value of used cars ... even the release of the Model 3 pulled down the value of used Model S cars. A new "Super 3" would pull down the price of the previous 3's. The way I see it, you give Tesla money, they give you a car. No matter what happens from there, they have the money and you have the car. They can't ask you for more money and you can't ask them for more car.
Mostly true, although in the time I've had my S, there is now a trip graph, links to the calendar on the phone, and other improvements as well (plus a few UI things I would rather they revert).
My P3D- stickered at $75k (before taxes, destination, etc.). The exact same configuration today (based on this thread) would be $57k. Granted, I got the full $7500 federal tax credit, the $2500 California rebate (which I'm no longer eligible for... blast that rebate limit ), unlimited free data, unlimited free Supercharging, and $900 in subsidy from various local entities but that still leaves a little left over... which was completely made up for in YouTube revenue in the 10 months since I took delivery. I may have paid a silly amount of money for this car, but I can't complain. There is an argument to be made for price stability and estimating future depreciated value, but how much that matters depends on your specific case and what your plans are when making the purchase.
200/1000 is 20% 5000/100,000 is 5% (or 10% over 50,000). When you purchase a Tesla you're basically purchasing a computer. Prices for the same hardware reduce rapidly, or you pay the same price but get a lot more. The secret to happiness with any high tech product is: 1. Purchase the best you are able to afford. 2. Never read another review or forum post until the product you bought no longer does what you purchased it to do. 3. Repeat.
Tech items are out-of-date and cheaper practically by the time you've gotten the item home. Cell phones being a rare exception; they just seem to get more expensive with each release.
The promotion part is correct, however now that's over and in the most recent pricing restructuring the base model S price increased but the Performance version is now including Ludicrous for free instead of making it a $20k option as you can see on the site right now. I do fee for those who just took delivery and paid $20k for Ludicrous, when it's now free. People say that "prices change" but that is a rather vague blanket statement. Tesla's prices change much more erratically and unpredictably compared to the rest of the industry where msrp prices are generally unchanged until the next year. Tesla is definitely a different car company which is still trying to make a profit so they have some leeway but I think some people would hope by now they would have more stable pricing instead of such drastic swings. Even Elon himself tweeted back in late February there would be "no further pricing reductions from here", but as we can see that hasn't held up. We see the same thing with pricing increases, where FSD is suppose to continue to increase in price. However, that is completely contingent on it's grand vision becoming a reality, which may be years and years away (especially with federal regulations needed) - meanwhile tens of thousands have already paid for it. I'm not vouching against Tesla, but I do think there are many areas where they could improve with their business model. When the rest of the industry catches up within relative margins, they are going to really feel the pressure to get things right or customers will easily jump ship and never come back. They still have a good cushion with their core capabilities and well engineered components but it will only be a matter of time before that magic sauce will be replicated or even trumped by others.
Car prices can and do fluctuate by thousands daily. Manufacturers do this via their dealers often dropping prices $5k or more. Right now (July 2019) take $8K of an Escalade, I'd say that was premium vehicle - More $$ than a P3D. I just googled best new car deals July 2019 to find this. https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/cadillac/escalade/prices All July 2019 deals listed here: https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/best-car-deals ($6,000 back on Nissan Murano) and this is just the open to the public published stuff. And, let's not forget Acura's $20,000 price drop on their NSX: 2019 Acura NSX gets $20,000 discount after slow 2018 sales and here's Autoblog's list of July 2019 deals (it's a slide show so you have to click through it) $10K off Nissan Titan, $6K-9K off Chevy Bolt's, etc The Best New Car Deals: July 2019 You don't look like a financial fool. If your friends and associates are tracking the purchase price of your stuff, you need different friends and associates. Realistically, we've all been told by smart money people that you should never buy a new car, so you are in the company of very many who have gone before you, and those that will follow. If you want to feel like a fool, then kick yourself for not buying Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, or earlier stock stalwarts like GE, Coke, GM, and Yahoo. I paid thousands more for my Pearl White P3D than you last year, but it doesn't bug me a bit. It was that much more time saved in the carpool lane. Time does have a price, and I've got my return on it. The issue is that you are Tesla laser focused now. I didn't see Teslas (or follow forums) as much until I bought one. Same thing for a Subaru Crosstrek I got my daughter, I didn't notice them as much until now. The difference between my kid's Subaru and my Tesla is that I haven't once visited a Subaru forum to become educated to be disappointed about what I may or may not have missed out on. Tesla will do whatever is necessary to stay in business, I hope. I just wish they would bring service and delivery back up to the high standards they had prior to the 3.
That is not the way I understand it. Car manufacturers make many price changes (e.g. rebates to the dealer, booking deals, etc.) The consumer never sees these because they are hidden. Tesla is more transparent because there is no dealer network.