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Bummer - Three weeks on train?

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Just received call from Del. Exp. Specialist who said Tesla recently switched to using train service to get cars from California to Tennessee via a hub in Birmingham. This is better for the car because it is enclosed but adds "about three weeks" to the transit time and also the car is not visible for tracking during that period. WTF? Is the train hub in Birmingham England??

Oh well. Car is in production now and will arrive "late August". For those who are interested the order was place late June.
 
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I got similar information from my DS as well. 3 weeks to NJ, and then a few more days to get it to local.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, FWIW, my car was ordered 6/28, went into production earlier this week, but the website still has a delivery estimate of late july...
 
One way to look at it: "Tesla - you get what you wait for"

Trains may be a better way to bulk ship long distance but now's not the time to start pinching pennies a few weeks before the Model X debut. Does that mean east coast Model X orders will be nearly a month later than west coast? I am on east coast and at my local tesla store, they have had numerous cars on the lot as early as first week of July which were built in June. I can't see that all east coast destinations are 30+ days.
 
They actually have been doing this all along, they just switched to trucking them directly to reach end of quarter numbers. My car, which was delivered on May 28th of this year, was shipped by train to Birmingham and then trucked to the Marietta, GA location. Took three weeks from the end of production to my delivery.
 
The freight rail lines in the center of the country are absolutely choked with oil tanker cars. It's causing messes all over. (Not just from the spills).

Apparently volumes are starting to decline due to the low price of oil making some Bakken operations unprofitable, so maybe it'll start getting better soon.
 
Trains may be a better way to bulk ship long distance but now's not the time to start pinching pennies a few weeks before the Model X debut. Does that mean east coast Model X orders will be nearly a month later than west coast?

Model Xs were going to be mostly west coast vehicles this year anyway, and I know you know that. It's what they did with the Model S for very good reasons, which I also know you know about.
 
Just received call from Del. Exp. Specialist who said Tesla recently switched to using train service to get cars from California to Tennessee via a hub in Birmingham. This is better for the car because it is enclosed but adds "about three weeks" to the transit time and also the car is not visible for tracking during that period. WTF? Is the train hub in Birmingham England??

Oh well. Car is in production now and will arrive "late August". For those who are interested the order was place late June.

I'm in the same "boat" - car being built now but won't get to east coast until "late August" according to my DS. If I picked it up in CA probably next week...

Patience is virtue...as i watch my pot boil on My Tesla.
 
My 85D entered production 6/16, completed 6/29, and shipped via train and truck to Birmingham AL then Charlotte NC. It arrived in Charlotte 7/16 and I'll take delivery tomorrow. The DS told me shipping would now take 2-3 weeks with the "new" train delivery process. I asked how it could take that long for a train to go from CA to AL and he said they make lots of stops. Oh well.
If only I could have ordered my Tesla through Amazon, I would've had it in 2 days with Prime!
 
Model Xs were going to be mostly west coast vehicles this year anyway, and I know you know that. It's what they did with the Model S for very good reasons, which I also know you know about.

Everyone nationally could order an MX reservation after they opened the website in Feb 2012. Will they not build the east coast buyers' cars who ordered early on favor of all west coast? They should build the first few thousand for the first ones who ordered. We know that is not how things are done but they should treat order of orders literally. However, I do believe keeping the very early fleet of first hundred or so close to home for early feedback. The MX is a large Model S so it should have limited problems. Many RHD buyers are aware of order re-ordering,
 
Wow, be happy you're not European then, you see "ordered" then "being built" and then 2+ months of "being delivered" with no further updates available... Oh and communication is non-existent.

Good car, bad service is my experience to date.
 
Everyone nationally could order an MX reservation after they opened the website in Feb 2012. Will they not build the east coast buyers' cars who ordered early on favor of all west coast? They should build the first few thousand for the first ones who ordered. We know that is not how things are done but they should treat order of orders literally. However, I do believe keeping the very early fleet of first hundred or so close to home for early feedback. The MX is a large Model S so it should have limited problems. Many RHD buyers are aware of order re-ordering,

We all know how Tesla has batched things in the past for expediency and other reasons. A new model - yeah, I'd think the first batch would be west coast because that just makes sense on so many levels. How many in that first batch/batches - I've not a clue.

We also now know that the MX is NOT a 'large Model S'. Per Friday's press conference, Model X only contains 30% part commonality with the Model S despite initial wants and intentions.
 
I gave a real nasty review of the 34 day shipping time (and bungled missed delivery dates) on my "delivery survey". Some manager called me after that and I pointed out:

1) That since I just spent $130k on a car you should just ask me if I wanted to upgrade shipping for another $1K and I would say YES! I know it's summer in California all year long, but here in Upstate NY we've got 3 months of summer and I'd pay to enjoy more of it in my nice new car. I'm sure people in my region feel the same way.

2) Overpromising and under-delivering on expectations is not how they should roll. If they told me up front a 6 week shipping time... maybe I'd be more understanding.

Hopefully I helped future East Coast customers.
 
1) That since I just spent $130k on a car you should just ask me if I wanted to upgrade shipping for another $1K and I would say YES! I know it's summer in California all year long, but here in Upstate NY we've got 3 months of summer and I'd pay to enjoy more of it in my nice new car. I'm sure people in my region feel the same way.

That's awesome, but nobody can read your mind. The person making 'that' decision may have simply just never thought about it in those terms. They may have an entirely different perspective - something like: some people may have said that was being 'nickel and dimed' and that someone paying 130kf or a car would expect Tesla to absorb the cost. Always remember, not everyone thinks as you do about life. Perhaps your 'real nasty review' and not being offered this option will have it becoming an option in the future....however, it would add complexity to logistics, something that Tesla seems to always be simplifying.

2) Overpromising and under-delivering on expectations is not how they should roll. If they told me up front a 6 week shipping time... maybe I'd be more understanding.

The thought has likely not occurred to you that Tesla never had the intention to do such a thing (over-promise and under-deliver). Sometimes poo (unexpected) happens. See, how perspective can make all the world of difference?
 
This is an "internet forum" where everyone can share their experiences with delivery. So I shared mine. I was not alone btw. I'm glad you had a good buying experience. I didn't.

You are also entitled to your opinion, but when you preface statements with "We all know"... then you must "know" that's not possible for us all to know.
 
Delivering by train is, overall, a sound strategy. The break point from an economic perspective on truck v. rail is usually about 750 miles, and about 1,000 miles rail reigns supreme. Trucking cars in open trailers has probably increased the number of car damaged in transit -- a figure Tesla obviously wants to minimize.

There are, however, obvious downsides to rail:

1. Transit times can be long and inconsistent. The rail route from the Union Pacific-served Fremont factory to CSX's Automotive Distribution Center in Birmingham, AL is roughly 3,000 miles. Interchange locations between CSX and UP include, among others, Chicago and Memphis, but neither route is very direct. New Orleans is another possible spot.

2. Automotive trains are not particularly high priority on most railroads. Passenger traffic (if applicable), followed by premium intermodal, and then everybody else is usually how it goes. Regardless, trains are rarely on a tight schedule.

3. Contamination with metal dust. Even in the special railcars used to transport automobiles, fine particulate metals can hit the cars (usually metal shavings from wheels, etc.). The detailer doing the prep work at the Tesla Service Center may not realize this and end up swirling the paint -- something Tesla seems to do anyway.

For those who are interested here are what the routes look like:

rail-route.jpg


Finally, here's a satellite image of the CSX distribution center.

CSX distribution center.jpg
 
Just received call from Del. Exp. Specialist who said Tesla recently switched to using train service to get cars from California to Tennessee via a hub in Birmingham. This is better for the car because it is enclosed but adds "about three weeks" to the transit time and also the car is not visible for tracking during that period. WTF? Is the train hub in Birmingham England??

Oh well. Car is in production now and will arrive "late August". For those who are interested the order was place late June.

My DS(very nice and immediately responsive) just wrote me today, (in response to a separate question regarding the recent change in 0-60 times and HP for the 85D on the website)
"The good news though your Model S has completed production and is in transit to our rail yard location. Your Model S will be transported across the United State by rail to ensure its safety. Once your Model S arrives in New Jersey it will be transported to our Tyco Road(Tyson's Corner/ NOVA) Rail transportation usually takes about 21 days, once your Model S arrives in New Jersey, I will coordinate with our logistics team and we will schedule your delivery date at our Tyco Road location."
so same here, three weeks, 21 days, order confirmed on 6/27, VIN 95,293. However my delivery reads for August, and New Jersey as the hub. From Jersey hub by truck.
I figure I've waited three years to buy a Tesla, I can wait a few more weeks...although this feels like torture...
 
We also now know that the MX is NOT a 'large Model S'. Per Friday's press conference, Model X only contains 30% part commonality with the Model S despite initial wants and intentions.

What would be interesting is how many of those Model X parts end up becoming Model S parts in a few months... Hopefully some nice interior refinements will make their way from the Model X to the Model S with perhaps even a trim matching center console :)