I was showing how minute changes to the 3 make is it a full-blown S. And with that, how overpriced Model S (and X) become. Is the biohazard filter a must have for the MS buyer?
If I were in the market for a Model S, I would definitely get the Biohazard Filter. I get ill from the slightest whiff of tobacco smoke, and I can smell it from three or four cars away at a signal light. Gets on my nerves and sets off my fight or flight response. It is really bad when I have the car on vented air and it pulls someone else's smoke into the car with me, because they are hanging their cigarette out the window between puffs.
There were in previous iterations very minute differences between BMW 3-Series, 5-Series, and 7-Series -- they literally used the same base engines for ages, when the only real difference was in wheelbase, fuel tank capacity, and price point, beyond badging. There are pretty small differences between A4, A6, and A8 too, differences that are almost indistinguishable when it comes to A3, A5, and A7 at AUDI. And the same idea finds its place at Mercedes-Benz when it comes to C-Class, E-Class, and S-Class vehicles.
Each is a vehicle series built around a fundamental concept of vehicle design that permeates the entire product range. That is not a happy accident, it is done on purpose. You cannot fault Tesla for adopting a similar strategy, especially when it works so well. All the way down to comparisons of Accord/Civic, Camry/Corolla, Altima/Sentra, Sonata/Elantra, Optima/Forte, Fusion/Focus, MALIBU/CRUZE, and so on.
ICE companies are scrambling to prepare for a future in which they are BEV companies. They are surcing battery capacity, motors that don't make them look like fools in the 202x markets. It should not long before a car is presented that will undercut Model S by $20.000+ without compromise to the buyer. The present reasons why Model S is still an amazing buy, will become valid for BEV's in general.
Don't expect the Koreans and Germans to neatly (over)price their larger long range sedans to respect Model S's market share.
The Germans have already overpriced their Sedans. When the Model S debuted five years ago, they all cost more. Since then, they have steadily raised their prices, year after year, attempting to distance themselves from the Model S. They have instead shed more light on the fact that the model S is a bargain compared to what they have to offer. Take a look at their current base prices, along with some other premium flagship vehicles:
_$82,500 ___ AUDI A8 L
_$83,100 ___ BMW 740i
_$74,400 ___ Jaguar XJ R-Sport
_$72,520 ___ Lexus LS 460
$103,400 ___ Maserati Quattroporte S
_$96,000 ___ Mercedes-Benz S550
_$85,000 ___ Porsche New Panamera
_$69,500 ___ Tesla Model S 75
Perhaps you believe the German cars are worth the money. If they ever release fully electric versions of those ICE vehicles, they will not charge less money for them
(even if they cost less to build). They would charge more for them up front, in order to
'recover' revenue they will not gain in years to come from replacing parts as they would with an ICE. The BMW i8 cost three times as much as the i8 BEV, but had a third of the initial battery pack capacity. Traditional automobile manufacturers, whether based in the U.S., Europe, or Asia, all suffer from the same internal problem -- the companies are run by guys from the engine design division and/or paper pushers/number crunchers. Those guys don't want to make electric cars because of professional bias against the technology or the cost of initial investment in infrastructure to build them
en masse. It is a matter of Pride, Prejudice, and Perspective.
Tesla is still a startup, they can still be killed. But first production needs to be readied to launch a challenge.
I no longer harbor such fears. It has been several years and the biggest direct automotive challenges to the Tesla Model S have been waged either: 1) as vaporware from LUCiD and Faraway Future; or 2) by woefully pitiful plug-in hybrid versions of S-Class and Panamera. There is no actual dedication by traditional automobile manufacturers to release electric cars that are substantially improved over their ICE vehicles. There is no current motivation for them to do so beyond the emissions & fuel economy regulations they constantly lobby against or outright fear upon their executives noticing that quarterly sales are dropping. There is no action being made to ready or prepare or embrace the notion of issuing a real world
'challenge' of any sort to Tesla. Instead, they each talk about how three years from now they intend to match what Tesla did three years ago, as if Tesla will remain still for all that time.