Reserved a Roadster

[Peter 224]

Has anyone here in the UK placed a full reservation for a Roadster?
I'm on the same horns of dilemma as Automatic Man.
OK, I know I won't see one for about 2 years, but it is beautiful.
Yes, I know it is essentially a Model S Plaid in a pretty frock, but I think this is the only thing left in my Bucket List.

 

[pgkevet]

I would except...
I'm too tall to buy any car without checking I fit in it comfortably
I've lost faith in Elon delivering anything on any guaranteed timescale.
I have no reason to trust the car will have the promised range
UK version will be years behind the rest
History shows there's no reason to believe reservations actually get them first
I don't want to part with substantial loot as an interest free loan to Tesla
By the time it does come over here there may be good alternative charging systems or the supercharger network may be log-jammed anyway.
Someone else may be building as nice a car with features that work
Will insurance companies offer cover for a high-powered sports car to ancient people

 

[Peter 224]

I would except...

Will insurance companies offer cover for a high-powered sports car to ancient people

For me, that is the key question... I'll me mid 70s by the time the car arrives..

 

[init6]

Is that £38k for the reservation?

 

[PITA]

Hold on... hold on... I've still got a Cybertruck on order... where the heck is that on the delivery list

 

[UrbanSplash]

No way cybertruck is coming to the UK. You can’t even put money down on one now can you?

 

[M3P_W8]

No way cybertruck is coming to the UK. You can’t even put money down on one now can you?

Still taking £100 deposits for Cybertruck here

 

[pgkevet]

For me, that is the key question... I'll me mid 70s by the time the car arrives..

Ditto..or possibly early 80's
..who knows what new rules gov brings in to reduce congestion, rip-off 'the monied pensioners', bring in charges for 6-mthly paid for checkups to some US medical conglomerate with retired MP's on the board etc...

 

[UrbanSplash]

Nice £100 I expect to get back at some point…..

 

[tomorrowman]

I want one, but on the basis this car was 'launched' in 2017 and it's still unclear when it will go into production (2023 ?), I'm not inclined to give uncle Elon £34K for a reservation until a) they actually start producing the car and b) I can confirm I actually fit in the thing.

Now a Model 3 plaid (carbon sleaved motor etc) with carbon ceramic brakes would be a nice alternative, preferably without badging.

 

[Peter 224]

I want one, but on the basis this car was 'launched' in 2017 and it's still unclear when it will go into production (2023 ?), I'm not inclined to give uncle Elon £34K for a reservation until a) they actually start producing the car and b) I can confirm I actually fit in the thing.

Now a Model 3 plaid (carbon sleaved motor etc) with carbon ceramic brakes would be a nice alternative, preferably without badging.

I'd not thought of a M3 Plaid... hmm....

 

[pgkevet]

I want one, but on the basis this car was 'launched' in 2017 and it's still unclear when it will go into production (2023 ?), I'm not inclined to give uncle Elon £34K for a reservation until a) they actually start producing the car and b) I can confirm I actually fit in the thing.

Now a Model 3 plaid (carbon sleaved motor etc) with carbon ceramic brakes would be a nice alternative, preferably without badging.

If you fit in something as tiny as a 3 I'm sure you'll fit in the roadster. Whether you'd ever dare take the roof off and risk it leaking when put back is another issue. Bigger concerns apart from someone my height getting into it include it not having the promised range and being supplied with headlights too weak for dark nights in a sporty car and the usual single dim reversing light and mud-splattered rear camera.
Since he hasn't tooled up yet I'd like to make the following suggestions: Stick the same seats as Jag uses for the F-type, keep the portrait screen and add a landscape above it, keep the binnacle screen too. Proper matrix headlights (ask Audi where to buy them). Make sure this car does have 360 cam view. A bit more storage at the front for long trip sweeties. Hopefully it'll have a 150KW pack so don't waste the opportunity to have a 240v take-off and finally at the inflated price it's going to be (compared to the original spec) stick independent 4-wheel drive as you’ve suggested for the cyber....

 

[pgkevet]

I'd not thought of a M3 Plaid... hmm....

That's just a modern version of a Fiesta with a Noz button

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

The roadster was more like the Plaid+ that got dropped and I think its down to engineering or manufacturing challenges. The range was much bigger and the peak power output higher so I suspect its predicated on the new battery cells performing well as much as anything else and so far they're still not around.

It was discussed in the Roadster area that they'd probably do well having a lite version of the Roadster, and lets face it even the MS LR is no slouch, or the Plaid although it wouldn't hit the numbers they've quoted. All I can say is even 2,7s to 60 which my old P90DL did is pretty uncomfortable for some passengers and even the driver after a heavy lunch.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

I'd guess that more would put a reservation in for a Roadster if they were guaranteed of getting a place in the queue ahead of non-reservation holders, but previous experiences suggests the reservation system has never worked properly so I think we now have a lot of cynical potential Roadster buyers (inc. me) who will just wait until it appears and keep their money in TSLA until then.

 

[Pink Duck]

Is that £38k for the reservation?

In total, yes, but refundable until the point that the reservation is configured into an order - for indeterminate specifications, price and availability.

I was mildly tempted, but like previous vehicle releases there's marginal benefit in putting down a reservation now in terms of delivery timeline.

Also if we can’t order S/X in the UK, what hope for the Roadster

 

[Battpower]

a lot of cynical potential Roadster buyers (inc. me)

..... and me

I ended up with my MS R LR because a bird in the hand......

And what I've learned about how Tesla works as a Tesla owner has really put me off any future purchase... certainly at the new Roadster's price point.

I even considered a founders edition for a few seconds, but Tesla has moved way past how it used to deal with its founder clients..... It feels like they just say anything to get past the immediate problem. The need to haggle and negotiate for resolutions rather than follow clear, open, consistent and reasonable processes is not appealing.

 

[JonB]

I guess Tesla only want the truly committed to reserve a Roadster. I think it's pretty, but it won't handle like a sports car. Too much weight to throw around vs. the good old Laws of Physics; which do you think will win? The new tabless cells are a great innnovation, but not a giant leap in terms of energy density so I'd expect the Roadster to be at least as heavy as a Model 3 LR especially if it has more capacity. Given that these new cells aren't using a radical new chemistry and they are wound electrodes just like today's cells, they are going to weigh a similar amount per kWh of capacity. The tabless design looks good for getting power out of the cells quickly which will improve 0-60 times but how often do we take advantage of the tremendous acceleration offered by our current Teslas? "Not very" is my guess, so why do we get so excited about a sub 3 second 0-60? It's not really relevant 99.99% of the time, is it?

The weight issue is something that needs to be addressed by BEV manufacturers - it's like the elephant in the room. Only then will we have a true electric sports car. In a world where we can't drive more than 70mph, the only legal fun to be had is in the corners and without weight reduction the "fun" will be quickly replaced by "terrifying fear"..

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

If it turns out Musk has been the master of gaming playing and manipulation (and I think there's an element of that in him, and not detracting from plus points), the promise of the Roadster, like the $1k Model 3 reservations, were inventions for other goals and quite underhand. The M3 reservations bankrolled the company, the money wasn't protected in any way and Musk later admitted the company was at that time weeks from going under, not only that the reservation gave you virtually nothing. The hidden referral program was a 2% discount on a roadster for a while after 5 referrals, after 50 referrals you got a free $200k car. so what, $4k a referral... it kept the social media promoters promoting as they were racking up the promise of a quite considerable payday with some qualifying for 2 or more - but of course, until Tesla make them, thats just a promise that may never get delivered.

So my advice to anyone thats cares to listen, buy Tesla for now, for what you can drive away in, what the car actually does, and not what it promises, what screen processor it has, what battery etc. Whether that be reservations a year out, FSD capability, anything.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

If it turns out Musk has been the master of gaming playing and manipulation (and I think there's an element of that in him, and not detracting from plus points), the promise of the Roadster, like the $1k Model 3 reservations, were inventions for other goals and quite underhand. The M3 reservations bankrolled the company, the money wasn't protected in any way and Musk later admitted the company was at that time weeks from going under, not only that the reservation gave you virtually nothing. The hidden referral program was a 2% discount on a roadster for a while after 5 referrals, after 50 referrals you got a free $200k car. so what, $4k a referral... it kept the social media promoters promoting as they were racking up the promise of a quite considerable payday with some qualifying for 2 or more - but of course, until Tesla make them, thats just a promise that may never get delivered.

So my advice to anyone thats cares to listen, buy Tesla for now, for what you can drive away in, what the car actually does, and not what it promises, what screen processor it has, what battery etc. Whether that be reservations a year out, FSD capability, anything.

Sound advice!