After learning that his salespeople were offering promotional deals, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was furious. Musk himself, he claims, pays full price for the car, as do friends, family, and celebrities. Discounts, it seems, aren’t an option — no matter who you are.
A Reddit post detailing one shoppers experience caught Musk’s attention. Afterward, he wrote an email to all Tesla works on Wednesday.
“There can never — and I mean never — be a discount on a new car coming out of the factory in pristine condition,” Musk wrote. “This is why I always pay full price when I buy a car and the same applies to my family friends, celebrities, no matter how famous or influential.”
Reddit user ‘watupmane‘ detailed his shopping experience claiming that the car wasn’t delivered on schedule and that a salesperson told him he’d forfeit the discounted price unless the sale was finalized anyway. Put simply, your car isn’t here yet, but we still need you to pay for it.
The post drew massive attention and led to the response from the head honcho himself, who posted his email to Tesla employees on Twitter:
@SteveBatzer @GoodDayM Corrective action taken. Seems to be limited to a small number of cases, but thanks for letting me know. pic.twitter.com/Rx3YWb8JkI
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 28, 2016
According to the email, Musk believes discounts weaken the company’s integrity.
“If you can’t explain to a customer who paid full price why another customer didn’t without being embarrassed, then it is not right,” the email says.
For what it’s worth, Tesla does offer discounts. But only on vehicles used for test drives, as floor models, or that have been damaged. Aside from that, don’t expect an offer that’s too good to pass up on your next trip to the Tesla dealer.
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