Buying Tesla at 20% indefintely?

[JetFalcon]

Is it possible that Tesla will keep lowering the price of EVs in the future and have random flash sales at random moments due to government incentives? These sales don't seem to be like black friday deals where it's a annual thing or predictable. It seems Tesla only does sales if it has to and will do it at any moment depending what the company's needs are.

So would consumers be at a disadvantage if they only buy a car only when they absolutely need it and can't wait around for a price cut or a newer refreshed model? Are there consumers out there that will buy a brand new car because they drove it for 500k+ miles and it reached the end of its life? Is Tesla the only car company that can change prices at any moment, either higher or lower? So if someone can wait it out, they will just buy when Tesla decides they need to lower prices? It seems they don't even announce what their plans are for pricing, anything can happen at any moment. And no Tesla employee would be able to predict when the best time to buy is. I just wonder why did people buy at full price, is it because they needed a car at the moment? I wanted to get a Model Y for a while, I was kind of unlucky that I got a Model 3 because there was no Model Y at the time and I did want to buy a small SUV, but I compromised and got the Model 3 because it was around $60k and the Model X was like over $100k and my parents wouldn't buy that which is fine I probably wouldn't either. I got about 4 years and 96k miles out of the Model 3 as of now, I could have kept using it, but I didn't want to put myself in a situation where I wanted to buy a new car at moments notice because the Tesla Model 3 started having major problems and was time to get rid of, but then be screwed that Tesla prices are at its usual price or above thus not being able to pounce on any deal.

It seemed more like I was able to wait until Tesla had a problem with the new tax credit stuff then take advantage of the situation. But Tesla won't tell you when they see a problem, they just do things so immediate, like the day of. I was planning to skip out on the Model Y because I wanted a Performance but it wasn't eligible and I felt the Performance was a better value considering it was only a few thousand more for the top tier model, but then I look online and suddenly the tax credit thing goes up $80k which means any variation of Model Y is eligible and I made an assumption Tesla would raise prices, considering the normal Model Y went up $500 even without any changes. I went to the dealership and placed the order that same day, I took that risk to not think about it even more.

Right now the Tesla Invoice says approx $70k for the MY-P with enhanced autopilot. I checked my invoice and it did say $56,990 on the first line. Because I saw $57,990 in just a few hours and threads here saying price increased and started contemplating if I got screwed and didn't pay the price I saw in the morning. I verified and the Tesla guy was like, ya you got the lowest price and congratulated me for locking it in.

Is there any history of when 20% discounts happen? Or anything where there is a huge discount and previous customers get angry they just bought the car? The main reason I got more serious about trying to lock in a car was because people were getting furious about the new price cut so I felt that must mean it's a good price cut. And even though I could keep driving my Model 3, I also don't want to be put in a situation where I have to buy a car at moments notice and have no idea if the Tesla prices are at its highest and rather have contrl of the situation and just buy when the prices seem the lowest. And also I still wanted a small SUV so I can haul stuff around, especially the arcade, it's very hard to fit alot of prizes in a Model 3 if I need to clean out an arcade with 50k-100k tickets.

 

[Ogre]

All car companies change prices regularly. They don’t mess with MSRP much, but there are incentives, rebates, loan specials, dealer markdowns, Costco deals, and AAA deals. Which cars get features in those Costco deals are the ones the companies want to move the most. They make more of their top trim or the bottom trim if they want to raise or lower prices.

Is there any history of when 20% discounts happen?

Not often. But the internal combustion engines is mature technology so it’s hard to compare.

EVs are rapidly changing, the industry is a technology industry at moment. Things are shifting fast.

Is Tesla the only car company that can change prices at any moment, either higher or lower?

Ford and GM have dealerships. If they raise prices and there is inventory on dealer’s lots, it’s a windfall. If they lower prices and dealers have inventory, those dealers are screwed. It’s a lot more complicated when you have inventory sitting around. Teslas whole model is based on having very low inventory. Even when their inventory peaked, it was a fraction of what other companies carry normally.

 

[glide]

It’s not like this is the first time Tesla has made price cuts or the government has offered tax incentives.

You can very easily tell what is going to happen based on historic trends.

(spoiler: it just happened again recently and the trend was exactly the same as last time)

 

[ZenRockGarden]

Tesla will adjust prices as it sees fit to match demand to available factory capacity.

The end.

 

[CapeOne]

In addition to quarter end incentives, Tesla has raised and lowered prices at various times over the years at largely unpredictable times. After making notable price cuts early in the year, Tesla turned around and raised prices on the MY weeks later.

Tesla's significant price cuts have made buyers angry at times. Regarding the most recent price cuts, there are petitions going around (like the one below with over 7,500 signatures so far) with buyers seeking to get Tesla to provide Q4 buyers a free 1 year FSD subscription or supercharging miles.

Sign the Petition

GIVE TESLA FSD TO TESLA BUYERS WHO BOUGHT Pre-Price DROP

www.change.org

 

[JetFalcon]

In addition to quarter end incentives, Tesla has raised and lowered prices at various times over the years at largely unpredictable times. After making notable price cuts early in the year, Tesla turned around and raised prices on the MY weeks later.

Tesla's significant price cuts have made buyers angry at times. Regarding the most recent price cuts, there are petitions going around (like the one below with over 7,500 signatures so far) with buyers seeking to get Tesla to provide Q4 buyers a free 1 year FSD subscription or supercharging miles.

Sign the Petition

GIVE TESLA FSD TO TESLA BUYERS WHO BOUGHT Pre-Price DROP

www.change.org

I think seeing articles about people being angry in January was the reason I was really checking in on the Tesla Model Y. My Model 3 is only 4 years old and 96k miles old. I wanted to keep driving it and try waiting for a newer refreshed Model Y and try get 150k-200k on the Model 3. But I saw all the articles stating this was a huge price decrease.

It seems if you want to take advantage of the discounts, you have to work around what is going around Tesla needs and not your needs. It seems Tesla only discounted prices in the short term was just to qualify for tax incentive then are slowly changing their mind when the tax incentive became more flexible. I would rather not wait around when my current Model 3 breaks down and needs immediate replacement then I may be forced to pay whatever they are selling for which could be back at it's top price.

Also I wanted a small SUV initially like a Lexus RX but I liked how the Tesla drove and the cost savings so I chose the Model 3 even though it wasn't the small SUV. Then Model Y came out a year later and I felt I missed my chance by one year to get the car that could fit my needs. Now I can get the Performance Model for cheaper than what the base Model Y sold for at its highest price. And I locked in the $56990 base price the day the tax incentive changed to $80k, and 2-3 hours after I placed order at store, the Tesla Model Y Perf went up $1000.

Hopefully in the next 4-7 years there will be another price cut / tax incentive to take advantage of and repeat the process.

 

[CapeOne]

I think seeing articles about people being angry in January was the reason I was really checking in on the Tesla Model Y. My Model 3 is only 4 years old and 96k miles old. I wanted to keep driving it and try waiting for a newer refreshed Model Y and try get 150k-200k on the Model 3. But I saw all the articles stating this was a huge price decrease.

It seems if you want to take advantage of the discounts, you have to work around what is going around Tesla needs and not your needs. It seems Tesla only discounted prices in the short term was just to qualify for tax incentive then are slowly changing their mind when the tax incentive became more flexible. I would rather not wait around when my current Model 3 breaks down and needs immediate replacement then I may be forced to pay whatever they are selling for which could be back at it's top price.

Also I wanted a small SUV initially like a Lexus RX but I liked how the Tesla drove and the cost savings so I chose the Model 3 even though it wasn't the small SUV. Then Model Y came out a year later and I felt I missed my chance by one year to get the car that could fit my needs. Now I can get the Performance Model for cheaper than what the base Model Y sold for at its highest price. And I locked in the $56990 base price the day the tax incentive changed to $80k, and 2-3 hours after I placed order at store, the Tesla Model Y Perf went up $1000.

Hopefully in the next 4-7 years there will be another price cut / tax incentive to take advantage of and repeat the process.

What happened over the past year or so was particularly unusual due to COVID-19. supply chain issues, new EV credits, etc. The inventory shortages seen in the auto industry created much higher per car demand which led Tesla and other manufacturers and dealers to jack up prices to take advantage of the situation. Now that supply chain and inventory issues have started to correct themselves, prices have started to come down a bit. There are also the new/modified 2023 federal tax credits for EVs which impact pricing and the market.

 

[MyNightmare]

I can speak if only my experience in purchasing a Tesla at the beginning of the year, and must confess, I was caught up in the hype of price increases and decreases for a couple of weeks. Watching the prices like the stock market until I pulled the pin and thought to myself, this is stupid, I either want the car or not. If I want to penny pinch and wait for the bargain basement prices, I should be talking to the smarmy dealers down the road who will do a deal, because the Tesla is not the right car for me.

There are going to be a segment of the market who are going to be looking for their Black Friday sales, treating the car as a commodity to be traded after 3 years and a certain amount of kms.

My hope is to not have to be looking for a replacement vehicle for another 10 years or so. Yes, things are going to need to be replaced on it. It’s a car. Certainly going to be cheaper than replacing the entire thing, and as a society, we need to get rid of this replace mentality. You may be thinking ‘yes grandpa, go back to the old folks home’ I’m 40 and think we’ve got issues. Hmmm….some parts of the world I guess I could be a grandpa.

I’m not sure if this stayed on topic.

 

[MyNightmare]

Oh, and I forgot to say…. I’ve owned a few vehicles in my life, and driven more, my M3 is by far the best car I have ever had the luxury of owning/driving!