It isn’t uncommon for car manufacturers to get their hands on rival products in order to dissect and analyze them thoroughly, but in this particular case, Ford definitely overpaid for the exclusivity of owning the 64th Tesla Model X.
Exactly $55,000 over the sticker price, to be exact – according to vehicle registration documents obtained by Bloomberg. That brings the grand total to no more than $199,950 (without counting the Michigan sales tax and title, which would account for another 12,050), making it a very expensive deal – even for a “Founders Series” model.
Realistically speaking, approximately $200,000 represents almost nothing to Ford, so the “Blue Oval” company was probably more than glad to get its hands on an early Model X, reportedly acquiring the vehicle from a Californian coin dealer – who bought the car as part of Tesla’s customer-referral promotion.
Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for researcher Autotrader.com, said that the over list price is significant, but the man also suspects other major automakers – such as GM and Toyota – among early Tesla Model X buyers:
“If you’re going to be one of the early buyers, you’re probably going to pay well over list. But that’s significant.”
Needless to say, car makers are becoming more and more interested in electrified SUVs – especially as Ford is spending $4.5 billion in its own electric car expansion, intending on introducing 13 new vehicles with some form of electric propulsion by 2020.
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