A manipulation that I don't see the point of, at that. Tell a people who can only afford a $600/mo payment that the TCO is under that, and it might get them to come into the dealership, but the real monthly cost will come out before the car could be sold.
If they pitched the calculator on the "true cost of ownership" page as a "here's a way to estimate the hidden costs of a gasoline car that make the Tesla more competitive than you'd think" they could make the same pitch but without the smell of a bait and switch. But even at that, it's not apples to apples (if you buy an S Class, nobody has to guarantee that there will be a market for reselling it in three years).
> Tell a people who can only afford a $600/mo payment that the TCO is under that, and it might get them to come into the dealership, but the real monthly cost will come out before the car could be sold.
Once you have them through the door you have the chance to pitch them the concept, which in sales is a big thing. And the whole point of a salesman's job is to close the deal.
(I don't disagree, just pointing out why they are doing a bait and switch)
The issue with getting them through the door is the reputational risk from everyone who walked into a showroom to be told the actual monthly cost was 1200 bucks, only to bring it up with all their friends as a misleading marketing gambit.
For a company that needs every ounce of credibility to make its product mainstream, this seems like a silly ad to place.
If they pitched the calculator on the "true cost of ownership" page as a "here's a way to estimate the hidden costs of a gasoline car that make the Tesla more competitive than you'd think" they could make the same pitch but without the smell of a bait and switch. But even at that, it's not apples to apples (if you buy an S Class, nobody has to guarantee that there will be a market for reselling it in three years).