Dozens of media outlets misquoting price of the Model X making it seem more expensive

yobigd20 · Sep 2, 2015

my news ticker is going off the wall today and there are literally dozens of media outlets saying that the 'Model X starts at $132k" and it very very expensive, much more than anticipated, that it costs 80% more than the Model S, etc etc.

As everyone here already knows, that price is for the limited edition SIGNATURE SERIES, which is basically a fully loaded MX. These media outlets are leaving out that little detail and making it seem like this is the 'starting price' for the base model of the MX.

THEY ARE WRONG.

The *base price* of the *normal* (aka non-signature series) Model X (which is yet to be unveiled) will be nowhere near that, yet these media outlets are either completely stupid or just ignorant and trying to generate click bait headlines. Most likely the base prices will match or come very very close to that of the S85D. (or the S70D if they choose to have a 70kW option for the MX).

/end rant.

CmdrThor · Sep 2, 2015

Put yourself in the shoes of a reporter. Go to Tesla's website and click on Model X. Try to find out what this "Signature" thing is. What is the difference between a signature and regular Model X? How does one get a signature?

Sure everyone around here knows that information, but it's all gone from Tesla's website. So let's say the reporter calls Tesla. Do you think Tesla is going to respond with a comment? Nope.

All of the misinformation in the articles comes from Tesla's lack of information. Hopefully that will be fixed by the end of this month, but honestly I don't really blame the reporters on this one.

scottf200 · Sep 2, 2015

I was annoyed in the same way.

An old spreadsheet I just updated to see if there was a "sig tax". Doesn't really seem to be one.

Image: http://i.imgur.com/UKDtkkv.png

I think the $132,000 number is from here tho:

Model X Configuration has begun! - Page 2

Image: http://i.imgur.com/wfXw0iU.png

dirkhh · Sep 2, 2015

This is a great spreadsheet. One might argue about the panorama roof... but either way.
I guess "1.6% more expensive" isn't really a catchy headline

strider · Sep 2, 2015

The same things happened w/ Model S and it is entirely Tesla's fault. By having the Sig line only that are loaded and dribbling out config and pricing details over many months the media has no other reference than sites like this where people are posting about their P90D Sig X's. The bottom line is that Tesla sucks at communication and media/public relations. It's been a constant for the life of the company. They could have easily opened the design studio to everyone and let people configure a $70k (or whatever is the 70kWh base price) model.

Cosmacelf · Sep 2, 2015

+1 strider. Tesla has yet to put out a press release. So whatever crap gets quoted in the press is totally Tesla's fault. For as much as Elon seems to care about what the press thinks about Tesla, he sure doesn't seem to be doing anything positive to help get the right message out there, except maybe for doing damage control after he creates a mess...

Rockster · Sep 2, 2015

The criticism of Tesla's ability to communicate may be justified, however, let us not minimize the impact of lazy, sensationalist "journalists," most of whom are an embarrassment to themselves.

yobigd20 · Sep 2, 2015

strider said:
The same things happened w/ Model S and it is entirely Tesla's fault. By having the Sig line only that are loaded and dribbling out config and pricing details over many months the media has no other reference than sites like this where people are posting about their P90D Sig X's. The bottom line is that Tesla sucks at communication and media/public relations. It's been a constant for the life of the company. They could have easily opened the design studio to everyone and let people configure a $70k (or whatever is the 70kWh base price) model.

Just wait for the following headlines like "tesla model X sales falling, tesla slashes Model X price by 50%" on the same day when non-sigs can start ordering.

dirkhh · Sep 2, 2015

Rockster said:
The criticism of Tesla's ability to communicate may be justified, however, let us not minimize the impact of lazy, sensationalist "journalists," most of whom are an embarrassment to themselves.

I'm quick to criticize lazy journalists... but it would have been entirely non-trivial for a journalist to get decent data. And given the way the news cycle works... no one has time for that. Certainly not finalcial news journalists (hacks).
So Tesla should be aware of that and do better to avoid misleading news like that.

hockeythug · Sep 2, 2015

yobigd20 said:
Just wait for the following headlines like "tesla model X sales falling, tesla slashes Model X price by 50%" on the same day when non-sigs can start ordering.

That's what I was thinking as well.

Max* · Sep 2, 2015

A fully loaded Model S P90D: $145,700
A fully loaded Model X P90D: $144,950 (signature)

Model S is more expensive than the Model X (yes, not apples to apples... but both include all available options, i.e. max price)

tinm · Sep 2, 2015

This is totally Tesla's screwup. They own this. And once again,
it's a communication failure.

Where is Ricardo Reyes and of what use is he? Where is Elon?

I expect strapped three-person startups to screw up like this but not $31B
companies with 13k+ employees.

Zroiron · Sep 2, 2015

strider said:
The same things happened w/ Model S and it is entirely Tesla's fault. By having the Sig line only that are loaded and dribbling out config and pricing details over many months the media has no other reference than sites like this where people are posting about their P90D Sig X's. The bottom line is that Tesla sucks at communication and media/public relations. It's been a constant for the life of the company. They could have easily opened the design studio to everyone and let people configure a $70k (or whatever is the 70kWh base price) model.

Guys, it's nothing but Tesla's "click bait"! They know exactly what they're doing!

tinm · Sep 2, 2015

How is it click bait? How many would-be X buyers are being turned off to astronomical Sig prices?

vandacca · Sep 2, 2015

CmdrThor said:
Put yourself in the shoes of a reporter. Go to Tesla's website and click on Model X. Try to find out what this "Signature" thing is. What is the difference between a signature and regular Model X? How does one get a signature?

Sure everyone around here knows that information, but it's all gone from Tesla's website. So let's say the reporter calls Tesla. Do you think Tesla is going to respond with a comment? Nope.

All of the misinformation in the articles comes from Tesla's lack of information. Hopefully that will be fixed by the end of this month, but honestly I don't really blame the reporters on this one.

Yeah, but it's the journalist's job to do research and uncover all the facts. This means contacting individuals in the know, researching articles, websites, calling companies, etc. The person who wrote this article is not a journalist, but rather a work-for-hire SEO article generator who gets paid $5/article. At least that's what he deserves for clearly taking less than 1 hour to come up with that nonsense.

EchoDelta · Sep 2, 2015

tinm said:
How is it click bait? How many would-be X buyers are being turned off to astronomical Sig prices?

A title with "Model X costs more than a million dollars!" Would be too much click bait, so they do the nearest thing they can.
Click bait= bait for clicks, not sales.

dmunjal · Sep 2, 2015

tinm said:
How is it click bait? How many would-be X buyers are being turned off to astronomical Sig prices?

Look at it this way. Once official pricing comes out on non-sig pricing at about $90k with typical options, everyone will think they're getting a deal! [emoji3]

vandacca · Sep 2, 2015

tinm said:
How is it click bait? How many would-be X buyers are being turned off to astronomical Sig prices?

It's click-bait because anyone doing a search for Tesla or Model-X would come across this article, click on it, and the website would get some advertising dollars from it (based on whatever ads they posted). It has nothing to do with "would-be X buyers".

Stoneymonster · Sep 2, 2015

Ars Technica is in on the act too: Tesla Model X pricing revealed, and itâ€™s not cheap | Ars Technica

Their Tesla coverage has been really pretty poor and uninformed I must say. Goes against things I like about the rest of their site.

rolosrevenge · Sep 2, 2015

CmdrThor said:
Put yourself in the shoes of a reporter. Go to Tesla's website and click on Model X. Try to find out what this "Signature" thing is. What is the difference between a signature and regular Model X? How does one get a signature?

Sure everyone around here knows that information, but it's all gone from Tesla's website. So let's say the reporter calls Tesla. Do you think Tesla is going to respond with a comment? Nope.

All of the misinformation in the articles comes from Tesla's lack of information. Hopefully that will be fixed by the end of this month, but honestly I don't really blame the reporters on this one.

The job of a reporter is to find out correct information and report. Simply going to the website is lazy on their part. It is no excuse.

Dozens of media outlets misquoting price of the Model X making it seem more expensive

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