SalisburySam
Active Member
Happens. In 2010 I paid $99 to reserve a Nissan LEAF more than a full year before the first ones came off the assembly lines in Japan and over two years before I got my 2012 LEAF SL delivered to me. Loved it, loved a full-on EV, loved driving it, and still do so today. I’m NOT in love with the battery deterioration nor my 35-mile max range at 100% charge obviously. So yeah, some of us are willing to take a risk for something that doesn’t exist. But that LEAF reservation risk was a low one since at any time I could have gotten my deposit returned just for asking, and many did so.How Tesla can continue to legally sell something that doesn't exist is mind boggling to me...
On the other hand, I was NOT one of the people who reserved their Model 3 when announced…I waited until after they were being delivered in reasonable quantities and I ordered in April 2018, took delivery mid-July. Tesla, despite the Roadster and Model S cars in the wild, was still a pretty young, new, and iffy (my opinion) car company. Nissan was far less so and a better gamble to my thinking. Both have worked out for me, still have both, still use both, and reserve all rights to complain/praise/swear at and about them at any time.
I did configure and buy my Model 3 with what was then called EAP and FSD, betting on the come. EAP has panned out reasonably well, FSD not so much. I did get a new HW3 computer for my FSD “investment” but little else of value to me so yeah, I likely would not sign up for FSD in any future Tesla I might buy, especially not until phantom braking is gone from TACC. But I digress.