Losing interest in the Tesla Brand

[P100DHG.]

When I bought my Model S P100D it was the pinnacle of the Model S. Q4 2016. They had leather interiors with ventilated seats and the glass roof had just been release. The innovations kept coming. From there they began to remove offerings and simplify there production of a very expensive and premium product. The next quarter they raised the price $10,000 on the performance model.

Now they have discounted everything, stripped the badging and made a bland product offering. Instead of being excited about what was to come I’m bored and worried about what’s next for the Model S. Though I intended to own my car for many years when I bought it, I liked to see the innovation.

I’m hoping Tesla returns to that once they get through this patch of gutting the company

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Me too. Sold my $100,000 worth of TSLA, Thursday after the announcement, and grabbed a bag of popcorn. This is my kind of spectator sport.

 

[eRandall38]

stripped the badging

What do you mean by this?

 

[ucmndd]

What do you mean by this?

He means the back of the car doesn’t say P100D any more so that everyone knows how much money you spent at a casual glance.

 

[eRandall38]

He means the back of the car doesn’t say P100D any more so that everyone knows how much money you spent at a casual glance.

Gotcha, thanks. I was not aware of this. Is this documented somewhere? I assume this is in reference to the announcements yesterday?

 

[croman]

There are no more variants to the X than P or no P or ludicrous is P.

S has a software locked battery option but otherwise it is the same.

I agree with OP, seems Tesla just wants to move quantity, no longer the same kind of cars. I could customize so many options in late 2016. Now it's cookie cutter.

 

[bob_p]

The price decrease was long overdue, this will make S & X more competitive with the new EVs hitting the market (especially after Tesla fully loses the EV tax credit) and against ICEs. While it's frustrating we lost about $25K in value overnight with our 2017 S 100D and 2018 X 100D, the other manufacturers are going to be impacted more if the new pricing helps to pull more of their customers over to Tesla.

 

[GeoX750]

The price decrease was long overdue, this will make S & X more competitive with the new EVs hitting the market (especially after Tesla fully loses the EV tax credit) and against ICEs. While it's frustrating we lost about $25K in value overnight with our 2017 S 100D and 2018 X 100D, the other manufacturers are going to be impacted more if the new pricing helps to pull more of their customers over to Tesla.

Funny thing is what new EV competition were they dropping prices to meet ? I get that demand has disappeared, but there really is no competition out there for S or X yet.

Models S and X need a refresh to spur demand. Price decreases of over $10K is just going to gut the brand and may hurt, not help sales longer term.

 

[unbelievable]

Funny thing is what new EV competition were they dropping prices to meet ? I get that demand has disappeared, but there really is no competition out there for S or X yet.

Perhaps it's different in the US but over here in Europe, some (especially those with misplaced brand loyalty) may consider a Jaguar ipace or an Audi e tron.

I watched the fullycharged e tron episode recently and shuddered when he revealed all the different charging cables in the frunk. I was however very impressed with the apparent build quality and sound insulation of the cabin.

In my mind, Tesla's unique offering of a widespread charging network and autopilot is going to keep them ahead of the pack for some time. Also, the recent discovery that their battery management is around 20% better than the competition is nothing to be sniffed at.

I feel like people are worrying unnecessarily about Tesla at the moment and there are great things to look forward to. There are new, unannounced models on the horizon, fsd seems to be making good progress, not to mention the roadster and truck which are nearly upon us.

I for one am very much looking forward to finding out what the future brings.

 

[DocZ]

I definitely agree. The S/X are supposed to be the premium flagship product yet they have essentially abandoned those cars. No meaningful upgrades in over a year. Removing options, dropping prices, etc. Give us bigger batteries and more features already.

 

[AVRnj]

When I look at the new build options, there is nothing that I would want that I can't order, and the pricing is pretty damn attractive.

 

[P100D_Me]

Me too. Sold my $100,000 worth of TSLA, Thursday after the announcement

I knew I should have sold mine when Elon tweeted about the Saudi buyer.

Models S and X need a refresh to spur demand. Price decreases of over $10K is just going to gut the brand and may hurt, not help sales longer term.

Outside the US those price decreases were even worse for some, $60,000 USD reduction on the Model-X P100D where I am from, that is absurd.

 

[emmz0r]

I definitely agree. The S/X are supposed to be the premium flagship product yet they have essentially abandoned those cars. No meaningful upgrades in over a year. Removing options, dropping prices, etc. Give us bigger batteries and more features already.

Yes I am kinda worried. I think the overly focusing on Model 3 might be their doom if they neglect S and X. Lovely cars.

 

[P100D_Me]

Especially when the focus and cause for all this change is on the lower profit (as we would call it locally) 'povo pack' model.

 

[Kant.Ing]

O private! private! private!

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Things that got me into a Tesla in 2015

Supercharging network. The free element was a fun element of it, but it was never a serious part of it.
The introduction of Autopilot. I liked the idea that it would get better over time.
Local Service Center full of knowledgable people.
Resale guarantee
Sales Tax exemption helped with the price
Federal Tax credit that helped with the price

Things that are trying to get me out of Tesla

FSD as in how it was advertised, and sold
Elon not being grounded in reality. So many distractions like picking a fight with the SEC
The ship it and fix it later mentality. Not enough focus on getting it right the first time.
The lowering of the price too quickly. Sure I get that Elon wants sustainability, but the company itself has to be sustainable.
The uneasy feeling that one gets when things are out of control. It's bad enough that we have the POTUS we do, and things like Brexit. Can't our car company at least make sense? This might sound funny, or at least it does to me. But, I think humans take comfort in the things wer'e fans of. As an example diesel gate really impacted VW fans because of the love they had for everything VW.
Strongly belief that people still need to kick the tires, and test drive a car before knowing if a car fits them. The online sales model feels like Tesla see's a car as a tool, and not as something to fall in love with. If I wanted a tool I'd buy a Toyota.

What's keeping me in a Tesla

Lack of Supercharging like infrastructure from competitors. The Electrify America network leaves a lot to be desired
The Tesla Community
The Christmas like feeling right before an update is released
My enjoyment of complaining about things (I get this from my mother. ughh).
When I drive the car I forget about all the issues with the company, and how it's run. The car does the talking as it should be the case.
Life is about adventure, and Tesla is an adventure.

 

[P100DHG.]

Tesla has always been disfunctional but I read their intentions as genuine. With this latest news today I just think they are being unethical.

Tesla slashes retail employee compensation, seemingly pushing them out instead of layoffs

I own 2 Tesla’s and 0 Tesla stock. They need a major turn around on so many fronts if they want to keep my brand loyal

 

[PhilDavid]

When I bought my Model S P100D it was the pinnacle of the Model S. Q4 2016. They had leather interiors with ventilated seats and the glass roof had just been release. The innovations kept coming. From there they began to remove offerings and simplify there production of a very expensive and premium product. The next quarter they raised the price $10,000 on the performance model.

Now they have discounted everything, stripped the badging and made a bland product offering. Instead of being excited about what was to come I’m bored and worried about what’s next for the Model S. Though I intended to own my car for many years when I bought it, I liked to see the innovation.

I’m hoping Tesla returns to that once they get through this patch of gutting the company

The Model S is supposed to be Tesla's flagship car but sadly at the moment, it isn't.

Of all the "changes" they've made to the Model S the one I am disappointed most is the removal of the sunroof So many happy summer memories of going fun places with the sunroof open on a beautiful day... never to be had in a new Tesla. The Model S interior amenities are sparse enough as it is but to remove the sunroof?

I used to love to visit the Tesla Web site to build out the latest Model S so I know what to buy next but I stopped doing that. No sunroof, you can;t select wood trim for a performance Model S any more (only comes with carbon fiber and white interior). Basically there is no longer any joy on excitement in going to the Web site to configure a Model S, let alone buying one.

I really hope they bring back the sunroof for the Model S.

 

[thegruf]

In the UK the ModelS P100D just went overnight from a configured 133,000GPB to 93,000GBP.
(USD/GBP is 1.32) which is a 30% reduction ffs

So that is 52,800 Dollars the price of these vehicles dropped overnight.

Personally I am likely to be about 27K GBP/ 35K USD out of pocket due to the expected shift in used prices.
(put into context - that's more money than I could put by in a year - I can only afford these cars and support the Tesla cause by carefully managing the depreciation which is now a total fail of course). There's year old cars being adverised for way more than a new one now costs. wtf.

The bit that really grates personally is that my car would have sold, except that I took it in for service as I wanted to make sure it was perfect for the new owner and they ended up hanging onto it for almost two weeks, I've only just got it back and was going to take it to the delaer next week who has had a buyer lined up. So Tesla have screwed me over every which way.

Never have I known a company act is such a reckess way and with such utter disrespect by shafting its customers in such a manner (and now seemingly its staff too).

Ever since the days of the 691hp lies I have had concerns, the FSD deceit and more recently the chaotic Model 3 pricing just speaks of a company that is flat out irresponsible, and whoever is VP (or whatever) of Sales should be fired for this current mess imo.

I have totally lost respect for Tesla.

 

[P100D_Me]

Never have I known a company act is such a reckess manner and with such utter disrespect by shafting its customers in such a manner (and now seemingly its staff too).

Very well said in your post above, it seems unfortunately some people are so far drawn in to the cult of Elon they cannot see what Tesla have actually done. I'm not even going to bother checking the price drop in the US but it was the same here as the UK, about 30% and in doing that they've killed the used car market.
Your situation was so much worse with you close to selling the car then boom out of nowhere a brand new car is all of a sudden cheaper than yours.