Tao Lin from Tesla China on the price cuts:
认不认同，我们把权利交给读者。
mp.weixin.qq.com
————
Dialogue with Tao Lin: Tesla’s price adjustments
On January 6, Tesla China announced the price adjustment of Model 3 / Y, and the prices of these two domestic models also reached the lowest point in history.
However, a dramatic scene appeared.
On the one hand, users who have already bought cars crowded the store to complain about rights protection, and on the other hand, users who did not buy a car frantically placed orders and crowded the official website.
In a way, it seems that no other company is so famous and yet so controversial.
When many people are watching the price cut incident with the mentality of watching Tesla jokes, it is Tesla itself who is the most calm.
On the afternoon of January 9, Tao Lin, vice president of Tesla, who had rarely made public appearances before, accepted an exclusive interview with media including auto industry and economics.
We tried to restore the real background and logic behind Tesla's frequent price adjustments from Tao Lin's interpretation.
As for whether we agree or not, we leave the right to the readers, and this article will not make any subjective comments.
NO.1
[ About price adjustment: Tesla has never changed its strategy ]
This is Tesla's fourth consecutive round of price cuts since September last year, but it cannot be ignored that some Tesla models have also experienced six consecutive price increases in the past year.
Although the price adjustment of new energy vehicles is nothing new in the industry, Tesla has been labeled as "too casual" because of its frequent actions. How should we understand the motivation and logic behind the price adjustment? , Tao Lin gave her own complete interpretation.
Tao Lin: The price adjustment of a product is actually a forecast of the company's cost changes in the next period of time.
The biggest difference between 2023 and last year is that the epidemic has basically passed. We believe that the supply chain has returned to normal to a large extent, and there will be no such unpredictable shortages of materials as in previous years, which will bring cost uncertainty.
I personally think that the price adjustment reflects our better planning for the supply chain in a sense, and what level the vehicle cost will be, and then we make such adjustments according to this estimate.
Some consumers may also say that I bought it yesterday, and you cannot suddenly change the cost overnight, but the fact is that any company does not calculate the cost every day, but calculates it according to a time period .
At the same time, the price of industrial products cannot be immediately reflected in the end products. Some raw materials may still be used in contracts signed a few months ago, so in fact, there will be a certain lag.
Image
The several relatively large price adjustments in Tesla’s history were all due to external factors that had a certain impact on the cost. For example, if we become a domestic car, the price will definitely drop compared to pure imports, at least 15% of tariffs will be saved. , For example, after our supply chain is stabilized, it will definitely be lower than when it was shipped from abroad.
Tesla's current supply chain localization rate is already 95%, and theoretically speaking, there is not much room for improvement, so I think after this price adjustment, it should be said (price) is relatively stable.
In fact, the logic of the Tesla company is very simple. When the calculated cost changes, such as the replacement of raw materials and other price adjustments, we will immediately increase or decrease.
Compared with the previous month, consumers seem to think that we have lowered the price more, but in fact, the price last month has increased, and compared with the price before the price increase, there is not much difference.
NO.2
[ About feelings: I hope everyone can understand this pricing logic ]
On the weekend after Tesla announced the price adjustment, car owners' rights protection broke out in some Tesla stores and delivery centers across the country, and the demands of these car owners were very simple, that is, to demand compensation.
Behind every price adjustment, car companies have their considerations, and consumers have their demands. So can a balance be found between the two? Automobile Production and Economics threw this question to Tao Lin.
Tao Lin: Tesla has adopted some relatively new concepts, such as the direct sales model, such as price adjustment strategies, and we hope to gradually make everyone feel that these concepts are feasible.
Under the direct sales model, the prices are completely open and transparent, without discounts or price increases, and everyone is the same at the same time.
For example, for a traditional car, everyone buys it at a different price at a dealer, so you don’t really know whether the price you bought is the lowest or not, and you don’t know what price other people are buying. Is it fair to consumers?
I think many consumers may not be too used to the current completely transparent approach, but I personally think that as everyone gradually understands why Tesla does this, they may gradually get used to it .
NO.3
[ About the order: there are fluctuations because of the large volume ]
According to media statistics, since July last year, Tesla's global orders have declined, so there are also voices that Tesla's price reduction is because the growth rate of orders on hand can no longer keep up with the climbing speed of production capacity.
However, after the price cut, the delivery cycle of the Model Y model has changed from the previous 1-4 weeks to 2-5 weeks. Does this mean that orders have started to increase again?
Image
Tao Lin: Some media said that we lowered the price because we couldn’t sell anymore. I think it’s really nonsense.
Compared with other companies with this dealership model, Tesla’s inventory is very transparent. You may see that there are some differences between our current production and sales, mainly because of the large volume, such as some cars. on the way of transportation.
I think this is very normal and within the healthy range.
The delivery cycle also has a certain relationship with the effective working hours. For example, the Spring Festival will be a holiday, so the whole January will only have about two weeks, and it will not be able to reach full production. It will definitely be full production every day compared to October. When the output is not the same, the corresponding lead time will be different.
(Note: In addition to the domestic market, the current capacity supply of Tesla’s Shanghai factory also includes Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and other countries)
NO.4
[ About industry competition: Tesla only focuses on products ]
From January 1 this year, my country canceled the new energy vehicle subsidy policy that had lasted for more than 10 years.
This also means that every new energy vehicle OEM that sells a new energy vehicle now loses nearly 10,000 yuan in profit, and in order to hedge this part of the loss, brands including BYD, Chery, Changan, Leapao, etc. have carried out different levels of investment. price increase.
At this time, Tesla, who chose to cut the price, instantly became the most maverick person, and was even labeled as not talking about martial arts. Some people say that Tesla's price butcher directly aggravates the internal friction between electric vehicles.
Tao Lin: When a consumer chooses an electric car, he first decides to buy a fuel car or an electric car, and then chooses which car among the electric cars. When he decides to buy an electric car, the choice is actually not that much.
Therefore, we have never regarded these other electric vehicle companies as competitors . We must work together to make the products more extreme, and then meet the needs of customers in different market segments.
Tesla currently produces only two domestically-produced cars. In fact, ordinary people still have many various needs, which may not be met by our two cars. We also hope that there will be a variety of cars in the market. Electric vehicles can satisfy everyone's needs.
From another perspective, I think China's new energy market is far from reaching the state of a zero-sum game.
In this sense, if any other electric car brand can produce a product that is much better than Tesla, and everyone rushes to buy their car, we also think it is very good, then we will hurry to improve our products . I think the current market size is not enough to buy yours, so I have to sell one less, and it is far from that time.
NO.5
[ about a few rumors ]
Tesla makes cell phones,
Tesla Model 2,
Tesla's second factory in China,
Zhu Xiaotong was promoted to Tesla's second in command,
Tao Lin said that the above rumors are not true.
