chromedome

Tesla is still in the brand building mode while it quietly invests in the Gigafactory to leap over the competition. Hey, I don't drink Musk's Kool-aid but it's both scary and enlightening to see what Tesla has done by not doing what the traditional automakers did. Even in China, the Model S is an aspirational vehicle for the younger well-to-do set, more so than typical offerings from Benz and BMW. And all this from a carmaker that makes fewer cars than Jaguar...

I'd say Tesla is the Apple of the automotive world. The likes of Blackberry and Nokia trash-talked the iPhone because it couldn't do as much as their older smartphone platforms, but they ignored consumer demand for a user-friendly pocket computer. Now those companies are dead. Tesla aims to do something similarly disruptive with EVs and those carmakers who don't embrace electrification won't last long. Toyota has slowly gotten wiser, GM can compete if it stops treating EVs as a disgusting necessity, while BMW and Mercedes and the VW Group are dropping their hydrogen pipe dreams and scrambling to electrify their lineup. Tesla has a huge advantage with their Supercharger network - other automakers should stop squabbling and start building a common charging network right now if they're to stand a chance.

If you want to see where Musk is heading with Tesla, look at SpaceX. The guy doesn't settle for half-a**ed planning to satisfy Wall Street vultures with short attention spans, he literally aims for the stars.

mmarshall

What you are (apparently) overlooking is that you will usually have far fewer hassles if you trade it in, even though you usually don't get as much. Dealerships are equipped to handle the necessary paperwork, deal with DMV, issue temporary license-tags, provide a Notary-Public for document-transfers, clean up and detail vehicles, etc.... Yes, you can sometimes get more on a private sale (and sometimes not)....but you often have questions like who is going to drive home on whose tags, finding an NP, dealing with compete strangers (and sometimes carjackers) on test-drives, and other actual and potential problems.

Of course, if you know the person who is interested in your car, and you have the other potential problems covered....then, OK, go for it.

Toys4RJill

I don't agree all that much with you. EV's are nice right now, but as more and more of them get sold, then the cost to use electricity and taxes will increase making it a moot point. Those fancy Supercharger networks look good right now because they are free for current Tesla owners, but the upcoming Model 3 you will have to pay for it. The infrastructure for gas is so large and vast that gas powered vehicles are here to stay.

As it relates to this thread, Tesla models need to get cheaper. Tesla needs a dealer network, and they need to get the cars to consumers quicker. Nobody is going to wait for 3-4 weeks for their Telsa when a cheaper Toyota or Chevy is waiting on the dealer lots.

Oldfart

I am not questioning value of the realtor I am questioning statistics that realtors use to pump their value. I owe my current home thanks to a creative realtor.

chromedome

Unfortunately EVs in general won't get cheaper so fast because lithium ion batteries are still expensive. The Bolt costs almost $40k without incentives and it would probably be a $25k car if it had an engine. It could be many years before cheaper, more long-lasting battery chemistries enter commercial production.

Then again, it's all a marketing issue. GM still treats the Bolt like a compliance vehicle instead of getting its dealers to aggressively push both Bolt and Volt. Tesla buyers are like Apple buyers in thst they don't mind waiting because in their minds, there is no alternative. Just ask an iPhone or Macbook user to switch to a Samsung phone or Dell laptop...

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

yet in this case we are forced to buy it from a designated third party protected by govt laws.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

with centralized warehousing, the costs for EVERY dealer to maintain their own inventory is gone. Its going to be cheaper for every dealer to maintain an inventory instead of one central location? You think furniture stores maintain inventory at each of their locations? No its a showroom, the real inventory is stored in a central warehouse. This is how every other industry deals with bulky and expensive inventory that can sit around for weeks or even months. Dealers have little incentive to improve efficiency with this protectionist laws and this secret cost number padding that no one seems able to nail down. The dealership experience is horrible most of the time, because you have no other alternative. Why not skip all this BS?

People are just so mentally stuck in this model, that they refuse to imagine another way of doing it. All because of protectionist dealer laws.

LeX2K

Relative to other energy storage systems lithium ion cost per kWh has dropped 5x or more in 7 years. Tesla claims to be below $200 per KWh right now, by 2020 they are aiming for $100. So it depends on how you define "so fast" but in actuality costs are dropping quickly.
Short term thinking if you wait until all the stars align just right before entering a market by then your competition will be far ahead.

Toys4RJill

I would be interested in seeing the stats from an independent source. I would fully expect that it would back the value of the realtor.

Toys4RJill

The comparisons to Apple for everything are getting old. Tesla is nothing like Apple, however, Tesla has the potential to be the Apple of cars.

Millions upon millions upon 100's of millions of people will NOT wait for a Apple device. It needs to be ready for 99 percent of the population when they want it.

Toys4RJill

Again, you provide no facts. Cars today are hosted in the centralized location before getting to the dealer. They get shipped by train from the factory to a location, from there it goes to the dealer. What you fail to acknowledge is that a successful business needs an inventory. A car inventory is no different. People need to visit a dealer and shop for their car, this transaction needs to be done fast and with out delay.

Being curious and respectful. Have you ever purchase a new vehicle?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

unlike apple and gm, tesla sells in tiny volumes and loses money faster than a drunk at the tables in vegas.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

things can and will change. i can imagine getting virtual test drives soon with a headset at the dealer without having to go anywhere. "not good enough!" you say? well, it could be really close to reality, save time for customers, and be 'good enough' to make a purchasing decision. if done by a manufacturer and not an inefficient dealer with a no questions asked don't take it upon delivery, it could work.

Toys4RJill

Never gonna succeed. Selling cars efficiently requires an element of pressure from a sales person at the dealer. Otherwise, people will not pull the trigger. Can manufactures are absolutely aware of this. There have been all kinds of effort to take away the dealer-pressure, they have historically never worked. All of those take the car home for 24hrs, no haggle dealers etc etc are not efficient nor successful.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

it is basic logistics 101, and observing how other industries do it. How come the auto industry is the only industry that stockpiles expensive inventory that can take months to move. There is no competitive pressure to make this efficient because of BS protectionist laws where you can only buy it from the same place. If Costco, Sams, Walmart were allowed to sell you a car, they would instantly find a way to sell you a car cheaper than the others. Dealerships can still have a role, just a reduced and more efficient one. No ones talking about eliminating dealers, just eliminating the archaic rule that you have to buy from franchised dealers.

Yes I've bought new, and in other other industry is buying a product a bigger pain in the ***. Why is the govt in the business of deciding who i can buy a damn car from?