Wiki Model S Delivery Update

[NigelM]

Jkam is going to win the dubious honor of being the most delayed delivery of a Sig. :scared:

In fairness Jkam knows his car is finished, IIRC it's the boat that seemed to be the problem. Mine was 5 weeks after originally finishing production and me paying for it.

P.S. I've had it for two weeks now and I don't give a hoot about those 5 lost weeks. :biggrin:

 

[tezco]

Seems to me, that if a couple people are significantly delayed (while TM is challenged getting parts, fixing alignment, or other pesky operational issues), that it might be easier to pull another unit from back of the line and reassign the VINs. VIN order be damned. Just sayin.

I would have assigned everyone a production sequence number once the Sig reservations closed and you knew who needed to be at the head of the pack. Then give VIN's out in that order. Attach VIN to car only when it passed QC. Use an internal VIN or partial VIN during production.

 

[NigelM]

Attach VIN to car only when it passed QC.

Nice idea but isn't the VIN also marked on certain key elements of the car to deter theft? Chassis etc? (It's a question, I'm not an expert)

 

[bonnie]

Nice idea but isn't the VIN also marked on certain key elements of the car to deter theft? Chassis etc? (It's a question, I'm not an expert)

Yes, exactly. And the car is tracked in their MRP system, along with assembly data, test data, inspection data, etc. It would be an unreasonable challenge to set/reset the VIN at the end of the process. Good idea, but really difficult to execute.

 

[Grendal]

P.S. I've had it for two weeks now and I don't give a hoot about those 5 lost weeks. :biggrin:

It's a good thing that Tesla made the car as great as it is. It allows you fabulous early adopters the cushion to forgive the early issues.

 

[dflye]

Nice idea but isn't the VIN also marked on certain key elements of the car to deter theft? Chassis etc? (It's a question, I'm not an expert)

While removing the access cover to get to the fuse boxes (needed for a touchscreen hard reset to get the 3G connection to come back to life), noticed the VIN engraved on the chassis.

It is to the left of the 2 user-accessible fuse boxes (3rd being the hefty fuses for service that is buried out of sight), pretty cool they engraved the Tesla logo as well!

 

[tezco]

Yes, exactly. And the car is tracked in their MRP system, along with assembly data, test data, inspection data, etc. It would be an unreasonable challenge to set/reset the VIN at the end of the process. Good idea, but really difficult to execute.

Just add the last four digits (your production number) to the VIN that is visible under the windshield, or put it on a second line. Perhaps the second line would read "Chassis #1234 - Signature Series Model S - Model Year 2013". This wouldn't be an actual part of the VIN, but it would give the early adopters some bragging rights.

 

[Martini]

I would have assigned everyone a production sequence number once the Sig reservations closed and you knew who needed to be at the head of the pack. Then give VIN's out in that order. Attach VIN to car only when it passed QC. Use an internal VIN or partial VIN during production.

The desire for strict VIN and sequence order seems like an issue particular to Signature buyers, who are more sensitive than others perhaps to sequence and VIN order. It doesn't make sense for Tesla to optimise their production line process for something that concerns a relatively small portion of total buyers, especially if it entails significant extra cost. In Europe, most cars are sold on a build to order basis, with a typical delivery delay of around 6 weeks. Once the car is built, they deliver it to the dealer and they call you. That's it. If it happened to take 18 weeks instead of 6, don't expect an explanation or an apology. Efficiently running a factory is hard, so much the more so during a ramp up like Tesla is going through. Everyone appreciates the commitment to Tesla that Signature buyers have made, but looking from the outside many of these issues seem small in the grand scheme of things.

That said, Jkam has every right to be upset, and I would be coming out of my skin if I were in his shoes.

 

[Norbert]

In Europe, most cars are sold on a build to order basis, with a typical delivery delay of around 6 weeks. Once the car is built, they deliver it to the dealer and they call you. That's it. If it happened to take 18 weeks instead of 6, don't expect an explanation or an apology.

Et voila.

Had similar experience ordering from a GM dealer here in the US (didn't actually have to wait that long, just enough to get anxious and call, they just said they didn't know).

I'm curious if Tesla will succeed in setting up an automated notification system, or something of that kind.

 

[AnOutsider]

In all fairness, tesla set the expectations high by assigning sequence numbers to an "exclusive" series. They've admitted they built out of order after making a big deal about order and are trying to set it right.

 

[tezco]

The desire for strict VIN and sequence order seems like an issue particular to Signature buyers, who are more sensitive than others perhaps to sequence and VIN order. It doesn't make sense for Tesla to optimise their production line process for something that concerns a relatively small portion of total buyers, especially if it entails significant extra cost. In Europe, most cars are sold on a build to order basis, with a typical delivery delay of around 6 weeks. Once the car is built, they deliver it to the dealer and they call you. That's it. If it happened to take 18 weeks instead of 6, don't expect an explanation or an apology. Efficiently running a factory is hard, so much the more so during a ramp up like Tesla is going through. Everyone appreciates the commitment to Tesla that Signature buyers have made, but looking from the outside many of these issues seem small in the grand scheme of things.

That said, Jkam has every right to be upset, and I would be coming out of my skin if I were in his shoes.

I agree. Some sort of plaque for the reservation order sequence, rough attempt to build in that order, but batching colors or models with similar options should dictate how the factory runs.

 

[strider]

I'm curious if Tesla will succeed in setting up an automated notification system, or something of that kind.

They have said they are working on this and hope to implement it for GP's.

 

[twisti]

No deliveries today?

 

[Lyon]

No deliveries today?

That's possible, but not every Model S reservation holder is on the forum.

 

[Debbie]

Wow, I am getting very antsy to get my car. It seems a shame that there may be cars produced-ready( R's and P's ) that cannot be delivered because Sigs need to be completed first which may have been held up for one reason or another.

 

[twisti]

That's possible, but not every Model S reservation holder is on the forum.

They better should be!

 

[NigelM]

It seems a shame that there may be cars produced-ready( R's and P's ) that cannot be delivered because Sigs need to be completed first which may have been held up for one reason or another.

There's around 1,200 people out there who probably don't sympathize. Hang in there.

 

[strider]

Wow, I am getting very antsy to get my car. It seems a shame that there may be cars produced-ready( R's and P's ) that cannot be delivered because Sigs need to be completed first which may have been held up for one reason or another.

Hi Debbie, welcome to the forum. I'm in the same boat as you. My wife and I have a function on 12/8 and we'd really like to have our car by then!

 

[Laumb]

@ the Oslo store today, production VIN. No sig logo on blinkers.


_____
Tapatalkin' from iTalatut.

 

[Smallfootprint]

Model S Signature 385 / Vin 553 was delivered Sunday November 18th at about 11 am to Bronxville, New York. Configuration is black exterior / black interior / carbon fiber interior accents / gray performance wheels / panoramic roof / no child seats / rear spoiler / no paint armor / HPWC.

The rear spoiler and HPWC were not delivered with the car and listed as due bill items which will be delivered towards the end of 2012 (hopefully). I'll try to figure out how to post some pics in the stories thread.