Hypothetical: What if the 100D gets announced?

[David99]

If a 100D comes out, I'm hoping Tesla will allow current X 90D owners the option of upgrading their batteries at cost ($6,000?). I would've liked the option to get a 100D, but missed out because I ordered early.

Tesla never cared about people who just bought something and missed out on something new the next day. AP hardware is a prime example. The larger batteries another.

If anything, the old 60 and 85 owners of the first days should be allowed to upgrade first. They payed the the same and got far less than everyone after them, yet they were the ones that made Tesla successful in the first days. They have the highest level of degradation at this point. I think it would only be fair if Tesla would finally 'give' them something by letting them upgrade first for a fair price (not $25k).

 

[Keith]

Well, with autopilot the hardware was activated at a later date by a software update, and for awhile before that they began installing the hardware for everyone with the option to pay for activation. If they installed a 100kwh battery in my car with the option to "activate" the last 10kwh, that would be cool assuming the 100kwh battery weighs the same as the previous 90kwh battery so people aren't essentially carrying around "dead" weight. Year over year I expect the cars to see improvements, it's just feels different when you wait a year (or more for some) to get the car you ordered and then about a month after delivery there's a significant upgrade.

 

[tstafford]

Our order confirmed early this AM for a 90D. We're not waiting around for the 100D. That's just time lost driving the car which effectively reduces our total range .

 

[systemcrashed]

I don't know about all this being a sly way to announce the 100D, I just took it as clever marketing. Another reason is that the MS shown has the previous nosecone and not the new front end. Of course don't take my word for any of this. "Tesla is as Tesla does"

 

[aesculus]

I don't know about all this being a sly way to announce the 100D, I just took it as clever marketing. Another reason is that the MS shown has the previous nosecone and not the new front end. Of course don't take my word for any of this. "Tesla is as Tesla does"

That actually is a very strong argument IMHO.

 

[Colby Boles]

Your point regarding tesla prioritizing orders is valid. But remember you jumped a bunch of us 70D orders who reserved prior to you.

I totally agree with your point as well. I'm not saying that one prioritization method is right, or better than another, but at least they should be consistent so that they can set customer expectations. The two obvious methods would be order date priority, and premium submodel priority. They seem to be doing neither, even though they implied premium submodel priority by showing different expected delivery dates for P90D, 90D, and 70Ds as well as seat configurations. The additional problem with submodel priority is that it encourages some people to pay more money to get their car sooner, which is a great business idea to be sure, but if you don't actually deliver on that expectation you end up with some unhappy customers. I can only imagine the situation will be worse if there is a point where 100Ds start getting delivered before others have received their 90s and 75s.

 

[Keith]

I can only imagine the situation will be worse if there is a point where 100Ds start getting delivered before others have received their 90s and 75s.

Ouch, that would hurt a little. Although in my opinion, the area that Tesla needs to work on most is their communication. I would've been totally fine waiting longer for my car as long as they were letting me know along the way what was going on and why so I'm not sitting in the dark all the time. Now I am waiting for the SC to call me for an appointment and I am instead calling them once a week to check in for updates...

 

[TaoJones]

Given the suboptimal reality that is, I've approached Model S ownership differently. Or, if you prefer, in much the same way I've approached owning Apple products. Except one generally gets a bit more visibility with Apple products.

In any case, a better time to buy a Model S is immediately after a major event or announcement. See the Oct 2014 AP/D event.

Now, I say *better* and not necessarily *best*, because those qualifiers are driven by, in part, what your motivators are, as well as by the increased risk associated with taking delivery at EOQ, let alone EOY, when people are at their most frazzled.

If you just don't care about or if your budget won't support the latest and greatest, then there's that. However, if you're trying to maximize the value/dollar ratio, then ordering after they've announced the latest and greatest will work well.

If you are fine with what's now just become more obsolete, then maybe an inventory car (1%/month and $1/mile, yet titled as new so you get the full tax credit and/or rebate) makes sense.

 

[Diavel]

How would asking for a later delivery help? Wouldn't you still lose your $5,000 deposit? Or are you thinking you can delay production and potentially only have to pay a $500 configuration change fee?

I once tried to change my 90D order to a 75D and they wouldn't do it for the $500 configuration change fee because they said the parts had already been sourced, even though production hadn't started yet.

Well I want mine sooner then later. I told them If I get my X past July 31, I won't be able to pick it up until mid September and they said it's fine. 2 months usually can be an issue. I'm picking up at factory.

 

[Diavel]

The only thing I would find annoying is if it turned out that I could get a 100D faster than waiting for my P90DL ordered in December. I get that companies make newer, better, shinier products all of the time, but Tesla is the only company I know that rewards those who order later or pay less by delivering their cars sooner than those who made commitments further in the past. I'm referring to delivered 90Ds ordered in Feb / Mar versus undelivered P90Ds ordered in Dec / Jan, for example. I'm sure none of this was their intention, but it's quite apparent that they prioritized total delivered Q1 numbers over any sense of customer prioritization or even quality control. In some ways I wish I was getting my car sooner, but I'm also glad I will (hopefully) have less issues to contend with when I do.

I keep hearing about all these higher optioned longer reservationists still awaiting a vin like yourself. Why is that?

If higher optioned vehicles gets distributed first (p90d before 90d before 75d), you are supposed to get it way before other people. If it's to meet 1st quarter sales goals prioritized, wouldn't you still meet those criterias?

 

[aesculus]

I keep hearing about all these higher optioned longer reservationists still awaiting a vin like yourself. Why is that?

If higher optioned vehicles gets distributed first (p90d before 90d before 75d), you are supposed to get it way before other people. If it's to meet 1st quarter sales goals prioritized, wouldn't you still meet those criterias?

Looking at his config it does seem odd. I don't really see anything that would have delayed his car except maybe PUP.

I'll bet it's because he lives in SF and that was just too far from the factory to qualify for the Q1 delivery.

OK. I should not have said that and I empathize with him. He really should have his car by now.

 

[Colby Boles]

This is pure speculation, but I think they got started on the P90Ds right after the sigs and started discovering build quality issues as well as supply problems for those that chose either the cloth seats or non-PUP. Orders for 90Ds got started a bit later, perhaps after some of the build issues were sorted out and made it out the door quickly before the end of Q1 when everything started to lock down to implement more intensive QC steps. There have been some non-PUP P90D and 90Ds that have made it into the wild, but not many, so that may still be the main issue with my car at least. There are others that ordered P90Ds longer ago than I and have the PUP, but still no car, so the only thing I can think of for them is that something went wrong with the build of their car and it is taking a long time to fix and they are instead focusing on building new vehicles for other customers from the ground up while the broken ones languish.

My DS still won't acknowledge what stage of production my vehicle is in, if at all, which I find curious. My guess is that it was started long ago but has problems, which they would rather not acknowledge or have me worry about when I finally receive my "new" car. I guess I am asking too many questions about how the sausage is made... Hopefully they'll cook one up for me soon.

Looking at his config it does seem odd. I don't really see anything that would have delayed his car except maybe PUP.

I'll bet it's because he lives in SF and that was just too far from the factory to qualify for the Q1 delivery.

OK. I should not have said that and I empathize with him. He really should have his car by now.

 

[Coolcarx]

Dang! I knew i should have waited for the next big thing!

 

[Colby Boles]

Now I wish I got the PUP with the HEPA filter. Don't want to be smelling hydrazine every time I lift off...

Dang! I knew i should have waited for the next big thing!View attachment 174324

 

[ptsagcy]

At the risk of sounding like a TM fanboy, Tesla is unique in that it is continuously upgrading and improving their vehicles, unlike the other manufacturers who only change once a year. When you buy a Tesla you have to accept the potential frustration of a mid-year improvement. If you can't deal with that stress then don't buy a Tesla. Since many of the improvements are FREE OTA updates I will happily accept the frustration. I fully expect to experience that when the 100D come out and have no problem with it. They do offer retrofits for many of the upgrades, but some , like AP, would require tearing the whole car apart and completely re-wiring it.

 

[aesculus]

And sometimes it works the other way too. I got a free towing package and a free active spoiler.

 

[ohmman]

And sometimes it works the other way too. I got a free towing package and a free active spoiler.

You're like the guy who gets upgraded to the seat right next to the one I paid for.

 

[elguapo]

Bottom line for me is range increase from 90 to 100 isn't worth it and I'd rather have my X now (as I do), than wait for a 100. When a 120+ comes out in several years, then I will be interested.