3 ms·
I'm glad Tesla is at least considering that price-point. When they announced the Model 3 they said they wouldn't go any lower. I instantly thought that would ha
by mtgx 8y ago
I'm glad Tesla is at least considering that price-point. When they announced the Model 3 they said they wouldn't go any lower. I instantly thought that would have been a big mistake for Tesla, because not going lower means they won't get anywhere close to being a "leader" in EVs in the future. You still need a significant market share, even if it's not the largest. But you shouldn't be drowned out by competitors either and just remain a "niche luxury carmaker".
Maybe Tesla doesn't need to compete with the cheapest EVs in 10 years (which will probably sell for under $15,000), but they should be "within reach" for most people that aspire to get a Tesla.
They should make it so that people think "Well, I could get this Ford model that I can afford now, or I can save 50% more and get a faster/better built/safer Tesla" - that should be Tesla's goal, to get everyone to think like that.
And to your point about them not being able to fulfill their promise of a cheaper Model 3, I think that's primarily because all of them come with the Autopilot 2.0 hardware. I think this was also a big mistake, and it also pissed me off, because I knew they were making this compromise and why they said they wouldn't go lower in price, too - they focused too much on the self-driving capabilities of the car.
Model 3 didn't have to have self-driving capabilities. I think it was a strategic mistake for them to compromise on price by adding that hardware to all Model 3s, especially since I think Tesla as well as everyone else understimated how much longer it will take to get virtually flawless self-driving. They thought it's going to take 2 more years, but it's probably closer to 10 more years.