4 ms·

No wonder, Tesla is a legacy automaker with no secret sauce nor moat.

alephnerd 3y ago
BYD has a much lower price point, which helps drive ownership. Tesla has kept the price in the luxury car range in order to maintain it's brand. Outside the SV/HN bubble, the Tesla is viewed as a luxury car Addendum: Luxury doesn't imply expensive. It's a branding strategy. A Gucci bag or iPhone can be purchased with relatively minimal capital outlay, but will continue to hold a social cachet by being marketed as "exclusive" [0] Just read the case study below to understand the strategy used. Turns out MBAs ain't as useless as HNers like to think [0] - https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/SMU954-PDF-ENG?Ntt=Gucci%3A%20Staying%20Relevant%20 https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/SMU954-PDF-ENG?Ntt=Gucci%3A...
- fernandotakai 3y ago
  it's interesting, because at least here in the netherlands, there are a LOT of teslas -- as if they were priced as a non luxury car. two examples, i use this[0] picture as my wallpaper and you can see one of them in there! also, i have a charging point in front of my flat, and two teslas charge there every day. [0]https://i.imgur.com/cWbH8S7.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cWbH8S7.jpg
  - alephnerd 3y ago
    I mean luxury in the same way that "Apple" and "Coach" are luxury brands. Luxury is a brand concept, not a formal term for expensive.
  - jvdvegt 3y ago
    They were mostly populair because they were cheapest to lease business-wise (there were no good alternatives 4 years back). Tax break is over now, and I hear lots of complaining from people who are now required to lease an EV due to company policies changing in the mean time. Most will have to pay a lot more.
- adamors 3y ago
  Not sure what you mean by luxury, the Model 3 costs as much as any other new car in Europe at least.
- ethanbond 3y ago
  Just wait til all those people who view them as luxury actually get a chance to sit in one. Really great testament to the power of brand, and also makes clear how vulnerable Tesla is to brand risk.
- filoleg 3y ago
  Model 3/Model Y has been the most sold new car in California and a few other areas, selling more than the usual toyotas and hondas. I feel like it is more of a west/east coast divide. In Seattle/Portland/etc., you will see multiple Teslas at any street intersection, they are literally everywhere. NYC or ATL? Yeah, it definitely is not that common even in the slightest.
  - piquadrat 3y ago
    > Model 3/Model Y has been the most sold new car in California and a few other areas, selling more than the usual toyotas and hondas. Model Y is going to be the most sold car model of 2023, not just in California, but in the whole world. https://cleantechnica.com/2023/12/28/tesla-model-y-going-to-be-top-selling-vehicle-in-the-world-in-2023/ https://cleantechnica.com/2023/12/28/tesla-model-y-going-to-...
  - giantrobot 3y ago
    > Model 3/Model Y has been the most sold new car in California and a few other areas, selling more than the usual toyotas and hondas. California has a $7500 rebate for PHEVs. That's on top of the federal rebate IIRC. California also offers the clean air vehicle passes to use HOV lanes. So there's some additional help in California to push EVs and Tesla only makes EVs. When the Prius was the big fad car you saw them all over the place in California as well.
- hindsightbias 3y ago
  Regardless how much Tesla decimates bmw and merc sales, don’t say “luxury” on HN. But call a macbook luxury is fine.
donny2018 3y ago
Tesla's Model Y is the top bestselling car model in 2023. It's the first year in history when an electric model outsold any of its ICE competitors.
Zigurd 3y ago
That's a bit unfair. Tesla has some bets on the table that might be bad bets, but not because they have to manage an EV transition while still making gas cars. If they are still trying to make cybertrucks at a profit at the end of 2024, they will be paying a pretty steep opportunity cost. But they're not "legacy."

BYD has a much lower price point, which helps drive ownership. Tesla has kept the price in the luxury car range in order to maintain it's brand. Outside the SV/HN bubble, the Tesla is viewed as a luxury car Addendum: Luxury doesn't imply expensive. It's a branding strategy. A Gucci bag or iPhone can be purchased with relatively minimal capital outlay, but will continue to hold a social cachet by being marketed as "exclusive" [0] Just read the case study below to understand the strategy used. Turns out MBAs ain't as useless as HNers like to think [0] - https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/SMU954-PDF-ENG?Ntt=Gucci%3A%20Staying%20Relevant%20 https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/SMU954-PDF-ENG?Ntt=Gucci%3A...

fernandotakai 3y ago
it's interesting, because at least here in the netherlands, there are a LOT of teslas -- as if they were priced as a non luxury car. two examples, i use this[0] picture as my wallpaper and you can see one of them in there! also, i have a charging point in front of my flat, and two teslas charge there every day. [0]https://i.imgur.com/cWbH8S7.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cWbH8S7.jpg
- alephnerd 3y ago
  I mean luxury in the same way that "Apple" and "Coach" are luxury brands. Luxury is a brand concept, not a formal term for expensive.
- jvdvegt 3y ago
  They were mostly populair because they were cheapest to lease business-wise (there were no good alternatives 4 years back). Tax break is over now, and I hear lots of complaining from people who are now required to lease an EV due to company policies changing in the mean time. Most will have to pay a lot more.
adamors 3y ago
Not sure what you mean by luxury, the Model 3 costs as much as any other new car in Europe at least.
ethanbond 3y ago
Just wait til all those people who view them as luxury actually get a chance to sit in one. Really great testament to the power of brand, and also makes clear how vulnerable Tesla is to brand risk.
filoleg 3y ago
Model 3/Model Y has been the most sold new car in California and a few other areas, selling more than the usual toyotas and hondas. I feel like it is more of a west/east coast divide. In Seattle/Portland/etc., you will see multiple Teslas at any street intersection, they are literally everywhere. NYC or ATL? Yeah, it definitely is not that common even in the slightest.
- piquadrat 3y ago
  > Model 3/Model Y has been the most sold new car in California and a few other areas, selling more than the usual toyotas and hondas. Model Y is going to be the most sold car model of 2023, not just in California, but in the whole world. https://cleantechnica.com/2023/12/28/tesla-model-y-going-to-be-top-selling-vehicle-in-the-world-in-2023/ https://cleantechnica.com/2023/12/28/tesla-model-y-going-to-...
- giantrobot 3y ago
  > Model 3/Model Y has been the most sold new car in California and a few other areas, selling more than the usual toyotas and hondas. California has a $7500 rebate for PHEVs. That's on top of the federal rebate IIRC. California also offers the clean air vehicle passes to use HOV lanes. So there's some additional help in California to push EVs and Tesla only makes EVs. When the Prius was the big fad car you saw them all over the place in California as well.
hindsightbias 3y ago
Regardless how much Tesla decimates bmw and merc sales, don’t say “luxury” on HN. But call a macbook luxury is fine.

donny2018 3y ago

Tesla's Model Y is the top bestselling car model in 2023. It's the first year in history when an electric model outsold any of its ICE competitors.

Zigurd 3y ago

That's a bit unfair. Tesla has some bets on the table that might be bad bets, but not because they have to manage an EV transition while still making gas cars. If they are still trying to make cybertrucks at a profit at the end of 2024, they will be paying a pretty steep opportunity cost. But they're not "legacy."