It’s not uncommon for car manufacturers to pay a heavy premium so that they’re able to acquire one of the first models of a new rival car right off the production line and that’s precisely what Ford did with the Tesla Model X. A new report reveals that Ford paid close to $200,000 just so it could get its hands on one of the first Model X units. It paid a premium of nearly $50,000 for this privilege.
There’s a reason why car manufacturers do this, it allows them to see what their rivals are making, how they’re making it and see if they could learn anything from it. Tesla has been facing delays with Model X production so customers who ordered one are having to wait a bit more than they bargained for.
It merits mentioning here that Ford didn’t directly purchase the Model X from Tesla. This was a Founders Edition Model X which was given for free to the original owner who actually won it in Tesla’s referral program last year by convincing 11 people to buy a Tesla Model S.
So basically that guy made almost $50,000 above and beyond the $144,950 retail price of the Tesla Model X, bringing in almost $200,000 for a car that he won for free while Ford was able to get its hands on Tesla’s first electric crossover well before most of its paying customers.
Filed in . Read more about Electric Cars, Ford, Model X and Tesla. Source: bloomberg