Why did the price for the sound system instantly jump from $900 to $2,500? Wheels from $3,500 to $4,500? Etc, etc, etc. Mo money, mo money, mo money, and......because they can. While most car manufacturers set pricing down to the last dollar based on a specified profit margin of x percent, Tesla charges whatever they want because people pay it. The Model S is a cash printing machine. Added options give them the C note printing plates. There's a reason their guaranteed buyback for the base model was 50% and options were only 40% (if I remember correctly). There's a reason the lease rate un-proportionately goes up as you add options and there's a reason a fully loaded P85D or P90D depreciates at a much greater rate than does a base model 75. Options are a cash cow. Seriously, $1,500 more for a gallon of paint in a different color?? Because they can and because most will pay it and now, other than solid black, if you want a Tesla, you'll be forced to pay at least $1,000 for your color choice. Still blows me away that its $40,000 to go from a 90D to a P100D. All you really get for $40,000 is a car that accelerates quicker, oh and some paint on the brake calipers! The extra 10 or 15 miles in range doesn't allow you to skip any Superchargers on long trips or make the car charge any faster. Again, because they can!!
I love my Model S. Certainly have never spent as much as I did on it before on any car ever, not even half as much. While I can afford it, it was a slight stretch. My car is a year old. With all the changes over the past year, sadly they've priced me out of the Tesla market (to replace the same car as-is). So once its time for my car to go, unless I want to seriously downsize to the Model 3, I may be forced to choose something else. But, right now, Tesla really is the only game in town for this type of car, so that gives them the power to do what they do. As soon as Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, etc. all come out with their higher end EV's, Tesla will no longer be able to get away with their pricing tactics. There will finally be "competition", which will be good for the consumer. By then, with the Model 3 already developed and in production, they'll be able to afford to be more reasonable on pricing. For now, we continue to pay for the development of the Model 3.
