No car on delivery day... :(

[1.21GW]

There are many basic... extremely basic... logistics systems that are broken at Tesla. I hope all of you get your cars on time. I have been hearing of more people have this happen. I’ll spare you all the details of my saga, because I don’t know what advice I would give to you. I tried all the proactive measures I could think of. I showed up to the store and nothing seemed amiss until I saw the look on my Delivery specialists face with the realization that my car was not there. (Similar to my avatar)

The delivery specialists at the store did everything in their power, I really appreciated that, but it’s the corporate level logistics systems and communication that is broken.

I should be uploading pics of the car right now

 

[Big Earl]

Sorry to hear about this! I hope you have your car soon.

 

[Stacks]

It is extremely disappointing that they can’t give us accurate delivery dates.

I was scheduled for delivery 6 days out. 4 days later I was delayed by 3 weeks. How does that happen?

 

[SoCalGuy]

There are many basic... extremely basic... logistics systems that are broken at Tesla. I hope all of you get your cars on time. I have been hearing of more people have this happen. I’ll spare you all the details of my saga, because I don’t know what advice I would give to you. I tried all the proactive measures I could think of. I showed up to the store and nothing seemed amiss until I saw the look on my Delivery specialists face with the realization that my car was not there. (Similar to my avatar)

The delivery specialists at the store did everything in their power, I really appreciated that, but it’s the corporate level logistics systems and communication that is broken.

I should be uploading pics of the car right now

When you had called earlier, did they confirm your car had arrived at the delivery center? Just wondering why it took until you showed up to the delivery center for them to realize they didn’t have your car.

 

[beachbum77]

It is extremely disappointing that they can’t give us accurate delivery dates.

I was scheduled for delivery 6 days out. 4 days later I was delayed by 3 weeks. How does that happen?

I am guessing you are not in CA, so they sold your car at a Fremont sale and are building you a fresh one for Q4 delivery. They figured you are a fanboy and would not mind since this helps the Motherland hits its Q3 targets.

 

[TechSavvyWife]

@1.21GW I noticed your in Michigan too. Which location were you picking up from?

We are taking the train into Chicago next weekend and if I get there with no car...... We will probably have missed the last train back to Michigan as our appointment is late in the day. I was hoping if they saw you coming from out of state and you didn't have the car they would let you know a day in advance.

 

[Stacks]

I am guessing you are not in CA, so they sold your car at a Fremont sale and are building you a fresh one for Q4 delivery. They figured you are a fanboy and would not mind since this helps the Motherland hits its Q3 targets.

If that is true, I wouldn’t mind. Tesla surviving as a company keeps the software updates coming making my car better and better.

 

[jcasetnl]

I am guessing you are not in CA, so they sold your car at a Fremont sale and are building you a fresh one for Q4 delivery. They figured you are a fanboy and would not mind since this helps the Motherland hits its Q3 targets.

I'm pretty convinced that's what's going on. I suspected it a week ago when they did the "reservation holders, come get a "close enough" car right away" sale. But then on-the-ground people confirming if they had cash-in-hand they could drive a M3 off the lot with no reservation. Squeaky wheels, and reservation-holders in areas where there's not enough walk-in demand are sometimes able to push through and get their cars.

In the past week I've read simply too many accounts with too many different excuses to think this is simple incompetence. I've even read the "truck was late" excuse for the delivery center IN FREMONT.

I would put the optimistic explanation at this point as trying to pump up Q3 numbers. And I would recommend no one sign or pay for anything until the car is there and they've given it a thorough going over. And good Jeebus, don't sell your current car until you have your new car in hand if it's your primary vehicle and you need it for work. It's just too risky on such a high-dollar product, disregarding it's absurd that people need to go to such lengths to protect themselves in the first place.

 

[beachbum77]

I noticed your in Michigan too. Which location were you picking up from?

We are taking the train into Chicago next weekend and if I get there with no car...... We will probably have missed the last train back to Michigan as our appointment is late in the day. I was hoping if they saw you coming from out of state and you didn't have the car they would let you know a day in advance.

Most people have been getting notified ahead of time (at least a few hours in advance). However, if you are coming in by train, I suggest 1) you ask to be moved to earlier in the day, so that if you reject the car you can catch the last train home. 2) Give them notice they need to contact you of any hiccups at least 24 in advance of delivery or you are going to have your NFL linebacker husband use them as tackle dummies!

 

[Darren Donovan]

I am guessing you are not in CA, so they sold your car at a Fremont sale and are building you a fresh one for Q4 delivery. They figured you are a fanboy and would not mind since this helps the Motherland hits its Q3 targets.

Wow, so if you reserved your car, it can still be sold to someone else who happens to come to the parking lot sale and like the car? Then what's the point of the "reservation"? What kind of business practice is this?

 

[TechSavvyWife]

Most people have been getting notified ahead of time (at least a few hours in advance). However, if you are coming in by train, I suggest 1) you ask to be moved to earlier in the day, so that if you reject the car you can catch the last train home. 2) Give them notice they need to contact you of any hiccups at least 24 in advance of delivery or you are going to have your NFL linebacker husband use them as tackle dummies!

I am planning on giving my DA a call the day before and confirming with him that the car is indeed there.

 

[neroden]

I'm pretty convinced that's what's going on. I suspected it a week ago when they did the "reservation holders, come get a "close enough" car right away" sale. But then on-the-ground people confirming if they had cash-in-hand they could drive a M3 off the lot with no reservation. Squeaky wheels, and reservation-holders in areas where there's not enough walk-in demand are sometimes able to push through and get their cars.

In the past week I've read simply too many accounts with too many different excuses to think this is simple incompetence.

Simple incompetence? No, no, it's gross incompetence.

Like the difference between simple negligence and gross negligence.

I... don't think it's actually just desire to have better Q3 numbers. I think they're literally trying to shift the cars off the (far too small) parking lots because there are new cars coming from the factory and nowhere to put them. We have very clear reports of this from several locations. They simply didn't plan out suitable levels of buffering for their delivery logistics. Expensive and slow problem to fix; parking lots are *expensive*.

And I would recommend no one sign or pay for anything until the car is there and they've given it a thorough going over. And good Jeebus, don't sell your current car until you have your new car in hand if it's your primary vehicle and you need it for work.

Definitely, but I've been saying this all along.

 

[b_ack51]

I’d recommend calling the local delivery center a couple days before. I ended up stopping by a few days in advance to check the car out and everything was good for delivery.

 

[jcasetnl]

Wow, so if you reserved your car, it can still be sold to someone else who happens to come to the parking lot sale and like the car? Then what's the point of the "reservation"? What kind of business practice is this?

Here is a very pessimistic view of what could be going on. I'm not saying this IS what' is going on. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions.

1. You take money from Customer A. You put that money in the accounting system. That makes your cash position look better. Then you make up an excuse about delivery. Then they delete the VIN from your account and you go back to waiting. Therefore, you do not subtract from your Assets/inventory. That makes those numbers look better, too.
2. Now you ring up Customer B, say "your car is ready." Customer B pays for the car. That makes your cash position look better. Then you make up an excuse about delivery. Then they delete the VIN from your account and you go back to waiting. Do you see where this is going?
3. But where is your car, really?
4. Now customer C comes along, cash-in-hand. You sell to Customer C right off the lot. Customer C's money makes your cash position look even better. However, you only subtracted 1 car from inventory. And frankly, the car was in less than perfect shape and already refused a couple times. If C wants to keep it, great. But there's a decent chance Customer C won't want to keep it.
5. So Customer C has a problem. You say "Bring it in, we'll fix it." You send it off to "the body shop", ignore phone calls, drag it out. You make excuses about why you can't fix it, and ask Customer C "Do you want to keep waiting? It might be faster just to issue you a new VIN." Or you say, "Sorry, we couldn't fix the problem. We'll just issue you a new VIN." And C goes back in line. But you have C's money.
6. You quietly send the car to another lot.
7. Now you rinse/repeat with Customer's D and E.

So you've transformed one car sale into several. Your quarterly numbers look great. Your inventory looks strong. Then the next quarter, you try to catch up. "So sorry for the wait. Here's some super charger credits."

 

[Superspectral]

Here is a very pessimistic view of what could be going on. I'm not saying this IS what' is going on. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions.

1. You take money from Customer A. You put that money in the accounting system. That makes your cash position look better. Then you make up an excuse about delivery. Then they delete the VIN from your account and you go back to waiting. Therefore, you do not subtract from your Assets/inventory. That makes those numbers look better, too.
2. Now you ring up Customer B, say "your car is ready." Customer B pays for the car. That makes your cash position look better. Then you make up an excuse about delivery. Then they delete the VIN from your account and you go back to waiting. Do you see where this is going?
3. But where is your car, really?
4. Now customer C comes along, cash-in-hand. You sell to Customer C right off the lot. Customer C's money makes your cash position look even better. However, you only subtracted 1 car from inventory. And frankly, the car was in less than perfect shape and already refused a couple times. If C wants to keep it, great. But there's a decent chance Customer C won't want to keep it.
5. So Customer C has a problem. You say "Bring it in, we'll fix it." You send it off to "the body shop", ignore phone calls, drag it out. You make excuses about why you can't fix it, and ask Customer C "Do you want to keep waiting? It might be faster just to issue you a new VIN." Or you say, "Sorry, we couldn't fix the problem. We'll just issue you a new VIN." And C goes back in line. But you have C's money.
6. You quietly send the car to another lot.
7. Now you rinse/repeat with Customer's D and E.

So you've transformed one car sale into several. Your quarterly numbers look great. Your inventory looks strong. Then the next quarter, you try to catch up. "So sorry for the wait. Here's some super charger credits."

That would be fraudulent. I think the more likely issue is an overwhelmed staff, lack of foresight in booking cross country shipping, and the optimism of facing a Q3 live or die goal.

 

[SMAlset]

Simple incompetence? No, no, it's gross incompetence.

Like the difference between simple negligence and gross negligence.

I... don't think it's actually just desire to have better Q3 numbers. I think they're literally trying to shift the cars off the (far too small) parking lots because there are new cars coming from the factory and nowhere to put them. We have very clear reports of this from several locations. They simply didn't plan out suitable levels of buffering for their delivery logistics. Expensive and slow problem to fix; parking lots are *expensive*.

Definitely, but I've been saying this all along.

They had a system in place for several years that worked fine with a more limited number of cars being produced. It didn’t scale well once they got more cars coming out of production and they ran into storage and delivery issues. You don’t live in the Bay area I see, but while the Nummi plant was really large (it’s amazing to do a tour there), there just isn’t much or any space over there in the East Bay or on the Peninsula for that matter to store cars. This wasn’t an issue prior to announcing the Model 3 in 2016, just two years ago.

Likely what became a major issue logistically and a bottleneck for Tesla was the old railroad line that went to the factory that was removed. That would have made the most sense to utilize it to move cars out in volume. Don’t know why it got removed but someone a while back on here said the old rails likely needed replacing. They also said putting in new rails and working with the railroad to do so is not the quick, easy matter you’d assume it could be due to regulations that come into play. Bet there are plans in the works and approvals being sought to begin work on replacing that line though. And who knows maybe the Model 3 was at some point envisioned to be manufactured down at the Gigafactory where space isn’t an issue and neither was a rail extension. It’s unfortunate that there is the confusion for some about delivery dates and it has added to the stress of being so close to having your car.

 

[SMAlset]

That would be fraudulent. I think the more likely issue is an overwhelmed staff, lack of foresight in booking cross country shipping, and the optimism of facing a Q3 live or die goal.

Agreed and I couldn’t help but notice that the poster is brand new to the forum and comes up with suggestions of bait and switch or whatever. Just found the ignore button.

 

[jcasetnl]

Agreed and I couldn’t help but notice that the poster is brand new to the forum and comes up with suggestions of bait and switch or whatever. Just found the ignore button.

I've been lurking here for around a month, which still isn't very long.

Yes, if what I described was taking place it would amount to fraud.

 

[neroden]

That would be fraudulent. I think the more likely issue is an overwhelmed staff, lack of foresight in booking cross country shipping, and the optimism of facing a Q3 live or die goal.

....and seriously defective database systems.

We're discovering that the delivery people are looking at a system and saying "your license is missing" or "your insurance is missing" or whatever, causing someone's order to not be processed. This happens when you've already uploaded the license and insurance stuff to the website and it still shows on the website front end. There seem to be a number of problems like this, and a lot of ways in which the order can go into "limbo".

It requires a lot of gentle pushing to find out what's wrong with orders like this and get them to fix it.

 

[Runt8]

Here is a very pessimistic view of what could be going on. I'm not saying this IS what' is going on. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions.

1. You take money from Customer A. You put that money in the accounting system. That makes your cash position look better. Then you make up an excuse about delivery. Then they delete the VIN from your account and you go back to waiting. Therefore, you do not subtract from your Assets/inventory. That makes those numbers look better, too.
2. Now you ring up Customer B, say "your car is ready." Customer B pays for the car. That makes your cash position look better. Then you make up an excuse about delivery. Then they delete the VIN from your account and you go back to waiting. Do you see where this is going?
3. But where is your car, really?
4. Now customer C comes along, cash-in-hand. You sell to Customer C right off the lot. Customer C's money makes your cash position look even better. However, you only subtracted 1 car from inventory. And frankly, the car was in less than perfect shape and already refused a couple times. If C wants to keep it, great. But there's a decent chance Customer C won't want to keep it.
5. So Customer C has a problem. You say "Bring it in, we'll fix it." You send it off to "the body shop", ignore phone calls, drag it out. You make excuses about why you can't fix it, and ask Customer C "Do you want to keep waiting? It might be faster just to issue you a new VIN." Or you say, "Sorry, we couldn't fix the problem. We'll just issue you a new VIN." And C goes back in line. But you have C's money.
6. You quietly send the car to another lot.
7. Now you rinse/repeat with Customer's D and E.

So you've transformed one car sale into several. Your quarterly numbers look great. Your inventory looks strong. Then the next quarter, you try to catch up. "So sorry for the wait. Here's some super charger credits."

Accounting doesn’t work that way. The cars that weren’t delivered would show up as liabilities on the books and wouldn’t improve the numbers at all.