Model S Delivery Issues and Communication Concerns

[Grendal]

I do agree with that and I am looking for suggestions as to what would be appropriate in the opinions of others.

If possible, it should something more personalized. It should be something that you need or would like to have that isn't too outrageous. Barring that, then something like a car cover or free paint armor.

I would take a tour of SpaceX.

Not to make light of your predicament, but a trip to orbit on the Dragon would do nicely for me.

 

[Norbert]

Imagine getting an update email like this: "We are trying to fix your car, but we might have to scrap it... will let you know Monday!"

I like Grendal's suggestion. Also good to hear something concrete about the completion of the Sig sequence, even if coupled with an unfortunate situation.

 

[Beavis]

Hey kroneal, sorry to hear that.

So your VIN was started, ran into issues they tried to fix, and just recently they axed it? I ask. Because I thought the dreaded 28 were earlier cars (earlier than the 500s anyway).

My car was painted last week as well, so us end cap sigs can take the walk together

The 28 refers to those whose VIN is significantly later than it should have been based on their sequence number, according to the email I received. I looked at GB's email again and I think that's right. I am sequence number 513 and was until recently VIN 991. I don't know when they scrapped it.

 

[Grendal]

The 28 refers to those whose VIN is significantly later than it should have been based on their sequence number, according to the email I received. I looked at GB's email again and I think that's right. I am sequence number 513 and was until recently VIN 991. I don't know when they scrapped it.

As a person that works in retail and deal with merchandise going out to the public. Don't ask me why, but it just seems to be a fact that when something goes wrong the odds of more things going wrong increases exponentially. Considering your sequence number I would not be surprised that your car was scrapped twice and the first time you were a dreaded 28 with a VIN around 500ish.

The upside for you is that they are probably watching your car very carefully at this point.

 

[Shorty]

Since I started this latest back and forth with a very public rant about Telsa's communication with respect to my car, I think it would be of interest to some if I provided an update. My DS forwarded my email to his 2 immediate supervisors. That email enumerated various concerns I had with the communication process regarding my car's production. Both supervisors have since responded and the picture has become much clearer. First, I was one of the dreaded 28 referred to in GB's email on October 17th, although I didn't know that until today. Sadly, VIN 991 is no longer. It has been scrapped. RIP 991. I didn't know that until today either. They have started over and I now have another body that is just out of the paint shop. If all goes well, it will be finished next week, most likely the last US Sig.
The question I have is whether or not Tesla should make some goodwill gesture for putting me to the back of the Signature line eventhough I was sequence number 513. I thought I was paying for the paint color and the privilege of being one of the first 1,000 US cars on the road. I was passed over through no fault of mine. If this happened in a restaurant, I would expect to receive a freebie without even asking. Feel free to opine and debate. All opinions are welcome.

I am a Sig reservation holder and I don't recall ever being promised by Tesla that my car would be "one of the first 1,000 cars on the road". You had a complaint, Tesla responded to your complaint and you are getting a brand new mint condition car. I would be very happy with that. I don't think that Tesla owes you anything other than an apology for the confusion and delays and it sounds like you got that.

 

[walla2]

I am a Sig reservation holder and I don't recall ever being promised by Tesla that my car would be "one of the first 1,000 cars on the road". You had a complaint, Tesla responded to your complaint and you are getting a brand new mint condition car. I would be very happy with that. I don't think that Tesla owes you anything other than an apology for the confusion and delays and it sounds like you got that.

I'm not sure he got an apology. If you'd actually read his post, he got an explanation of the problem and their proposed solution from the sound of it. Not an apology.

You are correct Shorty, he got sold a limited edition car with only 1000 U.S. and 200 Canadian cars, not the first 1000 on the road. Now that his new VIN will be 1200+, I'm certain he didn't get one of the 1,000 unless they scrapped over 200 cars. Bad news for Tesla if that is in fact what happened.

 

[Beavis]

As a person that works in retail and deal with merchandise going out to the public. Don't ask me why, but it just seems to be a fact that when something goes wrong the odds of more things going wrong increases exponentially. Considering your sequence number I would not be surprised that your car was scrapped twice and the first time you were a dreaded 28 with a VIN around 500ish.

The upside for you is that they are probably watching your car very carefully at this point.

To be clear, I never had a VIN in the 500s. VIN 991 was the first car produced for me. The sequence/VIN discrepancy is what makes me one of the 28.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm not sure he got an apology. If you'd actually read his post, he got an explanation of the problem and their proposed solution from the sound of it. Not an apology.

You are correct Shorty, he got sold a limited edition car with only 1000 U.S. and 200 Canadian cars, not the first 1000 on the road. Now that his new VIN will be 1200+, I'm certain he didn't get one of the 1,000 unless they scrapped over 200 cars. Bad news for Tesla if that is in fact what happened.

They did, in fact, apologize. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

 

[walla2]

Imagine getting an update email like this: "We are trying to fix your car, but we might have to scrap it... will let you know Monday!"

I like Grendal's suggestion. Also good to hear something concrete about the completion of the Sig sequence, even if coupled with an unfortunate situation.

I agree that that email wouldn't be good. Perhaps, an email saying "Due to unforeseen supply and production issues, your car's delivery has been delayed. We regret sincerely that we can't make our promised delivery window and will be working with you to get your car out to you as soon as possible with the highest level of quality. A Tesla representative will update you in the coming weeks regarding the delay and provide you with a new timeline. We appreciate you patience and understanding and appreciate your business. If you do not hear from us then, please call us directly at . . . " That type of email is classy, and I think people would likely respond favorably to this kind of update instead of being left in the dark completely as weeks and weeks pass.

There are many Sigs out there that have not yet been delivered or scheduled. I don't think we have any concrete evidence the Sig list is finished or even close to finishing yet. Tesla's timelines and updates haven't been reliable or accurate. I know of several owners whose cars were finished over 2 weeks ago (mine included). Why not deliver or schedule delivery for them then? While Tesla has been more transparent than say GM or Willy Wonka, I wouldn't call Tesla's production and delivery process transparent unless you mean so opaque you can nearly not see the sun through it.

 

[contaygious]

I have this picture in my head of p cars filling up the lot and tesla reps waiting by the phones until kroneal takes delivery and they can finally break the signature cone if silence

 

[napabill]

+1 yes!

 

[Norbert]

I don't think we have any concrete evidence the Sig list is finished or even close to finishing yet.

Not evidence, but I took this as an indication from kroneal: "If all goes well, it will be finished next week, most likely the last US Sig". Although things might not go well, this is more specific than anything else I remember.

 

[rlawson4]

I have not heard anything definite on mine. I was a late addition, so I am not complaining. I hope I can report it being on a truck soon.

 

[dsmith2189]

I wonder how many cars get scrapped by manufacturers? This is the 2nd or 3rd I've heard of, which seems like a high number given the small number of cars made and even smaller sample set of folks that would post.

Well they did say they needed some cars to crash test for the DOT to do their crash test rating...

- - - Updated - - -

Since you only got part of what you were paying for, a partial refund of the Sig premium seems reasonable, or free maintenance as has been suggested previously.

A T-shirt that says: "I'm one of the dreaded 28 and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt"

 

[NigelM]

Now that his new VIN will be 1200+,.....

Unless you know something that *kroneal* hasn't posted it's impossible to say that his VIN will be >1,200. The Canadian cars seem to have started production but nobody here knows how far through production some/any of them are. Let's try to stay factual when stating absolutes please.

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Imagine getting an update email like this: "We are trying to fix your car, but we might have to scrap it... will let you know Monday!".

I got that phone call (it wasn't an email) back when I got my firm delivery date in early October. It came on a joint conference call from my DS and his Regional Manager; they were very polite and apologized and explained the situation and what steps they were taking to get me a car. This was followed by mails from 2 Tesla execs apologizing. It did mean that I actually got my car almost 5 weeks after paying for it as it also had to travel across the country but Tesla kept their promise to me at a time when they were trying to get the original ramp-up going and people were clamoring for their cars. S**t happens but they did their best and I'm certain they'll do their best by *kroneal* also.

 

[PeterW]

S**t happens but they did their best and I'm certain they'll do their best by *kroneal* also.

Agreed, they will do something appropriate for the circumstances. Seen it before, and hopefully we will see it in the future.

 

[Norbert]

I got that phone call (it wasn't an email) back when I got my firm delivery date in early October. It came on a joint conference call from my DS and his Regional Manager; they were very polite and apologized and explained the situation and what steps they were taking to get me a car. This was followed by mails from 2 Tesla execs apologizing.

Much better than a (hypothetical) casual email.

 

[walla2]

Much better than a (hypothetical) casual email.

I would settle for a telegram update over dead silence. I would love to get a phone call from a random tesla employee. An email would be easy for a company that is in silicon valley and again better than dead silence. I think kroneal would agree that if they had contacted him earlier he would be posting anything. That is exactly how I feel. A simple message in October saying they weren't going to deliver would have been the right thing to do. I hope tesla can learn and start working with r and p reservations more smoothly.

Btw, why are all your posts so condescending? I think it's fair to question issues with delivery, quality. You seem to think everyone should shut up and take it.

- - - Updated - - -

The last Sig on the spreadsheet is 1085. The last one with a date associated with it was1069 on 10/28. At 200 cars per week, they should have finished or at least started a large number of Canadian sigs. I was guessing that at least 115 cars had been started since 10/28. Your right though. It's not a fact.

 

[Arnold Panz]

I think it would be great to offer something to Kroneal (and others in a similar boat who really got majorly delayed), but I doubt Tesla will do so. It creates a situation where they're valuing one person's negative experience over another, and I think Tesla believes that as long as they get their cars (eventually) they don't owe them anything additional.

If they were to offer something, I think it should be something of value to Kroneal that is a soft or low cost for Tesla. For example, free service for a few years (or life of the car) is of definite value to Kroneal, but doesn't cost Tesla anything out of pocket (except wiper blades and fluid). I don't know if there's anything else; a tour of SpaceX, if he's into that sort of thing, is another great idea. Or, maybe lunch with Elon? In any event, I don't think it helps Tesla to throw extra money at the problem (the car presumably is already a money loser for them), but something to show Kroneal some love while not breaking the bank would be a win/win here IMHO.

Still, I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[Norbert]

I would settle for a telegram update over dead silence.

I'm not advocating dead silence. My message above was to point out that certain situations can't be communicated in a short email *in explicit terms*.

 

[v12 to 12v]

Since I started this latest back and forth with a very public rant about Telsa's communication with respect to my car, I think it would be of interest to some if I provided an update. My DS forwarded my email to his 2 immediate supervisors. That email enumerated various concerns I had with the communication process regarding my car's production. Both supervisors have since responded and the picture has become much clearer. First, I was one of the dreaded 28 referred to in GB's email on October 17th, although I didn't know that until today. Sadly, VIN 991 is no longer. It has been scrapped. RIP 991. I didn't know that until today either. They have started over and I now have another body that is just out of the paint shop. If all goes well, it will be finished next week, most likely the last US Sig.
The question I have is whether or not Tesla should make some goodwill gesture for putting me to the back of the Signature line eventhough I was sequence number 513. I thought I was paying for the paint color and the privilege of being one of the first 1,000 US cars on the road. I was passed over through no fault of mine. If this happened in a restaurant, I would expect to receive a freebie without even asking. Feel free to opine and debate. All opinions are welcome.

So sorry to hear about 991. I'm so glad that they told you what was going on. Silence, excuses or erroneous information is more difficult than any delay as far as I am concerned. If I am supplied with facts, kept informed and I know that I am not falling through the cracks I can adapt or accomodate with ease. There would be dissapointment but that would pass. The frustration or disillusionment that can come when you feel like you are in the dark lingers on. That may be just me though.

It sounds like you are being a good sport in spite of it all. I hope that a minty new Sig will be on your doorstep soon.
Do you have triskaidekaphobia now? I think I might after seeing your reservation play out like it did. :scared: