Your Tesla's value just dropped about 4-5k overnight

[robby]

The thing is with a year model based car if you buy the car at the end of the year you get it for cheaper because the new model with the new features will be out in x number of week or days. With Tesla you end up paying for last gen stuff but at full price

It's a tradeoff. You do lose EOY discounts, yes, but you also get new features you otherwise wouldn't because they aren't held back for the next model year.

 

[ucmndd]

It's a tradeoff. You do lose EOY discounts, yes, but you also get new features you otherwise wouldn't because they aren't held back for the next model year.

Most importantly, that model year pricing model is completely impractical for a small automaker with limited production capacity, and the variable pricing that results is a nightmare.

 

[PhaseWhite]

Current MCU with Tegra 3 could react like this :

But it's not...

Agreed, the problem with the web browser performance is that the version they are using doesn't seem to be able to take advantage of the Tegra's graphics processor for layout/compositing and thus has to use just the main CPU core which is not nearly as fast.

The current hardware could be snappy if Tesla invested the time in getting a more modern browser build integrated. Sadly it doesn't seem like we'll ever see that since the new MCU is so fast it doesn't matter.

 

[PhaseWhite]

Regarding the main point of this thread. I don't think the MCU upgrade matters nearly as much as Auto Pilot enhancements. With the latest update to AP2 it is now clearly better than AP1 in many situations and if anything I think the AP enhancements will give a demand bump to AP2 cars over AP1 going forward, so this will have more of an effect on AP1 car resale value going forward.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I doubt this will impact the depreciation when you factor in this

WA Supercharging now $0.25/kWh

 

[Uncle Paul]

As far as resale value, there will be so many enhancements to our vehicles in the upcoming years, that a faster browser will not make a big financial deal. We are so focused on this right now, that it is top of mind, but in my opinion, the enhanced performance of the autopilot will be much more important to a future buyer, and this improvement is coming to all our cars via OTA downloads.

An example is that previous Tesla's resale values have not been effected that much by previous changes. Nose cone, first generation seats, first generation sensor packages, fewer cameras, Autopilot 1, 2, 2.5 etc. They do effect the prices a bit, but mostly the vehicles depreciate due to age and mileage.

I predict that 6 months from now, this chip change will simply blend into the total package that is a used Tesla.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I never use auto-pilot... how about WAZE in dash, SPOTIFY in dash, improve the data connection and FM antenna and reduce the vehicle wind noise (noise cancelling). Enable the cameras for a vehicle security and add a tow hitch.

The last thing on my list that will cause me to buy an upgraded Tesla is Auto pilot, my wife has it on her 90D and its provides minimal value.

 

[ucmndd]

I doubt this will impact the depreciation when you factor in this

WA Supercharging now $0.25/kWh

Meh. That’s equivalent to ~$2.50/gal in a 30mpg vehicle. And also not applicable to 99.9% of model S/X owners.

Non-issue.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Not in the vehicle I was driving before burning - super unleaded getting 15 MPG. I'm glad I kept my Classic nose cone and snagged a new 90D for the wifey with unlimited supercharging.

When I sell it in 8 years some taxi/ Uber/ Lyft driver is going to be very happy...

 

[TechOps]

I think you have it backwards, with Tesla about to hit 200K US production, our cars will take an instance $7500 appreciation in value.

No, you've got it backwards. When the $7500 credit goes away, new Teslas becomes less competitive with other vehicles that still have the discount. So they drop the price on new cars, which also lowers the price for used cars. So resale values go down, not up.

Ironically, if Trump had dropped the $7500 fed credit with the tax package, it actually would have helped Tesla, because all companies would be on a level playing field and Tesla wouldn't have downward price pressure after they reached 200k vehicles. But as it stands, they will be at a competitive disadvantage due to pricing after the tax credit goes away. So prices will have to go down if there are credible competitors.

 

[Asterix187]

SPOTIFY in dash.

My Spotify in dash works perfectly fine.

 

[JammyP]

My Spotify in dash works perfectly fine.

Mine works fine too

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

No, you've got it backwards. When the $7500 credit goes away, new Teslas becomes less competitive with other vehicles that still have the discount. So they drop the price on new cars, which also lowers the price for used cars. So resale values go down, not up.

Ironically, if Trump had dropped the $7500 fed credit with the tax package, it actually would have helped Tesla, because all companies would be on a level playing field and Tesla wouldn't have downward price pressure after they reached 200k vehicles. But as it stands, they will be at a competitive disadvantage due to pricing after the tax credit goes away. So prices will have to go down if there are credible competitors.

I think you have it the wrong way round, the price to buy a new car is going to go up without the credit by $7500 - that means CPO will also go up. If Tesla drop the price of new by $7500, new owners are paying the same as they were before so there's no change.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

With these new MCU's and no possibility of a retrofit, that will easily knock 4-5k off the trade in/resell value.

I disagree. I have a pre-AP car and my MCU is plenty fast. I don't sit in my car pointlessly zooming the map in and out just to test the speed. Everything I do on the touch screen is pretty much instantaneous and has always been this way. I doubt seriously whether anyone who is buying a used Tesla like mine (from 2013) is going to care.

I also have free Supercharging that new builds don't have. I think that's worth more than a faster MCU.

 

[ucmndd]

Not in the vehicle I was driving before burning - super unleaded getting 15 MPG.

Even better. 25 cents/kWh in a model S would be the equivalent of buying gas for that car at ~$1.25/gal.

As in, it’s still a good deal and a complete non-issue.

 

[sorka]

No, you've got it backwards. When the $7500 credit goes away, new Teslas becomes less competitive with other vehicles that still have the discount.

First, if what you said were true, which it isn't, NEW Tesla's would become less competitive with other brands/makes but we're talking used, not new. But a Tesla that is suddenly $7500 more expensive than new than it was the previous month is of course going to boost the values of used Teslas as now it will cost $7500 more to buy a new one.

As to your your assertion about competitiveness with other brands, the $7500 is not a factor for the vast majority of Tesla buyers. They're going to buy the Tesla whether they're getting the $7500 or not, but they'll still price compare to used ones.

 

[whitex]

On average, I touch the touchscreen around 2 times a day (coinciding with the start of my commute in the morning and evening) only to change the Slacker station under my Favorites. On some days I don't even do that. I used to touch it more to enable the heated steering wheel and/or seat, but recent updates have enabled that setting to carry over, which is great. I use the steering wheel controls to skip songs and make calls, as well as my phone mounted right next to the steering wheel for quick read/reply to emails and messages, a lot more often.

The point is, I couldn't care less about a faster MCU. What I have now is way more than sufficient for what I need. And I also couldn't care less what the resale value of my car is as I'm planning to keep it for at least the next 3-4 years. Who the hell knows what will happen at that point? There are other better things to worry about in life. But to play along, whenever I decide to sell it, if a potential buyer is really OCD about having the new MCU, not sure if they'd really be interested in my car anyway. But I'm not in the slightest worried about there being other buyers who also similarly couldn't care less about having the new MCU based on their needs.

I think you may be missing some benefits, or maybe they just don't apply to you. Personally I use the touch more often than you. Things you apparently don't do with your screen:
1. Turn lights on for visibility (to others) when it's "grey" outside
2. Change suspension levels when realizing the driveway I am about to pull into is too steep

Both are done while driving, so having a slugish UI sucks as it may take multiple clicks to accomplish either of the above, with time in between, and since it's slow you can't keep you attention on the screen, which makes it even slower because you click a button, then move back to driving, then come back to the screen and sometimes realized the click didn't register, so you click again, if you came back to the screen too soon (i.e. it did register and didn't update) then the second click will "undo" the fist (e.g. Control screen will go appear and immediately go away), etc, etc. Bottom line, annoying and sometimes unsafe as it takes away from the road longer than it should. I seriously considered hacking the MCU for the sole purpose of adding some physical buttons for lights and suspension levels.

The other new MCU benefit may be new features, such as using your cell phone instead of a keyfob. Not there now, but likely coming in some OTA.

 

[mdk1a]

I think you may be missing some benefits, or maybe they just don't apply to you. Personally I use the touch more often than you. Things you apparently don't do with your screen:
1. Turn lights on for visibility (to others) when it's "grey" outside
2. Change suspension levels when realizing the driveway I am about to pull into is too steep

They don't apply to me. I do touch the MCU for a few other things that I didn't specifically mention earlier (e.g. opening/closing the trunk, extending the door handles when I'm inside, checking out the manual, etc.), but these are few and far in between, which is why I said "on average". And while I don't touch it often, it doesn't mean I don't use it visually. For example, I absolutely rely on it all the time to check out traffic condition on the map, but this has quite honestly never lagged or been a problem for me. Note that I have a Dec' 2017 build.

Speaking of which, if there's one bucket of owners who should feel "outraged" about this MCU upgrade, there's a strong case to be made that I belong in there being an owner who has only picked up my car 3 months ago. But when I asked myself, knowing everything that I do now, would I have done anything differently? The answer was no. I knew the risks coming in with Tesla constantly rolling out upgrades (known and unknown), I had determined that what it offered at the time was sufficient for my needs for the foreseeable future, and I was just determined to get a Tesla in 2017 come hell or high water. I ordered back in Oct' 17 and actually wished I could've picked the car the next day! Short of it, given the chance, I would've done exactly the same thing. Been enjoying the car so much since then that I really don't give a hoot about this whole MCU upgrade.

 

[SSonnentag]

Sure, snappier is always better, but my "old" December 2017 MCU speed doesn't annoy me in the least. It's plenty responsive.

 

[DukeofURL]

To be honest, I’m tickled pink that I’ve had my car for 6 months and the only change so far was the MCU upgrade & lighted vanity mirrors. I expected far worse from the relentless march of progress that Tesla follows. As far as value of my car? Only a few hundred (tops a thousand) people even know that the MCU was even updated, so it should be easy to sell to someone not in that group, haha.

That said, whenever functionality BETWEEN MCU1 & MCU2 starts to diverge down the road, I think it’s likely I’ll look forward to upgrade options, even if it is aftermarket through someone like HSR.