Video with Bloomberg's Pimm Fox interviewing his colleague Betty Liu about Tesla showrooms preparing for the Model X:
So Betty Liu wore an outfit that seemed a bit more like her favorite anime' character than a dull television anchor. Good for her! That's where my celebration ends with this video. The underlying message was rather brash: if you're looking at an Audi or BMW, you're not looking at a Tesla. Tesla is a "lifestyle brand" like Porsche or Ferrari. I know what they mean, but come on, it's not like Audi and BMW don't also make baseball caps and mugs and what-not. I don't know about the golfing stuff, but that's not for me. My son designed and inked a Tesla pattern on a mug for Father's Day, and my wife knit my design of merino cashmere driving gloves with coated silver thread in the thumb and two fingers (of the right hand). I bought the lunchbox. I've gotten a few Tesla items as gifts (one was the #driveFree shirt because I drove to Albert Lea, MN at 1:00am in February). In my mind, this is no different from buying your kid a "Gallifrey University" hoodie in Doctor Who fandom, or a cat-bus backpack from My Neighbor Totoro. I'm sure there are a few owners out there that have made Tesla pillows, quilts, something custom for their dog to ride in the back (or the front, have you see that guy's front seat replacement?). The simple fact is that Tesla has learned / known that people want stuff with their brand on it, and marketing/apparel companies have come to them and said "People all over the world are painting coffee mugs and sewing gardening aprons with your car, your logo on it. How about you sell something for the less-crafty people?" To have these talking heads try to pigeonhole Tesla into a recessed fashion domain like Gucci, Coach, or Louis Vitton (may he rest in peace), that's in denial of the fact that Tesla is an engineering and automotive manufacturing company, as much as saying Porsche and Ferrari don't make amazing cars (in their own avenue). I'll bet anything there's a company store at General Electric where I can get t-shirts, coffee mugs, and baseball caps. Does that make General Electric a lifestyle brand? I think not. What this video is about is a well-scripted attempt to marginalize Tesla Motors and sway broad market interest away from the vehicle. I know one Tesla owner who went from a Toyota Camry to his Model S, and there are several people who have incomes near $45,000 a year who have written their stretch stories. I left a Chrysler Cirrus in my rear view mirror. People who sit down and bother to write a Total Cost of Ownership analysis between a Model S and a Honda Odyssey aren't also thinking "and what a steal on those $65 golf balls!" This is the "hook" or intrigue of the video. Otherwise, it'd be no different than learning that the corporate HQ store of Maytag in St. Joseph, MI is now selling the fabled "Maytag Man" blue poplin jacket and hat, or that John Deere has a new line of children's clothing for sale at Amazon.com.
IMO a combination of a "News" network with hours and hours of programming time to fill and a lack of information on the new MX. We are crabby cuz we hoped to learn something and did not. while I was disappointed in the lack of useful info in the clip, any sign that the MX may be available in the near future is welcome. Although this activity does remind me of cleaning your room to avoid studying for a test. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Wow - I reacted completely differently to this video (altho agree written article was better - thx, Curt for posting both). Pimm was harping on the commercialization aspect (he brought up the $300 luggage), Betty responded with an explanation that Tesla is a brand already, and lots of people want a part of it. I don't see this as any different from what Elon said when he announced the referral program: we won't pay to advertise, but if you like what we stand for, then go for it. As culture-fluff-news, it was infotaining
I'm definitely starting to feel some positive buzz and excitement growing over the past few days. It feels like something is about to happen. I just hope that something does happen in the next week because things may sour again if there isn't anything until the end of September. If Tesla was smart, they would put out little bits of information out every week so that the momentum continues to grow until the reveal.
There. If you ask me they went a little overboard with the Model X branding on the new store design, but it's not bad. ~
I thought it was a common argument on TMC that Tesla wouldn't do anything Model Xy in stores for months due to the queue and to prioritize Model S sales in the meanwhile? No demo cars for months etc.? Anyone still feel like that? Or do we need to talk Eds.
Yep, video is nonsense and contains nothing new, most of it made up; no Tesla press release, no official word, nothing, nada. I can't take seriously a report that has so many mistakes and ends with the quote "You can carry your battery and wear your Tesla hat at the same time!" Nobody ever said there wouldn't be demo cars (or demo events), but I do still doubt that Tesla will put cars in showrooms much before year end. Tesla is going to be very tight meeting delivery guidance numbers and they'll want every possible car in customers driveways.
Yep. 'Revamping' means a couple of really large graphics going up (think 10' x 10' or something like that) and some new merchandise. Stuff like that. We'll see production-quality demo cars in the stores after the end of the year. All focus will be on delivering X to paying customers and keeping Model S sales steady until EOY.
Fair enough, at least very clear predictions. We shall of course see what happens. Mostly unrelated pondering: I wonder if Tesla won't try to do a Cayenne with the Model X and make it the new volume model, perhaps even flagship. Cayenne elevated Porsche to a new level. I wonder if Model X could be more mainstream than Model S and thus actually even get more attention overall than we may think.
While that's possible, the Cayenne ended up being Porsche's volume vehicle because it wasn't a 2 seater sports car and was priced in the realm of other performance SUVs. Way more people want an SUV than a 911 or Boxster. IMO, Tesla doesn't have that problem with Model S. I agree though, that Model X will sell well.
