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Tam
Well-Known Member
The process should be just like what you do with Roadster, Model S, Model X: if you want it pre-built, you can buy Inventory/CPO/used/orphaned Model 3 otherwise you go to the web and click your mouse on what you want such as color, range, sound...
JHWJR
Member
No one outside Tesla knows for certain, but there's no reason to think that it will be any different than with a Model S or Model X, so I'm with Tam.
No reason? How about making the car simple and easy to cheaply manufacture? Based on the drastic steps Tesla has taken so far to reduce price and increase manufacturability, the next step is to heavily neuter customization.
Latest rumour is Tesla is moving towards a more mainstream auto maker model. Most Model 3s will be prebuilt, but you will still be able to customize if you're willing to wait.
I give this rumour some credence, as it seems plausible to me. If you want to make a lot of cars fast, you make a lot of the same configuration cars.
I give this rumour some credence, as it seems plausible to me. If you want to make a lot of cars fast, you make a lot of the same configuration cars.
JeffK
Well-Known Member
As far as I know, modern manufacturing since Toyota in the 1980s favors small batch sizes and the ability to change quickly instead of manufacturing many vehicles in the exact same configuration ahead of time. One way to make this easier is to reduce the number of configurations, but this doesn't mean that they are necessarily going to pre-build them. With so many pre-orders I don't think they're going to have time to prebuild much of anything. They should be able to do batches quite easily though.
Garlan Garner
Banned
I'm "all buttons checked" - waiting for the dual motors. So.... either custom or prebuilt would be just fine for me as long as all options are on it.
Tam
Well-Known Member
It's better for a company production to just crank out whatever their own likes of paint color and options.
Famous quote from Henry Ford: "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black."
It's another department to worry about moving that big inventory sitting at a parking lot for customers to choose something that is close enough for their desires.
JHWJR
Member
OK. But your suggestion that customizations will be "neutered" is a guess. And the assumption that, as a result, they will simply be made and inventoried without the opportunity to select what options you want is a guess. And a guess on a guess is nothing more than a wild guess.
If all you need is a solid reason to think you might be wrong, here's one: Tesla, as much as it is anything else, is VERY much about moving inventory. And having cars around until they are chosen by a possible buyer builds inventory. Ask GM. On the contrary, Tesla is all about having a committed buyer almost before the raw materials are purchased. They are about making and selling the car before THEIR payments are due on the big blocks of aluminum from which the car is made.
Don't get me wrong. Musk is a genuine enthusiast for the product. Undoubtedly. But he is also an extraordinarily cagey manager of the money. He's a true businessman, not just a car guy. (He's also an engineer, a customer specialist, and a visionary.)
JHWJR
Member
You, sir, have a really good chance of choosing from "inventory," which, I believe, for a long time, will be composed of cars that someone else reneged on. That's great for you.
Garlan Garner
Banned
That's true, however I wouldn't think there would be any inventory for a long time with "all buttons checked" Model 3's sitting on the Tesla lot. I'm also hoping that I have the opportunity of the tax incentive...but....we'll see.
JeffK
Well-Known Member
I can't really see it truely have "far fewer" options I mean heated seats are heated seats you've got to have that as an option.
There's no P100D, no 100D, no 90D, there're no rear facing seats, I'm, personally, speculating on a chance it won't have EAP just FSD and the EAP features standard. I guess one could consider that far fewer... I'm not sure what else they could cut.
Maybe they won't have as many interior options. Not that I care about most of them
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From a manufacturing standpoint it'd be ideal for as many variants to be software controlled as possible. Understood there is a cost for some of these, but enables lower initial sale price to allow for customer to take advantage of incentives and opens up a massive aftermarket upgrade revenue stream for tsla via OTA software switches.
- cold weather (heating elements are cheap)
- Navigation (though this is pretty integral for charging planning but this can be a small $ added option
- Entertainment
- Enable slacker, pandora, Spotify, TuneIn
- Enable screen mirroring for smartphone
- Data plan
- Default to wifi based (home or tethered to wifi hot spot)
- Option for enabling LTE in varying usage plans including vehicle as a hot spot.
- Security (new revenue stream)
- Integrated cloud recording service for vehicle cameras as a built in dash cam - parked or in motion with set alerts.
- autopilot in subsets possible tiered increments:
- AEB standard (emergency brake)
- Parking assist ($1k) include sensors and parallel park assist and near ranger summon (50 ft)
- Traffic aware cruise control - TACC ($1k must have park asssit)
- Auto steer with lane change assist ($1k must have tacc)
- Full autonomous - ($5k must have auto steer)
- Lighting:
- premium interior lighting
- fog lights
- Range choices (simplified in mile/km units not kWh) with a single 70 kWh pack
- 220 miles
- 260 miles
- 300 miles
- Charging (superchargers)
- Peak and off peak rates to manage congestion
- High speed super charging option
- Roof
- All glass roof standard is really a pano roof in locked form
- Pano roof (sunroof) mechanism activated by software
- Color- likely 5 or less at launch
- Black
- White
- Silver
- Blue
- Red
- Interior - likely bundled including material, color, one color headliner, and modular trim
- Cloth - black only
- Synthetic leather (Black or White with only black headliner
- Trim standard neutral brushed or piano black with modular clip in overlays available by mail or at the sc
- Wheels/Tires
- 18 or 20 but may be effective to ship 80% with 18's and have inventory of 20's at service centers for quick swaps to fulfill build specs.
- Drive
- RWD
- Dual motor AWD
- Air suspension
- Sound studio
Jason Bourne
Member
Trevor at M3OC says he has a source, who has been reliably accurate so far, that tells him Tesla will be focused on an inventory model much more for the Model3 than they have been so far.
Tesla is moving to more of an inventory sales approach for Model 3
Tesla is moving to more of an inventory sales approach for Model 3
I don't really care either way, but I'm sure this irks some of the people who waited in line in anticipation of being able to use the tax credit (or at least a .
I'm a bit torn myself. I'm sure if I bought from inventory I would have one before many others and I'd definitely get the full tax credit. My wife also would be fine with the bare model (although I wouldn't be
). On the other hand, if I wait and get one customized I'm not likely to get much if any of the tax credit, mainly because there will already be a lot of people with a M3 at that point and I'm way out east.
I'm a bit torn myself. I'm sure if I bought from inventory I would have one before many others and I'd definitely get the full tax credit. My wife also would be fine with the bare model (although I wouldn't be
). On the other hand, if I wait and get one customized I'm not likely to get much if any of the tax credit, mainly because there will already be a lot of people with a M3 at that point and I'm way out east.
JeffK
Well-Known Member
100% positive there will be tax credits of some kind or another for the entire year of 2018 (unless they kill the EV tax credit.)I don't really care either way, but I'm sure this irks some of the people who waited in line in anticipation of being able to use the tax credit (or at least a .
I'm a bit torn myself. I'm sure if I bought from inventory I would have one before many others and I'd definitely get the full tax credit. My wife also would be fine with the bare model (although I wouldn't be
If the full credit ends in June then the half credit is through the remainder of the year.
It all depends where you are in the queue.
