Why does Tesla charge so much for the non-default color?

[dogememe]

I'm just curious. Pretty much any mainstream car brand offers multiple free colors and some premium ones as well.

So why does Tesla charge $1K for white? It's sad that's no longer the default color as white cars are the best IMO and what I would buy if I was buying one.

 

[supton]

If you were selling cars, and could charge a premium for some option--and then sell every car that you built... what would you do?

Seems odd to me, but let's face it, automakers are in the business of making money. They do that by selling cars, and by making a profit on selling them.

 

[JeffKeryk]

On the Model 3, the default, no extra charge, was originally black. I did not want black, so in Dec 2018 we got a Pearl White one, which was $1000 or $1500 more. Recently the default color changed to Midnight Silver Metallic, white and blue are $1000, black is $1500 and red is $2000.

There is a fancy red scarlet available in Europe for more money.
To answer your question, I don't know...

 

[Kira]

It makes me wonder if white is a 'popular' -to the point of fetching $1,000 additional- color.

I heard, in the beginning, nobody bought white Corvettes.
The next year Chevy charged a premium for white.

 

[gman2304]

Car companies have been charging premium prices for select colors for decades. Harley does the same thing. Nothing new.

 

[walterjay]

Because people will pay for it.

 

[Snagglefoot]

They just want to check how much Tesla fan boys will pay for coloured paint.

 

[Rmay635703]

I had always hoped that white, grey, silver and black would be big upcharges on all cars in the hopes that any non- neutral colored car would become popular

That said white tricolor was an upcharge on the Volt, glad to have red

 

[JavierH19]

$$$

 

[atikovi]

Is it a PEARL white? That color on my Corolla was a $600 extra. Plus more expensive to refinish.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Maybe they currently have too many silver cars that they're trying to unload or too much silver paint in stock, so that's the "free" default color of the month? This keeps changing from time to time.

Or just a popularity thing. If something is extra popular, you might as well charge extra for it - people will buy it anyway.

 

[BHopkins]

Because people will pay for it.

They just want to check how much Tesla fan boys will pay for coloured paint.

This. ^^^^

As long as people will pay for different colors, Tesla will charge for it. I suspect it is nothing more than supply and demand. Tesla is the leading supplier of EV cars, so they can demand a premium for them.

 

[Tifosi]

Like everyone said already, it is because there is one born every minute.

 

[y_p_w]

Car companies have been charging premium prices for select colors for decades. Harley does the same thing. Nothing new.

It can get complicated. I remember when my parents bought a car (1989 Acura Integra RS) for me to drive in college, it was white. The dealer (not the manufacturer) charged a premium for white, claiming that it was a "premium color". Might have only been about $200 though. But it wasn't a manufacturer charge but what the dealer thought they could charge. I also remember seeing the cars on the lot and they all listed something like a $1500 markup over MSRP even though we got it for well under sticker.

When I got my 1995 Integra GS-R in white, the same dealer was no longer charging any kind of premium for any color. But the leather interior version only came in black or red. No thanks.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Is it a PEARL white? That color on my Corolla was a $600 extra. Plus more expensive to refinish.

Yes. Go to the Tesla website and configure a car. Not many options, which is one way they keep costs down.
Tesla takes input from owners on what they want. White has been the default for almost 5 years; time for a change.
Lotta white Teslas out there!

 

[PandaBear]

1) Because people will pay for it and they ran some analysis it can make more money selling with an upcharge and still get economy of scale.

2) Because pearl paint is more expensive, and people are willing to pay more for it. They probably did a study and people are willing to pay more for a pearl white than a flat white.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Pearl White

 

[alarmguy]

If you were selling cars, and could charge a premium for some option--and then sell every car that you built... what would you do?

Seems odd to me, but let's face it, automakers are in the business of making money. They do that by selling cars, and by making a profit on selling them.

Agree -
Yes, and it's not just cars. Just look at Amazon. They will up-charge popular colors on items such as ear buds or anything that sells with multiple color options. Maybe said another way, only discount the least selling colors and if you want a popular one you have to pay more.

 

[JeffKeryk]

It is far more efficient, from a mfg standpoint, to use one color. Tesla is about efficiency which results in cost savings.

 

[grisby]

Not just Tesla, I paid 995 extra for pearl white on my 2019 CT6.