Can Model 3 compete mainstream?

One clue to reliability is Consumer Reports customer satisfaction survey. Tesla consistently polls at the top, much higher than Toyota. And when will Prius be able to "diagnose itself, offer to order the parts from Rock Auto, and give me an on-screen PDF of the repair procedure."?

You bring up a good point. What is the definition of "mainstream?" We have been talking past each other (including me) when we each have our own definition of what "mainstream" means. So, @fotomoto, your definition of "mainstream" is when Tesla sells a car for less than $25K. My answer is never if you base it on sticker price. By your definition, Porsche, Audi, BMW, MBZ, Cadillac, Lincoln are not mainstream while a Smart car is? Tesla will come close with a short term price of $27,500 (35,000 - 7,500 tax credit) but that will be short lived. However there is some talk in Congress about extending that tax credit beyond the 200K threshold because it would penalize US automakers Tesla and GM, while rewarding Japanese and European automakers who come to the party late. Personally, I am in favor of eliminating the tax credit for EVs as well as the indirect credits for ICE cars which would increase the price of ICE cars by over $10K (including Toyota).

My definition of "mainstream" is when a model dominates its market segment. The Tesla Model S/X has already achieved that and the Model 3 will do the same in about 2/3 months.

 

Obviously the Prius never will, but I can plug in a code reader, search the internet, and find lots of service information online. Mostly I'm lamenting the fact that technology is being used to lock in customers for the benefit of the manufacturer (and it's not just Tesla doing that) instead of creating an open marking and supporting the dwindling number of DIY'ers. Nothing more to see here, just a crabby aging guy complaining

I agree mainstream isn't just about price, but right now Tesla dominates a tiny market segment and isn't profitable. Electric vehicles are certainly not mainstream, so can Tesla be a mainstream product when it's selling into a segment that isn't? Would you consider the Mustand and Camaro to be mainstream products? They also dominate a segment that's overall a tiny fraction of the market.

Will Tesla ever be both mainstream and main street like a Camry or F150? For those unfamiliar with the term, "main street" is when you've saturated the market and the vast majority of your sales are replacements to existing customers. The F150 is a highly profitable product that's mostly sold to people who have previously owned a full size pickup. Ditto for the Camry.

I haven't seen evidence that Tesla will be a viable company once they've sold to all the early adopters. They do dominate their market segment and they can't make money while their product is selling for a premium. This of course can change if they get their production rates up and start turning a profit.

 

Here is the problem with your premise @tpenny67, you are lamenting the days when you changed your own oil, did your own tune up with points, plugs, and condenser, flushed your cooling system, adjusted timing, adjusted your own carburetor, etc. Those days are long gone except for hobbyists with an old car.

The problem with allowing DIY with a technology system is twofold:

• people (like me), who don't know what they are doing, will start futzing with things and screwing them up, blame Tesla, and then want Tesla to fix things for free.
• Tesla has spent a lot of money on technology and they don't want to give the technology away for free. There will always be those who will try to hack into the system and then try to figure out a way to monetize that information for their own personal gain.

The times they are a changin' @tpenny67. Like dinosaurs, we must either adapt or die.

Well then what is your definition of mainstream? Making money? Simply reselling existing customers?

Tesla Model S/X are very profitable for the company. Model 3 will be profitable in about 3 months. AS A TOTAL COMPANY, Tesla has not been profitable because they have been putting so much money into infrastructure - Supercharger system, Gigafactory, Alien Dreadnought assembly systems, solar tile roofing, solar Powerwall development. Tesla is putting the Horse before the Cart. Other car makers have not been willing to do that and as a result, they are in a long term death spiral. Tesla is on the way to becoming fabulously profitable because they have "all their ducks in a row."

As far as brand loyalty, Tesla is far and away the leader. And the more cars they put on the road, the more loyal their customers will become.

Ford F-150 is king of the pickups right now, no doubt about it. Tesla will be introducing their BEV pickup later this year and you will see another 500K reservations. This will put a serious dent in Ford truck sales and eventually obliterate ICE pickups. BEV pickups will have better torque for hauling, less maintenance, make even more sense for home charging because they are not generally used for long range travel, and with Elon involved will have innovations that will set that industry on its rear. Ford F-150 is a dead truck walking.

If you take the time to research Tesla's business plan, you will see that the company is positioned right where it wants to be, to make itself a profitable leader in the industry. Elon Musk is the Henry Ford of our day.

 

the question is too vague. eventually there will be corolla like bev's that do very well imo. but they won't likely include the model 3, things will have progressed too far by then. when 'then' is, is anyone's guess. my guess is a couple generations from now.

 

but appropriate because model 3 was not created to compete with corolla or camry.