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Comment by rogerrogerr | Hacker News Reader

Being associated with delivery vans would dilute the Tesla brand. Imagine seeing beat up Amazon vans with Porsche emblems - it wouldn’t improve your perception of a Porsche as a car you would love to one day own.

Yes, other things the company or CEO does are also diluting the brand. It’s still true that the company can be making a rational decision not to attack this segment.

Rivian’s marketing people probably hate that they’re doing this, but the company had $2.5B revenue and still lost $1.6B the first half of 2025. They’re in survival mode.

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Mercedes runs their Sprinter line with the Mercedes star on the front. I know some after-market modifications can turn these into really nice RVs, but they're mostly in the "work van" category. In Europe, Mercedes doesn't really have the same connotations of luxury/aspirational purchase that it does in the US, so maybe that explains the willingness to slap their insignia on a work van. But nobody in the US seems to think Sprinters dilute the perception that other Mercedes are a luxury.

Edit: ugh I see at least two others made exactly this same point while I was typing my comment. I guess it shows that it's a valid one...

In the US Mercedes Sprinter vans are used exclusively by very affluent people so it doesnt dilute the brand there.

I think that's true as a personal vehicle. But you'll see them driving around with ladders, pipes, etc. on them as direct competitors to the Ford E-Series. You definitely don't see the Ford vans turned into luxury RVs though!

No idea how popular they are, but they certainly exist.

https://leisurevans.com/wonder/chassis/

And also lots of the existing Amazon van fleet.

Lexus is also entering the luxury van segment. They're repurposing the LS badge from their flagship sedan to a van which, in concept form, has 6 wheels:

https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g69178144/lexus-ls-van-c...

they need a platform for the luxury fsd of the future i guess?

> Being associated with delivery vans would dilute the Tesla brand

Counterpoint: Mercedes-Benz fleet vans.

Yeah, which not only doesn’t dilute the main brand, it also doesn’t even dilute the Sprinter brand. Sprinters are called out by name in rap songs, lusted after for van life builds, etc. EV vans make a ton of sense commercially and personally.

In the us they don't sell Mercedes-Benz trucks. instead they have a brand 'freightliner' that sells them with a different logo. You can get remove badge and fit a mercedes one if you want but almost nobody does

> Rivian’s marketing people probably hate that they’re doing this

Somehow I doubt it. It's a big payday for the company and a big vote of confidence by a customer that doesn't mess around (as far as practical concerns go, ethics obviously doubtful). If Rivian wants to sell practical work EVs, this is their ideal scenario. People actually in the market for EV vans are going to do the math, and mostly won't care about the vague contamination by association with the Amazon brand.

> Imagine seeing beat up Amazon vans with Porsche emblems

They're literally Mercedes today though.

That doesn't make sense. Mercedes makes vans. Ford makes E350s but still sells plenty of mustangs. Hell, does the rivian delivery truck even have rivian branding? I haven't seen it if it does.

And moreover, Tesla has been talking up plans for its vaporware semi for ages. If they wanted to avoid diluting the brand, they wouldn't promise such a thing.

Ah, yes, the esteemed Tesla brand, so well-known for reliability, easy access to rapid maintenance, and the top-notch customer relations and support you need to support fleet vehicles…

…oh wait.

Teslas have terrible quality control, they’re impossible to get rapidly serviced, and they are run by a mercurial adversarial asshole. What kind of fleet manager worth their salt would _ever_ consider Tesla?

If I could upvote this more than once I certainly would

Yet strangely being associated with a neo Nazi doesn't?

> Yes, other things the company or CEO does are also diluting the brand. It’s still true that the company can be making a rational decision not to attack this segment.

as the other commenter beautifully said “This kind of commentary creates unnecessary impedance in communication” but also every other CEO is safe or worse (worse). Tim, Zuck… they are all worse, much worse than Elon (as bad as he is as a human…).

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