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$35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

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Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#671
post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Demand has collapsed in the US for model 3 and looks incredibly weak in Europe and China at this point. There is no reason for this across the board price cut other than weak demand.

Where are you getting this from?

It’s general consensus but here’s an article for example that suggests less than 20,000 Europe orders and hundreds in China. Of course we won’t know for sure until Q1 earnings but it’s a safe bet

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4239396-tesla-weak-model-3-...

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#672

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Demand has collapsed in the US for model 3 and looks incredibly weak in Europe and China [citation needed] Driving up 101 daily, I see truck after truck loaded with European-specced Model 3s heading towards the port of San Francisco.

Yeah, it’s not a route that used to have a lot of car carriers on it, now there are a lot of them.

Even with weak demand they’ll still deliver a lot of cars. The question is if it’s enough.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#673

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own both. Neither one has the information really in your line of sight (nor does any other car, unless they have HUDs). You have to move your eyes in a different direction, but it’s about the same effort. It takes a minute to get used to looking diagonally instead of down, and then it’s business as usual.

Thanks, this is an interesting insight. Still, looking at aircraft with flat screen "glass cockpits" without HUD, they tend to follow the Model S pattern: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_Mustang#/media... Critical displays and controls in front of the pilot, other controls readily accessible by feel/muscle memory. Aircraft designers tend to be very conservative due to safety, but cars involve safety con…

I’m not sure it’s comparable. There’s a lot of information you need to keep an eye on when flying. Speed, altitude, attitude, coordination, heading, position, etc. Lose track of any of those and you can get behind the airplane and crash.

In a car, you sorta need to know your speed, and that’s it. Even speed is not entirely necessary. In an ICE car you also might want to keep an eye on engine RPM, oil temperature, and other such things, but you don’t need them in an EV

If all your instruments go out in an airplane, it’s an emergency. Depending on the aircraft type and situation, it may mean certain death. If it happens in a car... I’m not convinced most drivers would even notice. Those who do would only be mildly inconvenienced at worst.

Edit: here’s an example of an airplane with side by side seating and a central instrument panel: https://www.pipistrel-usa.com/taurus/. Gliders are much more car-like in their instrumentation needs, although they still need a bit more, and losing them all is still an emergency.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#674

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because everybody in a country pays the same price. Just because some people live near by the factory or want to make an event out of it doesn't mean they get it cheaper. I believe all car companies do this (I had to pay a delivery fee when I got my BMW at the factory). Not sure whether it is a law though.

I don't think that's actually true. My Volvo was around ~$5k cheaper (plus free plane tickets to Sweden) when I picked it up from the factory. This also takes into account the complimentary shipment to my local dealer in the United States. I've been told that BMW has a similar European Delivery program.

Hi fellow Volvo OSDer. It truly is a wonderful program.

But there's a difference between the OSD MSRP discount. (i.e. buying off the OSD price sheet) and the standalone "Destination Fee" line item. Further, even though Volvo ships the car back to the the states for free for you, it's up to the dealership (and potentially your negotiation skills) whether they still add that destination fee to the final bill.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#675
post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and that's completely reasonable, but then it's misleading for their promotional copy to say: >and then return it for free. which implies that there's no financial loss on your end. They should at least have phrased it in terms of "and you're only out the initial delivery fee". Edit: I don't know what the actual status is. One commenter mentioned a delivery fee that's separate from the headline price; I was just…

You are not out the delivery fee. Where did you get that?

See edit -- was just going off the implication from the immediate discussion and couldn't easily verify the relevant T/C. I would have deleted the comment but it was too late.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#676

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Courageous” If anyone has ever had to cancel a car sale you’ll realize how much of a hassle it truely is to “return a car” Your credit report will show a loan even after it’s been cancelled for weeks. I once cancelled financing for a car due to it not being as described. Started looking for a new car and found it. Got denied for a loan because my score showed a 60k loan with 0 payments made. It took almost 2 months…

Tesla could delay executing the loan for the first week to avoid the inconvenience you describe. Typical dealers want to execute the loan immediately because accepting a return is extremely rare, but for Tesla it's part of the business model to avoid needing a dealership in the first place, so it would make sense to set up the accounting in a way where the loan is locked in but not executed until the return period is…

I’m assuming you’re talking about dealer provided financing because in my case the loan had to be “executed” to get the car.

I was issued a check for the amount of the car, and while the check had never been cashed canceling the check and loan and having it removed from my CR took weeks

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#677
post #552

I wish they'd just rent them out of their service centers. I'm not likely to buy a car without a chance to drive it first (even if I can return it "free", there's still a lot of time/effort in getting a loan, registration, insurance, etc) But I'd be happy to pay $50/day to rent it for a weekend to give it a good test drive.

Couldn’t you use a regular car rental company for that?

You probably could if they let you reserve a particular model but I've only been able to reserve a particular class of car, not a specific model.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#678
post #500

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Including the estimated gas savings is extremely misleading. I want to know how much the car will cost upfront, not how much I will save over some number of years. And how do they determine the savings? If I am cross-shopping with a Chevy bolt, there won't be any gas savings... Surprised they put that on their, it really negatively impact my view of Tesla.

Did you look at the site? It lists 35k up front, and then lists estimated payment after incentive secondary.

Sure, and that is still very misleading because they are bundling gas savings along with government incentives that you will get upfront. I expect the cost after estimated savings to be the actual cost I pay upfront, not the savings over some car I would never buy in the first place, and I don't think you should ever mix upfront cost with long term savings when listing prices. Very misleading.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#679

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Bolt is not even close to the Model 3 in terms of power, looks, interior, ICE, etc. Model 3 sold nearly 40k cars through 2018 and the Bolt sold fewer than 9k. To call the Bolt a failure of marketing might be true but it ignores the fact that it is simply worse than the Model 3 in essentially 100% of the areas they overlap. If the Bolt is "mass-market EV" the definition of "mass-market" needs to be revisited.

I don't disagree with you that the bolt is inferior. I was simply explaining why HN was "ignoring the amazing fact that an electric vehicle that can travel 220 miles is 35k." It's not worthy of awe and amazement if big old lazy GM met those standards years ago.

The iPhone wasn't a massive success because there were no other smart phones out there. It was that it was a much more compelling product than what the competitors were making.

The Bolt is the blackberry of EVs. Sure, on paper it checks the "mass market EV" boxes but no one is geeking out in cult-like fashion about Bolts like they do for iPhones and Teslas.

Re: $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

#680

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"This is 2019," he said. "People want to buy things online." But he added that franchise-dealer opposition would be a violation of interstate commerce, and that is unconstitutional. "Good luck with that," Musk said. Sounds like Musk likes to pick and choose the laws he follows. Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-is-eliminating-most-of...

What you call “law” is mandate established by car dealers by buying off politicians. This is one of the most disgusting monopolistic snake oil business that had little chance of surviving otherwise for so long. Musk is doing great favor to all of us by showing them middle finger and letting them know that they can’t hide behind their purchased politicians.

Honest question, where do Tesla owners take their cars for repairs if there are no dealerships? I always thought the dealership laws were pretty consumer friendly in this way. I can find dealerships and independent shops to have my cars repaired pretty much anywhere in the country.

Tesla doesn't let anybody else fix their cars. So you have to take it to their... what, repair center?

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