Anybody else with standard suspension get this email?

[dsm363]

Clearly it is all about profitability, If a car was ordered in Sept, has number 18k and is pushed up it is about the price tag. That may be a good business decision to make the first quarter profitable, but is leaves a pretty bad taste in my mouth. How may more will be inserted in front of me? and I didnt order a cheap car, its freaking $77k.

I understand you are frustrated but profitability is important for them at this point. We all want the company to be around in the future so our cars (regardless of model and options) can be maintained and serviced. This obviously didn't meet the expectations you had when you finalized but hopefully your wait isn't too much longer. You see the same story with Signature customers and the 'Sig tax', Signature customers coming off of the wait list getting their car after early production customers and 40 kWh customers who won't get their car until after you (some could be in the first 100 production reservations and if they opted for a 40 kWh pack they'll get their car much later than you will). This still sucks for you but it's an amazing car. There really is nothing you can do about it at this point as their production schedules are set but think you'll enjoy the car once it is here.
If they will allow you to upgrade to air suspension to get it sooner you might consider doing that if they wait is worse than the increased cost. They might not let you change since you've finalized of course though.

 

[Zythryn]

I am sorry your car is not being delivered as quickly as some others.

And while I believe higher profit margins play a role in the decision, that are not the only reason and I would guess is a minor one.
Supply chains need to be set up, and verified, and possibly altered.
Your car, when it comes, will be more refined than the early cars. The nose cone on yours is much better, IMO. The vampire draw may very well be solved, you will have a charge timer, etc.

I do feel for you, but you are self inflicting pain when you take their latest estimate of April/May to mean "lucky to get it this year".

 

[dsm363]

Lying implies Tesla knew they wouldn't produce the standard suspension until April and told you something else to get your money. Is it possible they had the intent on starting production earlier but ran into issues or supply problems or do you have proof Tesla lied to you?

When did Tesla announce the delay in delivering standard suspension, can't remember.

 

[ViperDoc]

It might be about profitability, but not because they build the most profitable ones first. It is because they can't retool an assembly line for an option and then retool it for cars without the option at this early stage. It is just like pain. I wanted a color for our Signature but was told I had to settle for one of the 4 because they couldn't just turn one color on and off for one car here or there. They are trying to build cars in batches based on the options so that they minimally waste time changing the assembly line all around. Once it is a bigger operation, I think this will be much less of an issue.

 

[NeedToDrive]

I paid my deposit in Jan 2012 and finalized my order/MVPA last November and still no car. Reservation number is in the 6000s. My status has been showing "The Tesla factory is building your model S" since November. Obviously this is not true.

Fast forward 5+ years when I and many others will be buying again. Would I trust Tesla with my down payment? Would I sign a MVPA that essentially locks in the down payment indefinitely? I don't think so. I can fully accept that I had to wait because production had not started. I am disappointed that they keep pushing my delivery back for loaded signature models. Some here say it is good business, I disagree. The short term stock price is not going to sell cars. Think about it, the capitalization Tesla received from the IPO is not going to be lost if the stock price crashed tomorrow. Paying off loans early at the risk of alienating customers is not going to keep Tesla in business.

The irony here is that Elon is trying to popularize electric cars but the clear message is that, unless you buy the top of the line, you are not a valuable customer. Imagine going into a restaurant and they ask you how much your going to spend before putting you on the waiting list. You then find out that many others arriving after you are being seated because they are going to spend more. Do you really think you will return to that restaurant?

 

[dsm363]

Would you expect any more communication if nothing had changed? They are running very lean at this time so additional e-mails saying 'nothing has changed with our last estimate' would only slow things down.

I'm sure they know how to build a standard suspension but it is possible they don't have the supply chain set up as fast as they originally wanted. I'm sure profit is part of it too. You did opt for the standard suspension but will be one of the first people to get it once their start that part of the production line. Someone could place a production reservation in early 2009, opt for a 40 kWh pack and get their car well after you will. It sucks but that's how they have staggered the production. Once all models are being produced, this and reservation number will be less of an issue. Good luck.

 

[dsm363]

my thought EXACTLY.

Here it is March, they said they would build 60kw with Std suspension in March, My number is 4172, there should be no other units ahead of me that dont have a lower number. My table should be ready or I should be able to walk out of the restaurant.

BTW, the production thing was figured out long ago. Once they are fully ramped up, they will know how to build a fully loaded 85 and at the same time a stripped down 40kw. They dont do them by the week.

If they are having problems with a supplier for the standard suspension (I don't know that to be the case one way or the other) do you really want them to shut down the production line losing the company tens of millions of dollars until your car is produced? If reservations thousands of numbers behind with standard suspension are getting delivered then that is a problem but I don't think any cars with standard suspension have been delivered yet.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Went through the same gamut of emotions back in November/December - the delivery timeframe I was promised my 60 with Air (res P 1,620 made in February 2010) when I finalized in early August - after Tesla decided to make a push for 85 instead and reached into P 10,000+ even.

My wife and I had to make do with one car and juggled our commutes around it by carpooling and such (our other car broke down some months ago and we sold it with the expectation that we'd get our S by Fall 2012).

All that angst went away when I got my car in the first batch of 60s in early January. The car has seemed more refined than apparently some of the 85s that were pushed out in late December.

So, to the OP, I can completely understand your frustration and may have even been in the same boat had I chosen the standard suspension (long time TMC members may have seen the debate that I started about a year ago on the long term durability of the air suspension).

I'd hope that Tesla can seamlessly build any car, any config in about 3-4 months from now when standard suspension, production Red and the 40 pack are fully in production and not leave such bad taste in the mouth for some customers.

This quarter-end push for revenue business may be great for Wall St (I'm a longtime TSLA owner too) but, is not good for customer relations. As per posts here, I'm still seeing several 60s WITH Air making way for another batch of late P85s and 85s for Q1 so, the observation that money talks is not without reason.

 

[NeedToDrive]

Someone could place a production reservation in early 2009, opt for a 40 kWh pack and get their car well after you will.

@dsm363, a key point is that they never communicated this. Lets consider a simple analogy. My friend and I go in and order matching 7-Series BMWs but I decide not to get the sun roof. We return a week later to pick up our cars. At that point I learn that, while she is getting her car, I'll have to wait another month. I return a month later and then I'm told that I'll have to wait three more weeks because several other customers with sunroofs are getting their cars. Three weeks later I return and them am told that I'll have to wait...

Of course this sort of thing wouldn't happen with BMW because they sell what they make. You generally get what you want at the point of sale. Tesla, on the other hand, chose a business model to make what they sell. However, as anyone who works in this model knows, if they develop a reputation that they cant fulfill their promises in a timely manner they won't stay in business. Moreover, changing the order of the queue based on hidden criteria also can damage the reputation.

If there is any question in my mind whether Tesla will survive, it won't be because of the product. It will be because of the business model they choose. Car sales are frequently based on emotion and a typical car dealership knows the importance of closing the deal in a timely manner. Telling a customer to come back in three to six months is not a good strategy to sales.

 

[dsm363]

I understand the frustration and especially since things changed with the delivery schedule so late in the game. Once they are producing everything (all models and colors) by this summer, it shouldn't be a situation like you describe but I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

I think it's important to step back and look at what they've accomplished so far (hits and misses). Motor Trend Car of the Year award for their first car isn't bad. The rollout hasn't been perfect obviously but they are delivering cars now. When is the last time a new car company launched and succeeded? Things could be better but they could also be much worse (Fisker, Coda...etc).

 

[NeedToDrive]

Agreed. Sorry for the rant. I want the best for Tesla but I worry about what they are doing.

 

[dsm363]

Agreed. Sorry for the rant. I want the best for Tesla but I worry about what they are doing.

I totally understand and you have every right of course to be frustrated and express that here. I hope the plan in place works out as well.

 

[jomo25]

I'm in this boat. Somewhat frustrated, but not to the level of others here (I'm not saying they are or aren't justified, just that I'm at a lower level at the moment). My angst is just because I have personal reasons why an early April delivery would be MUCH better for me. And I thought when I was forced to make a decision on adding the rear facing child seats by 3/5 that my car would enter production soon thereafter (hence the need to rush me, which didn't allow me to go somewhere to take a better look at the seats and how they operate). And given that, I thought early April was an OUTSIDE target of completion.

As it stands now, my car hasn't entered production. I dont even have a VIN yet (I spoke to Stone Thursday and yesterday). And his best estimate is late-April now. Meanwhile, 85kWh orders placed well after mine are actually scheduled for delivery.

Clearly, there's a shift to higher profitability. I dont think it permeates to LOADED vs not. I think its just 85 vs 60 (and then vs 40). I dont think there's a big enough difference on all the other options to mess with sequencing. Differences there are more likely due to supply chain variances. (Of course they are still waiting on 40 and std suspension).

I'm just going to remain as patient as I can, keep paying the ridiculous amount for a Fiesta rental, re-apply for financing if I must, and balance another significant delivery into my schedule when she and the MS both arrive...

 

[dsm363]

+1 for people frustrated with this production/delivery mess. If they can't produce my car in time, I wish they had not locked me in with $5k deposit so early. I have a 60 with Air & other options but still no word on delivery. Probably time for GB or Elon to address this if they think of customers beyond just the signature owners.

I believe they have delivered about 3-4 times the number of production cars as they have Signature cars. Looks like you finalized on Feb. 6th so that could explain part of the delay. Hope it arrives soon but I don't think this is an issue with them only treating Signature customers one way and everyone else a different way otherwise the company wouldn't exist off of selling only 1,200 cars. In fact, you'll see many Signature costumers complain about paying the Sig tax and not getting much over the production cars for it. Service should not be an issue for you at least in Fremont. Hope it arrives soon.

 

[jomo25]

This is really confusing to me. You show you ordered the 60kw w AAS, and your order number is just past mine, a friend of mine had almost the same config as you and he has had his car for 4 weeks. His number was around yours, There is no real understanding as to how they pick cars to be produced. If my theory is correct, you will get yours before mine and I really need a car before my daughter comes back in May for hers.

I follow the board pretty closely. I'm not aware of any other similarly config'd models as mine that were finalized after 2/5 that have been delivered. I think I (and SShrivas) just missed the end of the 60s batch they did. I think it ended around 2/1. I've seen 1-2 trickle out since then, but those were finalized before 2/1. My assumption with those is they were built as part of the batch, but something was found during testing requiring them to go back through the line (or held and fixed).

To put more info into this, I actually finalized online on 1/11. But due to wrangling with my HOA on charging solution, I didn't actually sign and get countersign til 2/6. So, for all purposes, my finalize date is 2/6. But i am quite certain that if I had actually signed and countersigned before 1/25 or so, I'd have my car probably for a few weeks now. So, I do blame my delay on my HOA.

 

[longtimeowner]

I went through the same phase excitement turned into frustration and back to excitement. I guess it's part of the process but then I would have never had this excitement for BMW or a Merc.

 

[youlikeadajuice]

Hi all. Super excited, just received delivery button and email. I'm on the road right now will post with delivery details later. But things are moving.

Awesome! What is your P#?

 

[spatterso911]

Reposted from another thread...

The difference in my car, and the one my friend got 4 weeks ago was AAS. His had it mine didnt. He ordered 2 months after me Res #4980. So the only difference was the suspension. You would think they know how to build a car with standard suspension. They dont need to retool for that. and i was at the factory. Just odd that so many cars with much higher numbers have been delivered, again it is now all about bringing $$ into the door and the reservation numbers dont mean a thing. Yes maybe I will have a more refined car, but they sent me an email telling me the car would come, then 3 days later told me the didnt realize that I hadnt ordered the AAS so maybe April or May. Since then nothing. 0 communication.

- - - Updated - - -

Lying is referring to they stated "you will be notified approximately 30 days before production to FINALIZE your order." after that your deposit becomes non refundable. Well I finalized my order 90 days ago, but no production date, or the one they gave me they took it back. Cant get the car, cant get my money back. And if I wanted to add the option, they wanted to increase the car price to add the option, plus the cost of the option.

Originally Posted by Mnlevin<br />
You may say it but I never saw that. I knew that 60kw started in Jan, was not aware at the beginning that the std suspension would have delayed the car. I flew out to the factory for the big event, none of that was ever mentioned. There is a total lack of communication from the company and if we were told that orders will be build based on the size of the order, I would NEVER have placed an order with this company. This whole situation is getting me very unsettled and kinda start thinking there are more problems with the company than we know. If they have to grab all these newer orders to fill the pipeline to make first quarter numbers at the expense of customers then there are bigger problems there.

There are a lot of "expensive" orders in multi coat red that have been waiting just as long. Granted, I can see being bothered about the suspension delay. They didn't communicate that well. But to assume that it's all about the money is very short-sighted, IMHO. Why? Had you ordered the air suspension and skipped leather, tech, pano roof, and 21" wheels, you'd have a much cheaper car in your garage and you wouldn't be upset. You see? The "size" of the order is not as meaningful as you think. Your issues are purely because of a poorly communicated delay in delivering the standard suspension. If you want to believe there is a conspiracy theory, just know that your $5 grand does little to expand their quarterly profit statement compared to the the $77 grand still left in your account. They would much prefer to have that, and it doesn't come til the car comes home.


Sent via Tapatalk

 

[mlemke]

For what it's worth, my company books deposits as a liability until the construction project is complete. Then we recognize them as revenue. I know Microsoft did the same thing with Windows 8 pre-sales.

 

[Beavis]

For what it's worth, my company books deposits as a liability until the construction project is complete. Then we recognize them as revenue. I know Microsoft did the same thing with Windows 8 pre-sales.

Yep. Accounting 101. Receive a deposit = debit cash and credit deposits (a liability account). Deliver a car = credit revenue and debit deposits & cash.