AWD delivery thread

[wcorey]

Personally, people jumping ship from waiting are not a big concern for this company. There is NO competitive car available today, Period. Threats are not actions. We all obviously want this car enough to put up with a lot of BS. Now, if by the end of Q3 2019 they have masses of dissatisfied customers, then they will be in trouble, but if there are a ton of fast and beautiful cars around every major city, I predict the demand will only grow. Most people in this world are not looking to buy a car in the next 12 months, but when they are in the market, getting beat on every freeway on-ramp by a Model 3, that costs the same as the car they might be looking at, will start to draw their attention. Hopefully us early adopters drive the cars responsibly, but not like hyper milers either. We will be their advertising.

Unfortunately, I think you might be wrong about this. The customers here seem to be pushing the reps they speak to on the phone to circumvent the process Tesla has in place, just due to making their jobs less pleasant. On top of that, they come here and tell about their solution to the backlog, which in turn causes others to follow suit and further increase call volumes. Every car that get's pushed to a squeaky wheel is just pushing back everyone else.
waiting like a 6 year old on Christmas eve.

So you liked my "6 yr old on Christmas eve" comment eh? That made me smile. You're absolutely right though. Pushing the rep on the phone to do something is, ultimately counter productive. I said earlier, in jest, I suspect for every call to customer service you're deliver/vin is pushed out even further may actually be more true than not.

 

[wcorey]

I disagree. We, the customer, can change what they're doing and how they do it. People that grow dissatisfied enough to take their business elsewhere will fundamentally hurt the company. Enough voices threatening to do that can change what they're doing and how they do that. They can't stay in business if they can't sell cars.

No, you are dead wrong about that. Their marching orders come from the top, Musk->EVPs->VPs-> mgrs-> phone answerers. We don't hire/fire them.

 

[voip-ninja]

No, you are dead wrong about that. Their marching orders come from the top, Musk->EVPs->VPs-> mgrs-> phone answerers. We don't hire/fire them.

What you say is only true when a company has a monopoly.

Good examples are utility companies, cable companies, the government, etc.

In any area where a company has actual competition, customer service is a big differentiator and dissatisfied customers CAN and DO drive behavior & culture changes... I've seen it first hand at multiple businesses.

Companies that thumb their nose at their customers soon find themselves out of business... this is more true now than ever with social media amplifying the impact of every dissatisfied customer.

Go find the lowest Google/Yelp rated Plumber/Electrician/Caterer/Photographer/Dentist in your neighborhood who gets withering reviews and then check back in a year or two, many of them will be gone... or they will have rebooted and rebranded their business to get away from the stigma of crappy customer service.

The reason this is not happening at Tesla is that they are effectively in the monopoly position and will likely stay there for the next couple of years.

That's probably also why they aren't following up with anyone asking how their phone/delivery/service experience was.... they don't have to care right now... they have more business than they know what to do with.

It will not always be that way.

 

[voip-ninja]

I also want to add that not everyone, or even most people, who are calling Tesla about their orders are mistreating the reps or trying to circumvent the system.

Some of us have never called them, have gotten no status for months or over a year and just want to make sure there isn't a problem with our order holding things up.

I did not get poor service from the rep I spoke to but they were also completely devoid of helpful information.

When I ordered my last BMW I got information every step of the way even including what step in the factory it was at, which port the car was being loaded to, what ship it was on, when it arrived at port, when it was being checked in at the dealer, etc.

That's how companies that have been doing this for a while who know they have discriminating customers do this kind of thing.

 

[HiTechRedneck]

My delivery got pushed back a week as well to Aug 31st. The Dallas Delivery Center said it's on a train in DFW, the email from my IDA said it's not in Texas yet.

 

[Sunpwrd]

Not sure if this has been posted here, but some interesting info from Model 3 VINs.

 

[wcorey]

It will not always be that way.

That is absolutely true. Right now though, they might as well be a monopoly, who else has a car with instant torque, 0-60 in 4sec +/- and can all but drive itself. I love my 2012 Prius Plugin Advanced but if I wanted Lane Keep I would have had to give up radar assisted cruise control. If I want 40 mpg/e I'd have to have bought a new one every year. Tesla, for those paying for FSD will have their car, their 2018 car, be capable of driving them home if they fall asleep from sun glare, too much partying, etc. It may not be FSD now but it will be..that same car. Yeah, I've been buying cars since 72, this is the first one where "every software upgrade I get a new car". Tesla very much is a monopoly...for the time being. And yes, some people are having atrocious purchasing experiences, but 1 out of 1,000? Tesla will have deja vu on this when the bubble of SR batteries is being addressed, hopefully they will learn from the LR experience. Consider this the pre-reveal purchasers bought before Tesla even had the production facilities ready. Those purchasers were waiting over a year (or was it 2 1/2) before production even started. That's huge. In comparison, someone can order now, or end of Sept or Oct and get their car before year end. They still get $7500, didn't have to pay $1,000 up front. Didn't have to wait 2 3/4 yrs for a car. Being the first isn't always fun...but it is the first.

 

[UtahIsRad]

I also want to add that not everyone, or even most people, who are calling Tesla about their orders are mistreating the reps or trying to circumvent the system.

Some of us have never called them, have gotten no status for months or over a year and just want to make sure there isn't a problem with our order holding things up.

I did not get poor service from the rep I spoke to but they were also completely devoid of helpful information.

When I ordered my last BMW I got information every step of the way even including what step in the factory it was at, which port the car was being loaded to, what ship it was on, when it arrived at port, when it was being checked in at the dealer, etc.

That's how companies that have been doing this for a while who know they have discriminating customers do this kind of thing.

100% agree. I finally called the main 888+ line and spoke with a rep. He was polite but had no information to help me feel confident that my order would be handled in the order it was received. I ended by telling him “thanks for your time and your continued patience dealing with anxious customers.”

My last car was a BMW and it was exactly as voip-ninja described. My wife’s Audi was the same. I thought scaling up production and a vertically integrated battery factory was gonna be their struggle, not customer service and communications.

 

[moridin2002]

No, you are dead wrong about that. Their marching orders come from the top, Musk->EVPs->VPs-> mgrs-> phone answerers. We don't hire/fire them.

Basically from what you're saying, Tesla has no accountability to its customers?

So, for sake of argument, lets say 10,000 of us started the process to cancel orders due to Tesla's poor handling of customer orders and transparency in the process, you don't think that wouldn't have any effect? What about 5k people, or 20k?

 

[EVnut]

Starting to get really annoyed with Tesla though. Have the exact same configuration, but reserved on 3/31/16 (#11 or so in line), am in northern CA about 100 miles from the factory, and ordered the car on 5/31/2018.

I hear you! I'm in Davis, CA, 74 miles from the factory. You ordered a month before I did... I wasn't invited until the 27th for AWD.

Fear not. I suspect they are getting through the list pretty fast and AWD seems to be the 2nd highest priority. I do recall reading that they prioritize people who don't trade in (they don't want the hassle) and those paying cash (for obvious reasons).

They may be getting through the list fast. But the list doesn't seem to include some of us.

Yes you can read all sorts of guesses for the order of delivery. None of them have proven accurate. Not the colors, not the wheels, not the interior, not the financing, not the change button, not the reserve or order date, not the location. Every one of those has been considered the "deciding factor" at one time or another. I'm paying cash, and not trading in. And here I sit watching others take delivery of my car who've ordered much later, getting a loan, made changes...

I wouldn't worry about needing a badge on the car to prove that you have AWD. If the people manning the chain control checkpoint don't believe that you have AWD, just show them the car's registration. Living high up in the SoCal mountains, it's been my experience that the chain control folks assume that most Tesla vehicles have AWD

Ah, thanks for this. I've never had an AWD vehicle, but I've seen the chain guys looking for that "AWD" logo on certain cars that has that as an option.

Our Model 3 order remains stuck in the "drafting your contract" phase.

Same here. And I was in the group that fell through the cracks of when RWD orders were open. non-owners who reserved AFTER reveal were being allowed to order when those of us who stood in line before reveal still didn't have it open. Musk was alerted on Twitter, and fixed it the next day. Feels like some of us have again fallen through the cracks. Especially since the CS folks can't seem to figure out why the contract is taking two months to draft.

A couple of Tesla reps have confirmed over the phone that they've received all of the necessary information from us. We reserved on 2016/03/31 during the "reveal" and ordered late on 2018/06/27. The only thing that's slightly odd about our order (Blue AWD with 18" aero wheels, EAP, and FSD, with Cathedral City, CA as the delivery location) is that the car will be titled under our living trust, but from talking with a Tesla rep, it doesn't sound like this is a big deal.

Only difference in our cars is that I didn't order FSD. We're part of the blue AWD line-waiter club that's being ignored. After the fact, I decided that our car should be in the trust as well, but at this point I don't even want to try changing anything. :sigh:

Technically hybrid has ICE and Electric Motor, does that count?

I'm gonna say that a hybrid has an electric motor and an ICE engine.

I also want to add that not everyone, or even most people, who are calling Tesla about their orders are mistreating the reps or trying to circumvent the system.

Some of us have never called them, have gotten no status for months or over a year and just want to make sure there isn't a problem with our order holding things up.

Thank you for writing this, and clearing up some of the confusion and assumptions. Trying once to pleasantly ask for *any* status on a car that was reserved 2.5 years ago, and ordered two months ago is not a mistreatment or a subversion of the system in any sense.

 

[arcanexvi]

Ok. I know I'm going to take some heat for this because it isn't popular to say it but after reading through these threads and seeing the escalating anger I feel something needs to be said.

Those of you that have VIN assignments and have had cancelled/rescheduled/damaged cars have a leg to stand on. I feel for you and you're not who this is directed at.

People like myself (and I'm guilty too) are getting frustrated and angry that we don't have our cars/VINs yet... Our promised timelines are generally ranges that end in October at the earliest (mines sept-nov). They haven't missed my window. They haven't broken any promise to us (yet). When they miss that window, raise hell. They never promised they were going to deliver cars in the order that orders were placed. They're definitely prioritizing them but that list isn't a Bible. If they can fit 2 more cars onto a train/truck whatever they're going to do it. Those extra cars are probably going to later reservations and they get to be lucky. They're not going to leave empty spots on these trains/trucks just because it would make deliveries out of order. The Midwest in general looks to be getting neglected pretty badly but there isn't anything I can do about it (I'm in Chicago).

Inventory is also going to play a part. I have an inkling that 19" rims are in short supply as most of the deliveries being reported are Aero. I'm just split balling though. Anyway, just figured it had to be said.

Flame away

For the record, I'm still awaiting a vin and I'll list my config and dates for those that care

Blue Exterior AWD
White White interior
19" Sport Wheels
EAP

Reservation pre-reveal online 3/31/16
Invite to config 4/18/18 Deferred for AWD
Config AWD 6/26/18 as soon as it was available
Reconfig to white interior 7/23/18

No movement/contact and edit button still stands.

 

[Goatdan]

I get what you’re saying and as someone who has worked in making both automobiles and now 15 years of consumer products, I totally understand how a few pieces of a product can totally mess up your production schedule. That said, in this case they are making 1 single model of car. The difference car to car is literally close to 2% of the component list. If they didn’t have AWD motors, controllers, or wire harnesses, the production line would be at a stand still. It’s not, they are still building at good volumes, they just have 4 months worth of orders to fill and frustrated customers to make happy. I wasn’t frustrated till I started hearing that people who called, for no reason but to waste time of the IDA’s, were getting matched to cars, that sounds like working with a sales guy at a dealer. It encourages excessive call volume and damages the credibility of the reservation system. I worry for the company almost more than the car right now due to what I see as rogue entities within the company misbehaving. After all, if Tesla fails and gets bought by another company the whole vision will likely get seriously watered down and who knows where early adopters will land.

The thing is that it seems like RWD was made in numbers expecting a big surge of orders for that, and then they opened up AWD and here we all are waiting for that instead. This left them with less than anticipated AWD parts, so they have produced and filled a significant portion of the RWD orders (and I was told by the "local" Tesla delivery room (an hour and a half way) that they were seeing multiple people without reservations ordering RWD and getting it within a few weeks.

On the call, they said that they were having about half of the orders of AWD cars. Based on the VINs we have seen registered, with only about 25% being RWD since the announcement, we can make some vague assumptions about how much longer the AWD line is. Considering how few AWD deliveries were happening, I do think this was a surprise to them, and then have been ramping up AWD part procurement because of that.

It might also be worth pointing out that *perhaps* they purposely pushed the majority of AWD until Q3 to not have to purchase the parts, saving that money. Then, they can build and sell cars containing those parts in Q3, in which case we should see a significant increase of those sales sooner than later.

Furthermore, one of the people really diving into the numbers guessed that the sheets were something like about 9-10% of pre-orders, with the data changing now to 1.5-2.5%. Assuming that's the case, looking at the AWD numbers to be delivered, the line shouldn't be *that* long. Considering that the trend line of how many people are waiting versus how many have ordered is starting to come together now, probably by about 5% a week, that should bode well for deliveries.

Yeah, I want my car before I have to drive my trade-in down to Tesla by doing the Fred Flintstone thing through the floor, but I do feel like they are doing what they can.

Personally I think the badge is a gimmicky way of saying "I spent more money to get a faster car"... I was kind of happy with Tesla's initial decision to ditch the badging on the 3 completely.

On a previous vehicle we owned (Hyundai Tucson), my wife got rear-ended and we needed to replace the hatch. For whatever reason, the auto-shop never replaced the words and instead just gave us a bag with it in and told me to come back and they would put them on. I never did. It looked so much cleaner without the wording on it.

I would rather mine come with the Dual Motor badge I can stick in the frunk.

So if one were to order today, a RWD model in the right configuration might arrive faster than a similarly specced AWD? Asking for a friend.

I think it could, although the backlog seems to have abated recently.

 

[Runt8]

Ok. I know I'm going to take some heat for this because it isn't popular to say it but after reading through these threads and seeing the escalating anger I feel something needs to be said.

Those of you that have VIN assignments and have had cancelled/rescheduled/damaged cars have a leg to stand on. I feel for you and you're not who this is directed at.

People like myself (and I'm guilty too) are getting frustrated and angry that we don't have our cars/VINs yet... Our promised timelines are generally ranges that end in October at the earliest (mines sept-nov). They haven't missed my window. They haven't broken any promise to us (yet). When they miss that window, raise hell. They never promised they were going to deliver cars in the order that orders were placed. They're definitely prioritizing them but that list isn't a Bible. If they can fit 2 more cars onto a train/truck whatever they're going to do it. Those extra cars are probably going to later reservations and they get to be lucky. They're not going to leave empty spots on these trains/trucks just because it would make deliveries out of order. The Midwest in general looks to be getting neglected pretty badly but there isn't anything I can do about it (I'm in Chicago).

Inventory is also going to play a part. I have an inkling that 19" rims are in short supply as most of the deliveries being reported are Aero. I'm just split balling though. Anyway, just figured it had to be said.

Flame away

For the record, I'm still awaiting a vin and I'll list my config and dates for those that care

Blue Exterior AWD
White White interior
19" Sport Wheels
EAP

Reservation pre-reveal online 3/31/16
Invite to config 4/18/18 Deferred for AWD
Config AWD 6/26/18 as soon as it was available
Reconfig to white interior 7/23/18

No movement/contact and edit button still stands.

I generally agree with the sentiment, but to be fair my promised timeline has been moved back 4 times. Hopefully that's over with and in 10 days I will be within the timeline for the first time ever!

 

[moridin2002]

Ok. I know I'm going to take some heat for this because it isn't popular to say it but after reading through these threads and seeing the escalating anger I feel something needs to be said.

Those of you that have VIN assignments and have had cancelled/rescheduled/damaged cars have a leg to stand on. I feel for you and you're not who this is directed at.

People like myself (and I'm guilty too) are getting frustrated and angry that we don't have our cars/VINs yet... Our promised timelines are generally ranges that end in October at the earliest (mines sept-nov). They haven't missed my window. They haven't broken any promise to us (yet). When they miss that window, raise hell. They never promised they were going to deliver cars in the order that orders were placed. They're definitely prioritizing them but that list isn't a Bible. If they can fit 2 more cars onto a train/truck whatever they're going to do it. Those extra cars are probably going to later reservations and they get to be lucky. They're not going to leave empty spots on these trains/trucks just because it would make deliveries out of order. The Midwest in general looks to be getting neglected pretty badly but there isn't anything I can do about it (I'm in Chicago).

Inventory is also going to play a part. I have an inkling that 19" rims are in short supply as most of the deliveries being reported are Aero. I'm just split balling though. Anyway, just figured it had to be said.

Flame away

For the record, I'm still awaiting a vin and I'll list my config and dates for those that care

Blue Exterior AWD
White White interior
19" Sport Wheels
EAP

Reservation pre-reveal online 3/31/16
Invite to config 4/18/18 Deferred for AWD
Config AWD 6/26/18 as soon as it was available
Reconfig to white interior 7/23/18

No movement/contact and edit button still stands.

For me, its not that they have or have not missed the window they quote, its that Tesla is sitting on my reservation and order dollars longer than people that have come in later and are getting their identically configured vehicles first. And, they are being delivered in locations that take longer and cost more money to get the vehicles to. All Tesla would need to do to satisfy me as a customer would be to explain at least some sort of rationale as to why that's happening.

 

[MountainRatMat]

Basically from what you're saying, Tesla has no accountability to its customers?

So, for sake of argument, lets say 10,000 of us started the process to cancel orders due to Tesla's poor handling of customer orders and transparency in the process, you don't think that wouldn't have any effect? What about 5k people, or 20k?

It would help Tesla immensely because they would keep the $2500 non-refundable deposit and they could sell the car to someone else. The exact opposite effect of what you are implying.

 

[shanejackson]

Haven't received my call yet but starting to line up the electrician for home charging. Tesla recommended electrician (in the DC metropolitan area) wants to charge over $1,000 for installing a NEMA 14-50 literally right next to my electrical panel. Luckily, I just got a second quote for $600.

DIY and save big $$

 

[Svetlin]

Hi all,

Just writing to share my status. Reserved in-store 3/31 (didn't wait in line). Ordered non-P AWD, white, no AP on 6/30/18. Just received the first communication since then, from the Inside Delivery Team. They say "your Model 3 is finishing with production and will soon be ready to be scheduled for delivery!"

The initial estimate that still shows in my account is September - November. I take this to mean that I might actually get the car in September. I'm in the northeast.

 

[Swampgator]

Ok. I know I'm going to take some heat for this because it isn't popular to say it but after reading through these threads and seeing the escalating anger I feel something needs to be said.

Those of you that have VIN assignments and have had cancelled/rescheduled/damaged cars have a leg to stand on. I feel for you and you're not who this is directed at.

People like myself (and I'm guilty too) are getting frustrated and angry that we don't have our cars/VINs yet... Our promised timelines are generally ranges that end in October at the earliest (mines sept-nov). They haven't missed my window. They haven't broken any promise to us (yet). When they miss that window, raise hell. They never promised they were going to deliver cars in the order that orders were placed. They're definitely prioritizing them but that list isn't a Bible. If they can fit 2 more cars onto a train/truck whatever they're going to do it. Those extra cars are probably going to later reservations and they get to be lucky. They're not going to leave empty spots on these trains/trucks just because it would make deliveries out of order. The Midwest in general looks to be getting neglected pretty badly but there isn't anything I can do about it (I'm in Chicago).

Inventory is also going to play a part. I have an inkling that 19" rims are in short supply as most of the deliveries being reported are Aero. I'm just split balling though. Anyway, just figured it had to be said.

Flame away

For the record, I'm still awaiting a vin and I'll list my config and dates for those that care

Blue Exterior AWD
White White interior
19" Sport Wheels
EAP

Reservation pre-reveal online 3/31/16
Invite to config 4/18/18 Deferred for AWD
Config AWD 6/26/18 as soon as it was available
Reconfig to white interior 7/23/18

No movement/contact and edit button still stands.

Great post. As I have posted several times earlier, white interior, AWD, and 19" rims has been on hold at Tesla, for whatever reason. On Troys spreadsheet NOBODY with that combo has received a VIN. SO you and me can feel OK that we individually have not been passed over. It's a config issue.

 

[shanejackson]

The problem is they have too many RWD cars sitting around and no room for the AWD cars.... So until they sell the RWD, the AWD cant be shipped in... or they hope we switch from AWD to RWD so they can move unsold inventory...

Well thats my conspiracy theory...

 

[wcorey]

Basically from what you're saying, Tesla has no accountability to its customers?

So, for sake of argument, lets say 10,000 of us started the process to cancel orders due to Tesla's poor handling of customer orders and transparency in the process, you don't think that wouldn't have any effect? What about 5k people, or 20k?

That is not what I said but since you brought it up, no they don't. They have a fiduciary responsibility to their share holders via their Board of Directors. That's it.