Tesla's Cheaper Models Have Arrived And The World Says 'Meh'

The delta between what was released and what a post-IRA “Model 2” should have been is really quite stunning . I get it that they’re afraid of Osborning themselves but preannouncing something amazing can block competitors, too

I might be wrong but the cheaper model seems like an enshitified current model at the current model's 2020\~ price? If it was between 25-30k then I can see it being worth it. But being 40k seems... premium pricing.

The problem is is that they are already very cheap barebones cars. Removing the stalks was a pure cost move, as was removing ultrasound and radar sensors. QC is forever an issue. For a while they did great, with huge margins as the only game in town. Now they are offering cheap-but-not-cheap cars. The Asian carmakers will eat them on the cheap end of the market and the legacy automakers will eat them up on mid and high-end. That and the politics they are gonna be completely orphaned on the market

A Model 2 would have been an easy win for Tesla. Make a smaller Model 3, remove a lot of or most of the cameras leaving only the backup camera, add in the blind spot indicators present on the current Model 3, smaller battery, no glass in the roof. What you are left with is a cheap entry-level city car that gets people in the door to converting to fully electric. Tesla would be able to follow the larger automakers in making essentially a parts-bin car on the cheap.

Only makes sense if you aren’t on a ketamine regiment.

I chuckled, thank you I needed that.

Fascist cars suck

Ketamine regiment? Is that a Tesla fan task force that is deployed whenever next FSD version is about to be released?

In Europe, where brands need either to sell EVs or buy credits from other vendors, some brands have started to sell EVs very cheaply rather than buy credits. With 40K you can full trim AWD version from brands like Subaru, who otherwise have trouble selling EVs. Solterra loses to Kia EV6 or VW id.4, but sure beats budget version of Tesla Y.

"Ketamine Regiment" is a good name for Elon Stans in general.

It’S a RoBoTiCs CoMpAnY nOw.

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Doing this just helps to make the competition look better and better.

Poor people Teslas. NPC cars just got a whole lot shittier.

Just saw figure robots also, can’t wait to see the stock go down lol

Thank you. Those cars could be $50 and I wouldn’t touch one. It has *nothing* to do with the price.

Oh good. Had it been $20k, awesome and totally worth it I would have hated giving it a pass but now I feel better. Fuck Leon.

they added a basic 'business edition' version.

Maybe remove all sound system, remove power windows,remove all cameras,remove all passenger seats, remove center console screen. What else can we remove ? No part is best part.

I think the problem is they worked out that the model 2 would cannibalize their model 3 sales without adding a lot of new customers. I dont think that they could cut down the model 2 design enough to actually be significantly cheaper to produce than a model 3 which has already amortized its production infrastructure. Setting up a whole new production line is expensive and once they did the math the numbers just did not work. For what its worth, I actually liked the design of the model 2 (not that I would have ever bought one, for multiple reasons)

I think this is like the „small coke“ of Tesla, you‘d pay a little more and get almost double the car. Makes people consider the higher level models more while still being able to offer something cheap-ish.

The Poverty Y class

Use 50% fewer screws and bolts. It should still hold ok. Maybe remove the battery and motors and floors. Call it Model Yabadabadoo 🦕

Cuz they going to get crushed in America by the already over stocked used tesla market. By the time the surplus burns off, and consumers are almost ready to pay more for less, competitive budget cars from other brands will hit the market/already are here

Weird

The CEO.

Thats a very good observation.

And whose robot still hasn't beaten ASIMO in any metric whatsoever, even though ASIMO was made by a legacy automaker, and is a quarter century old.

You are basically describing Slate EV Truck that is being aimed for $20k MSRP, at least prior to tax credit going away.

Atleast $27500 now? Pretty expensive for that short range 🥺

Or no screws and use the Cyber glue

Bingo

You know what, just remove everything. You give us the money, and we will give you a concept of a fully decked out model Y with FSD working. We'll call it the Tesla Roadster. Order yours today for only $50,000.

Even if Ellen wasn’t a nazi that helped a felon back into the White House, given the dismal lack of safety in the more expensive models, I wouldn’t want one if it were free.

These new cars should be 30k at most or at least be awd models. The prices are crazy for what they are. You might as well buy the “premium “ version for 5k more.

turn them into a self driving one wheel?

What's weird about it? I guess principles are weird? I'm with Catfishsam, and I'll never buy any of Ketamine Ken's products.

Removing stuff from an existing car while increasing prices and then calling it a new cheaper model is kind of the opposite what people wanted.

I’m trying to buy a used Tesla in SoCal. I know that all the new cars sold when Tesla was growing market share are coming back on the market into a shrinking customer base, yet even so there isn’t a lot to choose from right now. And, the dealers that have them are refusing to sell without add ons and the prices are not adjusting downward like economics 101 tells us they should. It’s peak stupidity.

Exactly. I bought a 2024 model (pre redesign) with 10k miles on it for $37k out the door 6 months ago. There’s plenty of comparable used ones around. Why in the world would I pay more for a shittier model with slightly less mileage?

Teslas are so uncomfortable to sit in when I take Ubers I try to avoid them. IKEA interior and I’m not some car snob I just want a seat that doesn’t feel like a baby’s booster seat molded plastic that hurts my ass. Even without the fascism I’d never buy one

They have a great track record with glue and adhesive tape. https://hddieselsupply.ca/tesla-cybertruck-grill-almost-flies-off-in-viral-clip/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64245325/tesla-cybertruck-loose-steel-body-part-recall/

At least several thousand people will still buy them.

Might aswell get a slate truck

My '25 Camry was $40k with all the bells and whistles. Jesus Christ.

What do you mean? It’s just a robot that you can sit in and control with car-like controls! I mean it’s got 2 brushless motors, wheels, seat adjustment servos, computer vision! /s

So basically personal public transit?

Make the maintenance a piece of cake and in 2 years offer them an upgrade and they will take it in a heartbeat

Is it because China doesn’t have to pay employees as much? How can they offer such “cheap” cars?

Don't even need the Chinese the Koreans are coming in with better value. Leaf is also incredible value

Their problem is that they cannot expand their market. There is a taint on the brand, so a cheaper version of a tainted vehicle will only appeal to people who were going to buy a Y anyway. So they are just going to enjoy lower ASPs in their Y revenue, not get any new customers.

I rode in a BYD yesterday as a “grab” (like Uber) in Singapore. It was a really nice car and the interior seemed better than any Tesla I’ve seen. China’s EV offers are light years more refined than Tesla.

Remove the seats, passengers now have to power squat when riding in one.

Hey, you don’t get to be worth $500 billion dollars by spending your “hard-earned” money on quality materials. You need to exploit a ton of people and shortchange your customers wherever you can.

Teslas that are built from the factory in China aren't any cheaper, though.

Seems like they're pretty popular around here, mostly due to cost, but probably also as a dog whistle. 😞

How ‘bout we yabbadabbadon’t

A minimal quality vehicle, that has failed to live up to the hype for a decade, now has a reduced quality level from the minimal quality it had. And there is surprise that it isn't / won't sell well? I'm shocked.

Because China is a manufacturing behemoth with by far the best supply chains for almost everything. Unparalled cconomies of scale across almost every area of production, localised and super efficient supply chains, relatively low labour costs (compared to US and Europe but much higher than say a Bangladesh), government support and subsidies are plentiful as China see EVs, transport, battery tech and alike as strategically important. And then the fun one, the world bangs on about how capitalism gives us more choice (often the illusion of it) but China has an extremely competitive domestic sector and a massive market. It is a sector where competition is effective and it isn't insulated from it by import taxes or high barriers to entry. China can make pretty much everything cheap because that is what the country is primarily designed to do, supply the world with stuff. Also helps they're not having to gift more than they've ever made in profits to a part time CEO who has single handedly destroyed a loved brand.

My understanding is that if you forced the Chinese to build their cars in America, the price would be similar to American cars, but the tech would still be far, far ahead.

They tried to rename or retrim these models and the consumer saw thru it!

The whole glass roof with a liner and 1/2 a frunk is a real head scratcher. It seems like they well were on their way to build a cheap car like something similar to the cyber cab, and then elon has knocked it on the head in the last minute, and then they had to hastily put some sort of products together from whatever they had on hand.

>For a while they did great, with huge margins as the only game in town Don't forget massive government handouts and subsidies underpinned those margins.

Why would you buy a product, any product from any company, that typically a lot of people sell later, when said company is deflating the prices.

Turns out people don’t want shitty cars made by Nazis.

So what you are saying is that the stock will go up?

Or an ai created picture of a Model of a Tesla

Air vents. Go back to the little triangular windows you could open 45.degrees.to get some breeze

And the stock will jump 5%, because why not?

A vertically integrated supply chain and economy of scale. That’s how.

I don't know man, I'm pretty happy with my VW Tiguan R.

Most people don’t want to support a Nazi, but slightly less. Especially one known for shoddy vehicles and terrible customer service.

Your very own Tesler NFT.

The only advanced tech I'm seeing is the battery and high voltage of some of the packs in a handful of cars. The center console fridge, iPads in the rear, all wheel steer ect that some models have has been around for quite a while in other markets. Gm used all wheel steer back in 2000s, Mercedes a decade before that.

Look at the shape on that thing...

Cheap junk held together with Elmer's glue

The install base is too huge for them to be sidelined anytime soon. That and they still have a software advantage in the USA

Your problem is that you're in SoCal where demand is super high.

But is it? I am serious about posing this question. Everyone I know wants to divest of their Teslas for political reasons. It’s a shocking large number of people. We both know how expensive customer acquisition costs are and Tesla has shed a large percent of its base in SoCal. There is a social aspect as well as even with liberal politics, friends will straight-up ask about why you own a fascist machine. So I wonder if demand is high. There should easily be more cars than buyers. Plus lower new car pricing should drive down used car costs.

California has a pretty high demand for EVs. Not everyone is in a position to allow politics to dictate their financial decisions.

I agree that’s true but California is more politically attuned to social responsibility than any MAGA state. From civil rights to environmental regulations etc. California leads the way so I wouldn’t dismiss a seig heil as a bridge too far for most. Myself included. Many of the most politically active people in the state are working class so they would directly be impacted. They have successfully lobbied for better employment laws, greater law enforcement safeguards, sanctuary cities and higher wages. There are other options including Prius that are environmentally responsible.

I don't disagree that your observations are valid, but the facts on the ground that you yourself have experienced are that dealers are not letting these cars go for bargain basement prices. So, either these dealerships are hoarding them for some reason or they think they will still be able to meet their targets with the add-ons. r/askcarsales might give you better insight than I can, but dealerships \*love\* making money and almost all of the decisions they make are in service of making more of it.

Are there still loads of them sitting in parking lots?

Tesla Model NFT Will be worth trillions on resale

And the Grab in Singapore was probably an Atto 3 or M6, the lowest range of BYD in Singapore.

I used to think that. But an honest convo I had with a burned out salesman a few days ago he said - and I’m paraphrasing - I know you aren’t going to pay for our add ons, I know your credit is very good so you aren’t going to be begging me to do a deal so you should know that the dealer I work for isn’t going to move off their price because in the 4-years I’ve worked here they have never sold a single car out of here without add ons. He continued, I have seen a car they could have sold sit here for 6-months while they waited for someone to pay their price. It never sold and they took a loss. They could have sold it many times but they wouldn’t budge. So that made me rethink the business model. Once it was straight up sales. Then it became effectively a finance company that sold cars. And now it seems it’s a finance company that captures its margins via add ons. It’s a weird business. I can’t tell you how many salespeople I’ve called that never introduced themselves by name nor even asked mine. That seems like sales 101 but it’s their business.

I'm not sure a business like that would survive for long in the Atlanta market. Prices here are on the high side but there are lots everywhere. From huge conglomerates selling different brands at buildings adjacent one another with carmax-level inventories to mom and pop shops or guys with business licenses and not enough room in their office to fit more than 5 people. Volume seems to be important here. We don't salt the roads, so cars can run for a very long time while patched together with coat hangers, JB weld and forged emissions tests. I'd be interested in hearing what a dealer who has worked in both markets has to say.

Just buy a Corolla.

I'm waiting to see subscription tires.

At least the Flintstonemobile is open so you can escape in a fire.

I'd be much more likely to get a Slate if I was in the market for an EV.

Windwings worked rather well actually but you do have to be moving. Not much good for the daily traffic jam.

I took an Uber ride in a Tesla not long ago. I was surprised how poorly insulated the cabin was against noise. The road noise alone was much louder than my car, engine noise and all.

Because they have yet to build one that works.

Wait til Slate starts delivering in quantities. Between that and the much better offerings from traditional auto companies along with Felon's political antics, Tesla's days are numbered, and no, robots aren't going to save them even if they actually had a working product to ship.

Worse, Elon's glue.

Spoke to a couple of more dealers tonight. They both asked why I called on the car - they then answered their own question with pricing. They then said that they had - one called it add ons and the other called them addendums - that weren’t reflected in the advertised price for the car. So even if you offered full list price on their ad you weren’t buying the car because that wasn’t its actual price. Tell me that isn’t crazy and I thought illegal.

It might be worth checking out if wear and tear is included in the price.

I'm sure they'll find some weasel wording to put in the contract so it's not.

Plenty of car companies have that cost structure. Accord vs Civic. Camry vs Corolla. I could go on and on. The facts are that it has been decades of successful car businesses being run that way. They are not the same buyers, options exist because the more options then the more you can cover all the market. The only reason I see the model 2 not being released is either cyber truck development. Which may go down as one of the worst cars ever made. Or lack of imagination from executives. Tesla has many very experienced and talented engineers who could easily pull off a car like that.

It may not be logical but some people prefer new cars. Or they like the trendiness, or the look or a million other reasons. Also warranty. I’ve never had an issue with a used car, but I do my due diligence. If you’re not a car person, you might get stiffed by a shitty car salesman without knowing it

Not really, you chose the Koreans because you have no choice . Interiors of the Koreans looks so drab and stuck in the past.

Warranty transfers with the vehicle. I have 7 years and 120k miles left on my battery

Lucky for Tesla that quality cars from China or Mexico are not available. Protect shit US products. GOP - if you can’t win with ideas or products just CHEAT

i would argue that they are sort of doing that with the model S and 3. I jsut dont think they had enough room to cut underneath that floor. the model 3 is pretty bare bones as it is.

Make a self-driving segway that drives through tunnels Or wait, I know, how about a robot chauffeur

Yeah it would be a tough engineering problem for sure. But I’m thinking Corolla type interior with a electric car

I’m imaging a flat pack à la ikea with a pail of glue

Imagine if they'd made the model 2 instead of the CT.

I am definitely going to buy a standard model 3. Such a good deal

I am a buyer !

That's not an order, that's a $50,000 reservation (i.e. we've got your money indefinitely without having to provide anything in return).

It is simply untrue that Asian carmakers are going to eat them on the "cheap" cars. BYD's cars have a much more refined interior at all trim levels than their Tesla counterparts, for example.

TBF the Lotus Elise did very well with the Cyber glue...

It won’t come with an engine just a picture of an engine