Why is Black the least popular color?

[eethan]

Black is hard to keep clean but it's arguably the most beautiful color on a clean car.

Only 14.4% of M3s on Troy's survey are black. In the bay area, there seems to be even fewer black M3s on the road. I see a larger proportion of non-Tesla cars in black.

I get that people have the money to personalize their car a bit. But $1500+ is way overpriced. Lexus offers colors for free. BMW and Audi charge $550 and $600 more, respectively.

On the bright side, you get exercise washing your car and it's the best way to inspect for dings. It just takes me an extra hour every 2 - 3 weeks. I'm sure I'll spend less time washing during the summer.

The only other downside is that black is hotter under the sun. But that's a lot less of an issue since you can pre-cool the car.

Personally, I skipped the colors and fancy rims and bought FSD instead.

 

[gaswalla]

agree... save the money and use it for something functional

 

[SMAlset]

Where I drive I see a lot of black Teslas, all models. Very sharp when clean, clean being the operative word.

 

[MagnusMako]

Personally I'd rather not rely on having to remember to pre-cool every single time in these hot Texas summer's. The app can be quite slow to wake up the car sometimes too, which is a nuisance. Maybe when AI can sense I'm going driving soon and do it for me but yeah. Which color looks best is still a subjective thing. I like black but I think other colors look just as good if not better.

 

[RayK]

Black paint shows swirls much more than other colors.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Think OP answered his own question.

 

[SJC3]

Clean black 3s catch my eye. I couldnt do without the blacked out pano glass roof look though.

 

[T34ME]

Why not black?

1. tends to be in a statistically higher number of daytime accidents
2. requires more energy (battery) to keep the car cool
3. requires more work to keep the car looking good

Despite the reasons above, black is second only to white in sales in the US. (I drive a Pearl White 3MR with black wrap accents best of both worlds)

Car Color Facts and Fictions | Edmunds

 

[TT97]

requires more energy (battery) to keep the car cool

I guess that implies it requires much less energy in the winter as it doesn't need to be heated as much. I have yet to use the heater and it's been brutally cold this week (under 50* this morning).

 

[Leeclanual]

I love my black M3... it does take work keeping it clean but get lots of compliments.

 

[Pied]

Black paint shows swirls much more than other colors.

This. Black is very hard to keep clean, but looks amazing when it is.

 

[Dre78]

In the bay area, there seems to be even fewer black M3s on the road. I see a larger proportion of non-Tesla cars in black.

Bay area friends say it's status. Wealthy Bay Area elite all have Model S or X, and the first test/question is, "What color is your Tesla?" And everyone knows red is the most expensive. :Shrug:

 

[aspec818]

Agree. I kinda wish I went with black but since my last car was black I got another color. Black looks the best when clean and has the deepest mirror shine. It’s a little more work to keep clean buts it’s a great color overall.

 

[bay74]

I live somewhere warm. Black would be a poor choice, even with a pre-cool ability (waste of energy) - which of course only works when you and the car both have mobile phone reception.

 

[WarpedOne]

Black is beautiful when clean, MSM is beautiful even when dried up...

 

[JetFalcon]

I dunno, I guess nobody wants to be seen as a poverty stricken asshole driving the black Tesla.

Is black paint on Tesla inferior or something, or use cheaper paint? I was told the paint was priced accordingly to the color actually being more expensive to produce.

 

[TQCLove]

I guess that implies it requires much less energy in the winter as it doesn't need to be heated as much. I have yet to use the heater and it's been brutally cold this week (under 50* this morning).

LOL @ brutally cold.
As a former Angeleno that just went through a -60 (wind chill) "polar vortex", this made me laugh.

 

[muleferg]

The reason I bought a black X.................................... My wife told me she wanted black. The secret to a good marriage is 2 words.... Yes Dear. Then when we got the 2nd X for her she wanted a Red.

Black His, Red Her's

 

[happyzod]

Yes I noticed that black was less popular as well. I love black, really need the chrome delete to make it work though.

 

[ℬête Noire]

Why is Black the least popular color?

Because people are crazy?

Okay, I got Obsidian Black because I didn't feel up to the Solid Black which I find humdrum at best unless you're really on point with maintaining it. OBM is a lot more forgiving on that front. But OBM had even less people ordering it, to the point that it got discontinued.

I initially planned to wrap in another colour, and the black was really so the wrap wouldn't look stupid unless every little bit of paint on the door jams and cracks was covered, but the OBM really grew on me fast so I haven't gotten around to it yet.