Can be. Different colors do have quite considerable cost differences to manufacture and apply. The formulation and cost of the paint colors can vary considerably. Not just from the pigmentation, but also the type of flake or other constituents therein. Also certain colors may need more coats, different numbers or types of topcoat, or treatment between coats. Nowadays you can basically be walking from a simple two coat to an complex multi-coat paint job depending on the color you choose (and the company chooses.) If you look at different car companies, you will usually see that similar colors are the cheapest etc...
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Can be. Different colors do have quite considerable cost differences to manufacture and apply. The formulation and cost of the paint colors can vary considerably. Not just from the pigmentation, but also the type of flake or other constituents therein. Also certain colors may need more coats, different numbers or types of topcoat, or treatment between coats. Nowadays you can basically be walking from a simple two coat to an complex multi-coat paint job depending on the color you choose (and the company chooses.) If you look at different car companies, you will usually see that similar colors are the cheapest etc...
There are people who don't want leather because they try to avoid animal products and Tesla is one of the few car companies, if not the only car company where you can get a loaded car with no leather.
I don't have a political issue with leather, but I hate leather seats, they're cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and they are so slick you slide a bit going around curves. IMO vinyl is the only car seat material that's worse. Now having gotten the cloth seats, I can't say I'm all that impressed. The seats on my 1992 Buick are far more comfortable.
I did drive two Model Ss with leather before buying, one had next gen seats and the other was a very early one from late 2012 with leather. I didn't think those were as comfortable as my Buick's seats either. While the Buick's seats have held up very well (they have almost no visible wear), they are very dated. You aren't going to find many cars with blue velour seats these days.
Tesla's costs are also higher than other car companies. They are cranking up their volume, but they are still making 1/20 the cars the smallest mainstream car company (Subaru) makes a year. They can't buy supplies at the volume price breaks other companies get. Once they start building the Model 3 their volumes will be catching up to Subaru fairly quickly and they will start getting better volume prices on things like paint. If the Model S/X have the same paint colors, those car lines will get the same breaks.
In a few years Tesla may be able to sell the Model S and X for around the same price of other American luxury cars in the same general size range such as Cadillac and Lincoln. With higher volumes for shared parts and the discounts those bring, cheaper batteries from the GF, and price pressure from their internal competitor (the Model 3), Tesla will probably both be able to bring down the price of those cars and will have to or see sales stagnate. Few people are going to pay twice as much for 20% more car. The big battery S/X will probably always have the best range in the Tesla line, but the smaller battery S/X will struggle to compete when a stripped 75 KWh (or whatever the battery size is then) costs the same as a loaded Model 3 and the loaded Model 3 will probably have more range.
There are certain things I expect when purchasing a $70K car. I know this is standard car industry practice. But one thing that attracted me to Tesla besides their cars being EV's is that they didn't do things like traditional car companies.
SSD420
Member
Bundling backup cameras with other safety features wouldn't be legal in Canada.
I believe backup cameras must be standard on new cars sold here now.
CapeOne
Active Member
Many cars have backup cameras standard in the U.S. now but they will be legally required in all new cars by 2018.
STbreaker
Member
Yeah they are going to be required soon, but until then most auto makers are charging for them. Honda made it a point to make it standard on all their cars which was a nice gesture. What's funny about it though is that while the backup cameras are technically an "option," the salespeople in the Porsche and Audi dealers told me that they basically refuse to order cars without them. Again for the OP, I stress that Tesla's option prices are not bad at all. Sometimes people whine about the price of the premium package but check out a comparable alternative:
I was looking at smallish SUVs and went to check out a Porsche Macan. The base price is looking OK, but then you realize that to get the same kind of stuff you find on the Tesla it gets pricey pretty quick. You can save a little money by choosing a package, but a base model went from $48K to 68K to get things I want.
- Metallic Paint - $690
- LED adaptive headlights - $1890
- Leather Seats + 14 way w/ memory - $3450
- Entry and drive (proximity key fob) - $790
- Park assist with surround view - $1190
- Lane change and lane keep assist - $1380
- Navigation Module - $1730
- Connect Plus (LTE and google maps) - $1300
At the end of the day, I think Tesla has a reasonable option strategy and competitive pricing for said options. The point of my previous post was that I think few people (myself included obviously) would begrudge them if they made some of the most popular (and expected?) options standard to further simplify their lives as a small scale manufacturer.
source: Revealing the Most Popular Tesla Model S Configurations
CapeOne
Active Member
Actually, I think a backup camera is standard on most cars now including the Porsche Macan you mentioned. The optional "surround view" goes above and beyond just the backup camera.
