Elon Musk recently defended Tesla’s frequent price changes by pointing to the dealership model, and how most automakers change vehicle prices more regularly than consumers realize. He emphasized that Tesla’s pricing strategy is a result of a key difference from its competitors. In response to this, Omar of Whole Mars Blog criticized Tesla’s pricing strategy, expressing his view that it is incoherent.
Sawyer Merritt added that this downside is one of the rare trade-offs of the direct-to-consumer sales model, despite the additional pricing transparency. Omar’s remark on Tesla’s pricing was: “I think that if you had a monkey throw shit at a keyboard to come up with a pricing strategy for Tesla it would be more coherent than what we’ve seen.” He also raised questions about the confusion it creates for consumers. Elon Musk responded by highlighting the lack of transparency in the dealership model, where the MSRP often differs significantly from the actual price.
He also pointed out that other cars change prices constantly and often by wide margins through dealer markups and manufacturer/dealer incentives. He stated that only a fool would consider the “MSRP” as the real price and emphasized that Tesla’s frequent price adjustments are necessary to align production with demand. In conclusion, the conversation highlights the differing perspectives on Tesla’s pricing strategy and the challenges of maintaining transparency and coherence in the automotive industry.