Definitely a change in their general perception from a year ago.
Comments from the above links...
These are all quotes from the comments sections of those articles. Not my words.
"How many nerds does it take to run Tesla?"
-NONE, because this one is going downhill all by itself!
frankbank said...
Does any of this really matter? why does Tesla qualify as green anything?
How many cars have they made? less than 1/3 the number of ABG tesla articles, I'll bet. Really, how many could they make - there is no real volume automotive expertise collected there - a VC-backed hobby shop - can never be relevant to petroleum displacement. Why does ABG waste the time on the tesla soap opera?
Are they green transportation or really just expensive electric toys, like an cool RC helicopter?
Ron Elliott said...
I have sent and email to Elon Musk. Here's what I said:
If you had actually explained to locked-in owners the reason why you needed to raise prices was to be profitable so that you could get funding from the government for the Model S, I’m very sure that everyone would have understood and supported you.
Instead, you sent out a deceptive email about new options that made locked-in owners confused about it being a price increase or not. You’ve created a lot of anger. Personally, my anger at first was about the price increase. But now, it has morphed into the way you have done this. Mr. Musk, you are showing a lack of integrity in the way you have done this price increase. Unfortunately, you are the CEO of Tesla and have now shown to your employees that it’s o.k. not to have integrity, as long as the end justifies means.
You are also showing a lack of respect for your customers. We are not stupid. We would understand why you had to do this if you had actually given us enough credit for having the intelligence to do so. You need to send a second email that apologizes for the email you sent. Own up to the fact that locked-in owners will get a price increase and give the reason for the price increase. People have not given $50,000 as a deposit for 2 years because they need an electric sports car. They have done it because they believe in the dream of advancing us all to an electric future for the automobile. The dream, and the people who have bought into it, are taking a blind leap of faith in Tesla Motors. Faith is the operative word. You are destroying the faith by not acting with integrity. We are your fanatics. We will bring the masses you need to make the Model S successful. Don’t disrespect us and underestimate our intelligence.
You need to put your very large ego aside for a moment and write that second email. If you don’t, you will have a P.R. disaster much larger than any you have had in the past.
Sincerely,
Ron Elliott
Chris said...
This is not a problem folks. Just cancel your order and buy a Fisker Karma. It's prettier, cooler, more practical in terms of moving people and luggage it has no range limitations and on to of all this: a lot cheaper!
This is quite interesting to read. Tesla's philosophy as a car maker/dealer was to do things differently and not to come off as the typical car dealership where they do try to nickle and dime you. And yet, here they are doing the SAME exact things they claimed they didn't want to do. How rich is that?
$3k for a heavy duty extension cord. I suppose it is not different that the parts and accessories markup that other high end car brands get.
Damn. Is that cord made by Monster ™ cables?
I just made a 12ga, 240-volt extension cord for an air compressor, and it cost about $60 including the receptacles.
Though I agree the Tesla Roadster isn't "saving the planet", they have had PLENTY of opportunities to do so. They easily could have started with a 4 door sedan with a 300 mile range for $50,000. Instead they make some sport car that didn't sell well due to its insane price point, fired 90% of their workforce, and are now asking Congress for $350,000,000...idiots...
Ferrari's, and to a lesser extent, Corvettes built their image and mistique on a racing background.
The Tesla is never going to have that kind of brand recognition going for it. It's always going to be the Elise with batteries.
quote:
And both the Ferrari and the Porsche are slower than the Tesla at 0 to 60 MPH...
....so a non-existent car is faster then those you can readily get... interesting
Really?
Car and Driver
Tesla Roadster: 0-60 in 4.4 sec
2009 Tesla Roadster - First Drive Review/Green Machines/Car Shopping/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver
Porsche 911 Carrera: 0-60 in 4.1 sec
2009 Porsche 911 Carrera vs. 2009 BMW M3 - Coupes/Comparison Test/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver
Ferrari F430: 0-60 in 3.5 sec
Ferrari F430 - Road Test/Sports Car Central/High Performance/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver
quote:
"Zero to 60 mph transpires in 3.9 seconds, claims Tesla, and we believe it.
Um YEAH! That 3.9 sec 0-60 was NOT tested. Any car company can claim any number for performance. Hard, independent numbers are the only one's that count. I don't care what C&D believes, they TESTED the car and it got 4.4 seconds (not exactly slow BTW). And, more importantly, Viditors claim that the Tesla is so much faster than the Porsche and Ferrari is blatantly false. Hell, the 911 Carrera is cheaper and was the RWD drive version and it was STILL quicker in TESTING (not claiming or believing) than the Tesla.
Base prices
Porsche 911 Carrera: $75,600
Tesla Roadster: $109,000
Good post.
I don't agree with the premise behind arguing over 0-60 times though.
0-60 times obviously don't tell the whole story about the comparative value in a gimmick electric roadster and a traditional sports car.
Especially, as you so succinctly pointed out, the alarming cost of the Tesla. $100k + is pure exotic car territory, and frankly, the Tesla can't compete in this market.
In the primary use for most (looking good) then the Tesla is probably competitive. If you want an actual performance comparison, lets see how the Tesla does for a day at a road course.
... before tesla folds?
they get bad reviews (range not being what they advertise), their prices are insanely high, their car is really just an elise with batteries, they had layoffs, now they raise the price.
i think these guys are doing it the right way:
ZERO MOTORCYCLES – The Electric Motorcycle Company - Homepage
a british magazine recently reviewed their bike and said it was actually BETTER than a normal bike because of its low weight, and it costs less than $8k.
You know, you'd figure fine print on a start-up company would be stupid in itself. I mean you're trying to build a good reputation right?
lawsuits for breach of contract??
Tesla could definitely face breach of contract lawsuits for this. Those who paid deposits made a bargained-for deal with Tesla. At the time of contract, the price was set at a certain point. It cannot change without there being a breach. If I had placed $50K on an order for one of these, Tesla would be in deep trouble. Just because they want to become profitable quicker does not give them the right in contract law to change the prices of contracts already entered into with customers. Tesla's only defense would be that somewhere in the contract there was mention of price increases for the final product. If not, Tesla's in trouble.
Why don't those idiots who reordered ones just get a Lotus Exige?
They'll poop their pants when they feel how that corners, and then poop their pants again when the figure out they can fill it up in about 2 minutes.
I really want a Lotus Exige S240
Brand new company, Brand new car, Brand new tech, and a rapidly changing economy. They're lucky the damn thing is still going to be built at all.
Right now I wouldn't give GE money up front, let alone Tesla motors...
quote:
Tesla is reported to claim that the price increases on the options are needed for the company to become profitable faster.
Now THAT will make them much happier to pay up more for the car.
That is slimy as hell. They are going to crap all over the people personally responsible for keeping the company afloat while receiving no car? I feel they will quickly learn the meaning behind the saying, "Don't bite the hand that feeds."
Wow, I've never heard of a mfg doing the classic "bump". The bad press/feeling generated by this isn't worth the tiny bit more revenue they'll get is it?
It's like these are Ebay sellers, and when you show up or call to finalize a deal, they suddenly add some cost, what a sham.
Haha, and I know a thing or two about measures to avoid BK, but $6M more isn't going to save them for too long, and not at the expense of pissing off the customers who so far, have loaned you money for free.
The option of demanding your deposit back, taking back your order and waiting for Lotus to come out with their own electric sports car however is free of charge.
Ha ha! Get your deposit back, thats funny.
I bet they'll tack on a $5,000 "rustproof undercoating" fee at the last minute, too.
@tonyola: You guys are so old school. It's an electric sports car, the invoice will clearly read
Li Battery Core Charge :: $9500
This, of course, is easily avoidable. Just bring your own dead 56KWh battery core.
as a sequel to my prior proposition for Hero Of The Day Section, I propose that there be a "Guild of Shame" where manufacturers or individuals (etc) are added to this guild as they bring shame to the motor industry.
To add insult to injury they should call it a fuel surcharge.
"Oh, you wanted valve caps? You didn't tell us that..."
This is a pretty low rent move. Better Tesla had come up with some additional options that they could dangle in front of customers to bulk up the bottom line. Folks who put a deposit down on a nonexistent car from a company that had never delivered a single car were already making a pretty big investment and accepting a great deal of risk.. That should be rewarded, not punished.
@Van Sarockin: this is an "additional option"
Option: Get Car
Price:$9,350
With $50k already in, and a bet of $6700, you stay in, whether you're drawing dead or merely drawing thin.
The odds may be against you, but with $50k in the pot, you can't muck your hand to save $6700.
Tesla set the price
Said cars were coming soon
Depositors rolled the dice
Because the car made them swoon
50 large they did put down
and all chose their favorite hue
But Tesla has a tainted crown
And said "more money we must accrue"
Now you don't want to make Ed Begley mad
Even though he is all green
He's gotten behind this electric car fad
But reneging on the deposit deal makes him mean
He'll ride his bike up to Silicon Valley
An angry sneer affixed to his face
And lead a violent protest rally
To smash up that Tesla place
The greens will riot as is their habit
When things don't go their way
They'll over turn a bio-fuel Rabbit
As vitriol they do spray
Then once again, they will return
To lunch on organic chick peas
To contemplate the thoughts of a fern
And await the next great cause célèbre
Tesla meanwhile will wonder
What went wrong with their grand plan
Find gullible celebs to plunder
Before they jet off to Cannes
It would have worked, if not for ol' Ed
Tesla only imagined it vaguely
Though some celebs are easily lead
Nobody ****s with the Beagley
I see that Elon Musk studied at the Bernie Madoff School of Business Administration.
Oh, yeah, did you want the polarized battery connectors or the big UL approved twist-on wire nuts?
Tesla should be ashamed. They have no right to complain about any other automaker when they pull this crap on people they had already made promises to.
Their cars were overpriced enough to begin with, at least hold the line.
I hope they fail.
Also the fact that they justified the need to increase the price as "necessary to become instantly profitable." Guess what Tesla, you got your cost estimate wrong and that's a business decision that you should have to live with. Those that agreed to your original price should get what they agreed to at the agreed upon price
They should've named the company "Musk" because something is stankin' about this situation.
tesla roadsters are nothing but novelty cars that will be sitting on cinderblocks in a couple of years anyways. who cares about another $6700 bucks. just drive your prius more lol save some money.
Really not smart. These things were going to sell by word of mouth at the country club, not traditional advertising. They should have written off a small loss on the first batch and considered it their marketing budget.
Now, they've pissed off their initial customers, who are going to say things like "well I like the car, but the company is a bunch of jack-bags..." to all of their friends.
i'd still rather have an exige
To everyone smirking about people "whining" about having to spend more money on these cars, remember that their deposits helped keep the company going. The company set the prices, if it was not enough that's the companies fault, not the customers. This company took peoples money and used it to run their business, I smell justified lawsuits. Which, ironically, will mean this move to bring about "instant profitiability" will actually cost them money.
and yet Fisker is coming out with their own electric/hybrid car at a much lower price with a lot more features....hmmm something tells me the executives of Tesla are spending the companies capital money on their own lavish Hollywood life styles...
"Tesla claims that the extra money is necessary to become instantly profitable."
Depends on how many people keep their deposit in Tesla's accounts; could also make the company, 'instantly filing for chapter 11'. They've got to be using deposit money to pay Lotus for manufacturing. Enough people walk with their deposits, Telsa won't be able to actual deliver any cars.
Good lord, in all the post I didn't see any of the cheerleaders and fanboys that joined our board a while back. Seems like they've even lost their support.
Elon Musk is a douchebag. Looks like more of the same piss poor customer service, theft and rip offs I get from his former company- Paypal. And now this jerk off is launching rockets over our heads? Save us all please.