From Inside Sales Rep: Latest News re: Signatures, Production Configuration, etc.

[Lyon]

I was at the reveal. Nothing Tesla said indicated the Charge Capability of the X. Nothing was released. The speculation was based on someone's picture of a Founder's series. So the 72 AMP may have been an Option for the Founders or possibly something for Elon's car. Thus the assumption continued. That was Elon's reward for allowing 1000 people to videos and photo his personal car. People saw something and expectation were set of what was standard. One Founder's had a center console. That was an option clearly to differentiate 6-seat Founders, which is not available to others.

I respect your right to an opinion.... but calling the Sales agent trying to gives some clarity to the Signature process (awaiting 200 more holders to configure) BS serves no purpose. To your point.... "if the information isn't rock solid" ... what is YOUR rock solid information on the Production Config not being ready??? The December config for Production holders is not new ... Tesla stated via a email weeks ago.

Actually some of this is incorrect. The original information that the Signature cars would have 72amp charging came directly and unequivocally from Tesla Inside Sales Reps to multiple people. I was the recipient of one such email on September 30th. It was not based on seeing a photo from the release event. There was no disclaimer saying specs might change.

The center console has been clearly listed as something special for the release event. They may be changing that now.

 

[Aljohn]

Thanks Lyon for providing one of the sources. There are pictures and other claims and one can never be sure of the source here. I don't have a signature reservation, so wouldn't have the email from inside Sales.

Since the 72Amp system does nothing on its own, I'm a bit perplexed by the "charge-gate" issue. One would need a 80-100 Amp service for the charger to take advantage of 72 Amp AC charge capacity. I can only imagine that Tesla has data on the number of Dual Chargers ordered and made a decision to upgrade the X above the 40 Amp of the S, but not to 80 Amp. For me to run a 80-100 Amp service to charge an X is cost prohibitive. Local estimates (requiring another 200 Amp service to my house) is more than $4000. If someone already has the capacity and the need to completely charge the 90KWH battery daily, then understandable.

That said, I am grateful for the post giving any updates. Hopefully, more information to come.

 

[Lyon]

Since the 72Amp system does nothing on its own, I'm a bit perplexed by the "charge-gate" issue. .

While I can't speak for anyone else, for me one big issue is that Tesla promised one thing and then, for a time, changed its mind after I'd committed to ordering. The two questions everyone asks about my car (there can others but these are almost always there) are, "how far can it go on a charge" and "how long does it take to charge." These are two really key specs with EVs.

The other issue, which has been discussed at length in a thread in the Battery and Charging sub-forum, is that, while the need for high rate level 2 charging is not frequent, its crucial when necessary. I also think it's somewhat dangerous to draw parallels between Model S and Model X in this area. When my family takes a car trip we leave the Model S at home because it doesn't fit all five of us comfortably. At the moment we drive a fossil SUV but in the future we will drive the Model X. On those trips, Tesla's destination charging network will be much more useful if I can charge at 72amps v. 48amps. I will also rarely need the full 90kWn battery, but in the cases when I do, it'll be really important to have it.

It sounds like your daily use case is pretty similar to mine. I also didn't do an 80amp charger at home because I simply don't need it here. We are putting one in the vacation house that's over a 5000+' mountain pass and about 130 miles away. With elevation change and snow, the wH/m numbers can get a little silly for that drive and there will be times when we want to be able to leave again pretty soon after arriving.

 

[aija SigX 649]

Thanks Lyon for providing one of the sources. There are pictures and other claims and one can never be sure of the source here. I don't have a signature reservation, so wouldn't have the email from inside Sales.

Since the 72Amp system does nothing on its own, I'm a bit perplexed by the "charge-gate" issue. One would need a 80-100 Amp service for the charger to take advantage of 72 Amp AC charge capacity. I can only imagine that Tesla has data on the number of Dual Chargers ordered and made a decision to upgrade the X above the 40 Amp of the S, but not to 80 Amp. For me to run a 80-100 Amp service to charge an X is cost prohibitive. Local estimates (requiring another 200 Amp service to my house) is more than $4000. If someone already has the capacity and the need to completely charge the 90KWH battery daily, then understandable.

That said, I am grateful for the post giving any updates. Hopefully, more information to come.

Shorter charge times at Tesla SuperCharger Stations is one of the benefits - if you don't plan to install high capacity in home. I don't plan to install high capacity charger in my garage as well as I can't imagine needing it on a daily bases ..but long trips is another story.

 

[Lyon]

Shorter charge times at Tesla SuperCharger Stations is one of the benefits - if you don't plan to install high capacity in home. I don't plan to install high capacity charger in my garage as well as I can't imagine needing it on a daily bases ..but long trips is another story.

Just to clarify, we're talking about faster AC charging here. The onboard charger has no impact on DC (Supercharger) rates. In other words, 48A or 72A would not affect Supercharging speed.

Sorry if this is an unnecessary clarification.

 

[andrewket]

From Inside Sales Rep: Latest News re: Signatures, Production Configuration, ...

I was at the reveal. Nothing Tesla said indicated the Charge Capability of the X. Nothing was released. The speculation was based on someone's picture of a Founder's series. So the 72 AMP may have been an Option for the Founders or possibly something for Elon's car. Thus the assumption continued. That was Elon's reward for allowing 1000 people to videos and photo his personal car. People saw something and expectation were set of what was standard. One Founder's had a center console. That was an option clearly to differentiate 6-seat Founders, which is not available to others.

I respect your right to an opinion.... but calling the Sales agent trying to gives some clarity to the Signature process (awaiting 200 more holders to configure) BS serves no purpose. To your point.... "if the information isn't rock solid" ... what is YOUR rock solid information on the Production Config not being ready??? The December config for Production holders is not new ... Tesla stated via a email weeks ago.

Sorry, it was a public reveal. A normal person would assume that anything Tesla showed at the event is available for production customers. If Tesla isn't planning on making the center console, then they shouldn't have shown it. It's really that simple. They also showed the same cars to the press hours before, for the explicit purpose that the media should write stories about the car and release pictures. No other car manufacturer would show features that are not available at a public launch event.

 

[Lyon]

Sorry, it was a public reveal. A normal person would assume that anything Tesla showed at the event is available for production customers. If Tesla isn't planning on making the center console, then they shouldn't have shown it. It's really that simple. They also showed the same cars to the press hours before, for the explicit purpose that the media should write stories about the car and release pictures. No other car manufacturer would show features that are not available at a public launch event.

That reminds me of the front and rear center consoles some of the cars had at the Fremont Get Amped event back in 2012. Those ended up making it into production in some form but it took a few years. I expect if there's enough demand we'll see something in the future.

It does seem like an odd practice.

 

[TexasEV]

Shorter charge times at Tesla SuperCharger Stations is one of the benefits - if you don't plan to install high capacity in home. I don't plan to install high capacity charger in my garage as well as I can't imagine needing it on a daily bases ..but long trips is another story.

No, this has NOTHING to do with supercharging.
This is the confusion Tesla was talking about with Model S owners misunderstanding dual chargers. Some people thought it would allow for faster charging at superchargers, then were disappointed when they found they paid for something they didn't need. But the solution is better education of buyers, not dumbing down the AC charging for everyone, including those who understand it and have a need for the higher amp AC charging at times.

 

[simplejack]

I was at the reveal. Nothing Tesla said indicated the Charge Capability of the X. Nothing was released. The speculation was based on someone's picture of a Founder's series. So the 72 AMP may have been an Option for the Founders or possibly something for Elon's car. Thus the assumption continued. That was Elon's reward for allowing 1000 people to videos and photo his personal car. People saw something and expectation were set of what was standard. One Founder's had a center console. That was an option clearly to differentiate 6-seat Founders, which is not available to others.

I respect your right to an opinion.... but calling the Sales agent trying to gives some clarity to the Signature process (awaiting 200 more holders to configure) BS serves no purpose. To your point.... "if the information isn't rock solid" ... what is YOUR rock solid information on the Production Config not being ready??? The December config for Production holders is not new ... Tesla stated via a email weeks ago.

I didn't call it BS, but I said it's about the dumbest thing I've heard. You don't simply wait to sell more units just so 200 people can make up their mind. How does that not sound absurd to you?

 

[TexasEV]

Thanks Lyon for providing one of the sources. There are pictures and other claims and one can never be sure of the source here. I don't have a signature reservation, so wouldn't have the email from inside Sales.

Since the 72Amp system does nothing on its own, I'm a bit perplexed by the "charge-gate" issue. One would need a 80-100 Amp service for the charger to take advantage of 72 Amp AC charge capacity. I can only imagine that Tesla has data on the number of Dual Chargers ordered and made a decision to upgrade the X above the 40 Amp of the S, but not to 80 Amp. For me to run a 80-100 Amp service to charge an X is cost prohibitive. Local estimates (requiring another 200 Amp service to my house) is more than $4000. If someone already has the capacity and the need to completely charge the 90KWH battery daily, then understandable.

That said, I am grateful for the post giving any updates. Hopefully, more information to come.

It's not about charging at home for most people. It's about charging at high amp HPWCs (Tesla destination charging) or J1772s when traveling. Read the charging threads about this for details.

 

[MrBoylan]

I didn't call it BS, but I said it's about the dumbest thing I've heard. You don't simply wait to sell more units just so 200 people can make up their mind. How does that not sound absurd to you?

You might if you want to retire the Signature Red paint station. This is only an option for Signatures. Not sure how much of an issue this is, but if there's a dedicated paint station that only does Sig Red, they'll need to know how many of those they'll need to make before retiring it. Also, I think Tesla would *like* to deliver all Sigs before they get into production orders, to give some additional value to those willing to front the company $40K or so long. But they shouldn't effectively delay orders for eager production reservation holders just to accommodate Sig depositors who are not yet ready to confirm an order.

 

[Lyon]

You might if you want to retire the Signature Red paint station. This is only an option for Signatures. Not sure how much of an issue this is, but if there's a dedicated paint station that only does Sig Red, they'll need to know how many of those they'll need to make before retiring it. Also, I think Tesla would *like* to deliver all Sigs before they get into production orders, to give some additional value to those willing to front the company $40K or so long. But they shouldn't effectively delay orders for eager production reservation holders just to accommodate Sig depositors who are not yet ready to confirm an order.

Don't forget that Tesla will be making Signature Model X for lots of countries around the world with release dates after the US. I predict that Signature Red color will be at the paint shop for a while.

And, yes, the plan is to deliver all the Signatures before the production but I think they also want to give Signature folks who really need to see Model X before they order the chance to do so. Those folks might end up getting their cars after the very first production folks if said folks configure as soon as invited.

 

[vandacca]

Don't forget that Tesla will be making Signature Model X for lots of countries around the world with release dates after the US. I predict that Signature Red color will be at the paint shop for a while.

And, yes, the plan is to deliver all the Signatures before the production but I think they also want to give Signature folks who really need to see Model X before they order the chance to do so. Those folks might end up getting their cars after the very first production folks if said folks configure as soon as invited.

Lyon, are you implying that there will be 0 production Model-X deliveries (e.g. even to US market) until all Signature models have been built world-wide? I don't recall the Model-S roll-out worked that way.

 

[Lyon]

Lyon, are you implying that there will be 0 production Model-X deliveries (e.g. even to US market) until all Signature models have been built world-wide? I don't recall the Model-S roll-out worked that way.

No, sorry, I guess that was a confusing post. It was intended to be two separate things. 1) Sig red will be around a while because of global deliveries and 2) some US production cars may come out before all the US Signatures have been delivered because some US Signature reservation holders are waiting to see the car in person to configure.

Clear as mud? Sorry for the confusion.

 

[vandacca]

No, sorry, I guess that was a confusing post. It was intended to be two separate things. 1) Sig red will be around a while because of global deliveries and 2) some US production cars may come out before all the US Signatures have been delivered because some US Signature reservation holders are waiting to see the car in person to configure.

Clear as mud? Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for clarifying. That seems like a logical assumption you've made - makes sense to me.

 

[tonyx]

First post!

Just a quick note relevant to the subject of this thread:
It has been about a year and a half since my Model X reservations (two res, both around number 11000) - we finally got some movement with the "launch," then crickets in Oct/Nov (so far). So yesterday I emailed NA Sales as suggested in this thread to ask for any updates, and specifically about 72A charging. The response came within a few hours, and didn't address the charging question or other aspects, but did note that as a "current" production reservation holder I can expect an invitation to configure by the end of the year. The rep expressed certainty of that, despite not being able to give a date - but given the 9/29 event (which I attended and enjoyed), to me this means some large number, if not all, of production reservation holders should be able to play with options by 12/31. I've been tweeting at EM to at least open up the configurator if only so we can get more views of the vehicle, even sans pricing.

Nothing earthshaking here, but hey at least it triggered me to post something!

Also wanted to throw a big Thank You to the great community here for all the superb conversations I've been trolling for many months!
-Tony

 

[ev-enthusiast]

First post!

Welcome=)

And please keep us updated on the progress of your Model X!

 

[BillWest6]

First post!

Just a quick note relevant to the subject of this thread:
It has been about a year and a half since my Model X reservations (two res, both around number 11000) - we finally got some movement with the "launch," then crickets in Oct/Nov (so far). So yesterday I emailed NA Sales as suggested in this thread to ask for any updates, and specifically about 72A charging. The response came within a few hours, and didn't address the charging question or other aspects, but did note that as a "current" production reservation holder I can expect an invitation to configure by the end of the year. The rep expressed certainty of that, despite not being able to give a date - but given the 9/29 event (which I attended and enjoyed), to me this means some large number, if not all, of production reservation holders should be able to play with options by 12/31. I've been tweeting at EM to at least open up the configurator if only so we can get more views of the vehicle, even sans pricing.

Interesting. I also sent an e-mail to NA Sales yesterday, have res #66xx and asked when Model X would be in stores/galleries, about the 72A charger and when I would be able to configure. Got a response within 2 hours saying Model X should be to the showrooms "starting in late December", the 72A charger is "a hot topic and we're having lots of discussions so stay tuned" and I'll be invited to configure in "late 1st quarter or early 2nd quarter". Not what I was expecting to hear regarding configuring.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

The rep expressed certainty of that, despite not being able to give a date - but given the 9/29 event (which I attended and enjoyed), to me this means some large number, if not all, of production reservation holders should be able to play with options by 12/31. I've been tweeting at EM to at least open up the configurator if only so we can get more views of the vehicle, even sans pricing.
-Tony

I heard the rumor about all production reservation holders being allowed to configure before the end of the year. Does this mean that people who come late to the party will be able to get their X before others who placed a reservation months or years earlier? Does it mean they will be able to play with the configurator but not be able to submit their order? Does it mean they can submit an order but if a reservation holder with a lower sequence number submits their order later, the one with the lower sequence number will be given build priority?

 

[ohmman]

I heard the rumor about all production reservation holders being allowed to configure before the end of the year. Does this mean that people who come late to the party will be able to get their X before others who placed a reservation months or years earlier? Does it mean they will be able to play with the configurator but not be able to submit their order? Does it mean they can submit an order but if a reservation holder with a lower sequence number submits their order later, the one with the lower sequence number will be given build priority?

I doubt any of us know, but my guess is that it'll be first-come, first-served as far as configuration goes. I'm guessing it's a complicated system of batching and revenue calculations, but to me it seems likely that some later reservation numbers will deliver before some early ones. I hear what you're saying, though - it'd be a real downer to have a reservation for 2 years and watch someone that just reserved get their vehicle first.

(Note, my reservation is as of Feb 2014, so I would be closing in on the two years..)