more wows than at the apple store

[MrPinrel]

I recently visited a Tesla store for the first time so I could get my test drive in before finalizing. What an amazing car! But that is for another story...

The thing that shocked me is the amount of education and explaining that goes on at the store. We few Tesla nuts read these boards and go in there knowing what to expect, but in the 90 minutes I was there, only one other guy that came in knew anything about the car. Everyone else was walking in and saying things like "what do you mean there is no engine", "what are those seats doing in the trunk", "how do you open the door", etc. One guy sat in the car for 15 minutes and when I told him it was the fastest car I had ever driven, he wouldn't believe me!

The staff at the Tesla store (Oakbrook) were doing a great job and were very patient. But it did get me thinking about, are there other channels for Tesla to get the word out? Seems to me like word of mouth, store drop ins, magazine reviews, and Internet searches all together are too narrow of a pipeline for these cars to reach critical mass.

Great product, great company, need to get the word out.

 

[twinklejet]

But it did get me thinking about, are there other channels for Tesla to get the word out? Seems to me like word of mouth, store drop ins, magazine reviews, and Internet searches all together are too narrow of a pipeline for these cars to reach critical mass.

Great product, great company, need to get the word out.

Technically the model s isn't a mass market car... Would be better to maintain this "narrow" pipeline for this model imo. Tesla can ramp up the "pipeline" for their 30k mass market car that actually does need to reach every person on the street - but not the model S i think.

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

I was hanging out in the Park Meadows store for a while on Saturday, listening to the constant stream of questions from people about the Tesla Model S. I noticed that younger people tended to know much more about the car and the technology, while most people over about 25 seemed completely in the dark about it. I was also a little amazed at how excited people got when they first walked in and saw the Model S. Of course, the current reality is that only a relatively small number of people can realistically afford a Model S, lease program or not. I am not so sure that any advertising or marketing can change that pretty basic fact of life. Once the Gen III gets closer to reality, it would be time to actually do some marketing and advertising.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Depending on where you live, the car will market itself on the streets

 

[bonnie]

Of course, the current reality is that only a relatively small number of people can realistically afford a Model S, lease program or not. I am not so sure that any advertising or marketing can change that pretty basic fact of life. Once the Gen III gets closer to reality, it would be time to actually do some marketing and advertising.

Totally agree - and people seeing the Model S creates 'desire', even though they can't afford it. Now. They're spending their time learning ore about driving electric, figuring out how they might afford the S, deciding they just can't quite do it. ...Guess who will be first in line for the Gen III?

IMO, the stores are working as they should. They're keeping the pipeline full, they're educating the public, and they're creating a demand for Gen III.

 

[Soflason]

But it did get me thinking about, are there other channels for Tesla to get the word out? Seems to me like word of mouth, store drop ins, magazine reviews, and Internet searches all together are too narrow of a pipeline for these cars to reach critical mass.

Great product, great company, need to get the word out.

The stores are brilliant, thanks, n large part, to George B.'s prior background exploding the Apple brand through groundbreaking stores. But, Elon has been taking a different (sometimes controversial) approach to brand-building and getting buzz. PR definitely seems to be another key driver here with his "twitter-tease-announce" approach which has been masterful at getting the media to cover the latest developments - and it will continue to effectively build buzz. Just hoping the twitter hype lives up to the announcement for the next few upcoming rounds. A recent article just remarked on this untraditional branding strategy in-depth:
Tesla's media strategy: build a brand without spending on advertising - San Jose Mercury News

 

[MarkH]

Depending on where you live, the car will market itself on the streets

Yep, from other threads here it seems the demand seems in line, if not slightly above, production goals for the remainder of the year. This is without any major advertising other than the grass-roots word-of-mouth methods which seem to be working just fine for now. It seems that once people actually get a ride or test drive one, that they "grok" how the Model S is vastly superior to any existing ICE, and will find ways to make the money "available" or at least start saving for one. For myself I hope to buy one used five years from now, barring my wife's financial security plan to win the lotto in which case that day may come sooner.

Although I am new to this forum I am not new to following Tesla from a distance, and remember reading the Wired article about the NUMMI plant purchase two years ago. The whole Broder NY Times thing got me back in, and now that I know the car is for real, and they have actually delivered on the promise with no huge compromises, no big flaws or major recalls (knock wood), I am fully obsessed with it. And I haven't been a "car guy" since I was a teenager many many years ago...

 

[Merrill]

MarkH, what ever you decide to do make sure you do not test drive the MS. Because I guarantee once that happens you will find a way to own one.

 

[MarkH]

I only recently sat in one for the first time at the Old Orchard store here in Chicago. That was enough for me. I refuse to be in the vehicle while it is moving lest I immediatly cash in my daughters BrightStart funds for a reservation! :scared:

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

Yes, test driving a Model S is quite dangerous, because you will definitely want one! The first time you floor the accelerator in a P85 for a couple of seconds invariably elicits a happy "Tesla giggle".

 

[Andrew]

As much as we love our Model S - and want to shout from the rooftops how incredible it is - we made a decision not to talk (too much) with our friends about the car (at least, not to be the first to bring it up!). It's been really hard not to post pics on Facebook and Instagram, but because of the price point it's just a bit awkward and feels more like bragging about our expensive car. We don't want to show off for our own benefit (it's not "Hey, look at us with our fancy car!" - it's more "Hey, look at this incredible electric car - this is what we want the world to be!"... Friends are finding out about the car, of course, and once the conversation has started, I'll go on and on about how awesome it is and how much we love it and oh, yeah, there's no tailpipe.

But that damn sticker price is really a hurdle. Come on, Gen III!

And MarkH - Merrill is right, maybe better not to drive it. We didn't really intend on buying our S so soon, but when I tagged along on a test drive - and then got to floor it on Pacific Coast Highway - there was no turning back!

 

[MarkH]

I get that idea about not wanting to brag, but wanting to show the benefits of the car, because, well, there are so many! I have a personal list of almost 50 pros versus ~10 cons of the Model S, and many of the Cons there are plans by Tesla to address in the future. It was an exercise to prove to myself that these benefits were real, and that I had not just drunk the Kool-Aid on this. Because when I dug in to the details, it seemed too good to be true - the unique design of the car from the platform up creates a chain of downstream benefits, like a virtuous cycle.

I loved cars as a teenager, but now I see all the ICE vehicles, even the ones I lusted after, as exercises in optimizing (some very beautifully) on top of a rube-goldbergian contraption - the standard ICE and drivetrain. And hybrids - the so-called path to the future - just added more unneeded complexity while retaining some residual tailpipe emissions.

As a computer guy, this feeling reminds me of when, in the late nineties, I discovered Linux after using Windows servers for years. The idea that a server could stay up - without issue - for months? Mind-blowing. Then the i-everything from Apple - based on Unix - a clean design on a solid foundation, well you see how those benefits have translated into market share and fast followers over the past decade.

In the same way I truly think Tesla has a jump on the future of mass-market vehicles, with their clean break from ICE and Hybrid. I am frankly amazed they got this far, and with the tailwind of momentum from the Model S and the Supercharger buildout (nevermind how slow it is, the fact that it is actually happening amazes me) I think the sky is the limit.