The devaluation of promises is happening because people expand the meaning beyond all recognition. If you ask a sophomore what their degree will be in and they tell you physics, and you find out they later graduated with a degree in chemistry, did they break a promise?
The answer to a qualitative question is not equal or equivalent to the statement of a quantative price for a future sale of specifically defined good (particularly for which one takes deposits). Follow the stock price. It rose on the announcement of the Model 3 at $35,000. Not a single one of those vehicles have been sold, to my knowledge.
Tesla surprised everyone with the release on an unannounced midrange Model 3 before the short range one is expected, but a few still cry that the short range base model wasn't released when they want it. Toyota announced the PiP would be available nationwide when they released it. There was even a date for that rollout on the website. Why aren't people sobbing over that broken promise?
all businesses are like politicians, some marketing and advertising comes true, some doesn't. not sure any of them add up to promises. re tesla, if people would only stop handing them $60,000. in cash, they might then offer a $35,000. model. don't blame drug users for the addiction problem.
I think we all understand what's going on with this. Cash is king, and good margins provide cash when upsales occur. The $45,000 car is an upsell. How many of those customers that will pay $35,000 can be upsold $10,000? When I bought my Two, I was not willing to pay for additional features. However, if only a Three had been available, I probably would have bought it. It's called satisficing.
Everybody does it. Your Two was very likely not amoung the first Prii shipped to dealers. Those would have been Three and Four Tourings. Tesla never promised that the short range model would be available from the beginning. Between the reservations and incoming orders, they don't have to rush the cheap trim out like others do in order for dealers to have something to draw customers in. If Toyota honestly thought they could make more profit by just offering a Three and up, they would have delayed the lower trims.
No complaints about the strategy, or Tesla employing it. But it's not quite the same for Toyota. They are not, at least to my knowledge, asking for cash reservations to prop up cash flow.
Toyota didn't start out as an independent company, but as a division of an established company that had been around for nearly a decade.
They did it to get the best handle they could on demand. Tesla expected perhaps 100,000 reservations worldwide and discovered very quickly how much higher the actual demand was. As a result, they sped up their timetable by two years. They then fell behind the new timetable by a year. These things happen, especially when you are new at the whole global car production thing. It still amazes me that one of the established companies, who could have easily beaten Tesla at its own game, never did. They could have prevented Tesla from getting to this stage. Every single one of those reservations was fully refundable at any time.
Sure.... just throw out the whole economies of scale part of the plan and cry about broken promises..... plan != “promise”. Hah! Couldn’t post this because I’m new and it contained a link..... that was in the OP.
what's wrong with asking for deposits for reservations? they didn't force me, it is voluntary a lot of prime buyers were told by dealers, 'if you want us to bring one in, we need a deposit'. i had to put down a $500. deposit for my pip in 2011. no one forced m, i wanted one and was willing
<deleted> Never mind.... I apologize unreservedly. That was a completely unfair and cruel slur. As much as I loathe Vegans....they're not actually THAT bad......
