Tesla maintains 'gas saving' prices on US website after Germany asks customers to stop

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Years after Tesla's website began praising the costs of its electric cars, which make them seem cheaper than the purchase price considering future fuel savings and government incentives, the company Elon Musk's unconventional Californian puts an end to this practice for his Model 3 car in Germany … but continues the controversial pricing of gas savings for US customers.

German Observatory of Competition Wettbewerbszentrale Last week, Tesla had to stop including fuel savings, estimated over five years, in the reported cost of Model 3 before March 20. The independent monitoring group criticized Tesla's practice, calling it "misleading" for consumers. On March 8, Tesla's German site had already adjusted its price display, showing only the basic purchase cost.

But US users still see the pricing information with an asterisk on Tesla.com Model 3 of $ 35,000 therefore seems to cost $ 26,950. This is because the largest prices on the page, displayed at the top right and bottom left of the page, result in reductions of $ 8,050 on a federal tax credit and theoretical savings on gasoline – which are not immediately available when buying a car.

In early February, a few weeks before Tesla finally adds this car to the base price of $ 35,000, Musk tweeted to its 25 million followers: "Model 3 now costs about $ 35,000 (after approximately $ 8,000 in credits and fuel savings) ". $ 42,900 at the time.

The fuel savings estimated at $ 4,300 from Tesla are based on a comparison of the cost of reloading and driving a model 3 over a distance of 10,000 km / year over a six-year period compared to a 2017 sedan of the BMW 3 series of an average of 28 km / gallon (and requiring a more expensive gasoline).

As the German consumer supervisor pointed out, fuel savings vary greatly depending on what the consumer is pushing and using Tesla is "arbitrary, lacks transparency and goes against price principles." real and real ".

The company's promotion of "after savings" prices has also attracted much criticism in the United States for years, particularly from franchisees. car dealerships, who argue that Tesla bypasses regulations that ban promises of false pricing in traditional advertising, such as radio spots.

Until now, regulators in California and the Federal Trade Commission have avoided the kind of restrictions that Germany has just put in place.

"No action has been taken yet," said Marty Greenstein, spokesman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles, to ensure that car dealerships, including Tesla, do not violate status that covers false advertising.

The Federal Trade Commission, which makes sure to use specific language for product advertising nationally, including on corporate websites and on Twitter, where Musk touted the price of Model 3 after saving fuel, did not also took no action. "We have not announced anything" regarding Tesla's pricing information, according to spokeswoman Mitchell Katz.

Tesla did not comment on the issue, nor did it consider changing the price presentation in the United States.

In 2013, when Musk began encouraging its customers to incorporate fuel savings into the Tesla property, he said"I'm really sensitive to the idea that we are giving a false picture of the real cost of the car, I really do not think we are."

The Californian company in Palo Alto, California, pissed off US car dealers a decade ago, when Musk decided to sell directly to drivers, thus avoiding the traditional dealer route.

But this meant that the electric car manufacturer had to obtain dealer licenses in every state where it sold cars and was governed by local laws applicable to car dealerships. He has also resisted other traditions – for example, promote a "real cost" rental of property for its Model S that suggested that the monthly payment of $ 1,051 of the car, amounting to $ 70,000, be considered less expensive than $ 500 whether fuel savings, incentives and intangible assets such as solo access to carpool lanes and time savings were included.

This provoked outrage from the California New Car Dealers Association, which argued that advertising rules prohibiting its members from making such fuel-saving claims in newspapers, on television or on the radio should extend to Tesla.

"Here's how it works in the practical world for our members: if they advertise a car at a specific price, they have to sell it at that price.They can not make false claims about discounts or savings available. This is contrary to the California law, "said Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association, Forbes. "We have repeatedly asked the DMV to review its advertising practices."

The group sent a letter of complaint to the DMV of California in September 2013 regarding Tesla's "true cost of ownership" calculations. Since then, he has filed at least half a dozen other complaints regarding his pricing and selling tactics. The DMV took no action.

Neither Nissan nor General Motors, which sell competing electric cars worth $ 30,000 to half of the market, are taking into account future fuel savings in the promoted price of their electric vehicles.

Some Tesla owners have made fun of us on social media sites and bulletin boardsTesla needlessly misleads buyers on the price of its cars, already immensely popular for their style and hiding.

"Their cars were so expensive before they had to make them as attractive as possible," said James Yeager, owner of Tesla in the Washington DC area, who owns an S model and a 3 model and is considering the 39 purchase of a Model X crossover.

"Now that car prices are going down, I can understand that the asterisks may have to go away. When it was a car of $ 100,000 or more, it was hard to convince your average Joe that this was actually going to save you money. "

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Years after Tesla's website began praising the costs of its electric cars, which make them seem cheaper than the purchase price considering future fuel savings and government incentives, the company Elon Musk's unconventional Californian puts an end to this practice for his Model 3 car in Germany … but continues the controversial pricing of gas savings for US customers.

The German independent watchdog group, Wettbewerbszentrale, said last week that Tesla had to stop including future fuel savings, estimated over five years, in the displayed cost of a model 3 of here March 20th. The independent monitoring group described its practice as "misleading" for consumers. . On March 8, Tesla's German site had already adjusted the way it displayed its prices, indicating only the basic purchase cost.

However, US users still see pricing information with an asterisk on Tesla.com indicating that Model 3 ($ 35,000) seems to cost $ 26,950. This is because the largest prices on the page, displayed at the top right and bottom left of the page, result in reductions of $ 8,050 on a federal tax credit and theoretical savings on gasoline – which are not immediately available when buying a car.

In early February, a few weeks before Tesla finally adds this car to the base price of $ 35,000, Musk tweeted to its 25 million followers: "Model 3 now costs about $ 35,000 (after approximately $ 8,000 in credits and fuel savings) ". $ 42,900 at the time.

The fuel savings estimated at $ 4,300 from Tesla are based on a comparison of the cost of reloading and driving a model 3 over a distance of 10,000 km / year over a six-year period compared to a 2017 sedan of the BMW 3 series of an average of 28 km / gallon (and requiring a more expensive gasoline).

As the German consumer supervisor pointed out, fuel savings vary greatly depending on what the consumer is pushing and using Tesla is "arbitrary, lacks transparency and goes against price principles." real and real ".

The company's promotion of "after-saving" prices has also been widely criticized in the United States for years, particularly by car dealers, who claim Tesla circumvents regulations that prohibit false price promises in the United States. traditional advertising, such as radio spots.

Until now, regulators in California and the Federal Trade Commission have avoided the kind of restrictions that Germany has just put in place.

"No action has been taken yet," said Marty Greenstein, spokesman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles, to ensure that car dealerships, including Tesla, do not violate any law. which covers fake advertisements.

The Federal Trade Commission, which makes sure to use specific language for product advertising nationally, including on corporate websites and on Twitter, where Musk touted the price of Model 3 after saving fuel, did not also took no action. "We have not announced anything" regarding Tesla's pricing information, spokesman Mitchell Katz said.

Tesla did not comment on the issue, nor did it consider changing the price presentation in the United States.

In 2013, when Musk began by encouraging his customers to incorporate fuel savings into Tesla's property, he said: "I'm really sensitive to the idea that we are giving a false picture of the real cost of the car I really do not think so. "

The Californian company in Palo Alto, California, pissed off US car dealers a decade ago, when Musk decided to sell directly to drivers, thus avoiding the traditional dealer route.

But this meant that the electric car manufacturer had to obtain dealer licenses in every state where it sold cars and was governed by local laws applicable to car dealerships. It has also resisted other traditions – for example, promoting a "real cost" rental of its S model suggesting that the vehicle's monthly payment of $ 1,051, rising to $ 70,000 $ 500 less if fuel savings, incentives and intangible assets such as solo access to carpool lanes and time savings were included.

This provoked outrage from the California New Car Dealers Association, which argued that advertising rules prohibiting its members from making such fuel-saving claims in newspapers, on television or on the radio should extend to Tesla.

"Here's how it works in the practical world for our members: if they advertise a car at a specific price, they have to sell it at that price.They can not make false claims about discounts or savings available. This is contrary to the California law, "said Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association, Forbes. "We have repeatedly asked the DMV to review its advertising practices."

The group sent a letter of complaint to the DMV of California in September 2013 regarding Tesla's "true cost of ownership" calculations. Since then, he has filed at least half a dozen other complaints regarding his pricing and selling tactics. The DMV took no action.

Neither Nissan nor General Motors, which sell competing electric cars worth $ 30,000 to half of the market, are taking into account future fuel savings in the promoted price of their electric vehicles.

Some Tesla owners have criticized Tesla's social media sites and message boards for misleadingly misleading buyers as to the price of its cars, already immensely popular for their style and caching.

"Their cars were so expensive before they had to make them as attractive as possible," said James Yeager, owner of Tesla in the Washington DC area, who owns an S model and a 3 model and is considering the 39 purchase of a Model X crossover.

"Now that car prices are going down, I can understand that the asterisks may have to go away. When it was a car of $ 100,000 or more, it was hard to convince your average Joe that this was actually going to save you money. "