6 ms·

Why not just stop sales of the 40kWh model, say "We are going to be nice and just upgrade them to 60kWh free of charge" and be done with it. Sure, some people

Why not just stop sales of the 40kWh model, say "We are going to be nice and just upgrade them to 60kWh free of charge" and be done with it. Sure, some people who paid for the 60kWh packs will be annoyed paying "extra" for it but is that really such a concern that you have to start dicking about with what amounts to basically battery DRM? [EDIT] As someone mentioned below, if 40kWh models have already shipped then replacing them will be a PITA, but if they haven't, win-win?

radicaldreamer 14y ago
So next time, a large number of people won't choose the lower option hoping to be "upgraded" for free and end up being unhappy with their purchase when the lower capacity option really does go into production due to demand.
- vacri 14y ago
  "meh, we're upgrading the 4% who didn't choose that way" isn't going to work if a ton of people 'hope' for it. "30% of people chose the lower option, so there's still demand". If you get grumpy because you try to game the system and fail, it's your own fault.
  - radicaldreamer 14y ago
    Sure, but people still get grumpy when they aren't at fault. And they irrationally blame the other party for it. It doesn't matter if it's their fault if they're your customers.
jpxxx 14y ago
Because that'd require hauling in 200 vehicles to replace a $10,000 battery pack while tying up maintenance bays, disrupting production to source and ship 60kWh packs, and incur a multi-million dollar charge on a company that is barely breaking even. (edit: Also, rich people tend to be of a type that go absolutely apeshit when they feel they've been cheated, meta-cheated, vapor-cheated or insufficiently cheated by having to reconsider the value of a prior purchase)
- raldi 14y ago
  s/rich//
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    Not particularly true, since when you start getting into products that could have a "veblen good" status this phenomenon becomes exacerbated.
    - rdl 14y ago
      OTOH, rich people will accept stupid limitations if you pitch them correctly. I mean, a $5 Casio or Timex is technically superior to a $250k mechanical watch on most metrics related to keeping time. And they will especially accept long lead times or otherwise exclusive purchasing processes ("there's a waiting list", or even the country-club style screening process). Poor people also get upset when cheated, but they are more tolerant of some things and less tolerant of others than rich people.
      - 3825 14y ago
        Apple had a backlash when they reduced the price of the iPhone by $100 [1]. I'd think the backlash here would be even stronger. [1]: http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/06/technology/iphone_price/ http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/06/technology/iphone_price/
        Shivetya 14y ago
        people confuse pretentious for rich. The Apple phone debacle was because of the former, not the later. There are a lot of pretend to be rich people out there, a bouncer friend used to refer to them as the 40k millionaires. Guys who leased BMWs and such, made sure everyone saw their iPhone, etc.
        illuminate 14y ago
        "There are a lot of pretend to be rich people out there, a bouncer friend used to refer to them as the 40k millionaires. Guys who leased BMWs and such, made sure everyone saw their iPhone, etc." Ah, the people who go to bottle clubs on the "salary" of your average parents' basement-dwelling Multilevel Marketing hustler :p
dm2 14y ago
Because Tesla can later offer a $5,000 upgrade to the 60kWh version. Customers are still getting a better car that has the potential to be software upgraded. Win-Win.
- switz 14y ago
  So we're entering a phase of micropayments on material objects now? In-app payments, but for your car. I'm not sure how I feel about it, to be honest.
  - ryderm 14y ago
    It's not too different from adding an exhaust or new stereo. Not really the same as in-app payments.
    - monitron 14y ago
      It is different because in this case, the upgraded "parts" are already present in the car!
      - anonymfus 14y ago
        For example, there are already many cars with ESP, software limited to ABS.
        twoodfin 14y ago
        Not for long: In the U.S. at least, electronic stability control is now mandatory.
      - glogla 14y ago
        So it's like zero-day on-disk DLC. There's no way customers might get angry about that.
  - YokoZar 14y ago
    I doubt the expense would be particularly micro ;)
eurleif 14y ago
Would hacking it count as "downloading a car"?
scottru 14y ago
No 40Kwh models have shipped.
peteforde 14y ago
My understanding is that the 40kWh models haven't been shipped yet.

radicaldreamer 14y ago

So next time, a large number of people won't choose the lower option hoping to be "upgraded" for free and end up being unhappy with their purchase when the lower capacity option really does go into production due to demand.

vacri 14y ago
"meh, we're upgrading the 4% who didn't choose that way" isn't going to work if a ton of people 'hope' for it. "30% of people chose the lower option, so there's still demand". If you get grumpy because you try to game the system and fail, it's your own fault.
- radicaldreamer 14y ago
  Sure, but people still get grumpy when they aren't at fault. And they irrationally blame the other party for it. It doesn't matter if it's their fault if they're your customers.

jpxxx 14y ago

Because that'd require hauling in 200 vehicles to replace a $10,000 battery pack while tying up maintenance bays, disrupting production to source and ship 60kWh packs, and incur a multi-million dollar charge on a company that is barely breaking even. (edit: Also, rich people tend to be of a type that go absolutely apeshit when they feel they've been cheated, meta-cheated, vapor-cheated or insufficiently cheated by having to reconsider the value of a prior purchase)

raldi 14y ago
s/rich//
- jlgreco 14y ago
  Not particularly true, since when you start getting into products that could have a "veblen good" status this phenomenon becomes exacerbated.
  - rdl 14y ago
    OTOH, rich people will accept stupid limitations if you pitch them correctly. I mean, a $5 Casio or Timex is technically superior to a $250k mechanical watch on most metrics related to keeping time. And they will especially accept long lead times or otherwise exclusive purchasing processes ("there's a waiting list", or even the country-club style screening process). Poor people also get upset when cheated, but they are more tolerant of some things and less tolerant of others than rich people.
    - 3825 14y ago
      Apple had a backlash when they reduced the price of the iPhone by $100 [1]. I'd think the backlash here would be even stronger. [1]: http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/06/technology/iphone_price/ http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/06/technology/iphone_price/
      - Shivetya 14y ago
        people confuse pretentious for rich. The Apple phone debacle was because of the former, not the later. There are a lot of pretend to be rich people out there, a bouncer friend used to refer to them as the 40k millionaires. Guys who leased BMWs and such, made sure everyone saw their iPhone, etc.
        illuminate 14y ago
        "There are a lot of pretend to be rich people out there, a bouncer friend used to refer to them as the 40k millionaires. Guys who leased BMWs and such, made sure everyone saw their iPhone, etc." Ah, the people who go to bottle clubs on the "salary" of your average parents' basement-dwelling Multilevel Marketing hustler :p

dm2 14y ago

Because Tesla can later offer a $5,000 upgrade to the 60kWh version. Customers are still getting a better car that has the potential to be software upgraded. Win-Win.

switz 14y ago
So we're entering a phase of micropayments on material objects now? In-app payments, but for your car. I'm not sure how I feel about it, to be honest.
- ryderm 14y ago
  It's not too different from adding an exhaust or new stereo. Not really the same as in-app payments.
  - monitron 14y ago
    It is different because in this case, the upgraded "parts" are already present in the car!
    - anonymfus 14y ago
      For example, there are already many cars with ESP, software limited to ABS.
      - twoodfin 14y ago
        Not for long: In the U.S. at least, electronic stability control is now mandatory.
    - glogla 14y ago
      So it's like zero-day on-disk DLC. There's no way customers might get angry about that.
- YokoZar 14y ago
  I doubt the expense would be particularly micro ;)

eurleif 14y ago

Would hacking it count as "downloading a car"?

scottru 14y ago

No 40Kwh models have shipped.

peteforde 14y ago

My understanding is that the 40kWh models haven't been shipped yet.