There's no reason to assume I'm biased towards Tesla here.
If any carmaker wanted to say "our car is X% more efficient, and the average person could reasonably expect to save $Y", and then discount that from the sticker price, I would be okay with that.
I don't think it's deceptive at all as long as the estimate is reasonable, and as long as there is clear communication about the sticker price vs the price after savings.
Then where do you draw the line? I, and almost the entire developed world, draws the line at price = number of currency units required to leave the store with the item for sale. Every car could otherwise claim a deduction because it’s more fuel efficient than a sports car or a Rolls Royce or an F-350. And some cars don’t need as expensive of tires, should they claim that deduction? What about cars that are 2 wheel drive, there’s lots of savings there over 4 wheel drive…
I mentioned this in another comment: something like EnergyGuide [0] would be great for this case, that way manufacturers like Tesla could more easily and consistently communicate how their vehicles have a lower cost of ownership.
I also want to say, if Tesla was doing this in some shady way, e.g. not offering an easy way to view the true purchase price, or making unfair comparisons, I would be totally against what they're doing.
There's no reason to assume I'm biased towards Tesla here.
If any carmaker wanted to say "our car is X% more efficient, and the average person could reasonably expect to save $Y", and then discount that from the sticker price, I would be okay with that.
I don't think it's deceptive at all as long as the estimate is reasonable, and as long as there is clear communication about the sticker price vs the price after savings.