In response to Neil Irwins column in The Washington Post last Wednesday, May 15, Can Tesla break the costly auto supply chain? WANADA sent a letter to the editor taking exception.
Heres the basis of WANADAs issues with Irwins column.
You can buy almost anything on the Internet, Irwin begins, to include Uranium ore, wolf urine, a levitating hover scooter; but you cant buy a car straight from the factory. True enough on car buying. Consumers buy cars through dealers because car sales often involve a trade; theyre also expensive, require titling, insurance, financing and scheduled maintenance to keep them running safely. Dealers handle all of this.
Irwin questions the dealers role, musing through his column whether a consumer really needs licensed dealers around to fix their car if its a lemon or hold their hand through the purchase process. Then comes Irwin with the point of his column: Enter Tesla, which he says, relies on the Dell personal computer model to sell cars. Accordingly, the consumer simply enters his/her specs online, has the goods built to order and then delivered to the door (or garage, presumably, with a car.)
Alas, if only Tesla and other automakers were free of dealer licensing laws, to live by the Dell model and sell cars online, like PCs, Uranium ore and wolf urine. Car prices would be lower, because all the savings, otherwise going into dealer facilities, inventory, and employee salaries,
would then get passed on to consumers. In Irwins world, dealers, indeed, would be leaner and less profitable. Or would they exist at all? Teslas sales model doesnt include dealers, a fact that appears to have been lost on Mr. Irwin. WANADA didnt miss it, and hence our letter to the editor at TWP Buying a car is different than buying a computer and Tesla cant change that.
For Irwins complete article and WANADAs response to the Post, click here.
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