Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses
I don't think they are appealing to luxury buyers at all, at least in the sense that luxury buyers are their primary demographic. The S and X are priced as luxury cars, but a lot of luxury buyers prefer something with better build quality/comfort amenities/etc. And the Y and 3 seem to be being bought in droves not by luxury buyers, but by upper middle class people who want a Tesla. It's like saying Apple is a luxury brand... or ever was. Apple costs more, but people want to buy an Apple because it's a Mac or an iPhone and everything that comes with it.
|
I think I used the past tense correctly here - they have been appealing (and continue) to appeal to luxury buyers with many of the S and X models. That is how they established the brand. I live in one of their most successful regions and they are cross shopped with upper-mid, and upper tier Mercedes/BMW fare. This is luxury brand positioning. Model X sells for $122,000-208,000CAD. Model S ranges from 105,000-132,000CAD. For comparison, Mercedes GLS starts at about 100,000CAD to over 160,000 for the AMD version. An S class Sedan starts at 109,000CAD and goes up to $260,000 for a bonkers AMD version. These buyers are in the same deciles...
The 3 and Y are the new additions to the family. They're the 3 series BMW, or whatever Mercedes and Lexus is selling in the segment. Saying that Tesla isn't a luxury brand is like saying a Mercedes isn't a luxury SUV because it isn't a Rolls Cullinan... It's not all about price, but the intersect of price, segmentation, features and desirability. Apple is also a luxury brand of a different sort - typically called a "lifestyle" brand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses
That's making the assumption that you would actually have to replace the battery. From what I have seen, battery longevity has less to do with how many miles are on it, and more to do with following battery best practices for health. None the less, it's hard to predict what the replacement battery cost might be 8-10 years from now. Presumably significantly cheaper than today. There are actually Teslas out there with the mileage you describe that are still on their original battery. They have seen battery degradation. But not to the point that it justifies replacement. As battery capacities increase, the longevity of the battery should also increase.
But, those other maintenance costs are equally significant. Again, my only out of pocket maintenance cost for my Model X since September 2018 has been one set of new tires, and one set of new wiper blades. The brake pads still look like they are brand new despite living in the rockies and towing a trailer with my model X.... regenerative braking is pretty cool and saves money.
|
Don't get me wrong, I think the EV is already there in some markets - as far as TCO (total cost of ownership) compared to similarly priced ICE models, and will only get better.