The Tesla buying experience is unique compared to the typical car buying process offered by Big Auto. There’s no sitting down, negotiating, and sometimes not even a test drive. More on that in a minute. First, there are a few things you should know before walking into a Tesla store. For starters, it is not a dealership.
Tesla has many challenges to overcome. According to David Pogue (via Yahoo Finance), “It’s amazing that Tesla even exists. Before Tesla, the most recent successful American auto startup was Chrysler, over 90 years ago. Tesla has survived the first hard part: designing beautiful, fast, high-tech electric cars that a lot of people want and love. Now come all the other hard parts … [including] getting permission to sell them.”
While consumer interest and demand for electric vehicles (EVs) have grown — last year EV sales increased by 81% — automakers and dealers are still dragging their feet on EVs and pushing people to buy gas guzzlers that harm our planet and our health.
There’s good news and bad news for EV drivers in Colorado. The legislature voted down a direct sales bill but approved one imposing fines on drivers who block EV chargers.
Buying a car can be a grueling process. Keith Barry writes in Consumer Reports, “In an era of online shopping and instant gratification, the traditional way of buying a car can seem like a painful throwback. Some dealers are still doing business the old-school way: insisting buyers haggle over the price, hiding fees and charges until the last minute, and making customers wait hours to sign form after form.”
Salespeople in car dealerships tend to push buyers towards gas-powered cars. Electric vehicles, in contrast, typically get low priority. But two former Tesla employees are setting out to change that with a new concept for an auto retailer that, instead, is setting out to embrace electric cars.
Good news, bad news for Tesla yesterday. China says it may soon lift the 40% tariff it imposed on cars imported from the US, and a judge in Connecticut has ruled the company is illegally selling cars at its store in Connecticut.
Holy cow — have you seen the pictures?! There are thousands of cars sitting on lots across the United States — unsold.
After 10 days with a used Nissan LEAF, I am pleased to say the car has exceeded my expectations in every way. I am now firmly committed to the electric car lifestyle.
After chatting with a few satisfied new owners of the Chevy Bolt this month, I thought, perhaps it is time to try for a test drive again. Last year, I gave up exploring diverse comparisons to my much appreciated all-electric 2015 Nissan LEAF. I had a hard time finding a variety of EVs at dealerships. The only companies really offering them seemed to be BMW, Nissan, Chevy, Porsche, and Tesla. So, the test drive experience was short — I tried the Volt and the Prius Prime. There simply were not other EVs available for test drives in Sarasota, Florida.
