Existing Inventory Decreased Range Banner

[Syaoran]

After my M3LR got pushed back another month I was just browsing the existing inventory and actually saw quite a few available. I called my SA and they informed me that the batteries in all these are listed as having been produced as early as 2017 so they might have a 12% range decrease but that all the batteries were still technically new. It was interesting since all, except the 2 Red M3LR, had the same disclaimer.

Back in November their demos did not have this disclaimer...

 

[tm1v2]

I'm seeing them too in my area. All 2021 LR demo vehicles. I'm wondering if the lesser range is truly just from aging, or if these old packs were slightly lower capacity when new than current packs.

Did someone find a stash of old battery packs forgotten in the back of the factory?

Huge M3LR and M3P demo inventory right now. I guess Tesla is still selling almost all their demo cars at once for EoQ numbers. I thought they said they're stopping that stupid practice...

 

[Syaoran]

I'm seeing them too in my area. All 2021 LR demo vehicles. I'm wondering if the lesser range is truly just from aging, or if these old packs were slightly lower capacity when new than current packs.

Did someone find a stash of old battery packs forgotten in the back of the factory?

Huge M3LR and M3P demo inventory right now. I guess Tesla is still selling almost all their demo cars at once for EoQ numbers. I thought they said they're stopping that stupid practice...

Yeah it just seems a bit strange. My SA looked up one and it said it was built October 2021...so why would it have an older batter? Maybe they just had a few dud battery packs that just didn't hold as much range and tossed them in since they were demo units?

 

[TNTeslå]

I'm seeing them too in my area. All 2021 LR demo vehicles. I'm wondering if the lesser range is truly just from aging, or if these old packs were slightly lower capacity when new than current packs.

Did someone find a stash of old battery packs forgotten in the back of the factory?

Huge M3LR and M3P demo inventory right now. I guess Tesla is still selling almost all their demo cars at once for EoQ numbers. I thought they said they're stopping that stupid practice...

I guess selling on site demo inventory is a little different from breaking the backs of employee to meet numbers.

Does anyone know how to check their car’s battery age at delivery?

 

[CapeOne]

Tesla has had quite a bit of new existing inventory of M3 and MS models on and off for months. I think most have been brand new but there have been many new/untitled demos too.

I was surprised Tesla is selling new M3s with NOS (new old stock) parts from as far back as 2017 but that's what they're doing.

The range disclosure statement:
This vehicle was built with a battery pack manufactured as early as 2017. While this pack was brand new when the vehicle was built, the cells have reduced capacity due to their age and you can expect up to 12% reduction in range from current production specifications.

 

[Big Earl]

After my M3LR got pushed back another month I was just browsing the existing inventory and actually saw quite a few available. I called my SA and they informed me that the batteries in all these are listed as having been produced as early as 2017 so they might have a 12% range decrease but that all the batteries were still technically new. It was interesting since all, except the 2 Red M3LR, had the same disclaimer.

Back in November their demos did not have this disclaimer...

Very interesting! That corroborates my own observations that battery degradation has more to do with age than miles or charging behavior.

Both of my cars are 2018s and are showing between 10 and 12% loss of capacity. One has 135,000 miles with lots of Supercharging and the other has 50,000 miles with only some Supercharging.

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one of these inventory cars if the price was right. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any discount… you just get the pleasure of taking delivery of your vehicle immediately instead of waiting three months.

 

[Big Earl]

Very interesting! That corroborates my own observations that battery degradation has more to do with age than miles or charging behavior.

Both of my cars are 2018s and are showing between 10 and 12% loss of capacity. One has 135,000 miles with lots of Supercharging and the other has 50,000 miles with only some Supercharging.

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one of these inventory cars if the price was right. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any discount… you just get the pleasure of taking delivery of your vehicle immediately instead of waiting three months.

Another possibility is that these battery packs have their full original capacity, which is ~12% less than the current advertised range (310 vs 353 miles) of the long range Model 3. It'll be interesting to see if any buyers of these vehicles show up on TMC and what their displayed full range is.

 

[Syaoran]

Another possibility is that these battery packs have their full original capacity, which is ~12% less than the current advertised range (310 vs 353 miles) of the long range Model 3. It'll be interesting to see if any buyers of these vehicles show up on TMC and what their displayed full range is.

I never thought of that but that could be it too. I wish, instead of a disclaimer, they would just display the actual range for each one.

 

[jsight]

Huge M3LR and M3P demo inventory right now. I guess Tesla is still selling almost all their demo cars at once for EoQ numbers. I thought they said they're stopping that stupid practice...

I think they will always sell the vast majority of the demos near the end of the year. Its a bad idea to keep them if the new cars are getting even minor changes, as they'd no longer match the cars being delivered. And it looks like there are quite a few little changes coming fairly soon.

 

[CapeOne]

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any discount…

Tesla has been offering some new M3s this year with slight discounts (typically 1% to 2%) but unrelated to whether or not the car has a NOS battery pack.

Another possibility is that these battery packs have their full original capacity, which is ~12% less than the current advertised range (310 vs 353 miles) of the long range Model 3. It'll be interesting to see if any buyers of these vehicles show up on TMC and what their displayed full range is.

I think it's more this. The "due to their age" statement is probably comparing to what the range was back in 2017 or so.

I wonder what the window sticker lists for (EPA) range?

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

They likely (deliberately) overestimated the number of spare batteries they'd need to keep in stock back when the car was first released in 2017. They can't keep those packs on the shelf forever nor can they put them in new cars or use them as warranty replacements for any cars that originally included any significant improvements, such as the capacity increases from 75kWh to 79kWh to 82kWh.

But they can certainly cobble a car together out of random old parts and sell it as a "demo" with a disclaimer.

 

[CapeOne]

They can't keep those packs on the shelf forever nor can they put them in new cars or use them as warranty replacements for any cars that originally included any significant improvements, such as the capacity increases from 75kWh to 79kWh to 82kWh.

These are new cars in that they have never been titled, have new car warranties from in service date, qualify for any potential new car EV tax credits/incentives, will have a new car window sticker (although with presumably inaccurate EPA range ratings), will be counted as new car sales, etc.

In a sense, these batteries violate Tesla's own new car battery replacement warranty as a 75 kWh battery pack is less capacity than what a 2021 M3 LR would/should have.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Hence the disclaimer.

 

[TNTeslå]

Anecdotal, but I went in to my SC today and the building and front lot were empty. Only the delivery and employee lots had cars. Looks like they purged their demo inventory for the new year.

 

[berman2921]

Tesla Appears To Be Selling New Cars With Batteries From 2017

I'm sort of confused as to exactly what's going on here but it's worth talking about

jalopnik.com

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

LOL, that Jalopnik writer reminds me of the double rainbow guy - "what does it mean!!??"

Uh, dude, it means what they said it means. 2017, 12%, same 8yr warranty. Deal with it.
Or don't.

It's not that complicated.

 

[jjrandorin]

LOL, that Jalopnik writer reminds me of the double rainbow guy - "what does it mean!!??"

Uh, dude, it means what they said it means. 2017, 12%, same 8yr warranty. Deal with it.
Or don't.

It's not that complicated.

That jalopnik writer basically has made me (mostly) stop reading the site (and definitely stop reading anything that particular writer posts). Whenever they want clicks, they go for some Tesla hit piece or other, with typical "reporter" spin. I havent read the article, but I saw the tagline there and I know exactly how it will read.

 

[cwerdna]

Tesla says it has put 2017 battery packs in brand new 2021 cars in strange warning also covered it.

 

[CapeOne]

Hence the disclaimer.

Yes, but you stated that they can't put them in new cars and my point was simply that they are putting them in new cars.

 

[CapeOne]

Anecdotal, but I went in to my SC today and the building and front lot were empty. Only the delivery and employee lots had cars. Looks like they purged their demo inventory for the new year.

How many new cars has your local store typically had this year? Lots of dealerships (Tesla and others) have had low inventories due to chip shortages, supply chain issues, etc.