Yu got to give it to Elon Musk, he really got his car strategy Just Right!
First, he created a roadster that was not particularly cheap or long ranged but it was his first attempt at manufacturing vehicles. This kind of vehicle was a testbed for what would come later, but it allowed Musk and his team to start understanding the car-building process...and it's complicated.
Second came the Tesla S, an expensive very fast, and long-range vehicle that still had many faults but early adopters didn't care, they were geeks and finish was not a high priority. This car was as fast as a supercar, had a range of more than 400 miles on a single recharge, and looked very very cool. The car still had a lot of flaws that were generally disregarded by the buying public. The funny thing, of course, is that its speed compared to remarkably uncomfortable supercars, but its comfort and finish were that of a mid-range automobile.
Third can the Tesla X the dream SUV cross over, a much better vehicle, and again Tesla tested many new manufacturing technics. It is said that change to the Tesla would occur in the space of a few weeks and would always be backward compatible. There were some unintended consequences, like the snow sliding off into the boot when you open the trunk, and the rest of the Tesla pre-heating before departure...
Forth The Tesla 3 was the first mass-market vehicle that Tesla produced. Musk was very clear and said that on many occasions the market for $70,000 plus cars is very small, less than 1% of vehicles sold every year sell for more than $70k. The Tesla 3 was the answer to that question. Again, Tesla continued to improve all its models.
Look Vs. Engineering: It is important to note that a 2021 Tesla S and a 2020 Tesla S are, aside from their looks, very different vehicles, from motors, to how the power is sent to the motors to cooling and heating. The user experience is the same, but "under the bonnet" these are different vehicles. Something like that NEVER occurs in ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles, every few years an ICE vehicle is refreshed and things are changed. This is not how it works at Tesla, changes are incorporated all the time and are all backward compatible. So if you have a problem with the air conditioning in a 2019 Tesla S, the replacement unit will be new technology and will fit in the location of the old unit. Something that automobile journalists have a hard time dealing with -- they say that the S is an old style. And it is because Tesla no longer focuses on the X or the S. In fact, as of April 2023, the Tesla S is no longer available as a right-hand drive (UK, Australia, Japan)
The Tesla Y is the real game changer, everything Tesla learned about the X,S, and 3 were incorporated into the new flagship of the firm. In Canada the newest Tesla Y, not long range and rear wheel drive will arrive in June 2023, from China it will cost about C$47,000.
Tesla Truck is the next to come out of the production line and will fully incorporate all the changes that have been included in all the older Tesla models. The truck is the first of the Tesla to have a single cast rear unit. This will be added to the Y and the 3 too, but officially the Tesla truck is the first beneficiary of the mega cast single cast for the rear and the front of the vehicle. This means that the truck is the first Tesla vehicle that can be manufactured in the major parts (Front, Back, and middle) where they are assembled at the very end. The battery pack has become structural and holds the vehicle's three segments together. This will massively reduce manufacturing and assembly costs and time.
Tesla has hinted at two new vehicles (a sub-25,000 model maybe and maybe a new Roadster). Tesla is clear in its strategy, there is no point in manufacturing luxury vehicles they are not a game changer, they represent too small a proportion of the vehicle buying demand.
Range: What is truly amazing is the strategic forethought that has driven Tesla. A few days ago I saw the new Lexus 450e, range about 350km which is short for cold Canada. They are not that expensive at between $69k and $85k, and you can have a delivery tomorrow morning, They have at least a dozen available in Montreal. The same for the Ford electric truck, again tons are available because the range is "lamentable" Although Ford says that the range is over 550 km, real-world experience by users seems to indicate that range of 200km when carrying some load. All the car reviewers so far have used the vehicle with no load, and forget towing -- anything with a serious weight will degrade range to an unacceptable range. It will be interesting to see how Tesla deals with this specific problem. Of course, Tesla has a single massive advantage over the other manufacturers, dedicated charging stations, and volume. In 2023, Hyundai will deliver a total of 5,000 Ioniq 5 to Canada. During that time Tesla will deliver 15,000 Model 3 across the entire country, and probably another 10,000 Model Y. Wait time for Hyundai's Ioniq 5 is about 24 months, you can have a Tesla in less than 60 days. That was always Musk's strategy. Moreover, Tesla makes money on every vehicle it sells -- the same cannot be said for its competitor.
Finally, because of changes in the product (mega cast) and change in the production system (the assembly line system is being completely replaced) makes the Tesla 40% cheaper to manufacture. Other manufacturers work on the premise of ever-increasing prices.
Dealers are now a problem for legacy manufacturers Finally, and this is the real problem, dealer surcharges seem to be here to stay. A New York friend looking at a Bronco a few days ago told me that the sticker price was $47,000 for the model he wanted, but the dealer had a premium of $12,000 on the vehicle. during the pandemic, this made some sense because of the shortage but he told me that the forecourt of the dealer had more than 40 broncos available.
He walked away.
Tesla doesn't have dealers. Until now repair centers were on wheels for basic stuff, but more and more Tesla-dedicated workshops are opening to cater to that massive demand. In Ontario and Quebec, electric vehicles are now 15% of total registration. That was always Musk's strategy, not to become the manufacturer of expensive exotic cars but the manufacturer of everyday cars -- replacing Toyota and Nissan as the world's largest automobile manufacturers, while making a sizable profit.
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