Model s ride event question

[Born 2 Skydive]

Are there any Model S Reservation Holders out there not using their plus one invite to the Ride event? My wife and I have a very disappointed
12 year old boy that can't go. We are scheduled at 5 pm October 1. We are flying in from North Carolina and would greatly appreciate any help
from my fellow Tesla owners.

 

[kvietor]

Have you checked with Tesla to see if they'll make an exception?

 

[bonnie]

Worth checking, but I suspect they won't make an exception. They already had to go to two days because they weren't expecting the volume of RSVPs that came in. Hopefully someone will have an extra seat (but we did need to give the name of our passenger when we RSVP'd, so adding him would be outside the response window). Good luck.

 

[Born 2 Skydive]

Yes I emailed Tesla and they called me back and apologize they can't make any exceptions. I'm hoping some reservation holder overseas can't make the trip
and would gladly give it up.

 

[NigelM]

Worth checking, but I suspect they won't make an exception. They already had to go to two days because they weren't expecting the volume of RSVPs that came in. Hopefully someone will have an extra seat (but we did need to give the name of our passenger when we RSVP'd, so adding him would be outside the response window). Good luck.

Our confirmation had my name "plus guest" and I just sent off the name of my guest today and got a fresh confirmation with both our names tonight. If someone else has the same they may be able to help you. Good Luck.

 

[Trnsl8r]

I'm in the same situation, except on Sunday. Our son is four years old and will correctly name 95% of the cars in a parking lot. I wrote T to ask what the child policy was and got a polite response saying ... no. And I don't want to ask my wife to give up her spot.

So if anyone has a spare spot on the Sunday event at noon, he would happily take it. For now, I don't think I'll tell him where we're going...

 

[strider]

Hmmm. We're bringing our infant (as we did to the Santana Row opening). If Tesla tries to turn us away because we're bringing him Elon will be writing me a check for my deposit refund on the spot.

This just seems like really terrible PR. I understand it's going to be tight to give everyone rides so why don't they just say only 2 rides per reservation? It's not like your 12 year old (or 4 year old in Trnsl8r's case) is going to drink a bunch of alcohol or eat a lot of food. They should let him come to the event and maybe someone there will give up their ride slot or you or your wife could give up theirs but still get to check out the car and factory.

Personally I don't care about the ride - I just want to actually see the car in person. I'll wait until I can drive it.

 

[AnOutsider]

Hmmm. We're bringing our infant (as we did to the Santana Row opening). If Tesla tries to turn us away because we're bringing him Elon will be writing me a check for my deposit refund on the spot.

This just seems like really terrible PR. I understand it's going to be tight to give everyone rides so why don't they just say only 2 rides per reservation? It's not like your 12 year old (or 4 year old in Trnsl8r's case) is going to drink a bunch of alcohol or eat a lot of food. They should let him come to the event and maybe someone there will give up their ride slot or you or your wife could give up theirs but still get to check out the car and factory.

Personally I don't care about the ride - I just want to actually see the car in person. I'll wait until I can drive it.

I think that's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. It's pretty clear that it's 2 people, and as people here have confirmed, they MEAN it. You'd have no one to blame but yourself if you showed up with 3 persons to an event you RSVP'd "2" to -- especially after the confirmations in this thread.

Now, I agree, an infant might be another story, but the responsible thing here would be to reach out and verify first.

 

[bonnie]

I think that's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. It's pretty clear that it's 2 people, and as people here have confirmed, they MEAN it. You'd have no one to blame but yourself if you showed up with 3 persons to an event you RSVP'd "2" to -- especially after the confirmations in this thread.

Now, I agree, an infant might be another story, but the responsible thing here would be to reach out and verify first.

Agreed. Event planning for something of this size is not simple & can quickly get out of control. One person brings their baby, another their toddler, and then I wonder why i couldn't bring my neighbor. And if Tesla says no to the toddler or my neighbor (who promised not to eat anything), then we're equally annoyed for saying yes to the infant but no to us. It's so much simpler to just say 'two per reservation, max' and not start making exceptions.

This really isn't something that seems worth drawing a line in the sand over.

 

[strider]

But it's meant to be a family car - people should be able to bring their children to see if/how they fit, etc. And it's not like they're doing this at a public event or some space-challenged space. That factory is enormous. Yes, there are safety concerns if people were running all over the place but heck, hold it outside for that matter. I don't see the problem with limiting to 2 rides per reservation but they should let people bring a child. It's just not a great way to start a PR campaign.

 

[NigelM]

My daughter would have loved to go, but it's reasonable that Tesla wouldn't want kids running around when there are cars driving, lots of people and plenty of dangerous places for kids to be in the factory. I'm happy to know that we're making an effort to save the world for our kids - she doesn't need to see the car until it gets delivered.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

My daughter would have loved to go, but it's reasonable that Tesla wouldn't want kids running around when there are cars driving, lots of people and plenty of dangerous places for kids to be in the factory. I'm happy to know that we're making an effort to save the world for our kids - she doesn't need to see the car until it gets delivered.

Echo that. My 4-year-old knows all about "Daddy's red electric car" (thanks to my laptop's screensaver) and would have loved to come to the event but, I'd think that we'd be putting Tesla in a spot with children around (even if the kid takes up the second slot for a given invite) unless the kid is "old enough". If the kid does want to take a ride, would they then need a car seat in there?! My wife generously opted to babysit at home while I bring another "green buff" friend along to the event...

 

[Tommy]

For everyone wanting to bring a third person, please consider that there will be plenty of other chances for that person to ride in the Model S.

 

[ckessel]

For everyone wanting to bring a third person, please consider that there will be plenty of other chances for that person to ride in the Model S.

Yea.

It's pretty rude, Strider, to put them on the spot like that showing up with a 3rd individual rather than finding a sitter. They're more than clear about the 2 person limit and there are actual test drives scheduled when production gets closer to determine whether your child will fit (seriously, you don't think a child seat is going to fit in the Model S pretty much like every other car?). I'm sure lots of people would like to bring kids, parents, and friends to see "how they'll fit" (wink, wink).

Edit: That sounds more strident a day later than I intended. Infants are a bit of an exception in general, but like someone else said, call ahead. Putting Tesla on the spot like that is inconsiderate and potentially threatening to call out Elon for a check is serious overkill, especially since a few weeks ago this wasn't even an event anyone thought would exist.

 

[gmontem]

Hi Strider, what is your reservation number? If it is lower than mine then by all means please cancel your reservation. That makes you one less person to compete against getting a Model S next year. LOL. :wink:

 

[strider]

Hi Strider, what is your reservation number? If it is lower than mine then by all means please cancel your reservation. That makes you one less person to compete against getting a Model S next year. LOL. :wink:

LOL. R199.

I appreciate all the comments. It'll be interesting to see how TM adapts from the over-the-top customer service we received when they were only selling low-volume, high-cost Roadsters to a higher volume, lower cost car. Something will have to give.

I'm going to wait until the mad rush/panic dies down over at TM in a couple weeks and then I'll ask my Advocate if we can bring the baby. My wife is still on the fence about Model S (she likes her biodiesel Jeep) so if TM nixes the baby it will likely nix the car for us completely - that girl can carry a grudge like nobody's business.

 

[Kipernicus]

Strider I hear you - my wife is on the fence as well. In fact when we found out about Sunday, a conversation went down like this:

Me: "Sunday at noon is right when the kids have swim lessons"
Wife: "I'll take the kids and you can go do the Tesla thing by yourself"
Me: "But I want you to experience the car too and hopefully alleviate any questions/concerns you have"
Wife: "Well you've already made up your mind to get the car and it doesn't matter what I think"

Doh!

Tesla graciously allowed me to go on Saturday evening instead, which makes child-care easier. I did ask about bringing the kids ("putting them in the jump seats means no impact on # of rides, right?) but no dice.

Good luck Strider!

 

[ckessel]

...so if TM nixes the baby it will likely nix the car for us completely - that girl can carry a grudge like nobody's business.

That's just bizarre. Nix the car because of what's basically a customer appreciate event, that if Tesla didn't have, wouldn't give her any reason to nix the car.

Just typing that out gave me a mental whiplash.

 

[qwk]

That's just bizarre. Nix the car because of what's basically a customer appreciate event, that if Tesla didn't have, wouldn't give her any reason to nix the car.

Just typing that out gave me a mental whiplash.

Very bizarre indeed. I can totally understand Tesla's side, a bunch of crying children is not what most depositors want to hear when going to such an event.

 

[AnOutsider]

That's just bizarre. Nix the car because of what's basically a customer appreciate event, that if Tesla didn't have, wouldn't give her any reason to nix the car.

Just typing that out gave me a mental whiplash.

I can SORT of see it... I know a few people like that. They associate a negative experience with the whole company then blow it out of proportion in their heads.