Oh, come on. Tesla is not hiding this. It's the first thing you see in the pricing section, and it's the last thing you see at the bottom. Maybe it's illegal somehow, but this is certainly not immoral.
Tesla is making the case for the efficiency gains of their vehicle based on what most people drive today. This is certainly becoming less relevant/useful as electric/hybrid vehicles become more popular, but it is still quite helpful for anyone trying to compare the cost of a Tesla vs a ICE automobile. Even better, this expected total cost of ownership would be included somewhere like it is with home appliances [0].
> It also assumes you’re not already driving an EV so your current gas cost is $0.
In that case, you can simply select the "Purchase Price".
> Savings over time is a whole other dimension, you have to wait for it. And it makes huge assumptions about usage and input (gas) prices.
That's fair. Tesla very clearly details their assumptions under the "see details" link, which to my eyes looks quite generous:
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Gasoline Savings
Electric vehicles are less expensive to fuel than gasoline powered vehicles. The average person drives between 10,000 and 15,000 miles and spends between $1,700 and $2,500 on gasoline per year.
We've assumed a fuel economy of 20.0 miles per gallon for a comparable gasoline powered truck. We've also assumed the national average of $0.16 per kilowatt-hour for residential electricity (assumed for 100% of charging) and $3.30 per gallon for gasoline over the next three years. Tesla efficiency values are based on Cybertruck All-Wheel Drive.
Comparison gasoline vehicles are selected based on vehicle class, seating capacity and standard features. We use the EPA estimated range standard to compare efficiency data between our vehicles and a comparable gasoline alternative using each vehicle's combined city/highway MPG and MPGe ratings. Actual range may vary based on factors such as speed, weather conditions and elevation change.
> Maybe it's illegal somehow, but this is certainly not immoral.
It is absolutely immoral, and I have no idea how you can say otherwise with a straight face. Tesla is deliberately listing the price as lower than it actually is, in order to try to psychologically trick people into buying their vehicles. It's (probably) legal because they state in smaller print what the actual price is, but it's hella fucking immoral.
> We've assumed a fuel economy of 20.0 miles per gallon for a comparable gasoline powered truck.
This is absolutely misleading. F-150, Tundra, RAM 1500, Sierra, every single one of these pickups has a better fuel economy than this. It's not really a comparable economy if you pick "a number worse than every alternative" as your baseline.
Savings over time is a whole other dimension, you have to wait for it. And it makes huge assumptions about usage and input (gas) prices.
It also assumes you’re not already driving an EV so your current gas cost is $0. That seems near illegal.