Priority Given to MS&X Owners

[byan1232]

Hey guys I was thinking if they are giving priority ordering for MS&X, we could reserve it for a friend so they get the $7500 tax credit before it runs out?

Also, don't you guys think current MS&X owners will be selling reservations to make money off their system? Seems like a win-win, MS&X owners profit, M3 owners get their M3s early and get the $7500 tax credit.

 

[tga]

Reservations are not transferable to others. You reserve a 3, either you buy it or cancel and get your deposit back. You can't sell/transfer the reservation to your friend.

 

[byan1232]

Reservations are not transferable to others. You reserve a 3, either you buy it or cancel and get your deposit back. You can't sell/transfer the reservation to your friend.

Oh okay. I stand corrected. Good thing tesla made it so people can't sell reservations.

 

[strider]

Yep. No selling or transferring. For Model S there was a period when Roadster owner's "friends and family" could reserve a Model S and get the "Current Owner" priority but that's not a thing for Model 3.

 

[hoang51]

Reservations are not transferable to others. You reserve a 3, either you buy it or cancel and get your deposit back. You can't sell/transfer the reservation to your friend.

Not entirely true. Reservations are transferable only if authorized by Tesla, which is probably rare. See #6 here: Tesla Model 3 Reservation Agreement

 

[byan1232]

@hoang51 That makes sense. I guess we can reserve it for friends then.

 

[johnster007]

Just talked to a specialist in Minnesota who said owners need NOT show up on the 31st. Someone will be reaching out to us before then via phone or email. Also preference is given to earlier VINs!

 

[patrick42h]

I'm not sure why preference is being given to people who already own a Tesla.

 

[ChadS]

I'm not sure why preference is being given to people who already own a Tesla.

Keep in mind that the "preference" is only for the order in which people are invited to place an order. Delivery order is more based on what options you order and where you live. So this matters less than it might seem.

But for the extent that it does allow existing owners to get a 3 first, here are a few possible reasons Tesla might want to go this route (based on statistical likelihoods; of course in some cases new customers will be better than existing ones):

• existing customers are less likely bail when the time comes to buy due to cold feet about buying from a "new" manufacturer. As they ramp up a new vehicle they need people that will lock in solid orders so they know exactly how much of each option to have on hand
• existing customers are less likely to fail to be able to obtain financing
• existing owners are more likely to order more-fully-optioned 3's
• some non-customers that want a 3 may be willing to lease an S to get their 3 faster
• existing customers are more likely to be near existing sales, service and delivery centers
• existing customers are more likely to trust Tesla and buy the car despite not all details being released
• existing customers are more likely to be prepared to live with early-off-the-line issues because they are familiar with how easy it is to get Tesla service to fix things
• existing customers are more familiar with the cars and will require less time from staff to explain charging, navigation features, etc
• existing customers already have charging set up and know how to drive an EV, so they are better at explaining the new car to other potential purchasers and don't have to spend time figuring out how to get over or explain things like charging, range, etc
• a history of making their existing customers happy helps pull new customers in to the fold (though yes, there is a flip side to this listed below)

The big downsides seem to be:

• the federal tax credits might go primarily to those that have already gotten one
• the family of Tesla owners won't grow as fast as it could; and the owners are Tesla's best sales force

 

[brianman]

- some non-customers that want a 3 may be willing to lease an S to get their 3 faster

@ChadS - I don't know why I didn't think of this before!

If you want to jump the line...
1. Lease an S
2. Reserve Model 3
3. Cancel your S in the first month via Happiness Guarantee

(a) Model 3 reservation would be done before the happiness guarantee is invoked.
(b) The "cooldown" for the happiness guarantee is less than the time between March 31st 2016, and the 2017+ config and 2018+ delivery.

I wonder how much that little gambit (1+3) would cost out of pocket....

 

[Max*]

Just talked to a specialist in Minnesota who said owners need NOT show up on the 31st. Someone will be reaching out to us before then via phone or email. Also preference is given to earlier VINs!

This would be awesome.

 

[Nevek]

Just talked to a specialist in Minnesota who said owners need NOT show up on the 31st. Someone will be reaching out to us before then via phone or email. Also preference is given to earlier VINs!

That would be great news, as I hate lines and crowds and was only planning to go to make sure my wife's 3 gets built in the shortest time.

I really hope all stores are doing that. A current owner can give a CC#, currently filed Tesla email address, maybe the current VIN and be done in 2 minutes. It also frees up the store personnel to help folks who aren't already registered with a "My Tesla" account.

But it doesn't help build news-worthy lines on the 31st.

 

[Model 3]

If you want to jump the line...
1. Lease an S
2. Reserve Model 3
3. Cancel your S in the first month via Happiness Guarantee

Well, this does presume that the priority is put into the reservation at the reservation time, not at the "send out the configuration invite" time...

 

[lorih]

@ChadS - I don't know why I didn't think of this before!

If you want to jump the line...
1. Lease an S
2. Reserve Model 3
3. Cancel your S in the first month via Happiness Guarantee

(a) Model 3 reservation would be done before the happiness guarantee is invoked.
(b) The "cooldown" for the happiness guarantee is less than the time between March 31st 2016, and the 2017+ config and 2018+ delivery.

I wonder how much that little gambit (1+3) would cost out of pocket....

Way to scam the system!

This would be bad for Tesla, bad for investors, and potentially create bad blood with a great company. If you really hate lines, stay home and open a browser on your computer, but please don't lease and cancel. Tesla doesn't need a ton of inventory cars that were used just 1-2 weeks.

On the other hand, buying or leasing a Model S for the 1.5-2 years you have to wait for a Model 3 makes a lot of sense if you can swing it financially.

 

[Beryl]

I am pleased to get priority but feel the pain of non-owners who will be in the back of the line. I am happy to stand behind the Tesla employees though. Hope they finally get a chance to have a dream car of their very own.

(I plan to replace a nearly 2 year old loaded Model S with a even more loaded Ξ depending on the production reveal in 2017.)

 

[timk225]

Current owners should not get priority. They already have a Tesla, stand aside and let more people get one who don't already have one.

 

[CatB]

But it doesn't help build news-worthy lines on the 31st.

Not exactly, but it helps bumps up the number of total number reservations that can be announced at reveal.
Nice little hat-trick if you think about it:
- x,000 employees have already put down a deposit
- y,000 current Tesla owners have already put down a deposit
- z,000 non-owners have already put down a deposit on their first Tesla, sight un-seen, and now you're going to see it...
I suspect x+y+z >100 before the reveal, and then it will get really interesting

Not all Tesla owners can/would camp out in line, but they will reserve early online, so y will be bigger with this approach.

 

[sukhi]

@ChadS - I don't know why I didn't think of this before!

If you want to jump the line...
1. Lease an S
2. Reserve Model 3
3. Cancel your S in the first month via Happiness Guarantee

(a) Model 3 reservation would be done before the happiness guarantee is invoked.
(b) The "cooldown" for the happiness guarantee is less than the time between March 31st 2016, and the 2017+ config and 2018+ delivery.

I wonder how much that little gambit (1+3) would cost out of pocket....

That's seem like a very expensive route to take as the happiness guarantee will cost you at least the downpayment for the lease. (~$6K)

 

[meloccom]

IIRC the reason given previously for prioritising existing owners is as a way of thanking them for helping to pay for the development of each successive Tesla model. The first Model S delivery in my area (Australia) went to a guy who owned multiple Roadsters and without these early adopters I wouldn't have had the opportunity to purchase my Model S. Similarly my purchase helped Tesla to grow and develop Model 3 for those that can't manage a Model S. I prefer this to the normal business model that pitches savings and discounts to new customers whilst forgetting about existing loyal customers.

 

[tburneymac]

Hey guys I was thinking if they are giving priority ordering for MS&X, we could reserve it for a friend so they get the $7500 tax credit before it runs out?

Also, don't you guys think current MS&X owners will be selling reservations to make money off their system? Seems like a win-win, MS&X owners profit, M3 owners get their M3s early and get the $7500 tax credit.

Agreement states that it not transferable.