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Do the details of Model 3 really matter?

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Looking back to why I paid up for my reservation a year ago, I just wanted Tesla to succeed in pulling off this amazing plan for mass-produced performance electric cars. The only way that was going to work, and others would follow, was if people like me bought one. Otherwise we'd be stuck with novelty cars like the quirky i3.

I won't be changing my mind based on whether the car has a range of 220 or 250 miles or has a HUD display. If this car fails, they'll all fail and the oil lobbyists will send us all back into buying gas-guzzlers and the likes of Audi and BMW will stop their electric development programmes. If it succeeds, we'll have lots of options to choose from in a few years time.

So, if like me, you've recently been over-concerning yourself with the details and starting to be tempted by other options teased by the competition, remember why you signed up in the first place and stick with it.
 
The problem with your argument is that I think many people signed up for different reasons. I signed up to give myself the opportunity to buy one if I decided it was worthwhile. I don't really care that much about the rEVolution, but I certainly don't oppose it either. I have no love for Big Oil, but with an EV, you're just beholden to another utility unless you have an awesome solar system.

I enjoy ICE cars and probably always will, but I also do believe that EVs are the future - they're far quieter/refined, enable you to leave your home with full range on a daily basis, can be fun to drive, etc. That said, if the Model 3 is a subpar product, or if my needs change, I'm not going to stick with it just to make a point or further the "cause".
 
Looking back to why I paid up for my reservation a year ago, I just wanted Tesla to succeed in pulling off this amazing plan for mass-produced performance electric cars. The only way that was going to work, and others would follow, was if people like me bought one. Otherwise we'd be stuck with novelty cars like the quirky i3.

I won't be changing my mind based on whether the car has a range of 220 or 250 miles or has a HUD display. If this car fails, they'll all fail and the oil lobbyists will send us all back into buying gas-guzzlers and the likes of Audi and BMW will stop their electric development programmes. If it succeeds, we'll have lots of options to choose from in a few years time.

So, if like me, you've recently been over-concerning yourself with the details and starting to be tempted by other options teased by the competition, remember why you signed up in the first place and stick with it.

I too put in a reservation as assistance to a worthy idea. If somehow things go bad, one grand doesn't cover a dinner for 8 people. We will have sandwiches that night.

But the only thing that interests me in EVs is the superior drivetrain. It is the next step in automotive technology nearly as significant as the electric starter was. BTW- it was the electric starter that killed the electric car, not the EV1. Prior to that, EVs outsold ICE vehicles.
 
I for one am sticking with Tesla until the final version of the car is produced. None of the current speculation has me ready to go to someone else for a solution. The problem i have is i don't need, and am not looking for a HUD but i to want a proper in front of the eyes speedometer. I had a Toyota Yaris car rental back when they first came out and i could not stand looking over to the center of the dash to see my speed.

Now will that change my mind on the Model 3? probably not, but seeing a dash without a proper speedometer takes away a little of my enthusiasm. I might have to wait until i see a model 3 in person before purchasing one, and yes i am willing to spend $1000 just to fly down to the factory to see it and get right back on that plane home. That is how much i hated having the speedometer off center in the Yaris, and that is my level of commitment to Tesla. I put $1000 on a car i had not seen, and I am willing to spend $ 1,000 just to make sure it is what I want.

Some folks will call me silly for being stuck on the position of the dash, but each person has something as important to them as the dash is to me. Range, Options Pricing, interior size, each of us have our hot button issues.

I just wish they would have scheduled Part 3 at the end of March. July is not that far away, but I am tired of waiting to find out about a car that was supposedly Pencils down designed 8 months ago and as you said, in the mean time speculation runs wild.
 
I reserved before the reveal and have been waiting with baited breath ever since. I'm very excited to get my Model3 asap. But there are a few possibilities that could make me decide to not get a 3, and instead a (probably CPO) Model S. A few examples would be if the interior design is too much like a 'space ship' for me. I think it's unlikely, and stretching to the pricerange of a (probably CPO) Model S would not be ideal.
 
Obviously, the details will matter. When you have a few hundred thousand persons betting $1,000.00 that the Model 3 will be what they want, you know details matter to someone. As already pointed out, different folks made their reservations for different reasons. One can be all but certain that ever reservation holder will be disappointed about some aspect of the car and that every aspect of the car (other than an electric motor) will have its detractors.

If there is anything about the Model 3 that really doesn't matter, it's all the continued, pure speculation that's based on little more than advanced augury. Some folks, like OP, are happy to wait and see what happens and have little expectation as to what will come. However, I've also seen others that unrealistically hope for a $35k, mini Model S with better features. Of course, most folks are in between.
 
The details of the Toyota Yaris do not matter. The details of a Nissan VERSA do not matter. The details of a Kia Rio do not matter. The details of a Ford Fiesta do not matter. The details of a Volkswagen Polo do not matter. The details of a Hyundai Accent do not matter.

The details of the Tesla Model ≡ absolutely matter.
 
Well, I can see the OP's perspective and I commend it, but as others have said, some of us had different objectives. In my own case, my current Model S lease expires in the fall of 2018, and I hope that by then the Model 3 will be in real production mode and might be a viable alternative for my choice of what to do. We will have had many people get to drive one and write up their experiences, and a a solid basis to decide if it is a good idea to turn my reservation into a purchase. As a retired person, I am quite open to solutions that are more economical than the Model S and am looking forward to the opportunity to look seriously at the Model 3, but also at the competition that will be in play then -- the Bolt and whatever else has come along. And heretical or not, maybe even consider going back to an ICE, believe it or not. Electricity is so expensive where I live that there is essentially no economic incentive to use an EV, or at least little enough that someone on a modest budget has to think about it.
So yes, to me the details will matter. I hope the Model 3 will be a practical, well-made car, and compare favorably to the competition in comfort, performance, features, and convenience.
 
So, if like me, you've recently been over-concerning yourself with the details and starting to be tempted by other options teased by the competition, remember why you signed up in the first place and stick with it.

You put a lot of wear and tear on your knees, being on them so much......

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From what I've seen/heard so far, none of them are a deal-killer for me. 0-60 in under 6 is good. Styling is good (even the unconventional nose has grown on me). I'm not exactly thrilled about the notchback configuration, but I'll live with it. Price between $35,000-50,000 is within the range of affordability for me. Even if production gets pushed out a few months or up to a year, I can live with my current car for 2-3 more years if necessary.
 
For myself, I'm already very happy with my Model S, but its technology is already outdated. If the Model 3 is what I want, I'll get it, but details like the instrument panel most definitely do matter to me. If I dislike the Model 3 I'll cancel my reservation and wait to see what else comes out, or eventually break down and get a new Model S. I'll certainly never go back to gas. I'm hoping that won't be the case, and while I read these threads with interest, I'm happy to wait to see what it's really like before coming to a decision.
 
Maybe no one specific little detail is a deal braker in itself, but if enough little details are "wrong" (by that I mean wrong for me) then I may not buy it in the end. There are just so many unknowns right now that people are making huge assumptions based off a once sentence tweet. It's hard not to get caught up in the hype of possibilities but I'll just stay optimistic until the next reveal and will keep a sharp eye out for any reviews and video's from the first 50,000+ people that get their cars before me.
 
Here's how it looks to me.
The first rush of Model 3 reservations represent a pent-up demand for a car just like that one, and some percentage- perhaps a large percentage- are willing to overlook things that might be disappointing. The non-hatchback, the nose, the (apparent) single display that crowds a lot (all?) information onto a modest screen that sprouts from the panel on a (I'm guessing) breakaway stalk.
Fans, true believers, whatever you choose to call them, will put up with disappointments because they want a handsome electric car (which the 3 is), and they want to send a message. Especially this year. Do they represent 100% of the reservation pool? Probably not. But they almost certainly represent more than 25%, and perhaps more than half.
However.
The next group of Model 3 buyers will not belike those early adopters. They occupy a large and well-serviced segment of the market where they can pick and choose and find exactly what they want in an ICE car. Eventually, maybe even soon, some of those other manufacturers will step up to sell EV's to this large market.
If Tesla is to survive as something more than a niche manufacturer, they need to avoid pissing off non-EV enthusiast potential buyers. They need to get their manufacturing, sales, parts and service systems in a coherent bag.
That means listening to what people are saying here, among the EV Brethren, and paying attention to it.
Robin
 
Here's how it looks to me.
The first rush of Model 3 reservations represent a pent-up demand for a car just like that one, and some percentage- perhaps a large percentage- are willing to overlook things that might be disappointing. The non-hatchback, the nose, the (apparent) single display that crowds a lot (all?) information onto a modest screen that sprouts from the panel on a (I'm guessing) breakaway stalk.
Fans, true believers, whatever you choose to call them, will put up with disappointments because they want a handsome electric car (which the 3 is), and they want to send a message. Especially this year. Do they represent 100% of the reservation pool? Probably not. But they almost certainly represent more than 25%, and perhaps more than half.
However.
The next group of Model 3 buyers will not belike those early adopters. They occupy a large and well-serviced segment of the market where they can pick and choose and find exactly what they want in an ICE car. Eventually, maybe even soon, some of those other manufacturers will step up to sell EV's to this large market.
If Tesla is to survive as something more than a niche manufacturer, they need to avoid pissing off non-EV enthusiast potential buyers. They need to get their manufacturing, sales, parts and service systems in a coherent bag.
That means listening to what people are saying here, among the EV Brethren, and paying attention to it.
Robin
Hmmm... Pretty much the exact same post could have been made in 2013 relative to Tesla Model S. I would have disagreed with it then, too. Tesla Model S has outsold every flagship vehicle offered by ICE manufacturers from 2013 through 2016, cumulatively four calendar years straight. It is not a fad or 'flash in the pan' at all. Neither is the Model 3.
 
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Maybe so, but I'd suggest that the markets for a $100,000 Roadster, Model S or X are fundamentally different from the market for a $35,000-$40,000 Model 3. There is an obvious overlap, and that's where the first inrush of reservations came from. What happens after the initial unrush of reservations will make or break Tesla as a mass manufacturer of electric automobiles. IOW, after the product is released into a less forgiving environment. For example, what a Model S owner is currently going through to have his car repaired after a suspension failure (see in the Model S thread)- huge expense, endless delays and downtime- would be entirely unacceptable to the mass market. It would be pitchforks and torch time.
Tesla can avoid that, but not by pretending that every customer who walks into a store is on their side. As we, generally, are.
Robin
 
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Looking back to why I paid up for my reservation a year ago, I just wanted Tesla to succeed in pulling off this amazing plan for mass-produced performance electric cars. The only way that was going to work, and others would follow, was if people like me bought one. Otherwise we'd be stuck with novelty cars like the quirky i3.

I won't be changing my mind based on whether the car has a range of 220 or 250 miles or has a HUD display. If this car fails, they'll all fail and the oil lobbyists will send us all back into buying gas-guzzlers and the likes of Audi and BMW will stop their electric development programmes. If it succeeds, we'll have lots of options to choose from in a few years time.

So, if like me, you've recently been over-concerning yourself with the details and starting to be tempted by other options teased by the competition, remember why you signed up in the first place and stick with it.

The whole novelty electric car thing is over.
Gas-guzzlers themselves seem to taking a back seat to fuel efficient cross overs.
We'll have various electric car options in a year or two. It won't be just an expensive Tesla or a Leaf.

The big question that remains is what the charging infrastructure will look like. That's really what separates Tesla from the rest as of now. That tends to be why some details might get overlooked.