Delivery estimates, factory queues, and how to not muck it up

[lep8]

I spoke with a rep at the SC and she kindly explained how the delivery queue works. I didn't see this elsewhere in the forum so I thought I'd share.

I live in San Francisco, CA and I'm waiting for my M3 LR that I ordered back in June, over 6 weeks ago. The original delivery estimate was 8-12 weeks, then 4-6, then 1-2, then I got the call, can I pick it up tomorrow? No, I wasn't available and I stupidly declined delivery and rescheduled. Then my delivery estimate went back to 4-6 weeks. Now it's 5-10 weeks and Tesla said on their investor call 7/26 that the global chip shortages will impact deliveries in Q3-Q4. Great.

I call the nice lady and say I want a Tesla now, give me anything you have, even if the color's s*** brown. She laughed and said they don't have any. She said people have been waiting since April 2021 for a car and still don't have delivery now and it's almost August. Then, the magic was revealed.

Tesla prioritizes delivery based on:

1) Order date
2) Date you completed the account paperwork (insurance etc.)
3) Your position in the queue for your specific build of the car (M3 SR vs M3 LR vs M3P etc.)

Here's the fun bit: when you decline delivery, you reset your position in the queue. If you've ordered a popular build, that can destroy your delivery time because it puts you back at the end of the queue. Factory production is apparently straight to consumer; these cars still sell like hot cakes despite all the build quality issues.

There's another magic trick: there's a "I'll take anything!" flag they can set on your account so that if someone declines delivery, even if it doesn't match your specs, they'll harvest lucky souls from that anything-goes queue and you could get a call.

I almost bought a Chevy Bolt EV until I drove it and realized it was as cheap a ride as everyone says. The suspension is awful.

I'm anxiously awaiting delivery so I can see the Tesla Model 3 wonderfully misaligned panels, doors that won't close, and scratched hubcaps for myself. Be nice, this isn't reddit.

 

[Coach Joe]

I spoke with a rep at the SC and she kindly explained how the delivery queue works. I didn't see this elsewhere in the forum so I thought I'd share.

I live in San Francisco, CA and I'm waiting for my M3 LR that I ordered back in June, over 6 weeks ago. The original delivery estimate was 8-12 weeks, then 4-6, then 1-2, then I got the call, can I pick it up tomorrow? No, I wasn't available and I stupidly declined delivery and rescheduled. Then my delivery estimate went back to 4-6 weeks. Now it's 5-10 weeks and Tesla said on their investor call 7/26 that the global chip shortages will impact deliveries in Q3-Q4. Great.

I call the nice lady and say I want a Tesla now, give me anything you have, even if the color's s*** brown. She laughed and said they don't have any. She said people have been waiting since April 2021 for a car and still don't have delivery now and it's almost August. Then, the magic was revealed.

Tesla prioritizes delivery based on:

1) Order date
2) Date you completed the account paperwork (insurance etc.)
3) Your position in the queue for your specific build of the car (M3 SR vs M3 LR vs M3P etc.)

Here's the fun bit: when you decline delivery, you reset your position in the queue. If you've ordered a popular build, that can destroy your delivery time because it puts you back at the end of the queue. Factory production is apparently straight to consumer; these cars still sell like hot cakes despite all the build quality issues.

There's another magic trick: there's a "I'll take anything!" flag they can set on your account so that if someone declines delivery, even if it doesn't match your specs, they'll harvest lucky souls from that anything-goes queue and you could get a call.

I almost bought a Chevy Bolt EV until I drove it and realized it was as cheap a ride as everyone says. The suspension is awful.

I'm anxiously awaiting delivery so I can see the Tesla Model 3 wonderfully misaligned panels, doors that won't close, and scratched hubcaps for myself. Be nice, this isn't reddit.

Appreciate all the info. I ordered 6/19, had all the bits and pieces done within a couple or 3 days. My delivery date has been bouncing all over the place; currently I can't load any specifics on the car from my account dashboard, sigh...

I had been told via text from the dealer where I test drove & ordered the car that the internal system showed VIN expected 3rd week of June, but nothing still. What I don't know and am worried about is if there was a queue burp or reset when the trade-in value quote for my aging Accord expired (good for a not helpful 30 days). The new quote was 1/3 of the 1st quote and it took me a day to find out I could later decide to not trade in the car so accepting the crappy quote didn't matter and go ahead & accept the new quote.

I pinged the dealership again and they said I should see my VIN the 1st 2 weeks of August, what looks like a 3 week slip. Argh!!! To boot, I'll be on vacation, 2.5 hrs away the last 2 weeks of August. I'm expecting Murphy's law to rule and have to do an extra round trip to come back to p/u the car and then decide if it would be best not to try to drive it to the rented beach house... more angst!

 

[rlich87]

Great information, thanks for your post.

 

[Doug03]

2) Date you completed the account paperwork (insurance etc.)

I've heard this. And I've seen some circumstantial evidence of it. After I ordered I held off applying for financing because I knew the delivery dates can go past the 60 days that the offer is good for. But I got an automated email that said "Prioritize your delivery by providing payment method details and completing your pre-delivery tasks." So I applied for financing and after approving the loan I had an EDD with an end date at 59 days. Convenient.

How are people filling out insurance when they don't have a VIN? And don't live in a state that allows you to provide current insurance. Are they providing current insurance anyway and changing it later? Or just waiting for the VIN and then trying to complete the insurance paperwork as soon as possible.

 

[collarp]

I've heard this. And I've seen some circumstantial evidence of it. After I ordered I held off applying for financing because I knew the delivery dates can go past the 60 days that the offer is good for. But I got an automated email that said "Prioritize your delivery by providing payment method details and completing your pre-delivery tasks." So I applied for financing and after approving the loan I had an EDD with an end date at 59 days. Convenient.

How are people filling out insurance when they don't have a VIN? And don't live in a state that allows you to provide current insurance. Are they providing current insurance anyway and changing it later? Or just waiting for the VIN and then trying to complete the insurance paperwork as soon as possible.

We ordered our Model Y back in early April (4/6) and still no sign of it (website doesn't even show delivery date range now). We have been waiting for the VIN so that we can complete the insurance paperwork as soon as possible but if anyone has ideas to speed up delivery of the car, please let us know. We are obviously pretty frustrated at this point and close to cancelling.

 

[CampbellM3]

I ordered a SR+ on 6/10. Completed insurance proof right away. Cash payment. EDD has been all over the place. Was pushed back to “9-13 weeks” as of last week, then jumped up to first week of August. For the last few days the account page won’t even load. Radio silence from the dealer despite multiple emails. By far the worst car buying experience I’ve ever had.

 

[Jcardini]

I ordered an M3LR on 6/15, was originally told August at the latest. I had July delivery dates for a bit and followed up with my sales rep and she let me. know that it looked like a July delivery was going to happen on her end... A week later I was told September and now on my Tesla account, my delivery dates have completely disappeared. Has anyone had a similar situation? Has anyone that placed an order in May/June received a car yet???

 

[Baytomax]

I ordered an M3LR on 6/15, was originally told August at the latest. I had July delivery dates for a bit and followed up with my sales rep and she let me. know that it looked like a July delivery was going to happen on her end... A week later I was told September and now on my Tesla account, my delivery dates have completely disappeared. Has anyone had a similar situation? Has anyone that placed an order in May/June received a car yet???

A ton of California people have orders in late May and early June and still don't have VINs.

It seems like the closer you are to Fremont factory the later in priority you are.

It has to do w/ Tesla prioritizing farther deliveries as delivery times for them in transit takes longer. Bay Area deliveries spend no time in transit so they wait until quarter end to push out your vehicle delivery.

 

[Jcardini]

A ton of California people have orders in late May and early June and still don't have VINs.

It seems like the closer you are to Fremont factory the later in priority you are.

It has to do w/ Tesla prioritizing farther deliveries as delivery times for them in transit takes longer. Bay Area deliveries spend no time in transit so they wait until quarter end to push out your vehicle delivery.

That is what I have heard. So my question really is am I even guaranteed a vehicle at the end of September (Quarter End)??

 

[coldthrone]

That is what I have heard. So my question really is am I even guaranteed a vehicle at the end of September (Quarter End)??

I believe its a significant lottery.

My friend ordered around 6/9 for an MYLR (lease) and while im not sure when he got his VIN, the car was sitting in his driveway 2 weeks ago. He lives about 10 minutes from the fremont factory.

 

[Coach Joe]

I submitted my order for an M3 LR on 6/19, finished the rest of the items on 6/20 or 21 (lease/trade-in/insurance card), got my on 8/4 and just got my schedule delivery notice with first available appointment on 8/16, the last day of the most recent window provided.

The delivery window stabilized about 10 weeks ago and started shrinking down to 7 days over the last 5 days. I'm located in PA near Philly.

 

[gcarcallas]

I’m disappointed, ordered my M3 in the first week of July, initially they said delivery date mid August to mid Sept, then Oct to Nov , now I check it is Nov to December … what is going on???

 

[mackie99]

Ordered my Model 3 LR last week and it shows September 12 - 30 for delivery.

 

[Mr. Cody]

Ordered my Model 3 LR last week and it shows September 12 - 30 for delivery.

I have the same. I hope we will not suffer the same fate as the others

 

[Mr. Cody]

I ordered an M3LR on 6/15, was originally told August at the latest. I had July delivery dates for a bit and followed up with my sales rep and she let me. know that it looked like a July delivery was going to happen on her end... A week later I was told September and now on my Tesla account, my delivery dates have completely disappeared. Has anyone had a similar situation? Has anyone that placed an order in May/June received a car yet???

Did your car get delivered?

 

[Coach Joe]

I’m disappointed, ordered my M3 in the first week of July, initially they said delivery date mid August to mid Sept, then Oct to Nov , now I check it is Nov to December … what is going on???

Bottom line is the anticipated delivery window on the website is not particularly reliable, especially when you are still more than ~3weeks out from delivery. If you did a test drive and have texted with the sales rep, best bet is to check with them to see what their system says for anticipated VIN (build) date. That + ship time to your location will be reasonably accurate (+/- a week or so).

 

[paul13099]

I too have been told that I am to get my VIN this week, but not sure what that means for pickup date. I will be on vacation for a couple weeks at end of August and am very worried that I will miss my pickup window. Does anyone know if the Tesla lot holds the vehicle for you or can you schedule your pickup date to whenever you want? Or do they tell you what day you have to be at the lot to pickup the car?

 

[zarralax]

Ordered my Model 3 LR last week and it shows September 12 - 30 for delivery.

I ordered my M3 SR+ on 8/13 and mine shows September 18 - 30 for delivery. I find it hard to believe.

 

[SteveISU]

I place my order on 7.21. EDD fluctuating is absolutely maddening. lol

 

[Parsa5]

I pulled an existing inventory model 3 in Marina Del Rey. I ordered Monday and went through some hell with Tesla on Tuesday, but I am picking it up Friday. I was given the option to get it tomorrow but it doesn't work for me. The trick is hunt the existing inventory(if you can) for your config.