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Maybe a lot of people wanted to own a Tesla so badly that they were willing to stretch their finances to get it. Tesla has had a lot of hype, it can have that e
by jondubois 9y ago
Maybe a lot of people wanted to own a Tesla so badly that they were willing to stretch their finances to get it. Tesla has had a lot of hype, it can have that effect on people. In some European countries, there are Taxi drivers who drive Teslas (often for economical reasons).
Now these people can own a Tesla without hurting their bank account. I think that there is a reason why car brands are either luxury or mass market but not both.
- gambiting 9y agoI live in UK and I see loads of Teslas as taxis, which is almost unthinkable considering the cost of the car - and I don't mean luxury taxis, I mean it's common to see a normal curb-side taxi as a tesla. I suspect the fact that it's extremely cheap to run and tax balances off very high leasing cost and makes it worth it. I imagine nearly 100% of those sales will turn into Model 3s as soon as it's available.
- philbarr 9y agoWhere do you live in the UK?! I'm in the north and have never seen a Tesla once (taxi or otherwise)!
- gambiting 9y agoI'm in the North(Newcastle) - there's plenty of Teslas as taxis around here, I see at least one on my way to work every day.
- mcv 9y agoTesla taxis are all over Amsterdam too. Mercedes used to the the standard for taxis here, but now Tesla seems to be taking over.
- thorin 9y agoUsing EV/Tesla as a taxi seems strange due to the charging time involved, you think it would limit the flexibility in terms of range or working hours although I believe the fast charging of the Tesla might be much more viable than a Leaf for instance. Tesla has the early apple effect where people want it even though they don't know why they want it. Great marketing!
- icelancer 9y agoAcura has the exact same strategy price/model wise as Tesla, and they've done extremely well. They have their nicer-than-average entry-level car that shaped sport compact cars forever in the Integra, which became the RSX, and is now relaunched as the ILX. It was in the same price range as the Model 3 was for the same idea - average people who wanted to stretch to have a nice car. Then they have the (now current) TLX, RDX normal SUV, MDX luxury SUV, etc etc and their Model S is the flagship Acura NSX. Yes, Acura is a "luxury" brand, but so is Tesla, even with the Model 3 out. (Pretty sure Lexus is similar in branding/pricing with the Integra being equivalent to the IS 300 as the entry-level car, with it being a predominantly luxury brand. Obviously both Acura/Lexus are spinoffs of Honda/Toyota for the US/CAN market.)
- jclardy 9y agoWe are still talking $35k-$100k, in essence, the exact same price range that BMW lives in.
- Broken_Hippo 9y agoI'm in Norway. I've ridden in a Tesla taxi. Yes, the upfront cost of the car is high. But on the other hand, the gas and maintenance costs make up for it. I completely understand the switch. Plus, the ride is nice, comfortable, and quiet for the passenger.
- csdreamer7 9y agoDo you have numbers for the maintenance? Consumer Reports and insurance companies claim that maintenance is expensive for Teslas, even among luxury cars.
- bowersbros 9y agoAs I understand it, repairs are expensive, but general maintenance is less, because there isn't as much to maintain.
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoA Tesla has all the same bearings, bushings and whatnot holding it off the ground and putting power to the road. EV gets rid of a ton of leak points compared to ICE. All the normal wear and tear stuff is exorbitantly expensive with Tesla because of how few shops can service them and you usually have to go through Tesla for parts.
- base698 9y agoYou're parroting Tesla's Marketing. Any mechanical product with 1000s and 1000s of parts made by complex machines also, with 1000s of ways to make mistakes is going to have lots of opportunity for problems that need fixing.