Tesla Slashes Prices

[4sallypat]

Sounds like a lot of speculation. Have profit margins been published? Why did they raise prices only to later slash them? That makes previous buyers upset and isn't very smart...

Yah, no kidding!

My boss ordered M3LR in October last year and got it delivered in November just before the Dec price cuts ($7500 = 10K SC).

Didn't get any discount, no free SC miles, no tax credit, no January price reduction rebate....

Neither did qualify for the state rebate due to income.

Talk about getting nothing!

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[mateo]

Don't get me wrong, as I understand the general principle of Tesla being able to have lower pricing based on better supply chain. Musk has been smart to focus on that.

But being able to cut 20% off prices of already built cars sounds like either they were overpriced to begin with or Tesla is taking a loss to rejuvenate interest and/or scare other manufacturers into losing money.

And again, even if they are still making money it's not the best way to treat your customers who just signed the big loan on a car that is now worth a lot less money. You can argue if it's fair or not for those people to feel that way, but it doesn't change that's how they will feel...

 

[Nemy]

Yah, no kidding!

My boss ordered M3LR in October last year and got it delivered in November just before the Dec price cuts ($7500 = 10K SC).

Didn't get any discount, no free SC miles, no tax credit, no January price reduction rebate....

Neither did qualify for the state rebate due to income.

Talk about getting nothing!

I feel for them but the writing was on the wall. At the very least they should've known that $3750 was available in 2023 (unless they're income capped). Maybe that was Tesla's genius too with the constant price hikes - creating FUD.

In a way, it's exactly the same as MME ADMs though. People paid more to get the car earlier. If they could afford it and paid for it, then the free market system worked the way it was supposed to.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Sounds like a lot of speculation. Have profit margins been published? Why did they raise prices only to later slash them? That makes previous buyers upset and isn't very smart...

Tesla makes 2x as much as everyone else. Remember MY has a 81 kWh battery vs our 100. In a world where batteries are the bottleneck, Tesla can squeeze one more MY for every 4 MMEs. That plus a $2-3k advantage in distribution cost, and mfg scale advantage.

 

[mjs020294]

It is obviously weird to talk about a different brand being better (value at least) on a specific car's forum. A lot of us (old timers) also got our MME at cheaper prices than the current MY prices. So at similar prices I'd buy the MME again. But with a $20k difference, there's just no way. Those arguing otherwise are kidding themselves, don't care about $20k missing from their accounts, or unfortunately need to just justify their recent purchase.

Spot on!

The funny thing is deriding the Tesla because they don't like the styling, which is ridiculously subjective.

 

[BeatdownBrigade]

I think an important thing to keep in mind is that the affordability on vehicles has plummeted. Just like 3 ago the average new car sale in thr US was like 35-36k and that was at damn near historically low interest rates. Fast forward to now and the average new car is like 47k with significantly higher rates. The auto industry was an outlier during covid supply disruptions and so their pricing vastly outpaced inflation. But that is hitting a brick walll rapidly as you look at sales, especially recent month data.

Last year new car sales were down 8% YoY, even tho EV sales were up 40% because ICE sales were down 10%. Used car sales were the 2nd lowest year in the last 10 years. Past few months is even worse, inventory is rising about everywhere.

So whether manufacturers like it or not, the market is bringing prices down. Tesla cuts are being proactive on that reality, because they are in a position to be able to absorb it. Other manufacturers will need to do the same, but whether they can and to what extent they can will be business critical. Tesla I think is expecting they cannot to the same extent so this is an ideal moment to capture market share in a down market.

 

[mjs020294]

But being able to cut 20% off prices of already built cars sounds like either they were overpriced to begin with or Tesla is taking a loss to rejuvenate interest and/or scare other manufacturers into losing money.

Maybe its all part of a longer term play. Tesla have spent years building the supply chain and their own battery tech, not to mention massive purpose built production facilities.

The $60k plus EV sector was getting crowded and the competition are still making a loss on their vehicles. The new pricing model will put extreme pressure on manufacturers struggling to make it work at a much higher price point.

 

[Logal727]

If Tesla is in such dire straits, why don’t they open up more revenue to be made from Superchargers by opening it up to CCS users? Just make it happen already! Be a charging network provider before being an automaker

 

[ARK]

Sounds like a lot of speculation. Have profit margins been published? Why did they raise prices only to later slash them? That makes previous buyers upset and isn't very smart...

Don't get me wrong, as I understand the general principle of Tesla being able to have lower pricing based on better supply chain. Musk has been smart to focus on that.

But being able to cut 20% off prices of already built cars sounds like either they were overpriced to begin with or Tesla is taking a loss to rejuvenate interest and/or scare other manufacturers into losing money.

And again, even if they are still making money it's not the best way to treat your customers who just signed the big loan on a car that is now worth a lot less money. You can argue if it's fair or not for those people to feel that way, but it doesn't change that's how they will feel...

Before anything else, Musk is really good at marketing, public relations, and hyping products.

They of course said they were raising prices due to the cost of commodities and inflation, and there probably was some truth to that, but they were savvy enough to not tell people they were mostly raising prices simply because they could.

Tesla’s price cuts are not so dramatic if you view it in line with dealer markups becoming rarer over the last several months - new car prices are effectively dropping across the board.

 

[hotfartz]

Bought a MYLR the day the prices went down.

While I enjoy my 22 MME Select, it has a standard range battery. Not good for long road trips.

The MYLR is comparable in features to a 23 MME Premium without the $68k price tag. With the tax credit, that's about $20k in savings.

The kicker is the trade-in value of the MME - from the dealer I bought it from 6 months ago - is $40k. 20% depreciation on a $50k vehicle is not a good thing.

 

[4sallypat]

If Tesla is in such dire straits, why don’t they open up more revenue to be made from Superchargers by opening it up to CCS users? Just make it happen already! Be a charging network provider before being an automaker

Yah, Tesla would make more money, but would you pay the extra premium costs of charging at a Tesla SC ?

My co worker pays $0.69/kWh on a SC at peak times and if Musk allows non Teslas to charge, how much would you pay above that rate ?

Would you be fine with paying Musk up to $1.00 / kWh ?

I like charging at lower cost at my EA and EVGo chargers...

 

[Logal727]

Honestly think Tesla is gonna embrace being an econo brand EV with fancy tech, and that will probably win them a lot of customers. No longer will people think you are rich when you drive a model 3 or Y just cause it’s a Tesla.

 

[Logal727]

Yah, Tesla would make more money, but would you pay the extra premium costs of charging at a Tesla SC ?

My co worker pays $0.69/kWh on a SC at peak times and if Musk allows non Teslas to charge, how much would you pay above that rate ?

Would you be fine with paying Musk up to $1.00 / kWh ?

I like charging at lower cost at my EA and EVGo chargers...

I would if it was a backup because they are more reliable or available

 

[BeatdownBrigade]

Yah, Tesla would make more money, but would you pay the extra premium costs of charging at a Tesla SC ?

My co worker pays $0.69/kWh on a SC at peak times and if Musk allows non Teslas to charge, how much would you pay above that rate ?

Would you be fine with paying Musk up to $1.00 / kWh ?

I like charging at lower cost at my EA and EVGo chargers...

Maybe not your intention, but see a lot of ppl in the thread always refer to "paying Elon" for things and I find that a bizarre way of looking at it. Tesla is a public company, that he only owns 13% of.

It's also the highest owned stock by retail investors in the S&P 500 at like 48%. When you give Tesla money you are overwhelming really just paying for their American workers and largely some older person's retirement account.

 

[mjs020294]

The kicker is the trade-in value of the MME - from the dealer I bought it from 6 months ago - is $40k. 20% depreciation on a $50k vehicle is not a good thing.

Anyone buying the MME select a few months ago only paid low $40s net after tax credit. New cars have always lost 20% the second you drive them off the dealers lot. You actually did very well on your MME.

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