Why Elon Musk is a master of deception

The Tesla Model 3 is finally here. It ships in August and costs $35,000. Only it doesn’t, and it doesn’t. 

Tesla didn't exactly lie to us outright. The company kept its promises, but it has also masterfully obfuscated the fact that you can't really go out and buy a $35,000 Tesla right now, or even soon. I can't even get mad at Tesla for pulling it off, either: The staggered, two-part launch was a masterful class of marketing and deception. 

The details on why the true cost of a Tesla Model 3 is higher than advertised have been widely covered, so here's the short version: The $35,000 version of the car is pretty bare and does not have Autopilot, which is an incredibly important feature for a car that’s been described by the company as self-driving-ready. This means that customers will have to dish out at least $5,000 more to get what they were promised, an additional $3,000 more to get full self-driving capabilities once they’re available, and $9,000 on top of that to get a better range and a nicer interior. Plus, there's a $1500 cost to install the home charger. Read more...