Tesla slashes prices to shift unwanted cars

[JohnD]

"The largest cut in price has been for the Model Y Performance, which fell by £8,000 to £59,990, while the cheapest Model Y fell £7,000 to £44,990.

Tesla’s Model 3’s long-range model fell by £6,500 to £50,990, while its entry-level variant fell £5,500 to £42,990.

The Model 3 now costs less than rivals like the Kia EV6 and Polestar 2, while a Model Y is now just £2,000 more than the cheapest Skoda Enyaq 80, according to electric car comparison site Electrifying.com.

The drop in price came without warning and the company has not said for how long the prices will be fixed.

It marks a sharp reversal to Tesla’s strategy over the past two years when new orders outstripped supply, allowing it to charge customers a premium for the latest models."


"Musk admitted last year that prices had become “embarrassingly high” and could hurt demand. Shares were down more than 5pc on Friday, following the worst year in history for the company’s stock as it faces fierce competition and slowing deliveries. "

Source: the Torygraph

 

[Mottie]

If it carries in like this, the poor bloke will be down to his last 100 billion. That’ll teach him!

 

[kp00110]

I still struggle to see why people pay such figures for new cars versus buying from the second hand market - get a 3 year old car for tens of thousands of less whether electric or not

 

[Mottie]

I still struggle to see why people pay such figures for new cars versus buying from the second hand market - get a 3 year old car for tens of thousands of less whether electric or not

I would imagine that a three year old EV will surely start depreciating quite heavily after three years due to the battery needing replacement over the next 5 years or so at a cost of £10k upwards.

 

[norseman]

I still struggle to see why people pay such figures for new cars versus buying from the second hand market - get a 3 year old car for tens of thousands of less whether electric or not

Totally agree & even with the price reduction I won't be buying one, though I'm aware that my decision is unlikely to effect Tesla's share prices

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

After his disgraceful Twitter takeover the kudos of owning a Tesla has diminished, would you buy a car if it was owned by Trump?

 

[mointainwalker]

Good comparison Freddy, although I think that the customer-service and quality would be a hell of a lot worse -and they'd be ringing you up twice a week asking for donations, or offering the wonderful chance to buy a Trump NFT.

 

[Avocet]

I still struggle to see why people pay such figures for new cars versus buying from the second hand market - get a 3 year old car for tens of thousands of less whether electric or not

Me too - but I'm very glad that people DO buy new cars, or else there wouldn't be any 3 year old cars for tens of thousands less!

 

[Avocet]

I would imagine that a three year old EV will surely start depreciating quite heavily after three years due to the battery needing replacement over the next 5 years or so at a cost of £10k upwards.

That's not at all what seems to happen though. A quick trawl through the Autotrader will find you plenty of 10 year old Nissan Leafs with surprisingly high residual values! Most EV manufacturers have a warranty longer than 5 years on their batteries, so nobody will be shelling-out for a new battery in 5 years.
Our gaffer recently changed my company car. Told me I could spend up to £40k on ICE or £60k on electric. When I asked why, he said, the electric ones held their price so much better that it would cost him less to put me in a more expensive EV for a year or so, than a cheaper ICE. (This is the guy who has just taken delivery of an even faster Taycan Turbo S than the one he's been running this last year...)!

 

[Avocet]

After his disgraceful Twitter takeover the kudos of owning a Tesla has diminished, would you buy a car if it was owned by Trump?

I think it's more a case of being hit b ya double-whammy. For some year, Tesla haven't been able to sell them fast enough. People have been falling over themselves to get their hands on one - and as EVs go, they are pretty good. Now, they've managed to get production up, so the waiting list is no longer there. That, in itself, has lowered the prices. But the other half of the double-whammy, is that several manufacturers are now offering real competition. The Kia EV6, in particular, is generally reckoned to be more than a match for the equivalent Tesla. The Polestar 2 is also an excellent offering. Consumers now have a bit more choice.

From our side of the counter, this is all to the good. EVs are too expensive for most mortals, and they need to come down still further, if we're to make the change by 2035.

 

[Mottie]

That's not at all what seems to happen though. A quick trawl through the Autotrader will find you plenty of 10 year old Nissan Leafs with surprisingly high residual values! Most EV manufacturers have a warranty longer than 5 years on their batteries, so nobody will be shelling-out for a new battery in 5 years.
Our gaffer recently changed my company car. Told me I could spend up to £40k on ICE or £60k on electric. When I asked why, he said, the electric ones held their price so much better that it would cost him less to put me in a more expensive EV for a year or so, than a cheaper ICE. (This is the guy who has just taken delivery of an even faster Taycan Turbo S than the one he's been running this last year...)!

Maybe they would hold their value 'for a year or so' but not 8 years or so, I'd imagine. I may be wrong and the batteries may last 15 years or more but there WILL come a point in an EV's life when expensive battery replacement is a probability. I was thinking that the initial 3 years plus the 5 years after making it 8 years would certainly make me think about the battery issue if I was buying one - surely they cant be as good after 8 years? How much life would be left in them? Looking online, a 10 year old Nissan leaf only came with a range of 73 miles (updated batteries were used from 2017 onwards) though).

Edit: Scrub all that. According to Elon Musk, the battery life on a Tesla is between 300,000 and 500,000 miles or between 22 and 37 years under normal usage (260 miles a week). Doesn't seem possible to me but what do I know? Finding a charger and time spent waiting for a battery to charge halfway through a trip would be my concern at the moment.

 

[norseman]

From our side of the counter, this is all to the good. EVs are too expensive for most mortals, and they need to come down still further, if we're to make the change by 2035.

All about politics, money & above all, control.
Apparently several London boroughs are challenging Khan's proposed extension of the ULEZ on the grounds that residents (who are also voters of course) will have to replace perfectly good non-compliant cars that, unless purchased by those fortunate to live outside of the zone, will be only worth scrap value when it comes to trade-in time

I suspect WBAC will be having a field day pre August.

 

[kingandy2nd]

My other half has a model 3, which I get for her thought my business/salary sacrifice. Costs me net about £360pm for her to drive a nice new car. Last car was a used Volvo which depreciated about £3k a year, so not much difference in cost.

The Tesla is excellent in every way, so good, I’d actually consider buying one rather than leasing it when this one is returned.

My only complaint is the tyres don’t last long…9k miles in a year and 4 new boots just cost £880! That’s Michelin’s fault, and her heavy right foot, rather that Elon’s problem.

The Model s came out in 2014 in the UK so pushing on for 8/9 years old and still have a strong residual value and not much chat I’ve seen about them needing a battery change.

 

[JohnD]

With battery technology moving apace, it seems reasonable to guess that in 5 years time a replacement battery will be half the cost with twice the capacity.

 

[Avocet]

Maybe they would hold their value 'for a year or so' but not 8 years or so, I'd imagine. I may be wrong and the batteries may last 15 years or more but there WILL come a point in an EV's life when expensive battery replacement is a probability. I was thinking that the initial 3 years plus the 5 years after making it 8 years would certainly make me think about the battery issue if I was buying one - surely they cant be as good after 8 years? How much life would be left in them? Looking online, a 10 year old Nissan leaf only came with a range of 73 miles (updated batteries were used from 2017 onwards) though).

Edit: Scrub all that. According to Elon Musk, the battery life on a Tesla is between 300,000 and 500,000 miles or between 22 and 37 years under normal usage (260 miles a week). Doesn't seem possible to me but what do I know? Finding a charger and time spent waiting for a battery to charge halfway through a trip would be my concern at the moment.

Yes, the batteries deteriorate - maybe 2-3% a year - pretty much like anything that uses Li-ion batteries, so if it had 100 miles range new, it might have 97 at a year old, 95 at 2 years old, etc. Some EVs (and Tesla are reckoned to be excellent) are better than others. Of course, there are tricks the manufacturer can do, like "locking" part of the battery capacity away and gradually opening more of it up as the car ages, so that the end user doesn't really notice much range loss. Early days yet, but they actually seem to be lasting longer than anticipated. The EU Commission is looking at implementing regulations that will require the manufacturer to guarantee at least (I think it's 80% after 5 years and 75% after 7 years), but quite a few people think that's quite a low bar. Certainly most EV manufacturers already guarantee something similar.

The ownership model for EVs seems to be that new ones will get bought by people who need the range, and sold-on when the range no longer meets their needs, for less money, to people who don't need so much range. The 10 year old Leaf might only do 50 miles on a charge, but for the old dear who only needs to do 10 miles a day, that'll be fine. Other servicing costs are, of course, minimal.
Charging stops haven't been as much of a problem as I thought they might be. We had to take the lad back to uni the other week and the trains were on strike, so that's Workington in Cumbria, to Leicester. Got down there on one charge, then charged for an hour while we had dinner. Next day, dropped him off and set off back home. Stopped once for about 45 minutes while we had some lunch and a second time for 10 minutes while I had a wee. You need to pick a good fast charger though, but there are apps that help you do that.