Although driving a LHD car is legal in the UK, insurance is likely to be slightly more expensive, overtaking is more difficult and dangerous, and any machine (car park barrier, toll booth, drive through) will be awkward to use.
You would think that with all the fancy FSD smarts these cars have, it wouldn't matter anymore whether it' RHD or LHD, as all the cameras and CPUs they have on board, could surely be able to let you know when it's safe to overtake and when not.
There are a lot of usability issues. If you're entering a parking garage for example, the payment machine would be on the other side making it annoying to use.
People don't want the hassle. But they're getting refunded, plus they're getting a good deal on a model 3 or Y. Some of them might choose to take the deal, some might not, but the customers are being taken care of.
There’s also the question of resale value. It would be hard to sell a LHD Tesla, if you buy that then you are essentially tied to it for the lifetime of the car, or taking a massive haircut if you ever decide to sell.
It’s not just the ticket machines, the UK also has a lot of narrow country roads that are difficult enough to drive in a RHD, I cannot imagine driving a LHD in UK it would be hell on earth.
Encountered a few enterprising Germans driving their own cars on my last trip to Cornwall.
Perhaps, unlike tourists driving RHD cars, they're much more able to kiss the hedge on the narrow roads there without fear when other cars have to pass.
For overtaking on two-way roads you still need to use your eyes and judgement. Neither radar nor cameras are precise enough to look far ahead and judge safety.
India is actually a very small market for cars. And Australia is also not very big.
and these are the expensive models, a tiny number of them would be sold there.
The cheaper models, 3/Y will continue to be sold.
Also you do understand that if there was actually the possibility for lots of sales, they could just reintroduce it again later. Its not like they have categorically lost the ability to make RHD models.
It's a small market for foreign cars, which have a huge import duty slapped on them. Indians love buying Tatas, Mahindras, Maruti Suzukis, and locally-built Hyundais and Hondas.
Indians love buying foreign cars too. Nobody likes buying Tata, Mahindra and Suzuki, it's all about Mercedes and BMW where I'm from. Heck even Skoda, Chevrolet and Toyota are considered fancy.
That being said, this was the right move for Tesla. Tesla is not suited for the Indian road currently, and X and S are pricey even without the import tax even for upper class Indian standards, so it doesn't make sense making for India. That being said, I'm surprised they haven't been able to crack the Japanese market.
That one is easy! Tesla still has quality control and more importantly, interior issues. Japanese buyers expect the highest quality which is why many of their products are still produced domestically. The country is also so small and well connected with public transportation that people don’t need cars with 400 miles of range. The infrastructure and battery tech is arguably the biggest selling point for Tesla currently and those are non-factors in Japan.
Hmm, that explains quite a bit. My experience with the pharma industry previously gave me the impression that the Japanese were big on foreign brand names, but I guess the underlying driver is just quality.
If you're talking about the glitziest parts of Mumbai or Bengaluru, maybe.
It's rare to see Mercedeses or BMWs outside of the wealthiest parts of even Chennai, for instance. I don't think a small-towner in a second- or third-tier city is going for a C-class that would be worth several years' salary, even as a software engineer.
Indians might want to buy German luxury cars, but whether they can afford to actually buy them and whether they actually buy them is a different story altogether.
Sorry but I have to disagree. The district my father hails from is the second biggest luxury car market in the country, and not even 30 years back, it was the most backward in the entire state as well as one of the poorest in the country. A generation of education later and we have one of the most affluent districts in the country. In the coming years, I expect more of this boom to occur in other districts (and it's already happening). Just drive around Rajasthan or Haryana these days - that's where the markets are growing now.
As for Chennai, it's a different story. In my experience, rich Tamilians tend to flaunt wealth less prominently as a cultural trait, unless you're talking nouveau riche politicians and entertainment industry people. I've met Tamilians all over the world and they have consistently been comparatively down-to-earth in terms of material wealth. An old friend's dad was a producer for several Rajnikanth movies, yet he drove around in a Hyundai.
Reminds me of “My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I ride a Mercedes, my son rides a Land Rover, and my grandson is going to ride a Land Rover…but my great-grandson is going to have to ride a camel again.”
Different areas react to wealth in different ways, some flaunt it and burn it, others plod along doing what they’ve always done.
> The district my father hails from is the second biggest luxury car market in the country
> we have one of the most affluent districts in the country
You're still sort of cherry-picking a single (wealthy) district out of hundreds in the rest of India. Whether said district was wealthy thirty years ago or not is irrelevant, and I stand by my point: luxury cars are in general rare in India, and I was speaking generally.
There are 1.4 billion Indians, and the overwhelming majority of them cannot really afford a German luxury car.
My next point was the important bit though, that our district's turn is up, but there are other districts following the trend. Rajasthan was not a major luxury market 15 years back while this district was (my data is a bit dated by the way).
The majority of Indians may not be able to afford a luxury car, but still taking 0.1% of the population / 4 (for the average family size) gives 250k, which is still a sizeable luxury market.
They haven't lost the ability to make the models in the future no. But if you'd been on a 3 year waiting list for a car only for it to be cancelled, would you be in a rush to join the queue in the future?
I wonder if this is an immediate cost cutting measure to focus on manufacturing for their primary market. Seems like it would be to satisfy shareholders.
The US market has very strong incentives for electric cars (and some other clean tech) at the moment, to the point that Europeans have complained it's unfair subsidy. Makes sense to use those incentives while they last.
It isn't cost cutting in the traditional sense because it is the same production line and the same employees. They're just not having to reconfigure the production line to RHD, then reconfigure it back to normal.
Best selling car in the UK apparently. So it's quite a decision to make to ditch it. Cars going to be less popular in the UK, Japan, India and Australia, but he probably feels those markets aren't as important at China, the EU and US.
This makes sense. Model S and X qualify for good incentives in the US right now, which means there is higher demand to fulfill. Doesn't make sense to reconfigure the production line.
Tesla is moving extremely fast to maximize their use of Build Back Better credits. Even though this plan was pushed by GM and Ford (and opposed by Tesla, and as far as I know Tesla was not even invited to the discussions), Tesla will end up being the biggest beneficiary because of how fast and nimbly they're moving.
I thought there was a price cap on vehicles that qualify for the federal tax credits (I assume that’s what you mean by “good incentives”). Aren’t the S and X priced above that threshold?
There are two separate things - incentives for the manufacturer, and tax credits for the consumer.
The manufacturer incentives apply regardless. For consumers, if they want a Model X or S, all they have to do is register it as a commercial vehicle and they get a $7500 tax credit. This is what consumers already do to buy a Chevrolet Suburban or G Wagon.
It is probably because UK was the main market for that and now that the economy is collapsing there, the market doesn't exist anymore.
Just for the fun imagine how frustrated should be this customer:
Ars was contacted by a reader from New Zealand who ordered a right-hand drive Model X SUV almost three years ago because Tesla reached out to him yesterday to cancel his order
Because I would say that he deserves it by being a fool buying from Tesla in the first place.
40 comments
[ 438 ms ] story [ 1168 ms ] threadYou would think that with all the fancy FSD smarts these cars have, it wouldn't matter anymore whether it' RHD or LHD, as all the cameras and CPUs they have on board, could surely be able to let you know when it's safe to overtake and when not.
People don't want the hassle. But they're getting refunded, plus they're getting a good deal on a model 3 or Y. Some of them might choose to take the deal, some might not, but the customers are being taken care of.
It’s not just the ticket machines, the UK also has a lot of narrow country roads that are difficult enough to drive in a RHD, I cannot imagine driving a LHD in UK it would be hell on earth.
Perhaps, unlike tourists driving RHD cars, they're much more able to kiss the hedge on the narrow roads there without fear when other cars have to pass.
and these are the expensive models, a tiny number of them would be sold there.
The cheaper models, 3/Y will continue to be sold.
Also you do understand that if there was actually the possibility for lots of sales, they could just reintroduce it again later. Its not like they have categorically lost the ability to make RHD models.
It's a small market for foreign cars, which have a huge import duty slapped on them. Indians love buying Tatas, Mahindras, Maruti Suzukis, and locally-built Hyundais and Hondas.
That being said, this was the right move for Tesla. Tesla is not suited for the Indian road currently, and X and S are pricey even without the import tax even for upper class Indian standards, so it doesn't make sense making for India. That being said, I'm surprised they haven't been able to crack the Japanese market.
It's rare to see Mercedeses or BMWs outside of the wealthiest parts of even Chennai, for instance. I don't think a small-towner in a second- or third-tier city is going for a C-class that would be worth several years' salary, even as a software engineer.
Indians might want to buy German luxury cars, but whether they can afford to actually buy them and whether they actually buy them is a different story altogether.
As for Chennai, it's a different story. In my experience, rich Tamilians tend to flaunt wealth less prominently as a cultural trait, unless you're talking nouveau riche politicians and entertainment industry people. I've met Tamilians all over the world and they have consistently been comparatively down-to-earth in terms of material wealth. An old friend's dad was a producer for several Rajnikanth movies, yet he drove around in a Hyundai.
Different areas react to wealth in different ways, some flaunt it and burn it, others plod along doing what they’ve always done.
> we have one of the most affluent districts in the country
You're still sort of cherry-picking a single (wealthy) district out of hundreds in the rest of India. Whether said district was wealthy thirty years ago or not is irrelevant, and I stand by my point: luxury cars are in general rare in India, and I was speaking generally.
There are 1.4 billion Indians, and the overwhelming majority of them cannot really afford a German luxury car.
The majority of Indians may not be able to afford a luxury car, but still taking 0.1% of the population / 4 (for the average family size) gives 250k, which is still a sizeable luxury market.
Tesla’s best bet right now to “sell hundreds of millions of teslas” are the Y and 3.
It isn't cost cutting in the traditional sense because it is the same production line and the same employees. They're just not having to reconfigure the production line to RHD, then reconfigure it back to normal.
Have you considered which side of the road they drive on?
Tesla is moving extremely fast to maximize their use of Build Back Better credits. Even though this plan was pushed by GM and Ford (and opposed by Tesla, and as far as I know Tesla was not even invited to the discussions), Tesla will end up being the biggest beneficiary because of how fast and nimbly they're moving.
The manufacturer incentives apply regardless. For consumers, if they want a Model X or S, all they have to do is register it as a commercial vehicle and they get a $7500 tax credit. This is what consumers already do to buy a Chevrolet Suburban or G Wagon.
Just for the fun imagine how frustrated should be this customer: Ars was contacted by a reader from New Zealand who ordered a right-hand drive Model X SUV almost three years ago because Tesla reached out to him yesterday to cancel his order
Because I would say that he deserves it by being a fool buying from Tesla in the first place.