[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by Vman455

Except, they didn't get the $35,000 Model 3 they ordered. Electrek, of course, gushes that the new base owners "received better vehicles than they ordered." But I'm sure some of them, like me, prefer things like cloth, manual seats. (Hell, I want manual windows and locks too but no one offers those anymore, and certainly not on any EVs).

Tesla really messed this one up. You can't design a car and then decide it has to meet a price point; it has to be designed to meet that price point from the outset since there's only so much de-contenting you can do. And now Musk is trying to artificially cripple the market for the $35,000 Model 3 despite saying at the unveiling, unequivocally, "In terms of price, it will be $35,000. And I want to emphasize that, even if you buy no options at all, this will still be an amazing car. You will not be able to buy a better car at $35,000," and taking hundreds of thousands of reservations based on that assertion.

(My brother loves his [$49,000] Model 3, and keeps trying to convince me to buy one. But sorry, I paid that much for a car once and I won't ever again; I don't care if it farts rainbows and comes with a free unicorn).

I also think the $35,000 which was billed as the "car for the masses" will end up being literally a handful of cars. Even 100,000 $35,000 Tesla's is just a drop in the ocean of cars, certainly not something for the masses. Musk never talked like they were only going to build tens or hundreds of the $35,000 just to show they could. At that volume they could have just gave them away like Oprah (or more specifically Pontiac through Oprah.) On a positive note, I bet Leaf and Volt sales improved a bunch over the last week. The fact that Leaf sales plummeted when the $35,000 Tesla was promised 2 years ago shows how these misrepresentations can hurt. People figured $27,500 after the $7500 tax savings would be worth waiting a little for. Heck they probably put their Elio refund down on one LOL!