202X Roadster Delay Legal Action?

[Krash]

That’s for a car that already exists in production.

There are a lot of ways to view those fixed costs.

Almost certainly the fixed costs of the 48v roadster system will be used to reduce the cost of the 48v S/X when that happens, just like those costs for the cybertruck reduced it for the roadster.

Fancy three motor setup? Carbon ceramic brakes? Already integrated/optioned into the plaid.

I bet the double stack roadster battery looks a lot like the original cybertruck battery design, only less likely to be nerfed because the roadster volume won’t be as high.

I don’t think the F1 style wheel change will be that big of an expense to engineer.

The ground fan / compressed air seems to be the most non-leveragable expense. I wonder if the fan could be cost effectively integrated into other models as a safety feature.

What else is novel in the roadster?

Curious as to what Optimus, robotaxi and unboxed manufacturing tech gets into the roadster.

 

[father_of_6]

What else is novel in the roadster?

eVTOL. How will it fly?

 

[mborkow]

There are a lot of ways to view those fixed costs.

Almost certainly the fixed costs of the 48v roadster system will be used to reduce the cost of the 48v S/X when that happens, just like those costs for the cybertruck reduced it for the roadster.

Fancy three motor setup? Carbon ceramic brakes? Already integrated/optioned into the plaid.

I bet the double stack roadster battery looks a lot like the original cybertruck battery design, only less likely to be nerfed because the roadster volume won’t be as high.

I don’t think the F1 style wheel change will be that big of an expensive to engineer.

The ground fan / compressed air seems to be the most non-leveragable expense. I wonder if the fan could be cost effectively integrated into other models as a safety feature.

What else is novel in the roadster?

Curious as to what Optimus, robotaxi and unboxed manufacturing tech gets into the roadster.

OK…then where is the car?

 

[TheLastDon]

I paid $250,000 a little over 6 years ago to the day, for a 2020 Roadster Founder's Series reservation. Since order confirmation, I have literally never heard from Tesla -- even by email, and I only have a reservation confirmation number on their website. I've tried contacting them numerous times through the years and on the phone they say "we have no info on the Roadster" and online I get no replies. Here are the simple questions I posed in one email to them.

View attachment 994584

We all understand a bit of delay due to covid, supply chain issues, etc. but it is many years, and now they are literally shipping the Cyber Truck before the Roadster so I wonder if they even have the tech to build the car at the advertised specs?

I think Tesla is an amazing American company and I am a big fan. I stayed strong with my deposit during talk of their bankruptcy risk, which was hard. 2020 came and I anxiously awaited a call to configure my vehicle but that call never came, and now we are almost in 2024. I am certainly fortunate to be able to afford such a dream car, but it was a stretch to make this purchase and it is the biggest (non-home) purchase I have ever made. This is a LOT of money for me and Tesla has never even told me there is a delay -- I am reduced to reading message boards and tweets, which is so disheartening and concerning with this much money at risk.

Below is an excerpt from my reservation terms and conditions. You can see there is a clear incentive to not lose your place in line by requesting a refund and my place in line would be early since I ordered in November 2017 like so many did with the excitement around the Roadster.
View attachment 994587

Here below you can also see that the T&C does NOT guarantee the price, but all of their advertising at the time did suggest $250,000 was the purchase price and many on this board have suggested they will honour the price, but will they? Does anyone have an opinion on this? The opportunity cost of money for the last 6 years has been very high.

View attachment 994588

Here below you can see the old website communication (left) and the newer communication (right) and the old version says "Base Price" and "Founders Series Price" very clearly as a separate figure from "Reservation". This suggests Tesla intended the $250,000 reservation is the price of the car, but is it?

View attachment 994591

I know there are others in this situation and every day you consider pulling your reservation as many have done, but there is no way to make an informed decision as tomorrow may be the day they call you to configure your new Roadster, and is the price locked in? I have never sued anyone and feel the courts are over-used, but I feel out of options. Is there not a legal duty of care to communicate that you will be 3-4+ years late, or at least sending one email in 6 years to give any sort of update? My money has deteriorated in value and I don't even know if Tesla will honor the price shown above. Are there others in this same situation and does anyone know if there is an option to use the legal system to get Tesla's attention? I don't want my money back, I want the car, but if they don't have the technology to build it to the above specs then I want to know this too. I just want to be able to make an informed decision and I am sure others feel the same way. Does anyone have any ideas as to what options we have, or care to team up with me on this?

Here is what Chat GPT had to say:
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View attachment 994596

Wow, that would be a bitter pill to swallow. Chalk this up to a learning lesson! Never pay that much for a car that doesn't exist. Too many things can go wrong, as you are finding out. I hope they release it soon for your sake though.

 

[father_of_6]

Just in case anyone hasn't already read this and thought I was making it up:

 

[mborkow]

Just in case anyone hasn't already read this and thought I was making it up:

View attachment 1059160

No doubt a reference to its current state as vaporware.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Just in case anyone hasn't already read this and thought I was making it up:

View attachment 1059160

Because everything Elmo posts is true?

 

[father_of_6]

Because everything Elmo posts is true?

Stop attacking please.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Sensitive much? Who am I attacking? It's well known that very little of what Elmo posts on Xwitter is actual truth.

 

[Suns_PSD]

Just in case anyone hasn't already read this and thought I was making it up:

View attachment 1059160

That dude must be high. You really should know by now to not take his word for these things.

The f*cking Roadster doesn't fly for gosh sakes.

 

[father_of_6]

Sensitive much? Who am I attacking? It's well known that very little of what Elmo posts on Xwitter is actual truth.

That dude must be high. You really should know by now to not take his word for these things.

The f*cking Roadster doesn't fly for gosh sakes.

No, not sensitive. I certainly take what Elon says with a grain of salt.

That said, when discussing what elements of a new Roadster will be novel, it sure seemed pertinent to mention that the CEO says the car can fly. Most likely it was Elon that was "flying" when he X'd that statement out to the world.

Unfortunately though, some poor team of engineers probably found themselves tasked with prototyping an eVTOL Roadster the following morning.

What actually happens is anyone's guess. No doubt if the new Roadster does ever happen and can't fly, someone is going to make Elon explain why. That'll be an interesting X.

Perhaps it will be able to fly... in the cargo area of a very large military plane.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I'm sure it will fly in some totally twisted Muskian definition of "fly".

In order to actually "fly" it would need wings and/or some sort of lift generation and flight control and not just lifting the car an inch or two off the ground, which is what I'm sure he's referring to, which I'm also sure won't make it into actual production.

It will be the same as saying "I can jump one foot off the ground, so therefore I can FLY!!! WEEEEEEEE "!

 

[father_of_6]

I'm sure it will fly in some totally twisted Muskian definition of "fly".

Yeah, just like the original Roadster... it'll fly into space on a SpaceX rocket.