It's not just cars. Prices for everything have skyrocketed. It's called inflation.
The largest cost in an EV is the battery pack. China can make cheap batteries because they literally dump all of the toxic waste into the river. Scout can't do that so their prices will be higher.
Last thing I will say about China is that they literally stole every piece of technology in the cars they make. It's really easy to make a cheap car if all of your R&D is free......
If we automate everything (either through robots or AI) and put everyone out of work, what will that do to wages? How will people be able to buy the products? You want to have your cake and eat it too.
As someone that bought his first Tesla in 2010, I can tell you that the early adopters ARE willing to pay extra to help the company succeed. Tesla was very straightforward about this when I bought my Roadster. I knew I was helping to fund the development of the factory and future vehicles.
In the end you are asking for magic. You act is if there is some grand conspiracy to increase prices beyond the rate of inflation. If that were true then those higher prices would show up as increased profit margins by the automakers and to my knowledge that isn't happening. So where is the money going? Increased costs.
What you are describing is a systemic issue with the costs of all things today and it is directly the fault of Congress dumping an extra $2 Trillion dollars into the economy every year. When you have more dollars chasing the same goods and services, prices will go up. This is freshman-level economics here. Yet no one wants to have a serious conversation about living within our means as a country. Everyone wants the other person's sugar cut but not theirs.
We can absolutely have a discussion about wages and why they haven't kept up but that is a separate discussion from changes that we're seeing in price level.
People need to understand that we had a regime change in 2020. From 1980-2020 we had disinflation and falling interest rates. Those days are over. We are now in an era of higher inflation and rising interest rates. I was a child in the 70's so this is my first direct experience with inflation but I have done a lot of reading. Everyone needs to know that we are not going back to 2019. We should expect 40 years of higher inflation and rising interest rates.
Here is a 10-year Treasury chart. 2020-2060 will be a mirror of 1980-202. Plan accordingly.
View attachment 11966
Since you decided to bring up "Freshman Economics" and condescend to the room, let’s actually look at the Graduate Level P&L statements, because your assumptions about where the money is going are demonstrably false.
1. The Myth of "Just Covering Costs"
You stated: "If that were true [greedflation], higher prices would show up as increased profit margins... to my knowledge that isn't happening."
Your knowledge is outdated.
• GM & Ford: In 2022/2023, despite selling fewer cars, they posted record net incomes.
• The Industry: Automaker profit margins hit historic highs post-2020. They realized that selling fewer cars at significantly higher prices was more profitable than the high-volume model.
• The Reality: They didn't just pass along the cost of steel; they baked in a massive premium because they knew supply was constrained. Pretending this is purely "Congress printing money" ignores the corporate strategy shift explicitly stated in nearly every earnings call since 2021.
2. The China "Coping Mechanism"
Stop using the "Toxic River" argument as a security blanket. It’s a dangerous coping mechanism.
• Battery Tech: China isn't winning just because they dump sludge in a river. They are winning because they bet the house on LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) chemistry 15 years ago while the West ignored it.
• IP Theft: You claim they "stole every piece of technology." You can't steal what didn't exist. They invented the modern supply chain for cheap EVs.
• The Point: As long as we sit here and scream "Cheater!" while they vertically integrate, we lose. I don't want Scout to complain about China; I want Scout to beat them. And you don't beat them by charging $65k for a truck that costs $35k to make in Shanghai.
3. The "Charity" Argument (Tesla 2010 vs. VW 2027)
You brought up buying a Tesla Roadster in 2010 to "help the company."
That is noble. But Scout is not a startup.
• They are a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, the second-largest automaker on the planet with $330 Billion in revenue.
• They don't need my charity to "keep the lights on." They need to sell a competitive product.
• Asking the working class to pay a "Startup Premium" to a multi-national conglomerate is absurd. You paid extra to save a startup; I’m not paying extra to pad VW’s quarterly dividend.
4. Your Own Logic Defeats You
This is the part that baffles me.
• Your Premise: We are entering a 40-year cycle of high inflation, high interest rates, and crushed purchasing power. ("Plan accordingly").
• Your Conclusion: Therefore, Scout should release a high-priced, high-margin luxury truck.
Do you see the contradiction!?
If you are right—if the consumer is going to be squeezed for the next 40 years—then launching a luxury lifestyle vehicle is a death sentence.
In the "Regime Change" you described, the only companies that survive are the ones that ruthlessly cut costs and provide value (think Costco, Amazon, Model Y).
If the economy is as grim as you say, a $45,000 truck isn't "magic"—it is the only lifeboat that will float.
The Bottom Line
I am planning accordingly. That’s why I’m refusing to accept $60k as the new baseline. If "Freshman Economics" teaches supply and demand, then "Real World Economics" teaches that if you ignore the price elasticity of your customers in a recession, you go bankrupt.