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Tesla Strips Down the Model S in Germany to Access EV Incentives

The German government wants its people to buy electric cars so that the sky will continue to be blue for the upcoming generations as well, but only if they don't shell out more than 60,000 euros.
Tesla Model S 1 photo
Photo: Tesla Motors
How did the officials reach that number? After talks with representatives from the German car manufacturers, which is why Tesla cried "foul" as it felt it was left out on purpose. And even though its initial reaction did sound a bit paranoid, the American company was right in contesting that cap. After all, the zero emissions of a premium car are identical to the zero emissions of one costing less than 60,000 euros, right?

Well, considering the Germans don't really offer much in the sense of electric cars - the BMW i3 and the Volkswagen e-Golf are the only ones half-worth mentioning - and the people who would buy a Tesla wouldn't be convinced to opt for a far inferior product just because it came with a 4,000 euros discount, we doubt this measure really had an impact on the company's sales.

However, that didn't change the fact that Tesla felt its clients were fooled out of the 4,000 euros they deserved, and to its credit, it has found a way to enable its buyer to access the incentive. It's crazy, but it works.

It's not the idea itself that's a bit out there, but the things Tesla decided to take off the list of standard equipment. That's right, to lower the price of its least expensive car, the Model S 60, the Californian company unbundled a bunch of features and placed them into an optional 5,200 euros package called "Confort Package."

Care to know what you could buy your Tesla Model S without? Well, the list includes the navigation system, rearview camera, internet radio, parking sensors, HomeLink system, memory seats, blind spot warning, electric folding mirrors, and even a function called "Performance reduction to 80%."

The funny thing is that even without this package - which everyone will buy, obviously - the Model S is still a better EV than any offered by a German manufacturer. Yeah, it's funny - unless you work for Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Volkswagen.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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