Hacker News Reader

Comment by surrealize | Hacker News Reader

> the second model will be a sporty four door family car at roughly half the $89k price point of the Tesla Roadster and the third model will be even more affordable

Tesla cars so far have definitely been luxury cars. If they keep going downmarket into the mainstream, I wonder if they'll want to create a separate brand for their mainstream stuff, a la acura/honda, toyota/lexus, and infiniti/nissan.

If they do, the low-end brand should be "Edison".

View on HN

Not sure why they would. They don't have a luxury brand identity to protect, like Mercedes or BMW, and they aren't trying to move upmarket, like Toyota or Honda. As best I can tell, the game plan has always been widespread appeal. "Luxury" was just a segment that made sense to pass through, as they tried to work costs down.

Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti were attempts by perceived-downscale brands to brand "up". It doesn't make sense for a brand like Tesla to brand "down".

Don't you think it would help in protecting the perceived exclusivity of the Tesla brand? I don't think it'd be a good move overall, but I could see some justifications based on potential brand dilution.

I don't see a reason why they should implement the brand dilution that has caused so much pain for the other car manufacturers.

Musk is an idealist; he sees himself spearheading an EV revolution of sorts, and you can't have a revolution without appealing to the masses.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com