Love ’em or hate ’em (and that may be shaped largely by your view of Elon Musk), Tesla electric cars are a common sight on the roads these days.
And with a facelifted Tesla Model Y currently being rolled out and some catching up to do in the sales charts, Tesla recently invited potential customers to visit its showrooms to try some of its models.
I must once have recorded my details with my local Tesla dealer because I too received an invitation. It sounded like a good opportunity to go undercover to see how the company sells cars and meet both those pondering their first EV and seasoned drivers thinking of switching brands.
EVs made up 19.6% of car sales last year, according to the SMMT. That figure was up a fifth on 2023 but still short of the 22% demanded by the zero-emissions vehicle mandate.
Through 2024, Tesla’s year-to-date market share dipped too, but by the end of the year, its overall market share was just about up (by 1.54%) – and the Model Y was the UK’s fifth-most-popular car.
Anyway, invitation in hand, a few months back I duly turned up at Tesla Guildford ready to play the clueless punter. A sales advisor quickly earned my attention with a Morrisons cake and a Nespresso coffee before matching me to a new, long-range Model 3.
On personal contract hire with maintenance and an annual mileage cap of 10,000 miles, it would, he said, cost me £374 per month over three years with a 12-month (£4488) down payment.
Too much? There was the standard-range car for £324 per month instead, but few were available. “It’s almost sold out, with fresh supplies not arriving for a few months,” he told me. “The deal may have changed by then, too. Take a long-range Model 3 for a test drive and think it over.”
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This is feeble stuff. Of course the people in the showroom aren't put off by Musk, they wouldn't be there if they were! The people who ARE put off aren't there! But you've made zero effort to talk to them, or to in any way answer the question posed by the headline. The article also glosses over the fact that the conversations happened "months ago", when the world was in a different place. There's no journalism in this piece, just an ad for Tesla. Autocar should delete this article, it lets them down.
What a shockingly thin article - the title doesn't match the content in any way at all. Devoid of any journalistic content. The visit seems to have been months ago before Trump's election.
The article content has literally nothing to do with the title: you've just had a pleasant chat with prospective buyers about how great Teslas are - nothing mentioned about Musk putting-off potential buyers. Ridiculous. I realise it's a hot potato for the car-review industry but come on, at least ask them 'has Musk's political meddling had any effect on your purchasing decision?'
Couldn't agree more! Talk about avoiding controversy! I didn't think having opinions about Musk was that controversial anymore.