Delayed Sigs - what could Tesla do to make it up to you?

[equinox1981]

TMC,

It saddens me to hear about the early supporters / Signature reservation holders feeling (understandably) disappointed in Tesla for their out-of-order delivery sequence.

At the same time, delaying production to satisfy a minority of customers would be a TERRIBLE decision at this crucial stage of Tesla's development, IMHO.

So it got me wondering: Disappointed Sig owners, do you think there's something Tesla could do, aside from delivering in sequence, that would make it up to you?

Ideally, such a thing would not be a margin-reducing action (e.g. a free $2k PEM upgrade or something) as we all want Tesla to hit its numbers next year and start building up an earnings base to stay solvent. So that would make me think some sort of special event for Sigs (e.g. lunch with the executive team?), or prioritized supercharger access, or maybe an autographed item by Elon, etc... would anything like that get you guys back on board, or is it too late?

 

[brianman]

If you're looking for something relatively cheap, a simple example of a sweetener:

An exclusive Model S RC car in my color with a tiny VIN plate inside matching my vehicle.

 

[elecblue]

If you're looking for something relatively cheap, a simple example of a sweetener:

An exclusive Model S RC car in my color with a tiny VIN plate inside matching my vehicle.

And of course it should be powered by Li batteries and not nitro RC car fuel!

 

[dsm363]

Maybe a high level exec calling those 28 and trying to explain what happened even if that means they promise to keep reason to themselves. Problem is how you define who deserves compensation after those 28 people.

 

[STxTesla]

Stock options in TSLA would do the trick.

 

[NigelM]

Problem is how you define who deserves compensation after those 28 people.

Exactly. My car failed burn in and ended up being delivered way out of sequence and 5 weeks after I paid for it (sorry, I know I've written that before). Tesla apologized to me and I'm happy, I don't expect anything more; but someone else in that situation might feel they also deserve any sort of compensation that's being handed out. Trying to compensate a few can upset plenty of others, it's a fine line to walk.

 

[AnOutsider]

Don't walk the line then. Offer more to all the sigs than what has been so far (which, I think most would agree isn't really much).

 

[neroden]

I'd suggest that Tesla offer an apology letter personally signed by Elon Musk.

Costs them nothing. Probably will have future monetary value. :wink:

 

[NigelM]

Don't walk the line then. Offer more to all the sigs than what has been so far (which, I think most would agree isn't really much).

I'm not going to disagree with that.

 

[STxTesla]

I don't know....Tesla has done their best with the way things have come about. I would think that an apologetic letter would not be appropriate because that is not necessarily something that you would want to show to people. Maybe a letter of thanks along with a promise for a picture with Elon and his autograph would be nice. They invited Sigs to the NYC event to announce the Car of the Year award with Motor Trend. That exclusive invite was pretty cool...although I didn't get to go. Invites to future gatherings would be a nice gesture. A party with all Sig owners would be another way to show thanks...I would try to get away from work for that. Getting an autographed picture with Elon would be great.

 

[Beavis]

Exactly. My car failed burn in and ended up being delivered way out of sequence and 5 weeks after I paid for it (sorry, I know I've written that before). Tesla apologized to me and I'm happy, I don't expect anything more; but someone else in that situation might feel they also deserve any sort of compensation that's being handed out. Trying to compensate a few can upset plenty of others, it's a fine line to walk.

You're right that it's a fine line. I don't expect Tesla to do anything because of the storm it would create, but for the sake of discussion I will try to define where the line is. In your case, the car seems to have gone into production relatively in sequence. The 28 did not go into production in sequence. In your case, stuff happens. With the 28, they never intended to produce them in sequence. I think that's where the line is.

So, what would I say to those who argue that the 28 were delayed for parts issues, etc...? Stuff happens, right? I would reply that I, and presumably others, watched cars with our configurations be produced and delivered to people behind us in line. So I don't think the 28 is a case of stuff happens. I believe that they made a deliberate decision to delay 28 people a lot instead of delaying more people just a little. They did it for a reason. I don't know what that reason is. It may have been the right thing to do to maximize production but that doesn't make it easier to understand if you're one of the 28.

That's where the fine line should be.

 

[AnOutsider]

I don't know....Tesla has done their best with the way things have come about. I would think that an apologetic letter would not be appropriate because that is not necessarily something that you would want to show to people. Maybe a letter of thanks along with a promise for a picture with Elon and his autograph would be nice. They invited Sigs to the NYC event to announce the Car of the Year award with Motor Trend. That exclusive invite was pretty cool...although I didn't get to go. Invites to future gatherings would be a nice gesture. A party with all Sig owners would be another way to show thanks...I would try to get away from work for that. Getting an autographed picture with Elon would be great.

Didn't non-sigs get invited to that event too? Really, this is sort of rehashing the other thread about the sig premium, but at the end of the day, we paid more, and essentially got less (IMO anyway).

 

[timdorr]

If you're looking for something relatively cheap, a simple example of a sweetener:

An exclusive Model S RC car in my color with a tiny VIN plate inside matching my vehicle.

So, I'm assuming I'm not the only one that got a Roadster RC car from Tesla a couple years ago?

 

[Doug_G]

They announced the Roadster 2.5 on the very day my 2.0 was delivered. Without me even mentioning to them that this might be a bit disappointing, they called and told me they were extending my warranty for a year.

 

[walla2]

So, I'm assuming I'm not the only one that got a Roadster RC car from Tesla a couple years ago?

My kid has crashed that thing a million times and its still going. He loves the Roadster RC car. I also got a hat, a mug, and a thermos type cup at some point. This was for my production reservation from 2010 though.

 

[stevezzzz]

So, I'm assuming I'm not the only one that got a Roadster RC car from Tesla a couple years ago?

Through some administrative oversight, shortly after my R was delivered I received two RC Roadsters in the mail...:biggrin:

They made great Christmas presents.

 

[brianman]

So, I'm assuming I'm not the only one that got a Roadster RC car from Tesla a couple years ago?

There was a cut-off for when those were offered. I didn't make that cut-off.

Also, I want a Model S RC not a Roadster one.

 

[Beavis]

I would rather have dinner with Elon at one of his brother's restaurants in Boulder or downtown Denver after he delivers my car. Oh, and he should create a Model S playlist for me to play on our way to dinner. You know what else would be nice? If Elon would detail my car as I drink a beer on the front porch.

 

[brianman]

@kroneal - /chuckle

"My car was delivered WAY out of order, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt and a beer delivered by a supermodel."

... or Elon, if that's your thing.

 

[Smallfootprint]

I decided to drop all the bitterness after our DES did a great job and spent a while giving us the other side of the story about every ignored e-mail or phone call along the way. It's also really hard to stay disgruntled once you have the car.

However, I wouldn't object if Tesla decided to send us 1 free t-shirt or hat for each delivery window that was missed. And I'm not even counting the pre-MVPA delivery date, just the unsolicited delivery windows DES sent to us along the way. I would have rather not gotten any delivery window until they were reasonably confident they could make it rather than making plans only to have them dashed repeatedly.