General > General Technical Chat
Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD) info - interesting stuff!
Rick Law:
--- Quote from: SilverSolder on April 27, 2019, 09:35:08 pm ---
The situation in Denmark is a little special though, they have crazy high car sales taxes there (something like 180%) so any discount really matters! I recall seeing a Mercedes in Copenhagen with a personalised number plate: "PAID 3X"
--- End quote ---
Yeah, but the same thing happened in Hong Kong - Tesla sales went from 2000 in 2016 down to 32 in 2017[1].
China, Denmark, anywhere else, Tesla as a maker of only EV cars needs to keenly aware that they are not yet price-competitive to non-EV cars. They have to live in the two corners - (1) richer folks and (2) government assistance be it by regulation or financial assistance.
Corner number two (subsidies) is getting smaller. So for EV-only makers, they will be increasingly depend on corner 1 - the richer folks. For the richer folks where money matters less, quality (or the aura of it) is important.
Unfortunately, Model 3 is not a good thing for corner-1. Can you imagine an "entry level Rolls Royce" for the average folks? Mercedes tried that with the 190's in the 1980s. It didn't go over too well. I think that is the reason why the BMW 1 series is now history in the USA. Toyota/Honda (and others) understood that, they started Acura and Lexus. Instead of diluting the brand, Toyotas are for the penny-counters and Lexus are well, for those with (or think they have) more money to spend. Those in corner 1 really would prefer to be separated from the average folks - like first class in a plane with a curtain separating it from economy.
I think, Tesla needs to keep their Teslas with an aura around it - all the ooh's and aah's. People will pay extra for that. Start another brand for model 3 and sell it in a separate facility. But they need money to carry that out, and money isn't what they have in excess... Elon and his team better figure this out and get themselves on better footing...
Oh, regarding China - given China is a new rich country, that separation would be particularly important. My life-experience tell me, new rich are more status conscious and would want the distinction more. I could be wrong, and China's new rich would not be as status conscious as I anticipate - but if I am right and they try to sell Teslas as primium car but also Model 3 (or less) that is cheap (cheaper) in the same shop, that would be a disaster in China.
Reference:
[1] Financial Times magazine, 2018, February: "Tesla sales drop in Hong Kong after tax breaks removed"
"Touted as the city with the highest number of Teslas per capita by Mr Musk in early 2016, just 32 of the company’s vehicles were registered in Hong Kong between April and December, figures from the Transport Department showed. That is down from nearly 2,000 in the same period in 2016."
https://www.ft.com/content/2b8eb480-0a45-11e8-839d-41ca06376bf2
nctnico:
In the Netherlands the tax breaks on EVs are partly removed (no tax breaks on EVs over 50k euro). Sales of the Tesla Model-S and Model-X have dropped to insignificant numbers. The only model selling in reasonable numbers is the much cheaper Model 3.
Rick Law:
--- Quote from: nctnico on April 29, 2019, 12:50:28 am ---In the Netherlands the tax breaks on EVs are partly removed (no tax breaks on EVs over 50k euro). Sales of the Tesla Model-S and Model-X have dropped to insignificant numbers. The only model selling in reasonable numbers is the much cheaper Model 3.
--- End quote ---
Looks like the are loosing the "premium image"... Dinner plate please! Their goose is cooked...
maginnovision:
It's a premium image that people enjoyed getting a break on. Now it's an expensive vehicle with smaller breaks which keep shrinking and with every one sold makes it less exclusive. Time will tell where this goes.
extide:
--- Quote from: Rick Law on April 28, 2019, 09:15:54 pm ---Mercedes tried that with the 190's in the 1980s. It didn't go over too well.
--- End quote ---
FWIW, The 190 series became the C class, which is not only the most popular model that Mercedes sells in the US, it's the most popular model out of all luxury brands.
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