Prospective Tesla owners not happy about price increases on locked in cars
by Sam Abuelsamid on Jan 17th 2009 at 8:12PM 
Click above for high-res image gallery of Jason's Tesla Roadster
Along with the news that Tesla Motors is offering an array of new high-margin optional extras for the Roadster comes news that the company is looking at other means of increasing revenues. All of this comes with an eye toward reaching a cash flow positive position by the middle of 2009 as promised by CEO Elon Musk. Unfortunately, it appears that some of that profit is coming on the backs of early adopters. When you put down a deposit on a car two years before it hits the streets, it shouldn't come as surprise that the specs would change somewhat before it arrives. But when the actual build time comes close, customers have to lock in the options they want on the car such as colors, interior finish, etc. about three months ahead to give the company time to line up special parts.
It turns out that customers who already locked in orders recently have been unlocked and asked to reselect options. Some of the previously selected options are now higher priced and other previously standard features are now extra cost options. Among those are the wheels that we've seen on every Roadster up until now. They have been replaced by a new, presumably less expensive design with the original design now fetching an extra $3,000. Audio system upgrades are now also more expensive. Perhaps most annoying is that the cable that allows the car to be plugged into the high power home charger for a three-hour charge has become a pricey add-on. Until now, these have been included in the cars. Drivers who want three-hour charges going forward will have to fork over an extra $3,000 to get this hefty extension cord.
Gallery: Jason Calacanis' Tesla Roadster
Gallery: Trying out Jason's Tesla Roadster
Photos copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips, Sam Abuelsamid, Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Tom Saxton, Tesla Motors Club]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
rob 8:19PM (1/17/2009)
"Drivers who want three-hour charges going forward will have to fork over an extra $3,000 to get this hefty extension cord."
I see an opportunity for "tesla-accessories.com" in the near future...
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meme 9:47PM (1/17/2009)
No freaking kidding. Talk about an easy way to make a buck...
Tesla better have a patent on it.
Don 10:47PM (1/18/2009)
Can you say "clusterfuck?"
realistic_idealist 9:35AM (1/20/2009)
Elon Musk does it again!
Reminds me of a joke I made up a while back:
"How many nerds does it take to run Tesla?"
-NONE, because this one is going downhill all by itself!
(maybe Martin always was right from the beginning and it had been
Musk's plot with the "Product Architect" title and
transmission-redirection-misdirection "problems" to just become CEO.
Now his A$$ is on the line or else those venture partners will ending
up kicking him back to South Africa, where he can become a politician
and feel right at home...)
p.s.
Good job rubbing Nikola's name in mud! Wasn't bad enough when greedy
Edison did it!
DRoseDARs 8:36PM (1/17/2009)
Would any of this fall under "Breach of Contract" or are the pre-customers pretty much SOL?
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ridinwjc 9:22PM (1/17/2009)
Way to run a business.
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Electron 2:18AM (1/24/2009)
MUSK MUST GO!
MUSK MUST GO!
BRING BACK MARTIN!
BRING BACK MARTIN!
MUSK MUST GO!
MUSK MUST GO!
BRING BACK MARTIN!
BRING BACK MARTIN!
Sasparilla 10:20PM (1/17/2009)
Musk, based on the reports in the press, definately seems like a bit of a jerk as a boss of Tesla, however Tesla must be desperate if they're doing this.
Unlocking prices on people who had locked in within 3 months of delivery is crazy - I'm sure they will loose people over this.
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John Rowell 10:40PM (1/17/2009)
It would make me angry too. Take a clue, Tesla: this is NOT the way to impress your customers!
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Paul Sallmen 6:10PM (1/18/2009)
Agreed. Tesla, what a way to pi** of your customers before the car has left the stable door! Continue this, and watch your customers move into EV Porsches and BMWs (which can't be that far off)
frankbank 10:58PM (1/17/2009)
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?
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Red 2:28AM (1/18/2009)
"Does any of this really matter? why does Tesla qualify as green anything?"
I'm not a fan ot Tesla, honestly, but even I can admit they've done well for the industry as a whole. Tesla has accelerated EV interest beyond anything anyone has seen before. We, as a whole, would have gotten there eventually, but still, I give credit where credit is due.
"Are they green transportation or really just expensive electric toys, like an cool RC helicopter?"
Both.
Ron Elliott 12:09AM (1/18/2009)
I am number 395. I am not a rich person dabbling in a plaything. I thought I was actually doing some good by supporting a company that was moving us to a more sustainable future. I put $50,000 of my own money down on this car in May of 2007. I withstood the delays. I held in there when it almost seemed the company was going bankrupt. Now, after locking in my options, they pull this on me. Elon Musk does not understand the power of evangelicals to the cause. Steve Jobs does. The same power that can bring people to the cause can turn the same power in a 180 degree turn against the cause. From this day forward, that's what I'm going to do. Elon should know that the people who have bought this car are not stupid. We know that the rolling stock has seen a price depreciation in the English pound from $2.04 to $1.44. He's making more money than he ever thought he would. This is a blatant slap-in-the-face-and-see-if-it-sticks move. I hope that enough people cancel their order so that the whole company goes bankrupt. Movements based on ideology hold companies to a higher plane than companies that do things just to make a profit.
I'd love to have the car, I can't have it now. I don't like the feeling of being screwed.
Ron Elliott
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Red 2:28AM (1/18/2009)
There's a company named UNA. They've got some exciting stuff coming in the next year. You might find their ideology interesting as well.
leo 8:44AM (1/18/2009)
Hello Ron.
Well said. I don't know how technically minded you are, but have you
considered doing an EV conversion? Stick your Tesla cash in an Elise
and convert it yourself. You know, a bit of old fashioned american
ingenuity.
DrTaras 9:46AM (1/18/2009)
I'm in the high 200's, Ron as I put my $50K down just after New Year's 2007! Could not identify with you & agree with you more. Hope you had a chance to meet Martin Eberhard? He was the heart of Tesla. When they cut him out, they ripped out Tesla's heart. You know what happens from there! -ian
Ron Elliott 4:38PM (1/18/2009)
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
Tesla Lies 7:38AM (1/19/2009)
Why not cancel then? Why support a company that is going to stab believers like you in the back?
why not the LS2LS7? 11:39PM (1/17/2009)
I have a friend who bought one of the earlier "locked in" ones and Tesla nickled-and-dimed him too. Don't get me wrong, if he had said no to everything he almost certainly would have still ended up with his car at the original price, unlike these newer buyers.
The pricing on the charge cable is really shocking to me. Tesla has been unable to even sell additional chargers to existing customers. Now I'm to believe that the price of an additional charger has gone up $3000? Unless of course you expect Tesla buyers to carry their charge cable in the trunk.
How much is a Tesla charger?
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Nick 11:49PM (1/17/2009)
Bad, bad business decision. They would be much better off finding more venture capital and keeping the early adopters happy. Fisker is going to eat their lunch.
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