Hacker News Reader

Cars already purchased: Their business would collapse overnight. That's called 'Bait and Switch' - not a good business model.

New cars: Sticker shock would put off prospective buyers. It's a lot easier to get people to pay $73 grand up front, rather than $70 grand plus $1200 for heating, then $800 for air-conditioning, plus $500 for GPS, plus $700 for entertainment, plus ..... well you get the idea.

View on HN

How would it collapse? People will pay $100/mo instead of buying a new car and even then what would they buy? Other car companies will see Tesla getting free money and push their own updates the same.

So you're saying that people get a new Tesla for free, then only pay $100 bucks per month for 'extras'?

Tesla would definitely collapse seeing that they're not getting paid for making that Tesla car in the first case. They'd be broke within a couple of months.

No, Tesla already sold these cars and took people's money. They continue to sell cars the same. This is about charging the existing and new customers $100/mo because it's a number Tesla thought of. It's not for extras it's for all non-legally-required safety functionality- e.g. the tablet screen, a/c, ability to adjust your seat.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com