Ok, I admit it, I was wrong.........

[Stuart21]

'should be a no-cost paint option other than black'

Elon will just pass you on to Henry -

 

[chateauoaks]

"Ugly black color?", since when??

Hey, Liberace, I wouldn't be caught dead in a white car. Maybe Tesla should offer a gold plated trim package to go with it like Lexus! LOL The only time I'll ever consider even driving a white car is when I'm renting in Miami in July. Also, check the difference in retail values between white and black used cars.... and ask any used car salesman which color moves faster off the lot.

 

[WileyTheMan]

To each his/her own on color choices, but the costs are on par with what other cars in this segment do: charge for different colors.

And seriously? Trust fund baby? Keep in mind that some people have pretty meager incomes and are willing to arrange their finances to accommodate a loan/lease of that size. Heck, it's already going to be a challenge for me to get the Model 3 I want, and it's not even an AWD version.

 

[ThisIsTrue]

And seriously? Trust fund baby? Keep in mind that some people have pretty meager incomes and are willing to arrange their finances to accommodate a loan/lease of that size.

+100.

No trust fund. No inheritance (yet, at least: mom's 93 and burning up her savings with the kids' encouragement). Decent, but not huge, income. Careful financial planning so I can splurge once in awhile on something I really believe in? BINGO.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Yes boys and girls, you heard it here first. I am saying I was wrong.


About the paint color!


One of my bigger complaints on the 3 was not only having to pay $1000 to get away from the ugly black paint, but having to take Pearl White instead of Solid White. I was thinking that the pearl white was some off-white color, with a yellowish haze to it that could not be eliminated. That is where I was wrong.

I was out in my '11 Challenger R/T today, doing some things, breaking the speed limit, etc, and decided to cruise by the Tesla Service Center 15 miles away. In the parking lot, there were 5 Model S's and X's in Pearl White.

Since no one was around, I took my time, walking around them, looking from all angles. Some of them were clean, some were dusty, the sun was out, the sun was behind clouds, etc.

And I've got to say, the pearl white isn't bad. It is not the WHITE white I wanted, but it is a whole lot closer to it than I thought it would be. So I deem it to be acceptable for my 3.

But I still don't like Tesla's highway robbery $1000 price (get it? car? highway?). $500 or $600 would be reasonable, but there should be a no-cost paint option other than black. That is just plain wrong.

While I was there, I saw something odd. Somebody had ordered a Model X 75D, and had pimped it up with options to $153,250!!! Its VIN is XXXXXX. It had all the goodies. Full autopilot, 22 inch rims, everything except the most important option, the P100D! Or at least the 100D! Someone with more money than brains, probably some trust fund baby, ordered this thing. How could they not get the big battery astounds me.

You seem fun. Do people invite you to parties and ask you to say stuff?

 

[whitex]

Love the Pearl White on the S
looks much better than plain White

Not if yo

"Ugly black color?", since when??

Hey, Liberace, I wouldn't be caught dead in a white car. Maybe Tesla should offer a gold plated trim package to go with it like Lexus! LOL The only time I'll ever consider even driving a white car is when I'm renting in Miami in July. Also, check the difference in retail values between white and black used cars.... and ask any used car salesman which color moves faster off the lot.

LOL. "Ask any car salesman...", and they'll tell you whatever you want to hear - in your case that black cars are most popular. Maybe they think it makes people feel good to drive the most popular color choice, or maybe that they will be able to get the best trade-in price in the end. Other than car salesmen, care to provide some data sources/citations? A quick google search yields this:

Source: Car colour popularity - Wikipedia

The data on that page come from car paint manufacturers (see citations on the actual article linked above), which I think would be more reliable than a car salesman trying to sell you a black car.

Don't worry, your choice of black cars is only the 2nd most popular in North America, and 3rd most popular world wide, so you're still cool

 

[chateauoaks]

Not if yo


LOL. "Ask any car salesman...", and they'll tell you whatever you want to hear - in your case that black cars are most popular. Maybe they think it makes people feel good to drive the most popular color choice, or maybe that they will be able to get the best trade-in price in the end. Other than car salesmen, care to provide some data sources/citations? A quick google search yields this:

View attachment 240783
Source: Car colour popularity - Wikipedia

The data on that page come from car paint manufacturers (see citations on the actual article linked above), which I think would be more reliable than a car salesman trying to sell you a black car.

Don't worry, your choice of black cars is only the 2nd most popular in North America, and 3rd most popular world wide, so you're still cool

Popularity doesn't equal taste, in fact, often times it is quite the opposite (See 1973 Gremlin). Never mind, WhiteX, I'm impressed you did the legwork and my hat's off to you. Hard to argue with a man (?) who states his fave color in his moniker! Basically, my inner Doberman came out when that clown called black cars ugly.

 

[Sportstick]

"Ugly black color?", since when??

Hey, Liberace, I wouldn't be caught dead in a white car. Maybe Tesla should offer a gold plated trim package to go with it like Lexus! LOL The only time I'll ever consider even driving a white car is when I'm renting in Miami in July. Also, check the difference in retail values between white and black used cars.... and ask any used car salesman which color moves faster off the lot.

Silver and white cars are cooler, says study

Perhaps you'll allow for those of us who live in different climates. OTOH, in Michigan, I had a black car - once. The maintenance of appearance of that paint surface required far more effort than it was worth. As a recent buyer of a manual trans vehicle, I also care much more about my ownership experience than what happens eventually at resale.

 

[whitex]

Popularity doesn't equal taste, in fact, often times it is quite the opposite (See 1973 Gremlin). Never mind, WhiteX, I'm impressed you did the legwork and my hat's off to you. Hard to argue with a man (?) who states his fave color in his moniker! Basically, my inner Doberman came out when that clown called black cars ugly.

Taste is always subjective and individual, nor does it need justification. My post was purely about your comment about popularity and indirectly used car values. My personal opinion about black cars by the way is that they look amazing, but usually only the first day after you wash them or until someone leaves fingerprints on them. I owned only one black car in my life, but got tired of washing it.

 

[tmoz]

I'm happy with my "rare" titanium color. It looks (looked) a lot better in person on the sales floor than on a web page. lucky for me there was one sitting in the middle of the showroom when we went to order and we switched from blue to titanium. They say they discontinued the color because not too many people were ordering it.

 

[FlyingKiwi]

I did wonder if the predominance of white was because of company/commercial vehicles that were going to get sign written etc. So a quick google later and here are the figures for the toyota 86 in Australia. Anybody that knows the car knows that this is not something that is being purchased for sales reps or courier drivers.

Note: red is the only free colour, all others are AUD$450. So white being a free colour is also not a factor in this case.

Liquid White (29.6%)
Tornado Gray (15.1%)
Storm Black (14.9%)
Ignition Red (14.3%)
Velocity Orange (10.9%)
Ice Silver (8.1%)
Gravity Blue (7.2%)

 

[MDR SEA]

The black option was offered to land in the $35K target space.
Regardless (to Tesla owners) the 3 is head & shoulders above what the legacy guys could/would offer. They still don't get it.
So...there are other avenues to get the "sick" paint job - dipmy ride.com - etc.
I liked my Midnight Silver, but I'm loving my Matte Anthracite while my factory finish is protected from the elements.
MDR

 

[Skotty]

Could the price have been shown in a foreign currency? Maybe it came across the border for some reason.

 

[whitex]

The black option was offered to land in the $35K target space.

Solid white was a free Tesla color until last year. Pearl white has always been there, but that is a premium, mulit-coat paint option. Not sure how not offering solid white was to land in the the $35K space.

 

[tomas]

I wish! My adoptive dad was an artist & my adoptive mom didn't work outside the home. They quit helping me with homework when I hit long division. Zero inheritance.

Maybe you inherited some values and critical thinking skills? Money cannot buy those.

 

[Ebony Star]

I thought $153K was awfully expensive, but the window sticker was right there on the dash, I was reading it. It said the car was $111K by itself, 7100 for autopilot, etc.

Maybe there are differences between the window sticker prices and online prices, but why would that be? I don't know, maybe I am confused, there was a P100D X there also. Maybe I pwned myself on this one.

And yes trm2, I was at the Wexford service center.

Could it have been Canadian price.
153,250.00 CAD =120,802.033969 USD
7,100.00 CAD =5,600.470360 USD

I thought $153K was awfully expensive, but the window sticker was right there on the dash, I was reading it. It said the car was $111K by itself, 7100 for autopilot, etc.

 

[tmoz]

Maybe you inherited some values and critical thinking skills? Money cannot buy those.

Time Tunnel logo?

 

[MDR SEA]

Solid white was a free Tesla color until last year. Pearl white has always been there, but that is a premium, mulit-coat paint option. Not sure how not offering solid white was to land in the the $35K space.

Could be that TiO2 (white) pigment price has increased in the past 2 years as it usually follows the housing market.

 

[voip-ninja]

"Ugly black color?", since when??

Hey, Liberace, I wouldn't be caught dead in a white car. Maybe Tesla should offer a gold plated trim package to go with it like Lexus! LOL The only time I'll ever consider even driving a white car is when I'm renting in Miami in July. Also, check the difference in retail values between white and black used cars.... and ask any used car salesman which color moves faster off the lot.

I drive a an alpine white BMW F30.

Previously I had leased the same car, BMW F30 but in black.

I received zero compliments about the black one but receive frequent compliments on the looks of the white one. Different cars "wear" different colors well.

Call me liberace all you want. Black car in dry CO desert is a death sentence. Will be clean for about 200 milliseconds. And have fun washing it with rubber gloves and using an orbital buffer every four weeks to prevent the micro-scratches and swirls in the paint from looking terrible. I did my "black car thing" and now I'm over it.

 

[Gtosnipey]

+100.

No trust fund. No inheritance (yet, at least: mom's 93 and burning up her savings with the kids' encouragement). Decent, but not huge, income. Careful financial planning so I can splurge once in awhile on something I really believe in? BINGO.

The OP's original point was that they spent an absorbent amount of money on all of these additions to the car but "cheaped out" on the battery size. So he equated not being that smart with not doing what I don't know 99% of us would call a smart upgrade if you are throwing all of that money into the car. He didn't say "OMG he's an idiot he got the long range battery but was too dumb to get the 24" rims" lol.

Also, spending $150k on a car and attaching "decent not huge" income to me still says north of $125k which just isn't the scenario for most of us especially people here on a Model 3 forum. You can do all the careful financial planning you want, but if you make $50k a year, but it won't get you a $150k Model X (with a small battery lol).