EDIT 14:45: According to Tesla the trailer hitch is removed only temporarily from the online configurator. During that time period customers need to contact their local store to order this option. (Hooray)
Last week the trailer hitch option have suddenly disappeared from the Tesla Model 3 configuration page. It is no longer possible to order a Model 3 online in Europe with a trailer hitch.
When questioned Tesla replied to us:
We have removed the Tow Hitch option from Model 3 in EMEA on the design studio. It will continue to be available off-menu for a period of time and customers should contact their local store to order this option, if needed.
If needed?! Tesla apparently does not understand just how important the trailer hitch is for European customers!
Contrary to the USA pick-up trucks are not very popular here in Europe. Very few people own such vehicles. If we want to transport something large and bulky (like new furniture or old trash) we just rent a trailer that we pull with our regular passenger cars.
To avoid misconceptions and emphasize the importance of that little hook at the rear of our cars we asked our members: how important is the trailer hitch for you?
We requested only people who are right now considering to buy a Tesla Model 3 to answer:
70% of all customers considering buying a Tesla Model 3 answered they will not buy the car if it does not have a trailer hitch! They would rather buy some other manufacturer’s vehicle than a Model 3 without the hook. Another 10% would also rather have a Model 3 with a trailer hitch but can compromise and reluctantly accept to have one without. Only 20% doesn’t want a trailer hitch at all.
We see the same distribution among Swedes who already have bought a Tesla Model 3:
65% of our members who have bought a Tesla Model 3 have bought it with the trailer hitch option.
Actually, as the first batches of Model 3-s delivered in 2019 did not have the trailer hitch option available several buyers back then had to compromise: take delivery of the car even though it didn’t quite fit their needs. 9 of the 22 people answering they bought a Model 3 without a trailer hitch wrote in the comments that they did so only reluctantly: they would have chosen to buy the car with it if it would have been available. Back then there were very few electric alternatives. Today there is an entirely different start field in Europe with lots of electric cars with trailer hitches.
Removing the trailer hitch will have a severe negative impact on European Tesla Model 3 sales.
Is this really the right way to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy?
