Tesla - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[Chris Cachor]

More trouble Trouble in Missouri | Blog | Tesla Motors

I think Tesla needs to bypass the states and get federal legislation.

 

[JessicaRuth]

Tesla Will Probably Break Ground On Its First Gigafactory Next Month, But Still Won't Say Where

 

[JessicaRuth]

Funny Oatmeal Comic about the author's Super Stealth Ninja Machine.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Michigan's new law 'clarifies' ban on Tesla's direct sales model

Figured we would see this happen in the state of Michigan. Will Tesla cave and move to a franchise platform before all said an done?

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/21/michigan-law-keeps-tesla-stores-out

 

[JessicaRuth]

Long live the dealership?

Tesla Dead Last in Dealer Experience.

Full article

 

[craigh]

Long live the dealership?

Tesla Dead Last in Dealer Experience.

Full article

The Pied Piper PSI measures Internet/Telephone sales effectiveness, walk through dealership door and the in-dealership experience - it ignores everything after this point. The process they are measuring is almost exactly what Tesla is trying to do differently and they're measuring them on a scale built for dealerships. You can't evaluate Tesla on a traditional scale and expect them to score well when their core business model is not following that business model. They scored low because they don't offer test drives and their inability to ask for the sale - these are two things that Tesla has built into their business model and the PSI scoring system doesn't have a tolerance for that variance, so they immediately score lower.

I understand what they're trying to do here, but I feel like this is a non-issue for Tesla because they don't want to support the traditional process.

Unless I'm missing something of course. The following quote from the original report also seems to dispute my own logic because some of them ranked exceptionally well.

despite a last-place PSI brand average ranking, 15% of the Tesla dealerships achieved “A” PSI evaluations, with a dealership PSI score over 130, while 20% recorded “F” evaluations, with a PSI score below 50.

 

[AlecEmanual]

The fit and finish, the ordering, the inventory, the trade-in, the differentiation — these are the problems I see with Tesla, and the reason why I ultimately did not buy a Model S. I hope Tesla succeeds because the competition is fantastic for everyone, and I don’t think they are going to disappear anytime soon, but these are my concerns with the company’s entire strategy.

 

[joe.pistell]

The dark cloud over the dealership industry has got to be one of the most fascinating studies in business psychology ever.

About 4 weeks ago, I'm havin' a beer at a house party at my place, and my neighbor is talking about his new ride:

• neighbor: "It drives me nuts, why can't car dealers just post their lowest price? They force me to negotiate"
• me: "you shopped on the internet and you visited the dealer with the lowest price... right?"
• neighbor: "yea..."
• me: "did you buy it, or, did you ask for a lower price?"
• neighbor: "well... I offered a lower price to close the deal that day"
• me: "I see, it was YOU wanted to negotiate a lower price, so, it was you that forced the dealer into negotiations..."
• neighbor: [silence], then [mumbling], then [back peddling],
• me: "still holding on to the idea that dealers are bad? Think about this. Would you be happier if Verizon's store managers competed against each other and you could get a discount on your phone AND your cell bill?"
• neighbor: "yea, that would be cool"
  
• me: "this is how car dealers work, they FIGHT EACH OTHER for your business!"
• neighbor: [silence]
  
• me: "think about it. If you bought a Tesla, do you think they'll ever cut your a deal?"
• neighbor: "nope"
  
• me: "Game. Set. Match."

The anti-car dealer fever is generations old, yet NO ONE has updated how the Internet has blown up the old model. The tide has turned, car shoppers have enormous power.

Everyone! Buyers are selfish. Let go of the Urban Legend!

 

[JessicaRuth]

@JoePistell I want to come to your house parties....

It's a great conversation around the study - what happened with Joe's neighbor. @craigh you're right that Tesla is being scored on things that their business model doesn't necessarily cover (or care about). However, they are in the business of selling cars...

 

[craigh]

@craigh you're right that Tesla is being scored on things that their business model doesn't necessarily cover (or care about). However, they are in the business of selling cars...

They're in the business of selling cars, but selling cars their way.
A penny isn't upset when you tell him he isn't very silver.