In & out in 5 min - Sign, take your money, keys, bye, next!!! why this is a bad idea.

[Ocelot]

Should be based on customer. It is a significant purchase, and this might be the first time a customer might be meeting anyone from Tesla face to face. If they need five minutes great, if they need an hour, great. It's fine to suggest some videos, but as stated we all learn differently. If I had to sit through a "class" and you hit the wrong class with multiple questions, upon questions, or whatever, it could be a real negative experience.

There is zero (long term)reason the delivery should not be customer-centric rather than time-centric. Make the person who worked their butt off, trying to afford a car of their dreams, feel a bit special.

My mom several years ago bought a BMW x1. Brand new, stripper version, literally no options. First new car I she ever bought. What does she remember? The 50 buck fruit basket they gave her. Little things, often go a long way.

 

[Sparky]

I'm fine with <5 mins doing paperwork and I like Bonnie's idea of "classes" at the showroom in the weeks before pickup.
But, as part of the buying "experience", I'd like video clips of my car being assembled with robot POV cams for stuff at various points in the sequence, body-in-white, paint, suspension, glass, interior items, doors etc. These would come to my email inbox each day of the assembly process. Then before it's driven off the floor, a robot cam will scan all the paint and fitment details with all panel gaps traced, showing actual vs spec, door latches, etc. etc. Good lighting should show off the paint as well as any blemishes. (I'm not such a stickler about these things but, I want the robots to be).
Basically, there will be no reason for me to give it a fine toothed comb treatment when I'm at the pick-up location, I've already seen everything, inside and out.

 

[boiler81]

I agree the early adopters who frequent this forum, shouldn't need any deliver orientation. However the Model 3 is indented to be a mass market car bringing many ICE drivers over to EV's. They will not have the detail understanding of driving, charging, and range influencing factors of EV's. Five Minutes won't cut it for many of them.

 

[igotzzoom]

I think buyers should be given the choice. An "express" delivery or "full" delivery.

 

[rjcbox]

26 minutes - in & out to pick up my new Model S, loved it

 

[Bungholio]

I'm going to guess group deliveries would be the way to make 5 minute delivery possible. You'll be called to pick up your car Saturday at 1pm, and you'll get there with 11 other buyers. They spend 1 hour going over how to use the car and answering any questions from the group. All 12 cars and new owners for that time slot will be there and you'll have plenty of time to check your car for issues. I think the 5 minute goal is to reduce the need for more staff and more delivery centers to deliver 400k cars, and delivering in parallel solves that. If you already know more than the delivery specialist, just take the fobs and leave in 5 minutes.

 

[Beckler]

I don't need to go back to school because I'm buying a car. What's next, a certificate program? "I'm a certified Model 3 owner!" Come on. This isn't hyperloop science. A well designed 2-page illustrated quick start guide would explain everything 99% of drivers will ever need to know. Want to know is different & that's what the full manual would be for.

 

[bonnie]

I don't need to go back to school because I'm buying a car. What's next, a certificate program? "I'm a certified Model 3 owner!" Come on. This isn't rocket science. A well designed 2-page illustrated quick start guide would explain everything 99% of drivers will ever need to know. Want to know is different & that's what the full manual would be for.

I don't think anyone is saying anything about being REQUIRED, only that the classes would be available for those interested.

I know that when I was waiting for my Roadster, I would have loved the opportunity to learn more from owners and Tesla prior to taking delivery. I do know I absorbed every youtube video, read every post (yes, in Roadster days it was possible to read every TMC post - sometimes hours would go by before a new one would show up).

As Model 3 buyers are waiting, offering them opportunities to both learn and interact will keep the excitement high. And would probably help with the wait.

 

[TexLaw]

There is zero (long term)reason the delivery should not be customer-centric rather than time-centric. Make the person who worked their butt off, trying to afford a car of their dreams, feel a bit special.

I'm with you on that, but with regard to what is made available to the customer, which customer is it centered on? I don't know if it is the same everywhere, but the appointments where I took delivery are scheduled 90 minutes apart (and may be staggered between two DSs, since they do a lot more than just walkthroughs with customers). It seems there is plenty of time for the customer taking delivery. However, that also means fewer deliveries per day, so it's a slow moving line. More DSs won't make much difference, since there is only so much room in the delivery bay. Delivery bay expansion isn't much of an option, either, since there is only so much real estate available.

As the Model 3s start coming out, there must be more deliveries per day. The customer waiting worked their butt off just as much as the customer on the ride, and there will be a balance.

 

[TexLaw]

I had to go to the bank (Dec 2015) and complained loudly...maybe it had an effect

Then I thank you!

I was pleasantly surprised when I could just put in a little ACH information and get everything done in only a few minutes. Earlier, I was under the impression that I would have to set up a wire, and that's more of a hassle.

 

[Model 3]

More DSs won't make much difference, since there is only so much room in the delivery bay. Delivery bay expansion isn't much of an option, either, since there is only so much real estate available.

Well, I agree that more DSs alone won't make much difference, and that more delivery bays alone won't make much difference, and that more real estate alone won't make much difference. But if you add more DSs and more delivery bays, and adding to the real estate if necessary, it sums up to more deliveries per time unit.

... but they are expanding to the 5-10 fold increase in deliveries, and a 5-10 fold increase in DSs, delivery bays etc. is a bit to much. So they will have to do all that, and reduce the time it takes to make an delivery. If they double the number of DSs and delivery bays and reduce the scheduled time slot from 90 minutes to 30 minutes they should be able to at least deliver a 6 fold as many cars per time unit. And remember that they is also expected to increase the number of service centers/shops (and by that "real estate available"), so they do not have to 5-10 fold increase the deliveries at each service center/shop.

 

[Sparky]

Perhaps we're making too big a deal over this.
I estimated from the Toyota USA website that Toyota has about 50 dealers in the major met areas of Calif.
They sell about 300k cars annually and seem to take about 1 to 3 hours to finish the sale (Nissan took 2+ hours with b.s. for my LEAF).
Tesla has about 30 showrooms + service centers around Calif major met areas.
Seems like they can handle the load (far less than 300k/year in Calif. for awhile) with some streamlining of their already fast delivery process (my Model S was ~30 mins).

 

[182RG]

Perhaps we're making too big a deal over this.

Tesla has about 30 showrooms + service centers around Calif major met areas.

Hurray for California!!! You realize they sell in the 49 other states and internationally, right??

My state has exactly 1 showroom / service center. 1.

 

[bonnie]

Hurray for California!!! You realize they sell in the 49 other states and internationally, right??

My state has exactly 1 showroom / service center. 1.

And you can thank your VA Dealership Association for that.
Auto dealers sound alarm as Tesla pushes for second Virginia store

 

[182RG]

And you can thank your VA Dealership Association for that.
Auto dealers sound alarm as Tesla pushes for second Virginia store

Richmond won approval. I would expect to see Tidewater (Norfolk / Va. Beach), Roanoke, Charlottesville, and perhaps a handful more in Northern Virginia (Fairfax, Springfield, Leesburg).

Tesla Opening Richmond (Virginia) Store Following Legal Win

 

[bonnie]

Richmond won approval. I would expect to see Tidewater (Norfolk / Va. Beach), Roanoke, Charlottesville, and perhaps a handful more in Northern Virginia (Fairfax, Springfield, Leesburg).

Tesla Opening Richmond (Virginia) Store Following Legal Win

Yes they did. You're right. But I was responding to your assertion about VA only have one store for Model 3 deliveries. The reality is they'll have many more.

This is an ongoing battle in many states. And yes, Tesla will have to have different delivery processes for locations where new owners are challenged by distance.

 

[boaterva]

Yes they did. You're right. But I was responding to your assertion about VA only have one store for Model 3 deliveries. The reality is they'll have many more.

This is an ongoing battle in many states. And yes, Tesla will have to have different delivery processes for locations where new owners are challenged by distance.

The interesting thing is how many SC's will a 'metro area' like VA/DC/MD have? I'm about 20 miles from Tysons (the only SC near me at all now). I don't think that's bad. Especially compared to the folks who have hundreds of miles to go or have nothing in the state.

But would I like one in the auto park five miles away near Route 28? You betcha. The question is, I wonder how many SC's Tesla will have in 'high volume' locations like this? (Think suburban LA, SF, NYC, etc.)

Back when, I had to drive from Loudoun to Fairfax for BMW service. Write off the whole day. Then there was BMW of Sterling (closer, still bad in rush hour traffic). So, the point is: what will they have to do (considering the differingg service needs of a Tesla (we hope, with excellent quality)) to have enough locations to make people happy. Not the early/enthusiast type, but the 'normal' (shudder) buyer who expects their 'dealer' to be 'close by'.

Should be interesting to see how this plays out!

 

[bonnie]

The interesting thing is how many SC's will a 'metro area' like VA/DC/MD have? I'm about 20 miles from Tysons (the only SC near me at all now). I don't think that's bad. Especially compared to the folks who have hundreds of miles to go or have nothing in the state.

But would I like one in the auto park five miles away near Route 28? You betcha. The question is, I wonder how many SC's Tesla will have in 'high volume' locations like this? (Think suburban LA, SF, NYC, etc.)

Back when, I had to drive from Loudoun to Fairfax for BMW service. Write off the whole day. Then there was BMW of Sterling (closer, still bad in rush hour traffic). So, the point is: what will they have to do (considering the differingg service needs of a Tesla (we hope, with excellent quality)) to have enough locations to make people happy. Not the early/enthusiast type, but the 'normal' (shudder) buyer who expects their 'dealer' to be 'close by'.

Should be interesting to see how this plays out!

I agree. I suspect they will also try things like 'pop up delivery centers' where they rent temporary locations for the purpose of delivery only, to handle higher volumes.

Lots of ways to approach this problem. If anyone can solve the problem, TMC can .

 

[boaterva]

I agree. I suspect they will also try things like 'pop up delivery centers' where they rent temporary locations for the purpose of delivery only, to handle higher volumes.

Lots of ways to approach this problem. If anyone can solve the problem, TMC can .

One thing I forgot to include was I was really talking about long term... after the rush of all the backlog of Model 3's, what's the steady state of Tesla SC's for the long term when the cars are 'a normal car'. Of course, by then we're into 'the car drives itself to and from the SC...'.

 

[Sparky]

Hurray for California!!! You realize they sell in the 49 other states and internationally, right??

My state has exactly 1 showroom / service center. 1.

Gee, no. I'm very sorry for your state.
My goal with the Calif. reference was just a matter of providing some proportion to the concern.
I think we can agree that Calif. will be an early and important test for Model 3 rollout. So, success here doesn't automatically translate everywhere; but failure...