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> The sad part of this price comparison quagmire is that Tesla doesn’t need to do it. Its Model S is, flatly stated, very cool. Totally agreed. I'm really disa

by dpe82 14y ago

> The sad part of this price comparison quagmire is that Tesla doesn’t need to do it. Its Model S is, flatly stated, very cool. Totally agreed. I'm really disappointing that this BS is coming from what (up to this point) many of us have perceived as a trustworthy company. We all know Teslas are expensive but that they'll get more affordable with future models. There's no reason to pull this kind of stunt. Elon, you're better than this.

m4x 14y ago
Elon, you're better than this. This is such a common sentiment, but why? Elon Musk has helped create a number of awesome things, but that does not make him a virtuous person. His handling of the NYTimes debacle strongly suggested the opposite, in fact I suspect it's largely because he's the figurehead for the new-age EVs which are making many people giddy with excitement in much the same way that iPods did a few years ago.
davidiach 14y ago
But it should also be noted that they don't advertise it as the price of a Tesla but the cost, or "the true cost of owning a Tesla". Cost and price are 2 different things. My problem though is that I don't think that they got the math right. It's like saying: you spend 3000$ every month. A trip to Las Vegas would cost you an additional 1000$. But if you don't go to Las Vegas you are saving 1000$ and now your "true" spending is only 2000$ this month. What they should have said is: non EV - car X has a monthly price of 1200$ and Tesla Model S also has a monthly price 1200$. For car X you have some additional monthly costs of 1000$ but for the Tesla, the additional costs are only 300$. So the total cost for you would be 2200$ for having car X and only 1500$ for Tesla. Or something like that.
- SilasX 14y ago
  >But it should also be noted that they don't advertise it as the price of a Tesla but the cost, or "the true cost of owning a Tesla". Cost and price are 2 different things. My problem though is that I don't think that they got the math right. Then why was it worded in a way that gave the impression they were telling you the price? Even several people here, presumably somewhat intelligent, came away with that idea. The fact that TCO and price are different is no reason use language that muddies the difference.
- yesplorer 14y ago
  > Cost and price are 2 different things this may be true but contextually it is not acceptable. If a salesman emails me that the cost of their car is $500 (mind you, without asterisk or even something like 'terms and conditions apply/see (blank) for details) all am thinking about is the price of their car. but if you start asking questions like how much is my time worth, because it counts towards the true cost of ownership it starts getting ridiculous. and which time are you referring to? the trip to the corporate meeting or the trip to my son's baseball game? seriously
Shivetya 14y ago
There is ample reason to "pull this kind of stunt". Exhausting the easy part of the market. Hence he needs to expand the market. I do find his choice of market comparison to be a bit suspect, there are other cars in this price range who have much higher residuals. Elon has simply come to the realization that the low hanging fruit isn't going to pull his company along far enough to get to the next expensive car, the X. That everyman car is still beyond that point and he still has to get there. As for the lease costs, remember its your tax dollars contributing towards someone's ownership of this vehicle. While some will claim its the cost of progress I see no reason progress to rewarded excessive costs of progress. There should have been a restriction on the price of the car it was applied too, no need to subsidize luxury rides. There are many alternatives below 40k that if bought in sufficient numbers would do more for adoption

by dpe82 14y ago

m4x 14y ago

Elon, you're better than this. This is such a common sentiment, but why? Elon Musk has helped create a number of awesome things, but that does not make him a virtuous person. His handling of the NYTimes debacle strongly suggested the opposite, in fact I suspect it's largely because he's the figurehead for the new-age EVs which are making many people giddy with excitement in much the same way that iPods did a few years ago.

davidiach 14y ago

But it should also be noted that they don't advertise it as the price of a Tesla but the cost, or "the true cost of owning a Tesla". Cost and price are 2 different things. My problem though is that I don't think that they got the math right. It's like saying: you spend 3000$ every month. A trip to Las Vegas would cost you an additional 1000$. But if you don't go to Las Vegas you are saving 1000$ and now your "true" spending is only 2000$ this month. What they should have said is: non EV - car X has a monthly price of 1200$ and Tesla Model S also has a monthly price 1200$. For car X you have some additional monthly costs of 1000$ but for the Tesla, the additional costs are only 300$. So the total cost for you would be 2200$ for having car X and only 1500$ for Tesla. Or something like that.

SilasX 14y ago
>But it should also be noted that they don't advertise it as the price of a Tesla but the cost, or "the true cost of owning a Tesla". Cost and price are 2 different things. My problem though is that I don't think that they got the math right. Then why was it worded in a way that gave the impression they were telling you the price? Even several people here, presumably somewhat intelligent, came away with that idea. The fact that TCO and price are different is no reason use language that muddies the difference.
yesplorer 14y ago
> Cost and price are 2 different things this may be true but contextually it is not acceptable. If a salesman emails me that the cost of their car is $500 (mind you, without asterisk or even something like 'terms and conditions apply/see (blank) for details) all am thinking about is the price of their car. but if you start asking questions like how much is my time worth, because it counts towards the true cost of ownership it starts getting ridiculous. and which time are you referring to? the trip to the corporate meeting or the trip to my son's baseball game? seriously

Shivetya 14y ago

There is ample reason to "pull this kind of stunt". Exhausting the easy part of the market. Hence he needs to expand the market. I do find his choice of market comparison to be a bit suspect, there are other cars in this price range who have much higher residuals. Elon has simply come to the realization that the low hanging fruit isn't going to pull his company along far enough to get to the next expensive car, the X. That everyman car is still beyond that point and he still has to get there. As for the lease costs, remember its your tax dollars contributing towards someone's ownership of this vehicle. While some will claim its the cost of progress I see no reason progress to rewarded excessive costs of progress. There should have been a restriction on the price of the car it was applied too, no need to subsidize luxury rides. There are many alternatives below 40k that if bought in sufficient numbers would do more for adoption