Tesla Gets Confused About the Pricing of Its Options

Tesla has accustomed us to a catalog in perpetual motion, but to value colors differently depending on the country…

While inner richness matters when buying a car, exterior beauty remains a key criterion of choice. First comes the design, that line that makes your heart race or divert your gaze. On this point, Tesla has proven itself by creating a unique identity immediately recognizable and replicated across the entire range… pending the disruptive Cybertruck.

Then there’s the color. Neutral white, versatile gray, elegant black but prone to dirt, sober blue, and flamboyant red but slightly eye-catching. Five colors among the most sold worldwide that make up the limited range offered by Tesla.

If there are countless shades of gray, blue, or red, once the paint choice is made, one might imagine that the application cost on the bodywork is the same for all cars of a given model and for all regions of the world. Well, at Tesla, that is absolutely not the case! Join us for a global tour of this new Tesla anomaly.

Let’s take as a reference the Tesla Model 3 produced today in Fremont, California for North America, and in Shanghai, China for Asian and European markets.

In the United States, Model 3s are offered in standard gray finish. For multilayer white and metallic blue, it costs an extra 1000 dollars and 1500 dollars for black and red. Same price in Canada for white, blue, and black, but the red jumps to 2600 Canadian dollars, or 1900 US dollars! A strange homage to the color of the maple leaf on the national flag.

In China, black, very popular as a sign of outer wealth, is included as standard. 8000 Yuan or 1000 euros for white and blue, and 12000 Yuan or 1500 euros for red and gray. The gray paint offered in the US costs 1500 euros in China, and vice versa for black. We would love to explain why, but honestly, we don’t know.

Now, let’s turn to our beloved continent. In Europe, the standard color is… white! Yes, yes, the same color that is worth 1000 euros elsewhere in the world! In France, blue and black are charged at 1300 euros, and red and gray at 2000 euros. We’re talking about the same cars as those offered in the Chinese market! While taxes and import fees can explain why a Tesla Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive is priced at 33,000 euros in China and 43,000 euros in France, why this difference in painting costs?

Think you’ve seen everything? Take a quick look at Tesla’s Italian page and you’ll notice that blue and black are offered as standard! One wonders what will happen with the upcoming wrap options…

Tesla continues its yo-yos, with almost no day passing without a price update, new options, availability tweaks, etc. Over time, even the most dedicated Elon Musk brand advocates might get tired of this rollercoaster.