The recent price drop

[ucmndd]

I disagree - I financed through Tesla - how much are they making on that for the next 5yrs?

Zero. Tesla isn’t a bank.

 

[KangThe]

I disagree - I financed through Tesla - how much are they making on that for the next 5yrs?

Nothing. Tesla doesn't finance any cars. They have third party. They just act as a broker to help you get the loan and secure financing.

 

[vidt]

Zero. Tesla isn’t a bank.

Thanks for the clarification

 

[vidt]

But you're blaming the wrong entity. The entity causing all this mayhem in the entire EV/hybrid auto market right now is the government with its ridiculous role out of IRA. Tesla would not be going through all these price, delivery, and inventory gyrations if it wasn't for IRA.

It's not Tesla's fault. They have to sell cars to stay in business - every, single, day. IRA put the brakes on selling cars and inventory surged.

Good point -

 

[Geech72]

Zero. Tesla isn’t a bank.

They probably get some minimal commission just like big box retailers who use a third party to manage their store cards.

 

[Zaxxon]

You wholly proved that what I said was correct.

Lol.

Who set the aforementioned oft-stated goal? Tesla. If you have an internal goal and you change your actions to meet your internal goal that’s you unilaterally controlling said action.

This... is not how the world works. Go ahead and run the mental math on Tesla deciding that Geech72's feelings are more important than their fiduciary duty to shareholders to follow through on publicly-stated plans.

It’s how a cartel functions.

OK.

Sure they take into consideration market factors, but they’re not compelled to completely let those factors control their actions as would an organization that has no control over how the market dictates their prices.

What does 'control over how the market dictates their prices' even mean?

We all know that these price changes have nothing to do with inventories or production it’s all about getting under the threshold for the tax credit; that’s not rocket science.

We do not all know that, because that is a false statement. Absolutely the IRA's credit is an important consideration, but it's secondary to managing production/inventory. You are not making your case stronger by elaborating here.

Again, this starts and ends with this:

Tesla's oft-stated goal is to get to 20M vehicles year, and each year they raise production ~50%. As 2022 dwindled, so did Tesla's order backlog, to the point that inventory at the end of the year was higher than they need it to be . They'll continue to raise production in 2023. Now, in January of 2023, the market has decided and signaled via order rate that the prices Tesla had been charging for its products were too high.

This is not rocket science, and to be blunt, significant price reductions could be seen coming a mile away to people paying close enough attention. Here's one example from a month ago, but it is far from the only indicator.

 

[ucmndd]

We all know that these price changes have nothing to do with inventories or production it’s all about getting under the threshold for the tax credit; that’s not rocket science.

So let me get this straight, Tesla voluntarily reduced the prices of their entire product portfolio by ~20%, including the models that aren’t eligible for the tax credit whatsoever, so that some models would be eligible for a tax credit that they didn’t need since they had no inventory/production/demand problem?

 

[woolymammoth17]

Zero. Tesla isn’t a bank.

This is not true. Tesla gets paid by banking partners, up front, for funneling loans to them as is standard throughout the industry.

 

[woolymammoth17]

They probably get some minimal commission just like big box retailers who use a third party to manage their store cards.

Nothing minimal about it. Banking partners pay hundreds to thousands of dollars per loan depending on credit, loan amount, loan terms, interest rate, etc.

 

[Geech72]

You guys go ahead and familiarize yourselves with the differences between competitive firms and monopolies. These actions by Tesla will be discussed for years in Econ classes; probably as early as this semester. At least when I was getting my Econ degree we talked about examples very similar to this one

Marginal Revenue Explained, With Formula and Example

Marginal revenue is the incremental gain produced by selling an additional unit. It follows the law of diminishing returns, eroding as output levels increase.

www.investopedia.com

 

[Geech72]

Nothing minimal about it. Banking partners pay hundreds to thousands of dollars per loan depending on credit, loan amount, loan terms, interest rate, etc.

I guess my view of minimal is relative. My company’s credit portfolio generates significant revenue, but compared to our normal operations it’s a rounding error. Granted we finance a far fewer rate of our sales than I’m guessing Tesla does.

 

[woolymammoth17]

The reality is that at some point, Tesla will have to compete in the market against actual competitors. I can't think of anywhere, outside maybe monopoly cable service, that a company has been so successful with so many broken promises and such poor quality and customer service. Tesla has not had a real competitor yet, and I would argue even now is only beginning to see any real competition.

Will be interesting to see what happens when there are fully fleshed out competitors, and whether Tesla will have to clean up its act as the razzle dazzle of the Tesla name wears off.

Who could have thought that the CEO coming out as an alt right MAGA and QNut could negatively affect a company whose primary customer is save the planet liberals?

 

[donblackie8]

The reality is that at some point, Tesla will have to compete in the market against actual competitors. I can't think of anywhere, outside maybe monopoly cable service, that a company has been so successful with so many broken promises and such poor quality and customer service. Tesla has not had a real competitor yet, and I would argue even now is only beginning to see any real competition.

Will be interesting to see what happens when there are fully fleshed out competitors, and whether Tesla will have to clean up its act as the razzle dazzle of the Tesla name wears off.

Who could have thought that the CEO coming out as an alt right MAGA and QNut could negatively affect a company whose primary customer is save the planet liberals?

Is an ICE car manufacturer not a competitor? When I choose to allocate dollars to a vehicle....I am looking at things holistically. A large portion of my funds for vehicles still go towards ICE. Isnt that their "competitor"?

 

[Kokukenji]

I think we can chalk up all of these posts to the following:

• THE price drop is good for new buyers and EV community as a whole (Makes other manu think twice before pricing their cars).
• THE price drop is not good for those that own a Tesla or have recently purchased one. The severity on how bad depends on your purchase price and what incentives you get or didn't get. Also, it's only "bad" if you decide to sell. Also "bad" if you're doing numbers comparison on what you paid versus what you could have paid if you waited.

Can anything be done about it? No. We can discuss and continue picking sides but at the end of the day, it is what it is. You can either buy if you think the price is right or you can be pissed off at the brand for when you buy your next car.

 

[scratch]

Nothing minimal about it. Banking partners pay hundreds to thousands of dollars per loan depending on credit, loan amount, loan terms, interest rate, etc.

Paying for leads / opportunities is standard practice in finance. There is nothing wrong with compensation for being the first point in loan origination.

The reality is that at some point, Tesla will have to compete in the market against actual competitors. I can't think of anywhere, outside maybe monopoly cable service, that a company has been so successful with so many broken promises and such poor quality and customer service. Tesla has not had a real competitor yet, and I would argue even now is only beginning to see any real competition.

Will be interesting to see what happens when there are fully fleshed out competitors, and whether Tesla will have to clean up its act as the razzle dazzle of the Tesla name wears off.

Who could have thought that the CEO coming out as an alt right MAGA and QNut could negatively affect a company whose primary customer is save the planet liberals?

Competition is any product or service consumers would otherwise spend money on. This includes ICE cars, other EV manufacturers, public transportation, motorbikes, bicycles, etc. It also includes all commodity suppliers to those alternates, such as oil and gas companies.

Tesla has faced massive competition. What you seek is clone of Tesla and there isn't one. There's reasons the company's success can't be duplicated very easily, EVs are a "new" technology for traditional auto companies and it takes time for corporate behemoths to adapt.

 

[woolymammoth17]

Is an ICE car manufacturer not a competitor? When I choose to allocate dollars to a vehicle....I am looking at things holistically. A large portion of my funds for vehicles still go towards ICE. Isnt that their "competitor"?

It’s a competitor in the sense that it’s also a vehicle, but I don’t think that it’s a competitor in many peoples minds when shopping. I think a large percentage of the people buying a Tesla are specifically buying it because it is electric and it has the Tesla cachet.

 

[nate704]

I disagree - I financed through Tesla - how much are they making on that for the next 5yrs?

Still don't get my point. Is Tesla (or the bank Tesla uses) charging you more after the price drop?

 

[woolymammoth17]

Paying for leads / opportunities is standard practice in finance. There is nothing wrong with compensation for being the first point in loan origination.



Competition is any product or service consumers would otherwise spend money on. This includes ICE cars, other EV manufacturers, public transportation, motorbikes, bicycles, etc. It also includes all commodity suppliers to those alternates, such as oil and gas companies.

Tesla has faced massive competition. What you seek is clone of Tesla and there isn't one. There's reasons the company's success can't be duplicated very easily, EVs are a "new" technology for traditional auto companies and it takes time for corporate behemoths to adapt.

I never said there was anything wrong with it. Two people in this thread stated that Tesla made no money on financing. That is simply not true.

You’re talking about competition in the broader sense. I’m talking about competition when someone gets it in their mind that a Tesla is aspirational and they really want one. What else are they going to compare it to? When I was looking, I wouldn’t even consider a Mach E or Ioniq 5, etc.

What I’m saying is that it will be interesting to see what happens once there are equivalently advanced, similarly priced and good looking electric vehicles to compete with Tesla that also have recognition and cachet. Today there are none.

 

[donblackie8]

It’s a competitor in the sense that it’s also a vehicle, but I don’t think that it’s a competitor in many peoples minds when shopping. I think a large percentage of the people buying a Tesla are specifically buying it because it is electric and it has the Tesla cachet.

This is on the buyer. When landing on the value equation which should be the focus for most people in the world (not the 1%) since they are looking to buy the car as utility....they should be considering all options to fulfill said utility against the amount of dollars they are giving up to get said utility.

Only considering EV or applying emotion to the equation is the fault of the buyer....not the seller.
I finally bought my first Tesla......and I fully took advantage of the new pricing discounts. But I dont actually think its the best option for utility even that the price point I paid. But I am in tech, so I am treating this purchase as a toy. If it depreciates a certain amount over the years.....I dont lose sleep over it. I see this as all of my dollars I am transferring into this depreciating asset as gone and anything I can get back is gravy.

Its the opposite thought process when I am looking at purchasing property/real estate.

 

[240vPlug]

This is my response to the recent price drops with Tesla.

Tesla,

Let me begin by expressing my complete disappointment and utter astonishment at the recent actions of Tesla Motor Corporation and the recent aggressive price cuts of its automobiles. In late September I purchased a Model Y performance for $77,440 plus tax and license totaling some $85,400 and of course waiting 3 months for delivery. Just before the year end I learned of the new price cuts, tax credits and free supercharging not to mention the less than one week delivery. If that wasn’t shocking enough and now just a couple months later I find out my car is only worth $65,380, the price at which I can buy the same vehicle today. If I knew this was coming I would have simply waited 3 months and saved nearing $15,000. I can’t even take advantage of the tax credits, supercharging or price breaks and now can never sell my car without taking a huge loss. Thanks for the immediate depreciation of my vehicle!!

As a read through on-line posts and social media, I’m certainly not the only one who is outraged by this action. I believe Tesla Motor Company should provide a rebate at some level to its clients who purchased a vehicle say within 6 months of this recent news. At the very least, Tesla should provide the free Supercharging offer and free full self-driving capability as this would cost Tesla essentially nothing. This would not in any way make me whole but at least it’s something other than the gut punch Tesla and Elon Musk just served up. It must be comforting for a Billionaire to make these rash decisions while hard working loyal customers like myself who support him have to just sit here and take it.

I expect a qualified response to this e-mail and not some “canned” cut and paste reply. This situation represents real money and is a valid concern by one of Tesla’s valued customers.

It sucks I agree with you. Seems like a desperate move by Tesla to clear inventory. Unfortunately, and I took delivery in June, we all agreed to pay the price we paid. I am choosing to enjoy the car and will drive it for at least 5 years. Values may fluctutate again if we see a spike in gas prices. You haven't lost anything unless you choose to sell the car remember that.