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Tesla cancels all right-hand drive orders for Model S and X
- pornel 3y agoS and X are older. I wonder if they’re preparing for a new model or maybe retooling factories?
- Symbiote 3y agoAlthough driving a LHD car is legal in the UK, insurance is likely to be slightly more expensive, overtaking is more difficult and dangerous, and any machine (car park barrier, toll booth, drive through) will be awkward to use.
- stuaxo 3y agoTypical Musk move to not take stuff like this into account.
- ChuckNorris89 3y ago> overtaking is more difficult You would think that with all the fancy FSD smarts these cars have, it wouldn't matter anymore whether it' RHD or LHD, as all the cameras and CPUs they have on board, could surely be able to let you know when it's safe to overtake and when not.
- pornel 3y agoFor overtaking on two-way roads you still need to use your eyes and judgement. Neither radar nor cameras are precise enough to look far ahead and judge safety.
- diebeforei485 3y agoThere are a lot of usability issues. If you're entering a parking garage for example, the payment machine would be on the other side making it annoying to use. People don't want the hassle. But they're getting refunded, plus they're getting a good deal on a model 3 or Y. Some of them might choose to take the deal, some might not, but the customers are being taken care of.
- zarzavat 3y agoThere’s also the question of resale value. It would be hard to sell a LHD Tesla, if you buy that then you are essentially tied to it for the lifetime of the car, or taking a massive haircut if you ever decide to sell. It’s not just the ticket machines, the UK also has a lot of narrow country roads that are difficult enough to drive in a RHD, I cannot imagine driving a LHD in UK it would be hell on earth.
- xen0 3y agoEncountered a few enterprising Germans driving their own cars on my last trip to Cornwall. Perhaps, unlike tourists driving RHD cars, they're much more able to kiss the hedge on the narrow roads there without fear when other cars have to pass.
- bombcar 3y agoRHD are rare enough in the USA that you can actually get a “uniqueness” premium.
- anticensor 3y agoIndia and Australia are not that small. They literally missed a chance to sell hundreds of millions of teslas.
- panick21_ 3y agoIndia is actually a very small market for cars. And Australia is also not very big. and these are the expensive models, a tiny number of them would be sold there. The cheaper models, 3/Y will continue to be sold. Also you do understand that if there was actually the possibility for lots of sales, they could just reintroduce it again later. Its not like they have categorically lost the ability to make RHD models.
- delta_p_delta_x 3y ago> India is actually a very small market for cars. It's a small market for foreign cars, which have a huge import duty slapped on them. Indians love buying Tatas, Mahindras, Maruti Suzukis, and locally-built Hyundais and Hondas.
- fakedang 3y agoIndians love buying foreign cars too. Nobody likes buying Tata, Mahindra and Suzuki, it's all about Mercedes and BMW where I'm from. Heck even Skoda, Chevrolet and Toyota are considered fancy. That being said, this was the right move for Tesla. Tesla is not suited for the Indian road currently, and X and S are pricey even without the import tax even for upper class Indian standards, so it doesn't make sense making for India. That being said, I'm surprised they haven't been able to crack the Japanese market.
- yurishimo 3y agoThat one is easy! Tesla still has quality control and more importantly, interior issues. Japanese buyers expect the highest quality which is why many of their products are still produced domestically. The country is also so small and well connected with public transportation that people don’t need cars with 400 miles of range. The infrastructure and battery tech is arguably the biggest selling point for Tesla currently and those are non-factors in Japan.
- rootcage 3y agoI wonder if this is an immediate cost cutting measure to focus on manufacturing for their primary market. Seems like it would be to satisfy shareholders.
- diebeforei485 3y agoThe US market has very strong incentives for electric cars (and some other clean tech) at the moment, to the point that Europeans have complained it's unfair subsidy. Makes sense to use those incentives while they last. It isn't cost cutting in the traditional sense because it is the same production line and the same employees. They're just not having to reconfigure the production line to RHD, then reconfigure it back to normal.
- usernew 3y ago[flagged]
- gordian-mind 3y agoCould it be that people care even less about your useless inflammatory opinions, which is why they would rather never see them again?
- usernew 3y agoAnd that is their choice, which should not be forced on all. Please learn to finish reading that to which you reply.
- croes 3y agoIf you don't care, why mentioning it?
- superchroma 3y agoYeah this really seems like sour grapes. You get a soapbox but not unfettered access to my ears.
- drumhead 3y agoBest selling car in the UK apparently. So it's quite a decision to make to ditch it. Cars going to be less popular in the UK, Japan, India and Australia, but he probably feels those markets aren't as important at China, the EU and US.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- dfawcus 3y agoIreland is still a member of the EU. Have you considered which side of the road they drive on?
- drumhead 3y agoI don't care, why should I?
- garyclarke27 3y agomodel Y is best seller Not S or X (far from it)
- diebeforei485 3y agoThis makes sense. Model S and X qualify for good incentives in the US right now, which means there is higher demand to fulfill. Doesn't make sense to reconfigure the production line. Tesla is moving extremely fast to maximize their use of Build Back Better credits. Even though this plan was pushed by GM and Ford (and opposed by Tesla, and as far as I know Tesla was not even invited to the discussions), Tesla will end up being the biggest beneficiary because of how fast and nimbly they're moving.
- nocoiner 3y agoI thought there was a price cap on vehicles that qualify for the federal tax credits (I assume that’s what you mean by “good incentives”). Aren’t the S and X priced above that threshold?
- diebeforei485 3y agoThere are two separate things - incentives for the manufacturer, and tax credits for the consumer. The manufacturer incentives apply regardless. For consumers, if they want a Model X or S, all they have to do is register it as a commercial vehicle and they get a $7500 tax credit. This is what consumers already do to buy a Chevrolet Suburban or G Wagon.
- greatgib 3y agoIt is probably because UK was the main market for that and now that the economy is collapsing there, the market doesn't exist anymore. Just for the fun imagine how frustrated should be this customer: Ars was contacted by a reader from New Zealand who ordered a right-hand drive Model X SUV almost three years ago because Tesla reached out to him yesterday to cancel his order Because I would say that he deserves it by being a fool buying from Tesla in the first place.