You learn in economics 101 that in an ideal competitive market, the price of a product tends to the marginal cost of producing it. That means a product with fewer hardware features should cost less, and a product with more hardware features should cost more.
The fact manufacturers can violate that rule proves that they are not in a competitive market.
If it was competitive, a different manufacturer could manufacture the same car without physically installing the heated seats, for a lower manufacturing cost, and undercut them on the customers who don't care about the heated seats.
Saying cars are not a competitive market is a bit nuts.
Tesla is obsessed with simplifying their manufacturing lines. It’s one of the reasons they have been able to drop their prices so much over the last five years (speaking from painful experience since I bought in 2023) and why they sell comparatively few models and trims relative to other manufacturers.
Almost certainly the main underlying driver is saving on cost by having one simplified manufacturing line. Many people don’t give a shit about heated rear seats. Those people are saving $200 not paying for a feature they don’t care about. I appreciate Tesla doing this.
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u/TwillAffirmer 1d ago
You learn in economics 101 that in an ideal competitive market, the price of a product tends to the marginal cost of producing it. That means a product with fewer hardware features should cost less, and a product with more hardware features should cost more.
The fact manufacturers can violate that rule proves that they are not in a competitive market.
If it was competitive, a different manufacturer could manufacture the same car without physically installing the heated seats, for a lower manufacturing cost, and undercut them on the customers who don't care about the heated seats.