OK, so...did everyone get their cars by the end of 2019?

[jebinc]

I had something similar. Here's my story:

- Ordered SR+, 19" wheels, white interior on 12/10/19. Delivery Estimate shown on order page was "2 - 3 weeks".

- Went to the New Owners orientation. Got convinced to also order Tesla Solar on my large roof since I was assured that it was refundable. I then did more research the next day and found that my local utility -- Puget Sound Energy -- has just cancelled all incentives about a week earlier. I then called to cancel it since payback would take 16 years. I was told I would get a "case number."

- On Christmas eve, I got a notification on the order web page that my Tesla would be delivered on "12/30/19 at 5 pm." Happy, I cancelled plans for that evening to pick it up.

- Sold my current BMW 335i (got a much better deal through a local dealer than Tesla was offering). Now I don't have a car.

- Ordered the Charging Pad and Home Link Tesla accessories.

- Reached out to my advisor to confirm all the remaining info, as I decided to finance it via my Credit Union (I was going to pay in cash), letting him know that I saw the appointment date for the 30th. He wrote back "that's great!" and didn't say much else.

- Called Tesla again since my Credit Union on 12/26 and they needed the VIN, which I didn't have. Another service advisor said, "looks like they're working on it, but we don't have a VIN yet -- check back."

- Then on Saturday 12/28 the delivery date disappeared from the order web page and was replaced with "2 - 3 weeks" again. I immediately called up my advisor but couldn't get a hold of him. I spoke with another advisor and said that since I didn't get a text message with an appointment date, what was on web site was incorrect. I told them that they had my Land Line on file, not my Cell, so that could explain why I didn't get a text message. I then said that I was upset about possibly losing the $1,875 deduction. To which he immediately offered "you can cancel." I was somewhat miffed that he would so nonchalantly want to lose my business, He didn't offer anything else. I asked for my designated service advisor to call me back to confirm.

- That advisor called my land line from that nosiest phone connection I had ever heard (apparently on a private cell phone, as it wasn't a Tesla number). When I said I couldn't understand him hardly at all, he called back once but I still couldn't understand him -- he then hung up. I then called back the Tesla center but couldn't get a hold of him. He has yet to return my call.

- On Monday I dedicated to call the Tesla "scheduler" on the Tesla phone tree. The guy was nice, but basically said. "The factory switches to international orders at the start of the quarter, so you'll likely not get your car until late January at earliest."

- I called Tesla back again about why my Solar order hasn't been canceled (it still shows up on my order page). A rep said said "they're working on it."


To sum up:

- An ETA of 2 - 3 weeks is now turning into 5 - 8 weeks.

- I don't have a car.

- I lost the $1,875 deduction

- My Tesla advisor has not returned my call.

- I lost of ton of car shopping time I could have taken advantage of right before Christmas when I was off work.

- Tesla doesn't seem to want to make right with their misleading information nor values me as a customer. I can understand they swamped with orders -- what gets me is the incorrect ETA and pick-up date and time I was given. If I knew it was going to take this long and cost ~$2,000 more, I would have not ordered.

- And to rub salt in the wound, I'm not happy they're sitting on my $100 solar deposit that I cancelled two weeks ago. I also wished they would have let me know the Washington State solar incentives were cancelled; the dealership is served by that same utility.


So, I’m getting pretty fed up and am likely to cancel; but I’m already spent ~$500 on Tesla accessories. If they would simply make good on their mistakes it would make all the difference (say knock of some on the FSD that I’m planning to order after I get the car – since otherwise it would go over $45,000 in price and not get the Washington State ~$2,500 EV incentive).


Anyone else feel this way?

Solar in Seattle? What where your thinking?!

 

[Curious George]

I keep hearing the term bait and switch on the forum and I don’t get it.

Tesla did not make enough cars to meet all of their demand. They seem to have been short primarily in the SR+ configuration so many of the buyers who wanted an SR+ were not able to take delivery by 12/31. But Tesla is still willing to build those cars and sell them at the same price that was quoted to each buyer. It’s not their fault that the government no longer wants to subsidize their cars.

If you want to blame Tesla for building fewer of their lower margin cars at the expense of the higher margin ones that’s fine. But that’s how a corporation that works to make a profit is going to conduct themselves whether we like it or not.

If they offered you a higher end model that was available in time for the tax credit that is just them trying to offer something in case you want it. They are not cancelling your SR+ orders or changing the price though.

I get the fact that SR+ owners were disappointed last night. No doubt it sucks. But the government ending their subsidy is the real reason for the anxiety here. Tesla just underestimated how much demand their would be for their cars. It happens.

"Tesla did not make enough cars to meet all of their demand"
Sorry, I can't understand this. Tesla built a lot of more expensive LR and LR-AWD and performance inventory Model 3. From the posts here, these were clearly produced in excess of demand at that time. Those higher priced cars are STILL in inventory. So, this statement is wrong.

This situation is I think like the birthday cake example someone mentioned. A store sells $50, $100, $200 cakes. I ordered one for pick up before b'day event. Store never told me it will be difficult.
When I go to pick it up, they say: Oh, sorry, There were too many orders of $100 and $200 cakes, so we CHOSE not to make your cake! But here, we produced 2 dozen more of these $200 cakes, So, why don't you get one of that or just shut up and suck it up?
Then speaks loudly so everyone and my own family can hear: "What's the matter with you? You don't want to spend $150 more for your wife's b'day? What kind of man are you?" (Puts pressure. Another sales tactics.)
Oh, thanks for the 50% advance payment for the cake. Come back next week to pick that up, as we are too busy now.

Do you think this is fair business practice? It sounds like black mailing of the customer to me, after putting him in a tight corner.

And the justification you gave, that these tricks are to make more money? Any scammer, thief, pick pocket, robber and burglar can justify his action with that logic.
The question here is whether such practice of making money is right or wrong.

 

[Evergreeen]

Tesla website says eta not a guarantee. Sells car. ???

 

[Sillyapple]

Exactly Monkey George, and now let’s see how many fanboys and/or TSLA shareholders are going to disagree with you.

 

[ucmndd]

"Tesla did not make enough cars to meet all of their demand"
Sorry, I can't understand this. Tesla built a lot of more expensive LR and LR-AWD and performance inventory Model 3. From the posts here, these were clearly produced in excess of demand at that time. Those higher priced cars are STILL in inventory. So, this statement is wrong.

Yes, I agree that Tesla prioritized production of higher margin models. Since they produce in batches, they obviously made some assumptions and may have slightly overshot based on reports of a few cars still in inventory. I think you could easily argue this was still the right decision for the company.

The blackmailing accusation is absurd. They’ll still happily sell you a car at the price you agreed. That said, you live in a capitalist society and should probably get used to the idea of people willing to spend more money getting a spot at the front of the line.

 

[dandrewk]

Exactly Monkey George, and now let’s see how many fanboys and/or TSLA shareholders are going to disagree with you.

So anyone who disagrees with you is either a shareholder or a fan boy, is that it?

 

[OCR1]

Exactly Monkey George, and now let’s see how many fanboys and/or TSLA shareholders are going to disagree with you.

Umm...I think his name is Curious George...

 

[OCR1]

"Tesla did not make enough cars to meet all of their demand"
Sorry, I can't understand this. Tesla built a lot of more expensive LR and LR-AWD and performance inventory Model 3. From the posts here, these were clearly produced in excess of demand at that time. Those higher priced cars are STILL in inventory. So, this statement is wrong.

This situation is I think like the birthday cake example someone mentioned. A store sells $50, $100, $200 cakes. I ordered one for pick up before b'day event. Store never told me it will be difficult.
When I go to pick it up, they say: Oh, sorry, There were too many orders of $100 and $200 cakes, so we CHOSE not to make your cake! But here, we produced 2 dozen more of these $200 cakes, So, why don't you get one of that or just shut up and suck it up?
Then speaks loudly so everyone else can hear: "What's the matter with you? You don't want to spend $150 more for your wife's b'day? What kind of man are you?" (Puts pressure. Another sales tactics.)
Oh, thanks for the 50% advance payment for the cake. Come back next week to pick that up, as we are too busy now.

Do you think this is fair business practice? It sounds like black mailing of the customer to me, after putting him in a tight corner.

And the justification you gave, that these tricks are to make more money? Any scammer, thief, pick pocket, robber and burglar can justify his action with that logic.
The question here is whether such practice of making money is right or wrong.

Like I said previously. It happens.

 

[leehunt]

Solar in Seattle? What where your thinking?!

Actually solar up here is okay, even in Western Washington where it gets more rain (I eastern part of the state it’s crazy good). It’s the same latitude as Germany and actually has more sunlight they they do, and they have the largest install of any country per capita. My Tesla referer — who lives in the same area — swears by it.

The key thing about solar is the incentives: they make or break your total system cost.

 

[dandrewk]

Umm...I think his name is Curious George...

This is Curious George:

 

[neurocutie]

For the most part this EOY drama was caused by the US Government...Not Tesla.

It is the elimination of the residual Federal Tax Credit that is causing most of the consernation.

as we know, there was a bill in Congress very recently that would have extended this credit and put it back up to $7000 -- it would have been nice, but Trump killed it.

 

[leehunt]

Yes, I agree that Tesla prioritized production of higher margin models. Since they produce in batches, they obviously made some assumptions and may have slightly overshot based on reports of a few cars still in inventory. I think you could easily argue this was still the right decision for the company.

The blackmailing accusation is absurd. They’ll still happily sell you a car at the price you agreed. That said, you live in a capitalist society and should probably get used to the idea of people willing to spend more money getting a spot at the front of the line.

To me, the real issue here is Telsa’s “over promise and under deliver” when communicating with the customer. As I mention in my post, there were multiple inaccuracies with my order experience. This is also pretty easy to fix : work with the customer, admit the inaccuracies and update them with concrete expectations, and ideally throw in some goodwill benefits to atone. I see none of that here. If Tesla wants to survive once all the other car manufacturers are cranking out loads of EVs, they must keep their customer goodwill.

 

[anokul]

After months of reading through these threads, did everyone get their cars? How was the event? Are we all good?

I bought a Model 3 from existing inventory in Westmont Illinois a week ago, and have been getting acquainted with the new car. My post purchase experience has not been stellar. I was assigned to work with a car specialist in Westmont who identfied himself by first name. He asked me to contact him if I had any issues. I noticed a trim misalignment and tried to reach someone but no one answered the phone. I tried making a service appointment through the app but got an error. Finally I just drove out there, just to find out that the service database shows the car belonging to someone else. They sent me back to sales, who says that they will need 3-4 days to resolve this issue with corporate. Apparently someone tried to order this car a while back and the service database still has their information.

Has anyone experienced such a thing? Is there another way to fix this problem, or is it even fixable? I am not driving the car out of concern that if I need roadside assistance, there may be no support.

 

[n8leon]

What's a "loan agreement"? Are they giving you a loaner car until yours arrives?

No, I'm financing about half of the purchase price through Tesla, again was hoping to make the process go smoother by using their finance group. Of course, they farm it out to 3rd parties, Chase in my case.

 

[OCR1]

So anyone who disagrees with you is either a shareholder or a fan boy, is that it?

It’s the same old tired argument. Say something positive and you are a fan boy. Say something negative and you are a troll.

These arguments are silly and pointless. The reason longtime forum members get tired of hearing it is because we already know that Tesla has issues. We are here because we think Tesla makes great cars, and as such we are willing to put up with their growing pains and lousy customer service in exchange for having an absolutely amazing cars that blows away anything else out there.

We have new members who come along every day to bitch and moan after ordering their first Tesla and having a bad experience with the customer service. And we all wonder the same thing. Did any of you read any of the hundreds of thousand of posts in this forum discussing Tesla’s growing pains and the immense challenges we all faced taking delivery of our cars?

Or did you do virtually no homework on Tesla, order your car without knowing what you were getting into, and then come here to vent like you are the first person who has had a bad experience with Teslas’s sales and delivery process?

 

[n8leon]

If the local high tech companies would provide at work charging, that would help as well.

Also agreed. Cisco offers free charging @ 220. There are about 150 ChargePoint plugs within 1/4 mile walk from my building now, and about 40 of those are just outside my building. That was a big factor in me leasing a Chevy Volt in Jan 2017 while I waited for the Model 3 to become more available.

 

[Zayd]

Here is where we are at:

Ordered 12/06 after everyone single rep in the showroom verbally guaranteed I would get my car by EOY. I was skeptical but I put down my order for White/White SR+. I got my VIN, MPSA, signed my loan, wired Tesla my 10k down. A Tesla rep called me to set my pickup date as 12/30 at 3pm and assured me I would get car by EOY. I was feeling optimistic since my pick up day was the 31st. I sold my car and changed Holiday plans to stay in San Diego for pickup. My mom's birthday is on the 30th so we were going to pick up the car and go on a family dinner. I get a text on the 29th that my pick up has been pushed back to January. No other info as to when. Threw a wrench into my holiday plans.

I hope Tesla takes responsibility and makes this right. The manager at Carlsbad told me in a call that Tesla has historically compensated new owners for missed tax credits but that he had not received word from the higher-ups. I have read others on this forum tell me that they were told there would be no compensation. 1.8k is not much for a 45k+ car, but I hope Tesla makes at least a gesture.

 

[tren01t]

There are two supercharger stations (both urban) in my town (Downey) and since I took delivery at the beginning of the month they have been consistently 90% occupied even at odd hours 3-4am.

When I took delivery I had thought I would charge on 110 to cover my daily commute and then go to the super for 20-30 mins to top off...

Charging at home, even with a ridiculously long and heavy extension cord has been 100% worth the effort. (14-50 installed on exterior of garage with 100' RV grade 14-50 extension cord attached to the 40a Corded Mobile Connector)

That's good to know since I work in Downey and figured the superchargers would be busy as well. Got my M3 SR+ from Buena Park on 14/04 and set up home charging on the NEMA 14-50 240V in Moreno Valley and drive to Downey 3 days out of 4 on my 4/10 work scheduled week. Charge to 90% and have just under 30% when I get back. Have not used a supercharger yet but will when I have longer trip. For trips to LA, I charge to 100% and have just under 20% I when I get back home.

 

[eye.surgeon]

You must not live in California. Super chargers are not constantly jammed here.

Are you referring to urban or destination chargers? That's a bit different from long distance superchargers.

by definition, supechargers are not destination chargers or urban chargers.

You've been here 6 months. I've been using superchargers since day one. During peak times of every single day, many if not most California superchargers are full.

 

[Bonk1977]

That's good to know since I work in Downey and figured the superchargers would be busy as well. Got my M3 SR+ from Buena Park on 14/04 and set up home charging on the NEMA 14-50 240V in Moreno Valley and drive to Downey 3 days out of 4 on my 4/10 work scheduled week. Charge to 90% and have just under 30% when I get back. Have not used a supercharger yet but will when I have longer trip. For trips to LA, I charge to 100% and have just under 20% I when I get back home.

I order

Here is where we are at:

Ordered 12/06 after everyone single rep in the showroom verbally guaranteed I would get my car by EOY. I was skeptical but I put down my order for White/White SR+. I got my VIN, MPSA, signed my loan, wired Tesla my 10k down. A Tesla rep called me to set my pickup date as 12/30 at 3pm and assured me I would get car by EOY. I was feeling optimistic since my pick up day was the 31st. I sold my car and changed Holiday plans to stay in San Diego for pickup. My mom's birthday is on the 30th so we were going to pick up the car and go on a family dinner. I get a text on the 29th that my pick up has been pushed back to January. No other info as to when. Threw a wrench into my holiday plans.

I hope Tesla takes responsibility and makes this right. The manager at Carlsbad told me in a call that Tesla has historically compensated new owners for missed tax credits but that he had not received word from the higher-ups. I have read others on this forum tell me that they were told there would be no compensation. 1.8k is not much for a 45k+ car, but I hope Tesla makes at least a gesture.

The manager at Carlsbad seems like a good guy and is looking out for his clients. He told me the same thing about clients getting compensated. He gets it. I'm in a very similar boat as yours, but ordered in November. The manager and the sales associate at Carlsbad both told me I would get the car EOY, no if ands or buts. When I went back yesterday and they apologized and tried to fix the situation but there hands were tied at the moment. Don't cancel your order, its Tesla's move. They over promised and under delivered. The customer is right here, the need to make the situation right.

I've gotten so many texts and calls saying the car is almost here and then have delivery cancelled a few hours before on 12/31 is gutting.