I am one of those customers who put holds and rejected VINs (since I am able to wait and not in a hurry for a new car) and I actually agree that such actions should put you at the end of the line, but Tesla does not do it. You keep your place in the line based on original order date even if you change your config. So that's my story.
But there is also my friend, same city as me, he ordered a Red/Black M3LR back on Sep 28, no holds, no VIN rejections, and he will get his car Feb 28. When he first ordered the car, EDD was December. So this shows that Tesla's delivery is like a lottery based on location and configuration. The holds and rejections are just other factors but looks like not the major ones.