Tesla Shift Gears, again, and some fans are losing patience
Brian O & # 39; Roak considers himself a Tesla fan. Three years ago, the Oregon-based genetics researcher was in line with a six-week-old baby in his arms to deposit a deposit into model 3. So when CEO Elon Musk announced at the end of February that the car manufacturer would finally begin delivering his Cheaper Standard and Standard Plus Model 3 options, ordered O & # 39; Roak first a Standard Plus, and paid $ 3,000 extra for the electric car manufacturer's semi-automatic Autopilot feature. Just before delivery, Tesla dealers convinced him to upgrade and spend another $ 1000 for a reduced Mid-Range price; Tesla delivered the car last month.
So when Tesla announced late Thursday that it would change its price and package system again and remove $ 35,000 "inexpensive" Tesla from its online order forms, O & # 39; Roak was annoyed. "Hear the announcement, I guess I was quite frustrated and upset," he says. "I feel we were lied to at the end of February. It doesn't look like a standard model." He estimates he might have saved between $ 2,000 and $ 4,000 by ordering now and receiving the package he wanted. The family likes the Model 3 so far, the delivery was smooth, the local service center is impressive, and the kids especially love speed mode. But the changing prices and feature packs have eroded Roak's trust in Tesla. "We haven't even made a car payment yet," he says.
A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the price changes. However, in response to the customer's Twitter complaint, Musk wrote "Other car manufacturers are changing prices constantly and significantly at varying discounts and discounts according to the bargaining power of the buyer. Tesla is transparent and consistent."
For many years The electric car manufacturer's flexibility has been a boon and a pride – a demonstration of how an innovative, computer-based and direct selling method can change the carmaking game. "Tesla is very fresh and they can change their pricing plans to meet the best that serves their customers based on feedback," said Karl Brauer, publisher for the car research publication Kelley Blue Book. "If they see increased demand for one vehicle or a configuration, they can change the package price. That's good."
But for equally dedicated customers such as O & # 39; Roak – those who believe in the car's mission to curb climate change, save the world And having a good time doing it – the constant changes that have accelerated since the introduction of Model S can be a bit much. Kelley Blue Book's Brauer suspects some buyers "are hesitant because they see the inconsistency with pricing and model approach. It seems that every week there is a new plan."
Despite: Tesla terminated Temporary Model 3 just two days before R&D was delivered. The price of the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, introduced in late February, went up by $ 500 less than a month later, then back up by $ 2000 less than a month after that. (The price bump, however, comes with some extra features goodness: Autopilot, which once costs $ 3,000 to post, is now standard.) At the same time, it introduced the highly hyped $ 35,000 Standard Range Model 3, introduced in 2016 as Tesla entrée in the mass market, is now only available if customers call or enter a showroom.
And the showrooms? At the end of February, Musk said Tesla would close almost all of its brick warehouses and lay off sales staff to move to online ordering. Less than two weeks later, the automaker hit a reverse course, increasing vehicle prices by 3 percent to avoid closing half of the stories it intended.
It's enough to get you out of a spreadsheet. In fact, some Tesla observers have online.
These price changes and strategic changes are not standard for the automotive industry, says Michael Ramsey, a car analyst with the research firm Gartner. "Every other car company in the world doesn't sell cars to you and me," he says. "They sell cars to dealers, who change prices instantly. But the manufacturer doesn't appreciate it. That's why Tesla's price changes are" very unusual and annoying for customers who have already bought their cars for more money, "he says.
Dedicated Tesla fans, a legion of enthusiastic, tech-forward, and highly-online buyers who fill Reddit threads and blog comments as they track soap-opera-like advances in Musk and Co., are not always on the shift, but analysts say they constant changes can stump Tesla's growth beyond the technological and Californian centric customer.
"There is no doubt that it is a segment of the car buying population that is skeptical of Tesla," says Brauer. That skepticism may be due to a warning about electric vehicles, or from a lack of local charging infrastructure, or because there is no Tesla service center nearby. Cars are a serious and long-term investment – the average American is almost 12 years old. It makes sense that buyers will seek stability.
On the one hand, it is not good to limit the market with price confusion for Tesla, whose latest production and delivery number suggests that the demand for model 3 can be sluggish. On the other hand, Tesla is still a niche company. It delivered 245,000 cars last year, compared to the 2.9 million sold by vehicle giant General Motors. Maybe the Musk company doesn't have to win everyone over, not yet.
And it is worth noting that the electric machine continues to break the ground with its approach to sales and service. More than a decade since the company rolled out the Roadster, Tesla is still the only driver to embrace over-the-air updates, and give customers access to new features (and the ability to buy those they originally decided to renounce) with one. few cranes. Other manufacturers began only limited experimentation with that model a year ago. "Although Tesla is a bag of cats and mainly crisis-managed all the time, it's still very cool," Ramsey says.
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