Model Y now unaffordable for most of us

[ScoobyDoo82]

I think you are misunderstanding the point of the OP’s original post. Tesla went from having affordable models to being unaffordable. They had a $30k Model 3, and a sub $40k Model Y. But over the course of the year raised their prices by quite a large amount and got rid of their affordable Model 3 and Y. Making them unaffordable to a lot of folks in the name of profit.
It’s not like Rolls Royce or Lamborghini where it’s just for the filthy rich.

I have a theory. Tesla (and more importantly, Elon) originally wanted to create a Tesla for every different budget. The Model 3 was supposed to be the bare entry point and an affordable car. This was in 2017. Done. Now in 2021-2022 Tesla has realized that the “budget” customer is more of a PITA than the $90k Model S customer.
It’s like Motel 6 vs Four Seasons. Tesla just doesn’t want to deal with these “Motel 6” ghetto customers anymore! …so, they’ve made the product unobtainable under the grand conspiracy of chip shortages/demand etc.. good time/excuse to switch out your company demographic without it being too obvious.

 

[whisperingshad]

exactly. ID.4 with the *full* $7.5k tax rebate (if you can use it) is a solid EV. Not nearly as "sexy" as a $60k Model Y ... but also a lot cheaper. The obsession with "having to get" the latest and greatest Model Y is beyond me. I can definitely afford a Y but likely would replace my Model 3 AWD with another Model 3 AWD if i had to right now and get a Rolex OP from my AD with the savings...

All VW owners i know always complain of electrical issues...dont know if I would try a car they made that was all EV

 

[texas_star_TM3]

I have a theory. Tesla (and more importantly, Elon) originally wanted to create a Tesla for every different budget. The Model 3 was supposed to be the bare entry point and an affordable car. This was in 2017. Done. Now in 2021-2022 Tesla has realized that the “budget” customer is more of a PITA than the $90k Model S customer.
It’s like Motel 6 vs Four Seasons. Tesla just doesn’t want to deal with these “Motel 6” ghetto customers anymore! …so, they’ve made the product unobtainable under the grand conspiracy of chip shortages/demand etc.. good time/excuse to switch out your company demographic without it being too obvious.

i've seen numerous reports in our local Tesla group on FB where Model S / X customers are anything but happy with the customer service / treatment / repair wait times they are getting for their $90k+ vehicle (...)

your statement also makes no sense given the ambitious growth targets Tesla has... the EV market at $90k+ is not that big. Certainly not MILLIONS of cars annually.

 

[whisperingshad]

Tesla should increase the production of model Y in a big way this year with Texas and Germany factories coming on line. One may hope that prices may come down a bit next year after those factories ramp up. If the chip shortage disappears (maybe one day), then there should be plenty of non Tesla offerings available at MSRP. More competition will lower prices, however that may not materialize until 2023...

Competition doesn't lower MSRP prices

 

[jason330i]

I feel priced out cause I want to get two EVs.

 

[Unclepaul]

As gas prices continue to go up and cities begin restricting ICE cars from their city centers, plus governments forbidding sales of Gassers in the near future, EVs will become the economic choice for many.

 

[jjrandorin]

I guess used prices for Y SR are out of reach for the OP?

I believe those are costing almost as much as new Model Y LR, based on the prices people are getting for selling them.

 

[Zorg]

Competition doesn't lower MSRP prices

It sure would, but at this point it doesn't matter since there isn't any. We need overall supply to catch up to demand to see any price reduction.

 

[Lloyd]

Shut up and take my money!

 

[N1L CO2]

When we got our MYLR, at about $8k less than it is today, I felt it was a decent value considering what you get. Although Tesla Vision has me seriously reconsidering that, at their current prices, I don't see buying another one anytime soon, as I was originally planning. For me, it's not just affordability, as I've purchased far more expensive vehicles. It's all about value. Perhaps in the future, if prices drop, tax incentives show up, or they add features, I'll take another look. Maybe things like the new battery tech, functional autopilot, and improvements in quality will make it back on the shopping list.

At the current price, there are a lot of other great options. Keep in mind, not everybody is limiting their next vehicle purchase to an EV, or Tesla, for that matter. And yes, you can easily find most new vehicles at or below MSRP - in particular, if you order one. Which most will recommend doing. Just shop around, find out what dealers are doing for ADM, add-ons, etc. Or wait a bit for things to settle down.

Regardless, Tesla can clearly sell vehicles at whatever price they want - for now. I'm not expecting to influence that. But we all have our own priorities. And for me, a MYLR at $64k doesn't make sense.

This was almost the exact same thought process I had when I got mine in June 2020 when the starting price was $48990. I ended up buying it with FSD.

Coming off of a lease on an Audi A5 Sportback (which I loved!), I thought the value proposition was excellent because my commute was 80 miles 4-days a week. Along with my monthly pass for the taking the train a couple of days, I was going to save at least $400 in gas and fees a month. That plus the CVRP and the CA rebate of $1500 made it almost a no-brainer. Now that I have Tesla Solar at home I am saving even more and I know my next car will be another EV as well.

I love the Y so much that I planned on getting a 2024 MY but I am not sure the same value proposition is there. I get that Tesla has included a few more options and niceties in the current Y but like you, I don't think I want to pay $64k for it just yet. With FSD really isn't what it was advertised, I am keen on Rivian and Audi Q4 at the moment.

 

[whisperingshad]

It sure would, but at this point it doesn't matter since there isn't any. We need overall supply to catch up to demand to see any price reduction.

Never has in the car industry

 

[Zorg]

Never has in the car industry

Because the MSRP doesn't mean anything for legacy automakers. For Tesla that sells at MSRP, they move it up and down as they need to. We'll have to disagree on this one.

 

[Corndart]

All VW owners i know always complain of electrical issues...dont know if I would try a car they made that was all EV

German cars are generally awesome until just after the warranty expires at which point they start having expensive gremlins. Either buy one used and expect to invest, or keep til 50k ish mile mark and dump. Their resale in "normal times" reflects this reality across the board, data doesn't lie. Not sure why anyone would have higher expectations out of their EV's than they've manifested in their ICE vehicles.

Back to the affordability thing - seems like this horse has been well flogged but someone had a comment regarding average income in US, but that's not really relevant. Need the average income of a TESLA BUYER, for which there is at least some data.

New survey compares demographic of Tesla Model X vs. Model S buyer

Tesla Model X Owners were found to earn nearly twice as much as Model S owners in recent study. Additionally, 97% of owners believe Tesla is on the right track.

www.teslarati.com

Inb4 the "but its so expensive in the Bay area and so this is skewed, I am poor at 125k / year salary!", which may be true. But then you likely should stick with a used hybrid or low cost ICE vehicle (again, thinking of normal car price times) and stop trying to keep up with the more well heeled residents. Nobody "deserves" a Tesla, nobody should "demand" a low cost option from Tesla either. The entire narrative is both narcissistic and ridiculous.

Carry on.

 

[Destiny1701]

Because the MSRP doesn't mean anything for legacy automakers. For Tesla that sells at MSRP, they move it up and down as they need to. We'll have to disagree on this one.

We should all be happy Tesla actually honours the original booked price even through multiple increases. It’s amazing they don’t ask for half the increase especially if there is something significant ie. new battery, new cameras, gigacast etc. No legacy would do this…dealer markups would come into play.

I’m picking up my Aug ordered Y in about 10 days and quite content with buying at 8k less.
If that doesn’t translate to 4680…well…it’s what I bought

 

[jjrandorin]

We should all be happy Tesla actually honours the original booked price even through multiple increases. It’s amazing they don’t ask for half the increase especially if there is something significant ie. new battery, new cameras, gigacast etc. No legacy would do this…dealer markups would come into play.

I’m picking up my Aug ordered Y in about 10 days and quite content with buying at 8k less.
If that doesn’t translate to 4680…well…it’s what I bought

Tesla does a lot of things wrong, for sure, but one of the things they do that I really appreciate is "everyone in the country that ordered a car on the same day using the same process, pays the same price". It has never made sense to me that the same exact car could be different prices on the SAME LOT on the same day, let alone same car with same features = different price everywhere in the country.

Teslas pricing increases happen for everyone and are fairly transparent. In exchange for that, they get a lot of people trying to game the system, with multiple "holds", a secondary market that has sprung up with people selling reservations, etc.

The whole "selling reservations" thing is going to end up putting an end to the entire process of vehicle holds, somewhat like the rampant exploitation of interest rate matching using a specific credit union, put an end to the rate match program.

Im not saying that from inside information, or anything, its just my opinion.

 

[DanDi58]

We should all be happy Tesla actually honours the original booked price even through multiple increases. It’s amazing they don’t ask for half the increase especially if there is something significant ie. new battery, new cameras, gigacast etc. No legacy would do this…dealer markups would come into play.

I’m picking up my Aug ordered Y in about 10 days and quite content with buying at 8k less.
If that doesn’t translate to 4680…well…it’s what I bought

I ordered mine when it was $49,900, then there was a price decrease to $48,900 10 days later - which they passed along to me without me asking. So that was nice as well. Then it went back up to $49,900 prior to me picking the car up, but it kept the lower price.

 

[Zorg]

Tesla does a lot of things wrong, for sure, but one of the things they do that I really appreciate is "everyone in the country that ordered a car on the same day using the same process, pays the same price". It has never made sense to me that the same exact car could be different prices on the SAME LOT on the same day, let alone same car with same features = different price everywhere in the country.

Teslas pricing increases happen for everyone and are fairly transparent. In exchange for that, they get a lot of people trying to game the system, with multiple "holds", a secondary market that has sprung up with people selling reservations, etc.

The whole "selling reservations" thing is going to end up putting an end to the entire process of vehicle holds, somewhat like the rampant exploitation of interest rate matching using a specific credit union, put an end to the rate match program.

Im not saying that from inside information, or anything, its just my opinion.

I agree. Everyone complains about dealer markups, but folks are out there gaming Tesla's pricing system. Tesla should put an end to the transfer of reservations, and this would end. Then again, it may be temporary. Tesla can't increase its prices forever, and most likely will have to lower them again once supply catches up.

 

[Hexo09]

I have a theory. Tesla (and more importantly, Elon) originally wanted to create a Tesla for every different budget. The Model 3 was supposed to be the bare entry point and an affordable car. This was in 2017. Done. Now in 2021-2022 Tesla has realized that the “budget” customer is more of a PITA than the $90k Model S customer.
It’s like Motel 6 vs Four Seasons. Tesla just doesn’t want to deal with these “Motel 6” ghetto customers anymore! …so, they’ve made the product unobtainable under the grand conspiracy of chip shortages/demand etc.. good time/excuse to switch out your company demographic without it being too obvious.

With all due respect, your theory makes absolutely no sense... Rich entitled people are much more of a pain in the ass than "ghetto" (I had no idea we still used that term to speak of lower-middle class people) customers, anyone in a remotely customer service role will tell you that. If Tesla really wanted to position itself as a luxury brand, they would have a lot of work to do, let alone the fact that it would be a 180 from their whole mission statement.
As said before, they're simply testing the customers' resistance and at what point they will stop buying. With loans being 72 or 84 months now, they are banking on "affordable" monthly payments for people to keep buying. But I'm not sure that it will continue forever.

 

[DanDi58]

I agree. Everyone complains about dealer markups, but folks are out there gaming Tesla's pricing system. Tesla should put an end to the transfer of reservations, and this would end. Then again, it may be temporary. Tesla can't increase its prices forever, and most likely will have to lower them again once supply catches up.

They have actually started to tighten things up, no longer allowing people to keep rolling their order over forever and locking in a price from a year ago, for example. And I don't believe there is an 'official' way to transfer a reservation. I think it was always a matter of finding a sales advisor who was willing to do some strange things behind the scenes to get it done.

 

[Meteile]

get a Model 3 instead of the Y ... better range, better handling, and $8k cheaper than the Y. although less spacious it is still a comfortable vehicle for 4 people.

It's ok but it's very noticeable that since the 3's a sedan you need to "fall into" the car instead of sit in it like an SUV.