This will be an unpopular view but...

[Matt L]

I think people should stop demanding things that we didn’t pay for.

For those of you not paying attention, Tesla isn’t exactly the most healthy of companies. It’s in an extremely risky phase of growth where they are trying to balance rampup, decreasing demand, and margins.

I’ve struggled to think of another customer base that feels entitled to more capability than they purchased. Smart phones are the closest.

Yet, we still expect them to meet all the traditional expectations of legacy car manufacturers. I say that this is an impossible equation for them to solve. Something will need to give.

There have been many innovative car companies go out of business in the last 100 years...I really hope Tesla isn’t the next.

I would offer we have an important role in that. Something to think about the next time you think Tesla owes you something.

 

[Petrlol]

Said it before and I'll say it again.
Everyone on your street that bought a F-150, a Ford Edge, Chevy Traverse, or Honda Accord... or whatever is popular nowadays, they all paid wildly different prices and some of them are the exact same config.

Yup my car is somewhere between $3-4k cheaper now. Oh well, I still love it, and would pay the same price again if I had to.

 

[commasign]

I completely agree. No regrets with any of my Teslas. But judging by the top posts in various Facebook Tesla groups today, lots of people are crazy pissed about the price drops!

 

[csdread]

I am more upset that we did not know they were changing the pricing structure on the Auto Pilot features. I know I messed up when I did not buy it for 5k with the car new, but was saving the 7k to buy it. Now i need 11k to buy it, i would have moved money around to make it happen. I wish there had been some pre-knowing about that price change, now auto-pilot is out of my price range.

 

[ninpb]

Plus side is think about getting your next Tesla down the road: probably be cheaper and better. All other manufactures just keep raising their prices.

 

[OCR1]

Tesla is more a tech company than a car company. Tech has always gone down in price while improving in performance. Some folks simply haven’t adjusted to thinking of their Tesla as a giant computer on wheels rather than a legacy automobile. I have no regrets with my December M3 purchase. I’m pleased to see that with the new lower pricing more people will be able to buy them. It only assures that the M3 will be successful, and there will be enough of them on the road to ensure long term service and parts availability, and continued OTA software updates for everyone.

 

[jerry33]

Right. The keys to happiness with any tech products are:

1. Buy for the features that are shipped with the product, not for future features because they may not happen or may be delayed.
2. Buy the best you can afford.
3. Buy shortly after the latest version goes on sale.
4. After purchasing don't read another review, blog, or forum, until what you purchased no longer does what you bought it to do.

This method works whether it's a car, camera, computer, or any other tech product you can imagine.

 

[iRia]

Do people really buy a car and expect it to hold value after you drive it off the lot? I certainly don't. You buy a car to use and drive. The only car I'd buy to hold value would be an exotic or vintage car, NOT a commodity production car like the model 3.

Also many of these people got a $7500 tax credit so they aren't really losing out.

 

[jerry33]

Do people really buy a car and expect it to hold value after you drive it off the lot? I certainly don't. You buy a car to use and drive. The only car I'd buy to hold value would be an exotic or vintage car, NOT a commodity production car like the model 3.

Also many of these people got a $7500 tax credit so they aren't really losing out.

Correct. Cars to drive are always an expense. The tax credit assumes that they don't spend it two or three times before they actually receive it It's never been a problem for me because the tax credits I receive just reduce the amount I have to pay. It's not as if I get a refund cheque.

 

[Dmagyar]

We’re all overlooking the premium the S and X model owners paid over what we’ve gotten, maybe not apples to apples but our initially priced 3’s are signicantly under what that group of Tesla owners paid...
Of course way different, but just sayin...

 

[StellarRat]

I think people should stop demanding things that we didn’t pay for.

Isn't it human nature? Tesla can just say no.

 

[billh13850]

In this way, Tesla is simply being more like a tech company than an automaker. In the tech world, early adopters always pay a premium to be first even if only by a few months.

 

[Runt8]

I am more upset that we did not know they were changing the pricing structure on the Auto Pilot features. I know I messed up when I did not buy it for 5k with the car new, but was saving the 7k to buy it. Now i need 11k to buy it, i would have moved money around to make it happen. I wish there had been some pre-knowing about that price change, now auto-pilot is out of my price range.

Last I heard (granted, before this latest price change) Tesla was honoring the AP prices that were in effect when you purchased. If they start actually releasing FSD features I would hope they would allow me to purchase it for $4k - the price that they advertised when I ordered.

 

[jerry33]

We’re all overlooking the premium the S and X model owners paid over what we’ve gotten, maybe not apples to apples but our initially priced 3’s are signicantly under what that group of Tesla owners paid...
Of course way different, but just sayin...

True, but I've also had six years of driving pleasure (it will be six years exactly tomorrow). Driven a bit over 121K miles and payed less than $3K for the electricity to drive that far (assumes all charging at home, reality is probably closer to $1700 given the Supercharging). Have a lot more room for luggage (about 50% of the miles are trip miles).

 

[Twiglett]

I am more upset that we did not know they were changing the pricing structure on the Auto Pilot features. I know I messed up when I did not buy it for 5k with the car new, but was saving the 7k to buy it. Now i need 11k to buy it, i would have moved money around to make it happen. I wish there had been some pre-knowing about that price change, now auto-pilot is out of my price range.

It would be nice, but in reality no companies make a habit of telling the world their upcoming pricing or package changes before they are made.
That is business suicide to reveal that information - hence absolutely zero businesses do it.
Its like the folks who get upset when what they wanted is discontinued or they don't buy the car because they don't know what will be in the new version.

 

[tgouverneur]

It would be nice, but in reality no companies make a habit of telling the world their upcoming pricing or package changes before they are made.
That is business suicide to reveal that information - hence absolutely zero businesses do it.
Its like the folks who get upset when what they wanted is discontinued or they don't buy the car because they don't know what will be in the new version.

And even if they would, people that have ordered before they said they change would still end up complaining, so there's no real difference

 

[Terthen]

I mostly agree, but the thing that leaves me a little bit sour is the continuous upsell. At each stage to sell more cars (which yes at the end of the day I can understand), it was like “tax credit is going to end! This is your last chance!” Or “model X 75d is going to be discontinued, this is your last chance!!” I feel like if they were less aggressive with the upsell I wouldn’t care as much? Maybe not. I mean at the end of the day he delivered the $35k model 3 before the tax credit fully expired, which is pretty amazing...

 

[timk225]

As the master of unpopular opinions around here, I can say that although I understand the reason for Tesla to be constantly upselling us, I do not like it. Case in point - the pearl white paint that my 3 LR RWD was made with cost me $1000 last May, and now it is $2000. What changed in the paint, or did Tesla just realize they could grab more money from people who did not want an ugly black car?

 

[Matt L]

As the master of unpopular opinions around here, I can say that although I understand the reason for Tesla to be constantly upselling us, I do not like it. Case in point - the pearl white paint that my 3 LR RWD was made with cost me $1000 last May, and now it is $2000. What changed in the paint, or did Tesla just realize they could grab more money from people who did not want an ugly black car?

So we complain if things get cheaper and more expensive? *sigh*

 

[Striker3000s]

As the master of unpopular opinions around here, I can say that although I understand the reason for Tesla to be constantly upselling us, I do not like it. Case in point - the pearl white paint that my 3 LR RWD was made with cost me $1000 last May, and now it is $2000. What changed in the paint, or did Tesla just realize they could grab more money from people who did not want an ugly black car?

Ugly black car!! I like my black car.

They found that multi coat is more costly to produce. Same as the red. I can understand them adjusting pricing as needed.