Latest Price Drop Discussion

[Sutton 3P]

The cars are great and I love the performance model 3, BUT

I bought my M3P+ in January for $73 000 (+taxes, delivery, etc) with FSD, white interior and white multicoat paint.

Today that car costs $62 000

Factor in my additional $1875 rebate and I've lost $9125 in 6 months, plus normal depreciation. Now tell me again about how my car is actually an appreciating asset

I like a lot of things about Tesla, but Musk's slimy sales tactics and compulsive lying are major issues with the company. I bought a Tesla believing in the vision and now I feel like a sucker who bought into a scam. I will definitely try hard to avoid buying a Tesla next time around. It's sad, but the brand has about the same prestige as VW to me at this point.

 

[ivan801]

While I don't want to downplay your right to be frustrated with price changes, just make sure you don't buy any traditional luxury car next time -- there is ALWAYS going to be someone who paid $10,000 less for his car. In the same configuration. Same color. Purchased on the same day.

 

[jdw]

The history of Tesla has been more car for less money as time goes on - this has happened to pretty much every owner ever. Some times are worse than others - usually buying right before a major change, like buying the last AP 1 car, buying right before the D's were released, recently, paying full price for a Ludicrous car.

I picked up my first Tesla (85D) the day they announced the 90D ...point is, you still have the car you bought and if you enjoy it, don't let this take the joy away. The money was gone when you picked up the car, but it still has the original value to you and if you were to replace it in 3-4 years, the replacement will be that much better and less expensive.

I just picked up a Performance S, with "free" Ludicrous, but knew up front that "free" Ludicrous would at a minimum devalue the existing L cars and would likely soon be offered to everyone and would have little real resale value to me. On the upside, I have an amazing new car that I will enjoy driving for a number of years.

 

[CyberShy]

Thanks for supporting Tesla. Your purchase is appreciated.
‘No returns after 7 days. No price adjustments.

 

[MoHazee4]

Hear ya loud and clear!

Now the color White is free...and Black cost extra....go figure.

Reminiscent of buying stocks - where prices fluctuate and you have to buy it for the low, when you can. Because - 100% you know they are going to go back up, at some point.

I'm not sure I see other automakers doing this - so frequently. Sure - they change prices, not bi-monthly.

 

[ecarfan]

@Sutton 3P I have seen posts similar to your for several years now. Every time Tesla decreases the price of an option or the base vehicle, or offer more included features for the same price, some people who paid more get upset. Apparently they would prefer that Tesla never become more cost efficient, allowing the company to offer more for less and be even more competitive compared to other auto manufacturers, and make Teslas more compelling than ever.

Your “hate” is misplaced, in my opinion. But you are welcome to choose a different long range EV next time you are in the market for a vehicle.

In the meantime, I predict that Tesla will still continue to outsell every other EV model, because Tesla simply makes far better EVs. Actually, I should say “far better cars”, regardless of what powers them.

 

[jgs]

The "appreciating asset" thing is, of course, total BS and Musk should hang his head in shame for ever having said it, except in his case just add it to his tab. That said, I have a hard time identifying with the mentality that says because someone else paid less than you did for the product, you wuz robbed. It's the way of the world. If the product's not worth it to you, don't buy it. If you bought it, it was worth that much to you. Nobody held a gun to your head. (Well, I hope they didn't.)

 

[jerry33]

Car manufacturers do this kind of price adjustment all the time, but it's normally hidden by the dealer so the consumer never sees anything but the dealer inflated prices.

 

[dk10438]

The cars are great and I love the performance model 3, BUT

I bought my M3P+ in January for $73 000 (+taxes, delivery, etc) with FSD, white interior and white multicoat paint.

Today that car costs $62 000

Factor in my additional $1875 rebate and I've lost $9125 in 6 months, plus normal depreciation. Now tell me again about how my car is actually an appreciating asset

I like a lot of things about Tesla, but Musk's slimy sales tactics and compulsive lying are major issues with the company. I bought a Tesla believing in the vision and now I feel like a sucker who bought into a scam. I will definitely try hard to avoid buying a Tesla next time around. It's sad, but the brand has about the same prestige as VW to me at this point.

I guess you haven't purchased many cars? Almost no car is an appreciating asset and most will depreciate at least 15% the moment you drive off the lot. Maybe you haven't purchased something called a cell phone or computer? They depreciate pretty bad too since technology is always improving and production costs get cheaper. Why would a Tesla be any different??? Early adopters for any brand of car pay more since there's pent up demand. When supply approaches demand, there's bound to be a softening of the prices... Enjoy the car....

 

[Sutton 3P]

I appreciate some of the feedback here, while others sound very cultish.

First off, no, $65k luxury cars don't fluctuate by $10k day to day. That is a ridiculous claim at any point in time, but especially so in 2019.

Second, yes I have the same car and I agreed to it's value etc etc. However, I did not factor 15% being lopped off the MSRP in 6 months' time (this obviously affects resale). This is not because I want to screw people out of getting a better deal, but because I want to have a reasonably constant MSRP and not one that moves like stock options. If you don't understand this, then good luck with your finances.

Third, what people have a hard time admitting to here is that Musk is a compulsive liar (and has even been sued by the SEC for this). As a customer I don't like that he constantly lies about the products he's selling (and yes I am well aware that the M3 appreciating is a brazen example of this). I don't like that it makes Tesla buyers look like suckers or rubes who cultishly follow whatever the dear leader says. Even if I don't care at all about the $10k, it's embarassing because I look like a fool by association.

 

[happyzod]

Lol. Ya it sucks to know musk basically harvested your tax credit then lowered the price by 9k more after that. But it is what it is.

 

[jebinc]

Lol. Ya it sucks to know musk basically harvested your tax credit then lowered the price by 9k more after that. But it is what it is.

BOHECA, it is.

 

[TKGA]

I bought my smartphone and a month or so later the price dropped. Partly to increase sales and partly bc a new release was coming out.

I bought my Honda Odyssey in 2014 and a few months later the price dropped to meet sales projections.

Teslas seem to have both reasons to have future price drops - price drops for future buyers to clear out inventory and to sell older tech when new tech comes. It’s just hidden with ICE dealers - the sticker shows the same price but you can haggle for bigger discounts.

I’m sure Tesla also has an inventory turnover ratio for parts and cars it needs to maintain.

 

[mtndrew1]

(Spoiler alert, the prices are going to drop again in January.)

 

[MidnightRider]

I appreciate some of the feedback here, while others sound very cultish.

First off, no, $65k luxury cars don't fluctuate by $10k day to day. That is a ridiculous claim at any point in time, but especially so in 2019.

Second, yes I have the same car and I agreed to it's value etc etc. However, I did not factor 15% being lopped off the MSRP in 6 months' time (this obviously affects resale). This is not because I want to screw people out of getting a better deal, but because I want to have a reasonably constant MSRP and not one that moves like stock options. If you don't understand this, then good luck with your finances.

Third, what people have a hard time admitting to here is that Musk is a compulsive liar (and has even been sued by the SEC for this). As a customer I don't like that he constantly lies about the products he's selling (and yes I am well aware that the M3 appreciating is a brazen example of this). I don't like that it makes Tesla buyers look like suckers or rubes who cultishly follow whatever the dear leader says. Even if I don't care at all about the $10k, it's embarassing because I look like a fool by association.

You do know that your car cost significantly more to produce than the ones coming off the line today? Also, it's a supply and demand. As production increases, the overall cost decreases and they need to move more cars to match production.

 

[thx1139]

The cars are great and I love the performance model 3, BUT

I bought my M3P+ in January for $73 000 (+taxes, delivery, etc) with FSD, white interior and white multicoat paint.

Today that car costs $62 000

Factor in my additional $1875 rebate and I've lost $9125 in 6 months, plus normal depreciation. Now tell me again about how my car is actually an appreciating asset

I like a lot of things about Tesla, but Musk's slimy sales tactics and compulsive lying are major issues with the company. I bought a Tesla believing in the vision and now I feel like a sucker who bought into a scam. I will definitely try hard to avoid buying a Tesla next time around. It's sad, but the brand has about the same prestige as VW to me at this point.

Tesla's unlike ICE vehicles are mostly new tech and high tech devices. All devices like this have a history of dropping in price. I havent ever tried to figure out what my 2015 85D which cost like $95K would cost today. Just thrilled how it compared to other vehicles at the time and how at 100K miles is still drives the way it did when we took it home. If you had looked at Tesla history you would know that the price of the vehicles either drop over time or the cars get more capability for the same price. If you want a car where every year the manufacturer raises the price then I suggest going with a traditional manufacturer.

 

[happyzod]

Third, what people have a hard time admitting to here is that Musk is a compulsive liar (and has even been sued by the SEC for this). As a customer I don't like that he constantly lies about the products he's selling (and yes I am well aware that the M3 appreciating is a brazen example of this). I don't like that it makes Tesla buyers look like suckers or rubes who cultishly follow whatever the dear leader says. Even if I don't care at all about the $10k, it's embarassing because I look like a fool by association.

That's being a little bit too harsh. Musk is not a compulsive lair, but one of his best (and worst) qualities is his willingness to pivot without regard for all the stakeholders. I believe he did not intend to go through this cycle of constant price drops, but once he saw the serious demand cliff that was January, he did a 180 and went all on on this new strategy.

If you followed the price drops in Q1, you found that they lowered the prices a total of 2 times in Q1 plus offered discounts to autopilot. There was no demand as you saw in the earnings. So they pivoted. My theory is, they saw the sales of the first 2 weeks of this month and they were bad. So they acted fast and started lowering prices after learning from their Q1 mistake.

 

[Sutton 3P]

You do know that your car cost significantly more to produce than the ones coming off the line today? Also, it's a supply and demand. As production increases, the overall cost decreases and they need to move more cars to match production.

...and you do know that's how things work at every company ever (also the term for it is not supply and demand, but economies of scale)? I guess you think Apple should charge a million dollars a piece for the first few hundred iPhones of each new model and then decrease the price as production scales up until they cost a couple hundred at the end of the year?

 

[CommandoFL]

Quit yer Bitching about price. My god. Should I hate Amazon cause people got their crap cheaper on Prime day. It is just REALITY. You agreed to pay the price that you paid. You have nobody to bitch at but yourself

 

[RobDickinson]

TBH you have to be happy to pay the ticket price when you buy and know, in the future, that the car will be better and cheaper.