5 ms·

> Prices assume ... est. gas savings of $3,600 over 3 years. Seems shady

tyingq 3y ago
Oh wow. I missed that. That even feels illegal. FTC might come calling on that practice. Edit: Other comments say they've been doing that for a while, even with the 3 series. So, I guess it's accepted? Urgh.
- natch 3y ago
  I think they do it for the intentional Streisand effect. In other words it generates a new thread on social media once in a while, with people talking about whether or not there are cost of ownership savings, with the truth generally coming down in Tesla's favor. And still regardless of how you interpret the cost equation, the controversy brings attention. And more in line with Occam's razor it just spurs awareness in the user reading the web page. You could say "no, it deceives the user." I think it doesn't; more deceptive is having a published MSRP when dealers add thousands to that published price and lie about EVs while they sell legacy cars.
  - ethanbond 3y ago
    “The competition does shady things too” isn’t really an argument for this not being a simple case of posting misleading prices…
    - natch 3y ago
      For the record you’re not quoting me. I said no such thing. Misquoting is not an argument. It’s not shady because it’s clearly labeled.
      - ethanbond 3y ago
        It wasn’t a direct quote but did you edit your comment? Pretty sure it was originally framed that MSRP was somehow evidence Tesla’s behavior is not simply misleading the customer. Apologies if you didn't edit and I just misread it the first go-around. Anyway, it’s kind of silly to say MSRP is “more misleading” when MSRP literally stands for “manufacturer suggested retail price.” It says right there in the name the retail price may be higher or lower. I don’t think this is some clever Streisand effect marketing ploy. It’s just slimy pricing practices.
        natch 3y ago
        If anything I’ve saved more on maintenance than is reflected in Tesla’s claims so really the savings they show don’t go far enough. Not to mention the savings from accidents averted by the automated active accident avoidance systems. It’s insane really how much better value for money there is.
lallysingh 3y ago
Weekly I put $90 in the tank. Charging 100kw I believe would cost me $15. That figure seems about right.
- baking 3y ago
  My brother spends $100 a month to charge his Tesla at home. I fill up my hybrid less than once a month at about $40.
  - bagels 3y ago
    I spend $15/mo to charge my Tesla.
  - r00fus 3y ago
    Without actual miles driven it's impossible to make a meaningful comparison. My wife spends less on her minivan than my EV - but she's not driving to work every day (and she prefers to drive the EV when she can).
  - oh_sigh 3y ago
    Call me crazy but I suspect you and your brother drive a different amount. $100/mo in a Tesla I ballpark at driving 1900 miles per month, so you're probably driving less than him, unless you get more than 150mpg in your hybrid.
    - frumper 3y ago
      That's pretty good ballpark. His electricity rate matters too, but I'm about $100-120/mo and average just under 2k miles.
    - baking 3y ago
      He has a 5 mile commute to work. I figure at the most, he drives twice as much as I do, but that would still be less for gas than what he is paying. All I'm saying is that Tesla claiming you are going to save $100 a month in gas is based on a whole lot of assumptions. It's not money in the bank.
maximus-decimus 3y ago
They're kinda all shady. "Our car is only 15k!*" * Except no manufacturer sells the base model. Plus they'll add their own add-ons like anti-rust that has no scientific basis. Also doesn't include the shipping cost. Also AC tax isn't included despite literally all cars having AC The only manufacturer website I've seen that isn't super shady and actually includes shipping costs by default is Subaru for some reason.
- baking 3y ago
  If you shop around, I have always found a base model. 4 of the last 5 new cars I bought were base models. The exception was probably a mistake on my part. (It had a dealer installed sun roof that popped out on the highway at 6 years.)
baz00 3y ago
Yeah I can play those games too! I'm saving $40k in 3 years if I don't buy one of these and I put gas in my car!
adverbly 3y ago
Indeed... Pretty annoying that they assume your alternative to be an ICE and not bike/train/ev. Perhaps they should provide an option for a hypothetical price comparison with train/bike? Not sure the marketing team would like how that comparison turns out through...
andrewmcwatters 3y ago
The great thing about that math is that the Cybertruck is free if you factor in gas savings over a longer period!

Oh wow. I missed that. That even feels illegal. FTC might come calling on that practice. Edit: Other comments say they've been doing that for a while, even with the 3 series. So, I guess it's accepted? Urgh.

natch 3y ago
I think they do it for the intentional Streisand effect. In other words it generates a new thread on social media once in a while, with people talking about whether or not there are cost of ownership savings, with the truth generally coming down in Tesla's favor. And still regardless of how you interpret the cost equation, the controversy brings attention. And more in line with Occam's razor it just spurs awareness in the user reading the web page. You could say "no, it deceives the user." I think it doesn't; more deceptive is having a published MSRP when dealers add thousands to that published price and lie about EVs while they sell legacy cars.
- ethanbond 3y ago
  “The competition does shady things too” isn’t really an argument for this not being a simple case of posting misleading prices…
  - natch 3y ago
    For the record you’re not quoting me. I said no such thing. Misquoting is not an argument. It’s not shady because it’s clearly labeled.
    - ethanbond 3y ago
      It wasn’t a direct quote but did you edit your comment? Pretty sure it was originally framed that MSRP was somehow evidence Tesla’s behavior is not simply misleading the customer. Apologies if you didn't edit and I just misread it the first go-around. Anyway, it’s kind of silly to say MSRP is “more misleading” when MSRP literally stands for “manufacturer suggested retail price.” It says right there in the name the retail price may be higher or lower. I don’t think this is some clever Streisand effect marketing ploy. It’s just slimy pricing practices.
      - natch 3y ago
        If anything I’ve saved more on maintenance than is reflected in Tesla’s claims so really the savings they show don’t go far enough. Not to mention the savings from accidents averted by the automated active accident avoidance systems. It’s insane really how much better value for money there is.

lallysingh 3y ago

Weekly I put $90 in the tank. Charging 100kw I believe would cost me $15. That figure seems about right.

baking 3y ago
My brother spends $100 a month to charge his Tesla at home. I fill up my hybrid less than once a month at about $40.
- bagels 3y ago
  I spend $15/mo to charge my Tesla.
- r00fus 3y ago
  Without actual miles driven it's impossible to make a meaningful comparison. My wife spends less on her minivan than my EV - but she's not driving to work every day (and she prefers to drive the EV when she can).
- oh_sigh 3y ago
  Call me crazy but I suspect you and your brother drive a different amount. $100/mo in a Tesla I ballpark at driving 1900 miles per month, so you're probably driving less than him, unless you get more than 150mpg in your hybrid.
  - frumper 3y ago
    That's pretty good ballpark. His electricity rate matters too, but I'm about $100-120/mo and average just under 2k miles.
  - baking 3y ago
    He has a 5 mile commute to work. I figure at the most, he drives twice as much as I do, but that would still be less for gas than what he is paying. All I'm saying is that Tesla claiming you are going to save $100 a month in gas is based on a whole lot of assumptions. It's not money in the bank.

maximus-decimus 3y ago

They're kinda all shady. "Our car is only 15k!*" * Except no manufacturer sells the base model. Plus they'll add their own add-ons like anti-rust that has no scientific basis. Also doesn't include the shipping cost. Also AC tax isn't included despite literally all cars having AC The only manufacturer website I've seen that isn't super shady and actually includes shipping costs by default is Subaru for some reason.

baking 3y ago
If you shop around, I have always found a base model. 4 of the last 5 new cars I bought were base models. The exception was probably a mistake on my part. (It had a dealer installed sun roof that popped out on the highway at 6 years.)

baz00 3y ago

Yeah I can play those games too! I'm saving $40k in 3 years if I don't buy one of these and I put gas in my car!

adverbly 3y ago

Indeed... Pretty annoying that they assume your alternative to be an ICE and not bike/train/ev. Perhaps they should provide an option for a hypothetical price comparison with train/bike? Not sure the marketing team would like how that comparison turns out through...

andrewmcwatters 3y ago

The great thing about that math is that the Cybertruck is free if you factor in gas savings over a longer period!