WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
Perhaps this all depends on how you buy your car in the first place,
I think worth considering price of new car - i.e. difference between 2nd hand price and current new price (rather than original price paid "depreciation"). If New Price, and 2nd price, have fallen ... doesn't really make any difference - its just the "make up" money to convert a sale into a new purchase.
This does mean that they basically have to keep selling to stay afloat, though, with the consequential effects that has on residuals for existing owners. That might bite them in the medium term.
I know the hardware does change on Teslas ... Heat Pump, and some minor improvements and so on ... but it doesn't seem much to me, and no speciifc "Year models" like other brands. The motoring press complains that Tesla desparately need a refresh (once it gets to about 3 years). Tesla don't rush to refresh (maybe too "young" a company to have that ability ... maybe deliberate / strategy).
But the OTA stuff adds a lot over 3 to 4 years.
So right now Tesla tells anyone that has an issue "go elsewhere" because they can sell all they can make ...
... but if within the 3 years ownership they clean up all the niggles - OTA releases that fix wipers, phantom braking, make the headlights do matrix ... then at that point existing owners, previously dead-set on changing brand, may stay brand-loyal. So Tesla could engineer "keep customers" over the course of 3 years OTA releases.
I think its up to the rest to out-pace Tesla (and I've been hearing of Tesla Killers since the first one I owned in 2015). So far the competition has kept on shooting itself in the foot - Musk can't surely believe how easy they have made it for him - its like your best mate passing you the ball 2 yards from the touch line.
Of course some will want a change, and not to be driving "the same as everyone else" ... but if Tesla actually manage to implement the promised huge numbers of Supercharger sites what other Charge brand competitor will there be? Sure, they'll be open to "all" by then, but there will probably still be a slight advantage with having a Tesla car too. And if AP improves, courtesy of FSDb - I'm sure there will still be those making comparisons that XYZ is "better", but it has been the case to date they are better in some instances not all (maybe the instances where we would all like Tesla to shine - e.g. hands-free motorway driving) ... but then Tesla only have to release that OTA to scratch that itch for users.
So I think its all within Tesla's Gift to change from punter-ditcher to become a punter-keeper. Although ... beats me why the Summer Intern hasn't been told to "Fix wipers". Might be because it is hard, but I think more likely "Not a priority". If sales drop I think it will become a priority
the wife's "shopping" single motor sensible family car MS is far faster than my V8 TVR, not that it is likely that will ever be sold (into 20 years of ownership now and could sell for far more than I bought it for......)
I had a Caterham-type-Lotus-7 thing with a V8 / 300 BPH. My 2015 MSPD was faster, acres of cargo space, 100% more passengers The noise of the Lotus-7 was tiring ... in fact the only thing the Lotus-7 did better was turning Right-at-T and hanging the tail out for 100 yards ... Kept it a few years, never drove it ... so it went.
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