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Tesla’s direct-to-consumer model is better for companies and consumers
A study published on price gouging shows Tesla’s direct-to-consumer model protects its brand and offers a better customer experience.
The study, published by the research group Growth from Knowledge, shows that price gouging is not only damaging to dealerships but also to the brands that they represent. Hence, Tesla’s lack of dealers ensures that customers are protected from the poor experience of paying over MSRP.
Most startling from the report is that 80% of car buyers between May and June of this year paid at or above MSRP when they bought their new vehicle. Of those who spent above MSRP, 31% would not buy from the same dealer again, while 27% would no longer buy from the same manufacturer. Alternatively, customers who paid at MSRP had a far better experience; only 14% chose not to buy from the dealer again, and 10% decided not to buy from the manufacturer again.
Researchers found four statistically significant poor experiences that many customers faced. Of those who paid above MSRP, 34% paid fees that they had never heard of, 31% purchased a model that wasn’t their first choice, 30% compromised on features they wanted, and 30% bought from dealers who weren’t their first choice.
The consistent and high amount of poor customer service even bled into popular culture. Many sites now offer links to “markup trackers” that hope to document and highlight price gouging. On social media, many now use the nickname “stealership” to label dealers who have unjustly raised prices above MSRP.
Ford dealer emailed me today with a brand new @Ford Lightning they have for immediate sale. Just a cool $37,000 OVER MSRP. #pass I’m sure all the reservation holders in the area would love to see their exact build for sale instead of being delivered to them. Why I hate dealers. pic.twitter.com/zym8cLGe0d
— Erik in DÆrik (@teslainventory) August 12, 2022
From a manufacturer’s perspective, despite its advantages, the dealership model has a significant problem. Manufacturers have such little control over the buying experience of their customers that they can’t even control the price which their products are sold for. All the while, their brand is plastered over the entire experience, meaning that despite the brand not owning the dealership, customers (as this study has shown) link their experience with the brand of vehicle they buy.
It is important to recognize that dealers offer a critical service in being available for customer maintenance, recall work, and other support roles. For instance, when a car buyer buys a Ford vehicle, they now have easy access to a vast dealer network that will, no matter where they live, be able to fix their vehicle, do important safety recall work, and even be open to them if their vehicle breaks down away from home. Transversely, manufacturers that have begun to offer direct-to-consumer models must now build out their service network to complete all of the same services.
This situation could push manufacturers to blend the dealership model with direct-to-consumer, allowing their vast service networks to remain while overcoming issues with dealerships’ poor customer service. This change may also offer a unique opportunity for manufacturers to provide new buying models for the vehicles, such as subscriptions, that were previously impossible.
What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 rolled out late last week to Early Access Program (EAP) members, but its best feature is not what you think.
While Tesla has done a great job of refining the performance of the Full Self-Driving suite with the latest update, there are some other interesting additions, including one that many owners have requested for some time.
Upon the release of v14.2, many owners recognized the Blue Dot next to the Autopilot tab in Vehicle Settings, notifying them of a new feature. What was included as a new feature in the new update was a Full Self-Driving stats feature, which now will show you how many miles you’ve traveled in total, and how many of those miles were driven using FSD:
🚨 The coolest non-driving change of Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 pic.twitter.com/HOJcFaV2Ny
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 21, 2025
The feature seems to be more of a bragging rights thing than anything, but it will also give drivers a good idea of how many miles they are using Full Self-Driving for. Those who use telematics-based insurance services will also be able to run experiments of their own, and could determine whether their premiums are impacted by the use of Full Self-Driving, and whether it is more advantageous to use over manual driving.
Tesla rolled out numerous other improvements with Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2, most notably, the company seems to have resolved previous complaints about brake stabbing and hesitation. This was a major complaint in v14.1, but Tesla has seemed to resolve it with this newest branch of the FSD suite.
There were also improvements in overall operation, and it was notably smoother than past versions. Speed Profiles are seemingly refined as well, as they seem much more fixed on how fast they will travel and how aggressive they will be with things like passing cars on freeways and lane changes.
In future updates, Tesla plans to add Parking Spot selection, along with overall operational improvements. However, CEO Elon Musk recently said that the next branch, Full Self-Driving v14.3, will be where the “final piece of the puzzle is placed.” Tesla believes it is close to solving autonomy, so v14.3 could be a major jump forward, but it remains to be seen.
Tesla has adjusted the functionality of a crucial climate feature as Winter weather has started to arrive throughout some parts of the United States. The new feature was highly requested by owners.
Tesla has a Cabin Overheat Protection feature that helps keep the temperature regulated if it reaches a certain threshold. Inversely, it can be used in cold weather as well, which will automatically warm the cabin if it sinks to a temperature that is too low for the owner’s comfort.
This is a great way to keep the cabin either warmed up just enough or cooled down just enough so that it never gets too hot or too cold. Extreme temperatures could damage certain parts of the vehicle or damage personal belongings that are kept inside the car.
Overheat protection is a great thing to have in hot climates like Arizona or Texas, especially with the Premium trims of the Model 3 and Model Y, which feature a glass roof.
Many owners appreciate the feature, but they argue that using it at home will utilize too much energy, especially during extreme temperatures. For a while, many Tesla fans have requested an option to disable this feature when the car is parked at home, which the company recently added, according to Not a Tesla App.
The feature is part of Software Version 2025.44.3, and the release notes state:
“You can now choose Exclude Home when Cabin Overheat Protection or No A/C is enabled.”
Tesla has been great at listening to what owners want with new features, and this is one that will reserve some charge and prevent unnecessary utilization of available power, especially as the car is parked at home. If owners want to condition the cabin or get the car ready for operation with a comfortable interior, they can utilize the Tesla app to adjust the climate.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed today on the social media platform X that legacy automakers, such as Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, do not want to license the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, at least not without a long list of their own terms.
“I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy,” Musk said on X. “When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless.”
I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy …
When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless. 🤷♂️
🦕 🦕
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2025
Musk made the remark in response to a note we wrote about earlier today from Melius Research, in which analyst Rob Wertheimer said, “Our point is not that Tesla is at risk, it’s that everybody else is,” in terms of autonomy and self-driving development.
Wertheimer believes there are hundreds of billions of dollars in value headed toward Tesla’s way because of its prowess with FSD.
A few years ago, Musk first remarked that Tesla was in early talks with one legacy automaker regarding licensing Full Self-Driving for its vehicles. Tesla never confirmed which company it was, but given Musk’s ongoing talks with Ford CEO Jim Farley at the time, it seemed the Detroit-based automaker was the likely suspect.
Tesla’s Elon Musk reiterates FSD licensing offer for other automakers
Ford has been perhaps the most aggressive legacy automaker in terms of its EV efforts, but it recently scaled back its electric offensive due to profitability issues and weak demand. It simply was not making enough vehicles, nor selling the volume needed to turn a profit.
Musk truly believes that many of the companies that turn their backs on FSD now will suffer in the future, especially considering the increased chance it could be a parallel to what has happened with EV efforts for many of these companies.
Unfortunately, they got started too late and are now playing catch-up with Tesla, XPeng, BYD, and the other dominating forces in EVs across the globe.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2’s best new feature is not what you think
Tesla adjusts crucial feature as winter weather arrives
