Wiki Model S Delivery Update

[mmanner]

I warn mine now before I stomp it

Your spouse or your car? [edit, to be clear, I meant do you warn your spouse or your car before you stomp the CAR. I realized after I posted what I thought was a funny response that it might be interpreted differently. Such is the danger of the internet/forum/social media no-in-person interaction world ]

 

[lzolman]

Emailed an SA asking if they can explain the VIN assignment process, finally got some answers

View attachment 681517

Damn you, I was staring at the guy's left ear for a few minutes trying to find the hidden text!!!!!

 

[bllydia]

I have a 2020 Model S and I don’t feel any heat thru the glass roof(and we just went thru more 100+ days up here ever). Have they changed the glass for the top? I am also fair(Woody Allen fair: “I don’t tan, I stroke”. Gotten sun burned often in cars but only with the side windows down. Anyone coming from the previous Model S to the new one? Can you comment it the glass roof seems different?

I also have 2020 MS LR+ and coming from 2019 M3 LR immediately noticed improvement in glass roof heat reduction. Hope they didn’t back track in refresh model.

 

[lolachampcar]

Ultimately, it’s really Tesla’s poor expectation management (and Elon’s excessively optimistic timelines) that create frustration among their customer base. This is relatively easy to fix, in my humble opinion.

Agreed but I try hard to clearly separate out two very distinct issues. Any of the engineers here will instantly recognize the over enthusiastic timelines Elon generates when talking about developing/perfecting new tech. I always think I can do it in X because I'm "so close" and inevitably end up doing it in Y because of Murphy. We are incurable optimists. I tend to cut engineers slack on this but I hear their words with the correct filter.

I suspect engineering over optimism combined with simple business reality resulted in the demise of the +. Why build a super small run car with brand new batteries and fancy mono bloc chassis casting? It makes very little sense. Build a smaller number of development mules and remove the customer delivery pressure and warranty exposure shipping something not fully cooked. My guess is this reality caught up with Elon combined with what appears to be the truth that + is really not needed given Plaid's performance. A really good track pack will do the same trick.

The second issue for me is far more ominous. The company has no respect for the commitments it makes to customers on the business side. It was making promises at the end of May/beginning of June that appear to have been "unkeepable". I say appear because I do not know what they knew and when they knew it. For example, did they know how they were going to batch Red or was there a hiccup on material availability? Or, did they know there were few if any 19s available or was there a similar type hiccup on delivery? We do not know and near no information about these issues leaks out of the company to the general public.

What is certain to me is that the business side of the house considers customers disposable. Like over optimistic time lines, that comes from the top. Any arms length evaluation of a purchase for me takes into account that I can not trust the business side of the house, am happy with the service side and am over the moon with the product. I continue to buy. This seems to reinforce Tesla's calculus (based on a single, likely not right in the head, sample).

 

[lzolman]

Lola, spot on. In fact I was just thinking about how to articulate what you just said, and you did it wonderfully. My executive summary: Tesla's (i.e., Elon's) priorities do not place pre-delivery customer service as a high priority. That's a business decision. We may not like it, but that's just the way it is. I do not personally find that it's a worthwhile application of my time/resources to biatch about it. Life is too short. I'm going to soon be receiving a car that is orders of magnitude nicer than any car I've ever been expecting to be able to own. That is SO much more significant than the fact I've had to wait 8 months so far. Besides, I've always needed to work on my delay of gratification, so that's the sliver lining...

 

[lolachampcar]

Lola, spot on. In fact I was just thinking about how to articulate what you just said, and you did it wonderfully. My executive summary: Tesla's (i.e., Elon's) priorities do not place pre-delivery customer service as a high priority. That's a business decision. We may not like it, but that's just the way it is. I do not personally find that it's a worthwhile application of my time/resources to biatch about it. Life is too short. I'm going to soon be receiving a car that is orders of magnitude nicer than any car I've ever been expecting to be able to own. That is SO much more significant than the fact I've had to wait 8 months so far. Besides, I've always needed to work on my delay of gratification, so that's the sliver lining...

I really need to learn to better make lemonade out of lemons. Well done!!!

 

[Aleks0404]

Woah! Why didn't I think of doing just that? You're so smart lol Of course, there are people who have placed orders way before me. They deserve to get their cars way before me but we both know that isn't happening since Tesla is busy delivering to people who ordered a week ago
When there are people who got their cars on a week's notice then the least Tesla can do is to communicate with customers who've been waiting longer. Now, to you this must be how a company needs to treat its customer and its fully acceptable but to anyone with multiple brain cells this isn't a way to do business. And frankly telling people they need to be okay with it or cancel the order is a dick move and makes you look like a cultist nut hugger.

This is a civilized conversation mate, there is no need for that here. If you don’t like the process just cancel your order (yes cancel it) not sure if you even have one and move on. Not sure how you deal with everyday life but if this is a problem for you then good luck

 

[lzolman]

I really need to learn to better make lemonade out of lemons. Well done!!!

Haha, at the house where I grew up in Hollywood we had a ridiculously healthy lemon tree in the back yard. I basically had fresh squeezed lemonade any time I wanted any. Then when I moved out East, it would be like, err..., having your Plaid taken away and you have to drive a Yaris. But at least there's "Simply Lemonade", the only one that tastes remotely the way it should.

 

[luehrsen]

Is there any data or evidence of non US deliveries? From talking to people most estimate the new MS hitting Europe in Q4. And that seems even optimistic.

I kinda mentally prepare for a Q1 2022 delivery...

 

[ks1972]

My account still shows July. I don't know how folks who aren't on TMC are dealing with the delays and perpetual monkeying around--it's hard enough with the insights in this thread, I can't imagine being blind on it.

I know at least 2 guys (both doctors) who just went to the local Porsche dealership and picked up cars there. This was back in April

 

[Psbeattie]

Tint specs?

10 percent. Ceramic 3m

 

[AnselmDante]

I would take the discourse here any day over some other places like FB. At least we’re all relatively positive about the cars we own or want to own some day and mostly help each other out even if we have the occasional run of rough few pages. My local FB is just filled with meme content and holier than thou comment making. Recently someone posted a photo of an awesome looking Plaid and literally 90% of the comments were some form of “hurr durr why is it not on fire yet I saw on news plaids explode you should not stand so close” SMH…

I think the problem is some people get a negative emotional response from negative posts . They want these posts to just go away so they don't feel that negativity.

Then there is the group that needs constant positive feedback to validate their decisions. This group attacks any negativity directed towards what they value. Telling them Tesla is not perfect takes something away from their experience. That group tends to mock and belittle the negative responses.

And finally, there are the ones that just want to remind people it could be worse, or tell them how this will all be worth it. This response just angers the people who are trying to vent about their frustrations. I liken this response to telling someone who just got ignored parole for the 4th time that it could be worse and once you get out, none of this will matter.

Everyone else just reads the rants and and find them informative, relatable, or amusing.

At any rate, the longer this goes on, the more negative things will become. Lets just try to focus that anger toward the Tesla customer service and not each other.

 

[Ormond]

At any rate, the longer this goes on, the more negative things will become. Lets just try to focus that anger toward the Tesla customer service and not each other.

And you made fun of my poster board solution for the glass roof! I’m not allowing you to invest in my Etsy shop!

 

[rhuber]

I know the process is tedious and haphazard, but once you get it, the car isn't really worth the wait.

 

[AnselmDante]

Any of the engineers here will instantly recognize the over enthusiastic timelines Elon generates when talking about developing/perfecting new tech. I always think I can do it in X because I'm "so close" and inevitably end up doing it in Y because of Murphy. We are incurable optimists. I tend to cut engineers slack on this but I hear their words with the correct filter.

My experience at my company is that the engineers give realistic timelines, and then management cuts them in half, I think management believes the engineers are lazy, and if they just cut a realistic timeline in half things will get done twice as fast. What happens every time is corners are cut, mistakes get missed, and it ends up taking 3 times as long as the original estimate.

 

[rhuber]

My experience at my company is that the engineers give realistic timelines, and then management cuts them in half, I think management believes the engineers are lazy, and if they just cut a realistic timeline in half things will get done twice as fast. What happens every time is corners are cut, mistakes get missed, and it ends up taking 3 times as long as the original estimate.

I have had a friend work on the Falcon (9) team and a few friends at Tesla over the years. I think Elon rather purposefully sets unrealistic deadlines to overwork people. Take that for what you will, but it is the reason his companies have a pervasive problem with burnout. It almost certainly leads to things happening faster, but at the expense of peoples' time to enjoy life outside of work.

Yes, I know they can just get a job somewhere else if they don't like it, but also realize that however frustrated we are with Tesla, I bet the employees are constantly stressed to meet unrealistic deadlines.

 

[SSDTester#1]

I know the process is tedious and haphazard, but once you get it, the car isn't really worth the wait.

The problem is that, with all of the shenanigans, you truly can’t say you’ll even get a car. I’m sure people who ordered in October and still have not got anything thought they’ll definitely have a car by “X” month. Soon it’ll be a year for them. Who’s to say Tesla won’t pull another refresharoo on them and start this whole game over once again?

 

[DukeofURL]

I have had a friend work on the Falcon (9) team and a few friends at Tesla over the years. I think Elon rather purposefully sets unrealistic deadlines to overwork people. Take that for what you will, but it is the reason his companies have a pervasive problem with burnout. It almost certainly leads to things happening faster, but at the expense of peoples' time to enjoy life outside of work.

Yes, I know they can just get a job somewhere else if they don't like it, but also realize that however frustrated we are with Tesla, I bet the employees are constantly stressed to meet unrealistic deadlines.

When I went to the Model Y reveal, I got to hang out with some guys from Tesla. I said I loved all the products the company makes, but that I’d never want to work for them, and that they’re a special breed. They kinda looked at me with a “why in the world wouldn’t you want to work here?!” look, lol…. That’s the reason for sure, though.

 

[rhuber]

The problem is that, with all of the shenanigans, you truly can’t say you’ll even get a car. I’m sure people who ordered in October and still have not got anything thought they’ll definitely have a car by “X” month. Soon it’ll be a year for them. Who’s to say they won’t pull another refresharoo on them and start this whole game over once again?

Yeah, sorry I wasn't trying to fire this back up, just kidding around. I was just as stressed by the process and it makes me not want to consider a Tesla after this Plaid. Great car, but I do agree that they don't really care about communicating with customers, and should spend a lot more time on that if they want to be a long term successful brand.

 

[AMGF]

Need I remind people that things suck elsewhere as well. Ever tried to buy a Gt3 or Gt3RS brand new from Porsche or the new hot Ferrari (or the Corvette C8)? This is a racket. Long time customers get to cut the line, dealers involved in shenanigans over allocation and what not. If you want the new hot car without any inside connections, you have to go on the used market where these cars sell for way more than sticker. It's a disgusting market for those not in the "club".

Look at the bright side, at least Tesla is not playing that game. And they could. Just limit the production of Plaid models and watch the fireworks! Tesla is building the cars and will sell to anyone at sticker. The delays is a small price to pay compared to getting a GT3 (that also has delays btw).