Was thanking Model S/X owners for funding Model 3 -- a bad idea

[duke_of_ev]

During Model 3 unveil, Musk thanked Model S and Model X owners for "helping to pay for Model 3". I thought it was a bad move because it may make Model S owners feel like they overpaid for their car. Did anyone who owns S/X feel like they got short end of the stick when he said that?

 

[Johan]

Not at all. We're not paying for anyone's M3, everyone pays for themselves. You have fundamentally misunderstood Musk's statement. What he means to say is that without early customers who have bought the Roadster/S/X there would be no Tesla and no M3. No one has overpaid for their current cars. I say this because it is a fundamental fact of life that when a consumer buys a product at a certain price that consumer obviously believes the product's value is equal to, or above, the price being asked (otherwise the customer wouldn't have bought the product).

 

[BornToFly]

+1. Also the Model S is a great value when compared to Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche with similar specs. When we get our third Tesla next month, I will have given Tesla $350,000 in 3 years. Worth every penny, as they will have given me 3 of the best cars on the planet, and in 2 more years, a Model 3 for the price of a BMW 318!

 

[jerry33]

No. It was a fine idea. Everyone knows:

1. Upscale cars have a higher profit margin than econoboxes.

2. Tesla started with upscale cars to get the revenue they needed to produce less expensive models. (Anyone who didn't know this hasn't done even the smallest amount of research on Tesla as the "Secret Master Plan" has been on Tesla's website forever.)

3. Thanking someone is never in poor taste.

 

[Owner]

I appreciated it!

 

[MikeC]

We've known that we were the second step in the Master Plan since 2006. It was nice to hear that acknowledged by the man himself.

 

[RobStark]

IF you bought a competitors car you helped, in part, to pay for shareholder dividends.

And you overpaid relative to a Tesla vehicle.

If you bought a Tesla all profits were reinvested in Tesla Motors.

Helping pay for Model 3,GF, and Tesla expansion in general.

Never a bad idea to thank your patrons for helping grow your business.

 

[omarsultan]

Nope - with both the S and X we knew exactly what we were doing -- getting great vehicles and funding Elon's mission. By contrast, I would not be paying Tesla price points for a conventional vehicle.

 

[Stoneymonster]

One of his reasons I bought my Tesla was to encourage more of the same. Funding further vehicle development while having a great car was an explicit reason for me.

 

[aja2460]

One of his reasons I bought my Tesla was to encourage more of the same. Funding further vehicle development while having a great car was an explicit reason for me.

I agree. Big reasons that I justified buying a Model S and then a Model X were to enable the Model 3 to be developed and sold, at this stage in my life I could afford to help let that happen, and I get own (and will continue to own with the Model X arriving in the next couple of weeks) to own a revolutionary and most amazing car.

 

[ChadS]

I too appreciated the thanks.

Before EVs, all of my gas cars were under $20k. Buying the Roadster was quite a departure for me, especially since at the time you had to pay cash in full before they started building - and they had some very serious financial trouble at the time; it wasn't clear that they would be able to deliver my car.

But that is exactly why I did it - they were the only company selling EVs, and I liked their plan to make more and cheaper ones. I voted with my wallet for what I wanted to see.

They had a well-known cash flow crunch getting the Model S out too. At least I only had to put down $40k for that one, ha. And then there weren't really usable Superchargers for a year or so.

 

[James Anders]

During Model 3 unveil, Musk thanked Model S and Model X owners for "helping to pay for Model 3". I thought it was a bad move because it may make Model S owners feel like they overpaid for their car. Did anyone who owns S/X feel like they got short end of the stick when he said that?

Why the implication that you overpaid? Musk said that because they sold you a car and they made money from that sale. Nothing negative about that. If you feel that you overpaid, then that's up to you.

 

[harry]

I agree. Big reasons that I justified buying a Model S and then a Model X were to enable the Model 3 to be developed and sold, at this stage in my life I could afford to help let that happen, and I get own (and will continue to own with the Model X arriving in the next couple of weeks) to own a revolutionary and most amazing car.

Just to add to this, it was never any secret that a large part of our purchase price (25% was mentioned numerous times) went to the development of the mass market car. We knew that before the first Model S was manufactured.

 

[neroden]

During Model 3 unveil, Musk thanked Model S and Model X owners for "helping to pay for Model 3".

When Elon thanked us, I yelled out "You're welcome, Elon!" to my computer.

I thought it was a bad move because it may make Model S owners feel like they overpaid for their car. Did anyone who owns S/X feel like they got short end of the stick when he said that?

We knew what we were getting into. It was all published in the Secet Master Plan.

I knew I was funding R&D for the Model 3. What did I get out of it (in addition to knowing I funded something socially valuable)? I got my car *four years earlier* than the first Model 3 owner. No complaints!