Confused. Why would the price or roadsters skyrocket if Tesla failed? I would have thought the opposite - the cars would be unmaintainable.
Typically prices do go up for cars where companies have gone belly up since there's no more of them or the name. But also getting parts and maintaining them becomes a challenge which I'm sure is also figured into the price. I wouldn't go and say skyrocket though.
As for a high cost for the 400 mile pack, I don't think its going to be all that bad when I need one. As soon as the mass produced Tesla is on the road and Giga plant has been dialed in, the prices per cell will drop dramatically. Same thing happened to flatscreens and any consumer product that's produced in masses over time. Also when a Roadster's ESS fails, its not the whole pack its usually a brick or a sheet that's gone bad. I've heard of $4000 for a repair and giving a new sheet with labor, so that's not bad. When Tesla does honor a warranty, they replace the pack with a refurbished pack. That's to make the customer happy and to also do analysis on the entire pack that had an issue to see how it held up, why it failed, and to make it better in the future. Also that pack will be warrantied for a year even if your warranty just expired. So you get some personal service there that can go a long way.
I personally don't think the ESS warranty is a great deal, but I'm not a big fan of post manufacturer / extended warranties either, its where companies make their bucks. But then I've learned to work, diagnose, and fix my own things. Its the way I've always been and personally prefer it that way. I too love to learn why things fail, enjoy making them better, and personally find it rewarding when everything works out and runs as good or better than new.
Back on the thread, Tesla has a focus, to sell the best and safest electric vehicle ever made and have a milestone to get it into the hands of as many customers around the world for an affordable price. They won't hit that milestone appeasing to only 2400 Roadster owners around the world. Also they have shareholders/board members to make happy who also "own" a piece of the company. The focus of those guys are profits and future business growth that will bring back returns to their investment. Again, 2400 customers is not their focus either.
However I know Tesla will not forget the Roadster owners nor their roots. There's lots of respect there for the early adopters, especially the first time owners in particular for that they stuck with Tesla through the hard times and they wouldn't be around without them. However, being a 2nd owner of my Roadster, they treat me and always have as if I bought that car directly from them. That's something that really blows me away and makes me feel really good.
Voicing your opinion is one that everyone should respect. I wouldn't go so far to email Elon about this though. I do believe he's a very tech savvy, connected and intelligent fellow. I have no doubt he reads these forums for that they are "real world" feedback on something he's helped create that I'm sure he's passionate about. So I wouldn't worry that you haven't been heard by Tesla.
