If there is a car that raises expectations, it is the Tesla Model 3. Introduced in 2016, it started production in July this year and has a waiting list of half a million customers. Problems persist to get the production line going “full steam”, with Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, talking about a “production hell”.
By the end of September only 260 Model 3 units had been produced and all of them were delivered to employees of the California brand – the employees will be the convenience “test pilots” to smooth the edges of the new model before starting deliveries, in the end of this month, to eager customers.
150 thousand dollars… is everything crazy?
Which did not stop Craiglist from appearing, to everyone's surprise, an advertisement for the sale of a second-hand Model 3 (VIN #209) with just over 3200 km. This white unit came equipped with all the right options: the larger battery capacity – raising the range to 500 km -, the panoramic sunroof, the aerodynamic wheels and the premium sound system. Purchased new would be equivalent to about 56 thousand dollars, just over 47 thousand euros.
It is the first Model 3 to reach the classifieds, but the shock came from the asking price: 150 thousand dollars , the equivalent of almost 127 thousand euros! Is the market that desperate for a Model 3? For the same money we could buy, new, the most powerful Model S or Model X and still have a wallet full of money.
The advertiser acknowledged that the demand for the model was obvious and didn't know what price to put – he definitely opted for the absurd. Knowing that all Model 3s so far belong to construction company employees, the ad predictably disappeared within a few hours. Has this employee been reprimanded by Elon Musk himself?
Anticipating these types of situations, Tesla refers to them in the order contract by its employees:
[…] all Model 3 with employee priority must be registered to the employee or a family member and cannot be resold for more than the original price.
Despite the absurd asking price, we did not know if the advertiser had received any offer for the “people's tram”.