If the increase has a future effective date, then it will NOT affect people who reserve after the announcement but before the effective date. But I guess we don't know whether it will have a future effective date, and if so, how far into the future that date will be.
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The announcement said "This price increase is planned to be announced with full details, effective dates, pricing and options packages in the next two to three weeks." I think the phase "effective dates" says that they are giving people the opportunity to purchase at the current price. Otherwise they would have said that there will be a price increase announced in the next two to three weeks and buy now.
I also think that reservation holders should be given 90 days to finalize and lock in the old pricing. That seems like a reasonable time frame to lock in.
I'm glad you quoted this, and I agree. I fear some disappointment, though. It's explicit that some standard things "may" become part of an optional package, but I've seen comments that seem to read it the other way, too. I don't see any implication that anything optional might become standard, however.
I wonder if the price increase will be modest and some of the "increase" may come from turning standard things into options, but I'm not sure what kinds of things would make sense to turn into options. Maybe a few of the convenience features, or the door handles, might shift into the tech package?
Shorty
Member
Look at the upside. If you already own a car or are on the reservation list (and plan to finalize your order when available) then your car just became more valuable!
CyberDutchie
Active Member
I also wonder if making standard equipment optional could mean a lower entry price for the Model S. Or the quote could refer to the standard grey 21" wheels on the Performance becoming optional (or rather at extra cost vs standard).
I didn't think there was much that could be made optional on the base Model S. Steering wheel?
Hilarious!
I do wonder what they would have said about the Tesla battery pricing... :biggrin:
Although, compared to the Porsche 22K offering, the Tesla HP charger is a steal!
Bing cache of the specs page from 11/14/2012:
http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=http%3a%2f%2fwww.teslamotors.com%2fmodels%2fspecs&d=4526011584022709&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=apYBXBDgDPEKMU8zQtvcJBpeO50lXwgq
Some candidates for optional items:
- LED daytime running lights
- power adjustable front seats
- Flash memory storage for up to 500 songs.
- Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling and streaming music
- Tire pressure monitoring system
- dual zone temperature settings
I believe TPMS is required by federal law on all vehicles (weighing <10,000 lbs.) as of MY 2006.
See here.
Interesting ideas. I could see the running lights (hate 'em), flash for songs, or dual zone be pushed into the tech package, and maybe Bluetooth being included with several packages but not the base (though IMHO that would be foolish). But I can't see power adjustable seats, or tire pressure monitoring (the latter, based on PopSmith's reply), being made optional. For the seats, they'd have to make two ways to do this and I doubt they'd want to reengineer the whole front cabin like that. It's a pretty major change compared to the other things, IMHO.
Make Supercharging for 85 kwh cars optional?
The other things people are proposing are certainly possible, but I'm not sure that trying to sell a top of the market priced car with lots of nickle and dime options is a very wise idea. Apart from annoying people, it means the number of configurations and consequent manufacturing problems rises considerably.
The other things people are proposing are certainly possible, but I'm not sure that trying to sell a top of the market priced car with lots of nickle and dime options is a very wise idea. Apart from annoying people, it means the number of configurations and consequent manufacturing problems rises considerably.
Perhaps they will move Bluetooth calling with the Tech Package and Bluetooth stereo with the Audio Package.
There aren't many ways to incentivize the Audio Package any further than it already is, so I could see the advantage of moving Bluetooth Stereo (and maybe calling too) to the Audio Package. To me, BT stereo is a must-have.
I think they're going to separate out heated seats. $500 option.
I also noticed on the bulletin board that they have a defensively written article about what comes with the perf package. I bet some of those will be making their way as al a carte options.
Why isn't there a credit for 19" wheels in the Performance Package?
I also noticed on the bulletin board that they have a defensively written article about what comes with the perf package. I bet some of those will be making their way as al a carte options.
Why isn't there a credit for 19" wheels in the Performance Package?
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I'm a little late to this party, but I figured I'd share my thoughts on this price increase. To put it bluntly I think it sucks. This is especially true in light of the fact that many of us have delayed executing our reservations because Tesla hasn't even given us the opportunity to test drive the lower battery packs or be able to see all options in the flesh. How do you raise prices on people when you haven't even presented them the chance to the see the product they're purchasing?
I understand they're a company, a company in dire need of cash, so I can't fault them for looking out for their livelihood. But what bothers me are all the people that will simultaneously give them a pass for this, yet champion them as an exemplary company for its customer-first attitude. Lets not be delusional here. Tesla is no better or worse than the next guy. Their interests are not mutually aligned with ours. The times Tesla has seemingly gone above and beyond the normal service of its competitors are only due to the fact that they are a fledgling company, needing to build a customer base that stands by them. It's in their own interest. They don't have the recognition or reputation of a BMW (or similar) to stand on. That's not cynicism, that's realism. This is consistent with any new company, regardless of industry. As they become more established, those PR-friendly acts of kindness will begin to become fewer and fewer.
For every time they've done something positively noteworthy, they've done something equally (if not more) upsetting. There was the Roadster price increase. They didn't inform potential reservation holders that the lower battery packs would have decreased performance over the 85 kWh one until they announced pricing late last year (they clearly knew this information prior to that, but made the decision not to disclose that likely in an effort to drum up reservations). They didn't release information and pricing on the mandatory maintenance program until after the car was already being delivered. They were misleading with the SuperCharger cost being included with the 60 kWh. And then there's this Model S price increase in the middle of the game. And that's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more. You can defend Tesla all you want, but their track record speaks for itself. They continually mislead and keep its customer's in the dark with regards to important information.
With that said, the Model S is nothing short of an amazing engineering accomplishment and it deserves much of the accolades it's received. The company on the other hand leaves much to be desired.
I understand they're a company, a company in dire need of cash, so I can't fault them for looking out for their livelihood. But what bothers me are all the people that will simultaneously give them a pass for this, yet champion them as an exemplary company for its customer-first attitude. Lets not be delusional here. Tesla is no better or worse than the next guy. Their interests are not mutually aligned with ours. The times Tesla has seemingly gone above and beyond the normal service of its competitors are only due to the fact that they are a fledgling company, needing to build a customer base that stands by them. It's in their own interest. They don't have the recognition or reputation of a BMW (or similar) to stand on. That's not cynicism, that's realism. This is consistent with any new company, regardless of industry. As they become more established, those PR-friendly acts of kindness will begin to become fewer and fewer.
For every time they've done something positively noteworthy, they've done something equally (if not more) upsetting. There was the Roadster price increase. They didn't inform potential reservation holders that the lower battery packs would have decreased performance over the 85 kWh one until they announced pricing late last year (they clearly knew this information prior to that, but made the decision not to disclose that likely in an effort to drum up reservations). They didn't release information and pricing on the mandatory maintenance program until after the car was already being delivered. They were misleading with the SuperCharger cost being included with the 60 kWh. And then there's this Model S price increase in the middle of the game. And that's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more. You can defend Tesla all you want, but their track record speaks for itself. They continually mislead and keep its customer's in the dark with regards to important information.
With that said, the Model S is nothing short of an amazing engineering accomplishment and it deserves much of the accolades it's received. The company on the other hand leaves much to be desired.
Any new company, especially one with such a high technology component, is going to have some surprises along the way. And they'll conceal some things until they're ready, because total openness would be disastrous to their reputation: some of those things they'll fix, handle, or compensate, and some will end up being bad news. Those who reserve early have a risk that they'll end up being disappointed, or backing out, or that the company will make a change they cannot accept... but they get the reward of getting a car earlier, and they will get a lower price in this case if they reserve before the price increase. On the other hand, those who wait to reserve will pay more and will wait longer (the risk is how much more and how much longer!), but they have the reward of making a choice that is far more based on facts and concrete information.
Tesla must play some cards close to its chest. As you said, they are a company and their first priority is to survive and succeed. We, as committed or potential buyers, must in turn choose our own personal risk/reward preference. But you cannot have it both ways. You want certainty, it's going to cost you. You're willing to take some risks and handle some surprises (certainly not all of them positive), then there's a reward for that too.
No perfect or "right" choice there. But given current supply and demand, and given the depth of the reservation queue, Tesla would be fools not to raise prices.
Raffy.Roma
Rome (Italy)
I think that Tesla Model S is a very advanced engineering product. Being an electric car in my opinioin Model S is the most advanced car in the world. In this respect I think that the true problem with Model S does not come from the pricing but from the evident contradiction that in spite of being a very advanced engineering product Model S still needs important upgrades useful for comfort and safety (power folding mirrors, parking sensors, AWD, ACC).
So I think that we shouldn't complain with Tesla for the price increase of Model S but we should complain for the necessary upgrades being implemented on Model S as soon as possible.
So I think that we shouldn't complain with Tesla for the price increase of Model S but we should complain for the necessary upgrades being implemented on Model S as soon as possible.
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