The Tesla faithful are upset by two new BMW ads that make fun of Model 3 reservation holders who have to wait for who knows how long to drive their Teslas while people who choose a BMW 33oe plug-in hybrid can be driving today. The ads never mention Tesla by name, but the implication is clear, especially in the second spot which shows a woman walking past devices that look exactly like Tesla Superchargers.
Of course, any comparison between the BMW 330e and the Tesla Model 3 is imperfect at best. One is a plug-in hybrid with limited all electric range while the other will be a pure battery electric car with about 215 miles of range. The Tesla will also have access to the company’s Supercharger network. No other manufacturer has a comprehensive worldwide network of dedicated fast charging locations or so many destination chargers reserved for its customers at shopping, dining and lodging locations.
It is also highly likely that the Model 3 will offer the most advanced technological and self driving features of any car on the road — features that not even the sophisticated BMW will offer. Many expect the Model 3 to be the first production car to offer fully autonomous driving.
The BMW 3 Series and the Tesla Model 3 seem to be destined to be natural competitors. Both are about the same size. Both are priced about the same. Both appeal to similar drivers. The BMW 3 Series is an important car for the German company. BMW sells more than 100,000 3 Series cars in the US every year. Elon Musk expects to sell three to four times that number of the Model 3 worldwide.
While the tone of the BMW ad campaign has upset some of the Tesla faithful, it is not nearly as mean spirited as the recent Chevrolet attack ads against the Ford F 150. Those ads show rocks and bricks gouging holes in the aluminum load bed of the Ford pickup. The ads actually seem to have backfired on Chevrolet. F 150 sales are up noticeably since the ads came out.
Poking fun at the competition is a time honored tradition in the advertising world. BMW’s latest ads are actually quite mild. It will be interesting to see what happens to 3 Series sales once the Model 3 actually goes into production.
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