Lost respect for Tesla... my reasons

[googlepeakoil]

Model 3 reservation holder from day 2 in the UK... follower of Tesla for literally its entire history.
They've done some amazing things to push EV's and kick the other companies into doing EVs.
So a few things that erk me about Tesla...
- Elon joining POTUS's board (at least he eventually quit it)
- Elon's tweeting reminding me of POTUS (insulting that caver... then doubling down "he hasn't sued me").
- Taking deposits internationally for the model 3 - but the UK having to pay more, $1400 (was £1000 - exchange rates make no difference).
- Taking deposits - but not really honouring the order in which they were taken. Tesla have been very slow to sell internationally - to Europe despite the fact they can sell the high-spec versions. Currently at 3 year reservation!). I'm unfortunately in a Right-Hand-Driver RHD market. Given the centre screen and symmetrical dash I expected the RHD to follow quickly from LHD Europe. But nothing. No invitation to configure. We've been forgotten it seems !
- Tesla's service reputation issues are scary. Norway 2-3 month delays.
- Tesla repair costs ($30k for relatively minor things) - ok S,X is a pricey car - due to limited licensed service / body shops. Cars away for months, awaiting parts (Elon just had the idea of them stocking some parts outside US HQ! Jeezus!).
- Elon's other childish behaviour. Jumping from one thing to another. Dreadnought and robots -> humans under-rated. Trying to do too much and missing things (delays, battery pack assembly issues, service problems). The whole base model 3 launch was a PR disaster. Tesla's really lost it's coolness factor it seems.
- a hood you can't close on S or 3 without denting it?
- Tesla's refusal to let people fix their own car (unless you're in Massachusets!) That guy is funny - cool youtube channel If you want to see the workings of a Tesla model S then it's fantastic... can't recall his name. Ugh!
- Tesla not releasing the open source code - in violation of the open source code that Tesla is built on.
- Claiming all their patents are open. I'm not sure I "really" believe they would share the Supercharger network!
- AP cost changes. Paying in advance for "vapourware". It'll cost $1000 more if you don't buy it up-front lies.
- Store layoffs.

I had a model 3 on order (UK resident). Today I received bank confirmation of my £1000 refund. There's a £3500 EV discount (used to be £5k) for buying an EV. Will be phased out soon I expect. Also if the car costs >£40k then you also have to pay £300 roadtax a year. I see no chance that Tesla will get the model 3 out here before the incentive closes - and even if they do I could buy one without even being a reservation holder! I have 3 years savings to buy a midrange for cash. I'm not just a teen fanboy ranting who couldn't afford one. Kia and Hyundai have 290mile range EVs for the same price Tesla might release a midrange at. Kia's car will have an air-source heat pump, is a hatchback (more convenient), >1 display screen, and can charge at 100kW/h. Tesla has some competition now. Unfortunately for them. They need to start acting honorably.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Well buy a Kia then. I'm one place further to the front of the queue, so thank you!

 

[dethman]

Well buy a Kia then. I'm one place further to the front of the queue, so thank you!

A thoughtful post followed by a moronic one.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Well, yes, geniuses tend to be a little "off" and that's what we've got here.

Keep your reservation for now--I recommend you test drive the RHD Model 3 when it arrives; decide then.

I think, judging by the reactions to everyone that's ever driven the thing, all will be forgiven.

If you seek perfection in all things, well, you WILL be disappointed for your entire life.

Roll with it, for now, and in a few months you'll likely be very, very happy you didn't pull the plug . . . .

 

[roblab]

A thoughtful post followed by a moronic one.

I wouldn't call this moronic.

 

[roblab]

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending, Tesla is a small company. They HAVE TO MAKE MONEY OR GO OUT OF BUSINESS, fact of life. If that means they cannot afford to tool for right hand drive, that's how it is. Or whatever it is that some people living in some countries want. Tesla does what they can, but bottom line is they do what they can afford.

If Kia has what you want, or demand, then, yes, buy a Kia. If Tesla has something closer to your requirements, then maybe you'll have to wait, or import a left hand drive and drive it backwards, whatever. But you know Tesla isn't going to spend millions of dollars making spec cars for a few drivers.

 

[Cheburashka]

"Waaah waah orange president bad so Musk is a bad bad boy."

Is it still winter in England? Seems like the snowflakes are out in full force..

 

[Shock-On-T]

"Waaah waah orange president bad so Musk is a bad bad boy."

Is it still winter in England? Seems like the snowflakes are out in full force..

It was a perfectly reasonable post. You need to settle down and stop watching youtube rants.

 

[googlepeakoil]

Well, yes, geniuses tend to be a little "off" and that's what we've got here.

Keep your reservation for now--I recommend you test drive the RHD Model 3 when it arrives; decide then.

I think, judging by the reactions to everyone that's ever driven the thing, all will be forgiven.

If you seek perfection in all things, well, you WILL be disappointed for your entire life.

Roll with it, for now, and in a few months you'll likely be very, very happy you didn't pull the plug . . . .

The reservation place is gone. I was told that when I cancelled.
The reservation seems to mean a lot less than people expected. People in the US were being asked to configure based on the price they were paying, and sometimes in arbitrary order. Not based on when their reservations was taken. And as a performance / AWD version) would be £50k+ ($60k+) then I would be waiting for a mid-range at sub £40k if i chose to get one.
They've got a model 3 in a UK showroom in NW London to sit in. It's a 30 mile - 2 hour round trip. I will check it out next time I'm in London (start of April). I was against the idea of too much on the touch-screen (we get a lot of rain in the UK and I'd like a stalk with wiper speeds on it). I like the physical controls for music and temperature. When I was driving down a winding motorway in rain, family in the car, with poor visibility and I was constantly needing to adjust wiper speed for lorry spray / changing rain speeds I was wondering how that would work on a 3 with no stalk! I needed to be laser-focused on the road - not looking at a screen.
The UK website now does say relating to AP / FSD a disclaimer below the "£5900 after delivery" - "prices after delivery might rise or fall". I assume this is new and caused by the price change mess.
I think outside the US there's been a lot more bad press about Elon. The insults for the Thai caver (who was British) didn't go down well.
Tesla I imagine lose a few % on each lost deposit. Although they got the 3 years cash of £1000. I paid on a credit card. They would have eaten 1-3% in purchase charges. Printed and posted me those A3 artworks of the car, and then pay £1000 in full to a bank (was not done as a credit card refund).

 

[googlepeakoil]

Well buy a Kia then. I'm one place further to the front of the queue, so thank you!

I was only a day 2, not day 1 holder. And in the US the order people were invited to configure was not always in the order people reserved. If I wanted a midrange - I'd have to watch the performance and AWD and long-ranges be configured first! By the time Tesla care about us in the UK it seems there's going to be a lot more EV's to choose from - and as a primary car I think I need the hatchback. The Bjorn video of the snow and rain pouring off the rear glass into the boot "sheeeet" (as he would say) made me laugh about how silly that shape boot is! And to think the Falcon Wing doors were designed to keep the rain off people loading kids into their car-seats. Obviously a California (no rain) car. Anyway I am all ready for the EV. Have my 4kW (standard config in the UK - wish it was more) solar installed 3 years back.
I do see "small risks" to Tesla's future at the moment - another reason to pull out my £1k. I think S, X sales have crashed globally and the 30-40% international price drop was a pretty desperate move to encourage sales. I want them to survive, but Elon's helping and not helping if you see what I mean.

 

[testarossa]

Unfortunately, this shall continue as it will be very hard to install a competent number two person when the number one person is so erratic.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

When I was driving down a winding motorway in rain, family in the car, with poor visibility and I was constantly needing to adjust wiper speed for lorry spray / changing rain speeds I was wondering how that would work on a 3 with no stalk! I needed to be laser-focused on the road - not looking at a screen.

I believe it is:
- Hit the wiper symbol in the Cards area
- Tap the appropriate value to change the speed setting.

Not a 3 owner yet, so I don't know whether it stays on the wipers so you can keep changing the settings.

 

[ElectricLee]

ALL true, All other Automakers were bought and sold because of one reason or another. Staying alive in the Auto business is Very Very hard.

Not many automakers are the same leaders and owners. Volvo is a great car, but was bought and sold a few times over....


How many labels did GM buy and close or sell... every automaker and the labels/lines makes tough choices everyday.

---So in the vain to keep Tesla Alive, I would vote with my Dollars (Pounds) and buy into their future.

I would be very mad if they had the CASH like Apple has in the bank and did not fix those listed above in your post.

Back in the days when Apple was broke and Steve had a vision like Elon has a vision, we bought the iMac to support a cool product and that lead to the iPod, then 10 years after Steve came back, the iPhone. All with growing pains.

So, I think we are at the beginning of the MASS market EV and Elon marketed, endured and fought everyday to fix/build/drive the company.

I would like to challenge you in buying one, once its released in the UK. You will love it. I love it. It is truly like a dream, all of the other automakers do not have the "Je ne sais quoi." They will get their one day. But now it really Tesla.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

I was only a day 2, not day 1 holder. And in the US the order people were invited to configure was not always in the order people reserved. If I wanted a midrange - I'd have to watch the performance and AWD and long-ranges be configured first! By the time Tesla care about us in the UK it seems there's going to be a lot more EV's to choose from - and as a primary car I think I need the hatchback. The Bjorn video of the snow and rain pouring off the rear glass into the boot "sheeeet" (as he would say) made me laugh about how silly that shape boot is! And to think the Falcon Wing doors were designed to keep the rain off people loading kids into their car-seats. Obviously a California (no rain) car. Anyway I am all ready for the EV. Have my 4kW (standard config in the UK - wish it was more) solar installed 3 years back.
I do see "small risks" to Tesla's future at the moment - another reason to pull out my £1k. I think S, X sales have crashed globally and the 30-40% international price drop was a pretty desperate move to encourage sales. I want them to survive, but Elon's helping and not helping if you see what I mean.

I agree now that there's probably no benefit in being a reservation holder, but I still find it odd some people have waited until the car is almost here before asking for a refund. I'd have thought it would have been worth waiting just that bit longer just to see what you could get when the configurator opens, but I doubt those who want a LR AWD or P3D are going to have to wait much longer than us 'day 1 or 2'ers.

I also agree the UK market is probably not that important to them. That goes for other things I'm involved in and it's frustrating at times, but we're only a little island somewhere in Europeland to them and they have to go where the money is, especially right now.

However, I do think there's quite a lot of unnecessary criticism directed towards Tesla and I really don't know why other than the 'Marmite' nature of Musk and his odd behaviour sometimes. I don't think there is a competitor to the Model 3 in sight. Maybe in a year or two, but not within the timescales we'll see them here in the UK.

I'm not bothered by the opinions of all the shorts out there or those who for some reason seem to dislike Musk and Tesla.

I also did a test a few weeks ago when that video of the water pouring into the boot came out and guess what, the same thing happens with my BMW 3-series.

I've been lucky enough to drive a Model 3 and until that moment I was more than a little sceptical myself and prepared to hate it, at which point I would also have cancelled my reservation. But less than 5 minutes after I got in it, I was fully invested and I know there is nothing else which can compete with this car (at the price point) for some time, regardless of what the PR departments are going to say.

But, we all have a choice, so I hope you find what pleases you and spend that £1k wisely

 

[gilscales]

Model 3 reservation holder from day 2 in the UK... follower of Tesla for literally its entire history.
They've done some amazing things to push EV's and kick the other companies into doing EVs.
So a few things that erk me about Tesla...
- Elon joining POTUS's board (at least he eventually quit it)
- Elon's tweeting reminding me of POTUS (insulting that caver... then doubling down "he hasn't sued me").
- Taking deposits internationally for the model 3 - but the UK having to pay more, $1400 (was £1000 - exchange rates make no difference).
- Taking deposits - but not really honouring the order in which they were taken. Tesla have been very slow to sell internationally - to Europe despite the fact they can sell the high-spec versions. Currently at 3 year reservation!). I'm unfortunately in a Right-Hand-Driver RHD market. Given the centre screen and symmetrical dash I expected the RHD to follow quickly from LHD Europe. But nothing. No invitation to configure. We've been forgotten it seems !
- Tesla's service reputation issues are scary. Norway 2-3 month delays.
- Tesla repair costs ($30k for relatively minor things) - ok S,X is a pricey car - due to limited licensed service / body shops. Cars away for months, awaiting parts (Elon just had the idea of them stocking some parts outside US HQ! Jeezus!).
- Elon's other childish behaviour. Jumping from one thing to another. Dreadnought and robots -> humans under-rated. Trying to do too much and missing things (delays, battery pack assembly issues, service problems). The whole base model 3 launch was a PR disaster. Tesla's really lost it's coolness factor it seems.
- a hood you can't close on S or 3 without denting it?
- Tesla's refusal to let people fix their own car (unless you're in Massachusets!) That guy is funny - cool youtube channel If you want to see the workings of a Tesla model S then it's fantastic... can't recall his name. Ugh!
- Tesla not releasing the open source code - in violation of the open source code that Tesla is built on.
- Claiming all their patents are open. I'm not sure I "really" believe they would share the Supercharger network!
- AP cost changes. Paying in advance for "vapourware". It'll cost $1000 more if you don't buy it up-front lies.
- Store layoffs.

I had a model 3 on order (UK resident). Today I received bank confirmation of my £1000 refund. There's a £3500 EV discount (used to be £5k) for buying an EV. Will be phased out soon I expect. Also if the car costs >£40k then you also have to pay £300 roadtax a year. I see no chance that Tesla will get the model 3 out here before the incentive closes - and even if they do I could buy one without even being a reservation holder! I have 3 years savings to buy a midrange for cash. I'm not just a teen fanboy ranting who couldn't afford one. Kia and Hyundai have 290mile range EVs for the same price Tesla might release a midrange at. Kia's car will have an air-source heat pump, is a hatchback (more convenient), >1 display screen, and can charge at 100kW/h. Tesla has some competition now. Unfortunately for them. They need to start acting honorably.

Well, Politics aside this is my favorite car I have ever owned and I have owned probably 30 cars over the years, there really is no competition for the model 3 at this point in time and it will likely be several years before anyone closes the gap.

Are there problems with the company?, sure but I don't see that they are ones that will change my mind about the car, well established car companies have had many well known problems (Dieselgate comes to mind) For Tesla to have accomplished what they have will have to come with growing pains and missteps, some necessary and some that are avoidable but never the less I am hooked on the EV powertrain now for life and I can thank Tesla for that!