I think the issue goes beyond sleazy sales tactics. There are issues of inventory, sales preferences, model cycles, etc. If you're Volkswagen and just came out with a brand-new Golf, there's excess demand that's been waiting for it to come out and limited supply. So, the vehicle sells close to the sticker price. People want the new thing, it's the most up-to-date vehicle in its class for at least a little while while the Fords and whatnot might have been updated 3-4 years ago.

Now, car companies could lower the sticker price of the vehicle as time goes on. A model that has been around for 5 years and will likely be refreshed in 1-2 years could just have money taken off the sticker. But then when they introduce the new model, there's sticker shock at how much more it is. There's also the perception issue that Volkswagen wouldn't want the Golf to be seen as below a competing vehicle just because it's slightly older - and then when the new model comes out people think it's overpriced because it's now "the same price as the competitor that has always been more expensive".

For most car companies, they're making cars on spec - the idea that if they make it, someone will buy it. If a company has excess inventory at the end of a year, they need to move it. It's a depreciating asset and if no one will buy it for $20k, they need to offer a discount. But that discount often isn't permanent. It's an issue of inventory that might be temporary. They'll even advertise "for $x thousand off!", but they don't want to change the sticker because they want to sell for that price when they don't have an inventory glut.

Likewise, sometimes consumers go off a brand or model. Car companies have scandals and need to discount things to win consumers back. Sometimes they miscalculate what consumers want and the vehicles still have utility, but they aren't what a lot of people want and have to discount them.

Sometimes you make a car that's in the same class as other vehicles, but it's an inferior version. You want your next model to be as good as the competitor so you don't want to lower the sticker and permanently put it in people's consciousness that you make an inferior vehicle to your competitor, but you need to sell these crappier cars. You'll even put it in ads that your discount exists many times.

Tesla doesn't have any of these problems. Their supply is more limited than their demand so they never have excess inventory. Given that they don't have competitors in their space, you're never left thinking, "the Tesla Model S was created in 2012, but this NewElectricCo Model Y was just created in 2017 and I'm getting the new awesome model that no one has and looks new and has the best stuff!"

If Tesla becomes a mass-market company with competitors, they'll face many of these same issues. If Tesla has 5 competitors providing much the same vehicles (in the way that an Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes C-Class are much the same vehicle) and they're building enough units to meet demand, they'll likely have to discount too.

If Tesla builds 100k units and consumers have only bought 70k by December, well, they're going to have to push the 30k units left over with discounts. If Tesla has a Model S from 2012 competing in 2020 against a brand-new NewElectricCo vehicle, they're going to have to discount to push their vehicle. At some point, Tesla is likely to produce a model that is considered not as good as a competitor and they'll have to discount it a bit until the next version comes out.

Tesla is in a great position right now because it has way more demand than supply, but if Tesla is actually looking to change the world, that's going to change.

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A few closing thoughts: First, GM did experiment with no-haggle pricing. Their Saturn brand had that as a staple of their business. There's something cool about the idea, but when you're trading in a vehicle, you still need to haggle over the trade-in cost. So, any benefit to the non-sleaze of the new car's price can be lost on the trade-in (though you could sell it yourself if you wanted that hassle). Second, this also happens with a lot of products, not through negotiation, but through discounts. When the Galaxy S8 came out, it was new and shiny and there was excess demand and not going to be great discounts. Come January 2018, you'll likely to be able to pick up a discounted phone. The Galaxy S9 won't be out yet, but they'll be looking to clear out inventory and the S8 might look more dated against phones that have come out since making it less attractive at list price.

Now, it's still often a set, non-haggle price. So maybe you would have no problem if Tesla said, "we're offering $8k off all 2017 Model S vehicles" and everyone was getting the same thing. But companies are going to have to manage their inventory, model cycle, consumer preferences, and competitive alternatives. Tesla will have to do that as well. And some of that will be local. Maybe Tesla has some excess units in Florida nearing the end of the year while having sold out in California. It might make more sense for them to try and move the inventory in Florida with a discount. It costs money to move vehicles. Sometimes it makes sense to try and hit a certain critical mass in a market to get word-of-mouth. Maybe you're at risk of losing employees if you're constantly taking inventory away from them.

There's definitely a lot of sleaze in the industry, but Tesla likely won't be able to be a single, stable price forever as they ramp up to meet demand and gain competitors. They'll have to provide discounts - though they might provide up-front, non-sleazy, no-haggle discounts.