Reveal Party advance notice question

[jgillispie]

How far ahead were people invited to the Model S and X reveal parties?

There's been a lot of speculation about March 31st of this year possibly being the date for the Model 3 part 3 reveal and that's now less than 7 weeks out.

 

[ajay]

You could comb through old threads for details, but I'm pretty sure we had less than a week's notice for the Model X party. Other people got invites before we got ours, so it's possible we were in a subsequent round of invites [as in, "ok, there's still room in the venue, send out an email to the B list..."]

In other words, don't expect much advance notice at all.

 

[HenryNDH]

You could comb through old threads for details, but I'm pretty sure we had less than a week's notice for the Model X party. Other people got invites before we got ours, so it's possible we were in a subsequent round of invites [as in, "ok, there's still room in the venue, send out an email to the B list..."]

In other words, don't expect much advance notice at all.

You're right - less than a week. I got mine on 9/24 for the 9/29 reveal. I live in the Bay Area so it was easy to arrange time. I even got to test drive the newly released P90DL that same day. BTW, the party was a blast - plenty of food, good music, exciting people young and old, ...

For the TM3 reveal, Tesla should do it at a large arena with sufficient parking. Last time 3000 people attended and the place was crowded. Publicity on the 3 has been phenomenal, I am sure a lot more people will come.

 

[daniel]

How long after the reveal party were reservation holders given the opportunity for a test drive? I suppose it might not be the same for the Model 3 because of the much greater numbers. But still...

 

[melindav]

How long after the reveal party were reservation holders given the opportunity for a test drive? I suppose it might not be the same for the Model 3 because of the much greater numbers. But still...

For the S, the delivery event (for the first signature deliveries at Fremont) was late June 2012, the Get Amped reservation test drive tour was in August

 

[BerTX]

How long after the reveal party were reservation holders given the opportunity for a test drive? I suppose it might not be the same for the Model 3 because of the much greater numbers. But still...

You mean test drives at the party? There were test RIDES at the MX party. No test DRIVES (at least not for the plebes).

 

[Andyw2100]

You mean test drives at the party? There were test RIDES at the MX party. No test DRIVES (at least not for the plebes).

There were also test rides, including launches, at the D launch event in October, 2014.

 

[tsla007]

wouldn't go-It would cost me too much money to leave work for 3 days not to mention all the work that would pile up for 3 days being gone.

 

[daniel]

You mean test drives at the party? There were test RIDES at the MX party. No test DRIVES (at least not for the plebes).

No. I'm not likely to go to the party. I mean when reservation holders can make an appointment for a proper test drive, as you would normally do with a car you're considering buying that's available on the lot. I'm 98% certain I want the car, but it would be nice to be able to drive it before making the final commitment.

 

[BerTX]

No. I'm not likely to go to the party. I mean when reservation holders can make an appointment for a proper test drive, as you would normally do with a car you're considering buying that's available on the lot. I'm 98% certain I want the car, but it would be nice to be able to drive it before making the final commitment.

We don't know how different this will be from the MS/MX release situation. The buyers in that situation were buying a very expensive vehicle, and were more what you would call enthusiasts. The M3 no doubt has more of a mass appeal, and the buyers expect more of a typical car buying experience.

Will they get it? Remains to be seen. Previous early buyers did not get an opportunity, in many cases, to drive the car before placing their order. I think this time it will be different, but we can't rely on past experience to know just how different.

 

[daniel]

FWIW, I test-drove a Roadster before I bought mine. It was late in the Roadster production run, so not the same as the Model 3 now. I flew to Seattle and the Tesla sales guy met me at the airport in a Roadster, which I drove back to the showroom. And after doing the paperwork to buy my car, I got to drive the Roadster back to the airport. Of course, this was a low-volume high-price car, and they had the demo car available.

My hope would be that after the reveal they'd have enough demos to allow test drives. Maybe even bring one to Spokane. But with 400,000 orders, I suppose that's not likely.

 

[jgillispie]

FWIW, I test-drove a Roadster before I bought mine. It was late in the Roadster production run, so not the same as the Model 3 now. I flew to Seattle and the Tesla sales guy met me at the airport in a Roadster, which I drove back to the showroom. And after doing the paperwork to buy my car, I got to drive the Roadster back to the airport. Of course, this was a low-volume high-price car, and they had the demo car available.

My hope would be that after the reveal they'd have enough demos to allow test drives. Maybe even bring one to Spokane. But with 400,000 orders, I suppose that's not likely.

I think you'll get a chance to drive one. I believe they will make sure the showrooms around the country get at least a couple. At the production rate they expect it's like what, one day's production at most?

 

[daniel]

I think you'll get a chance to drive one. I believe they will make sure the showrooms around the country get at least a couple. At the production rate they expect it's like what, one day's production at most?

Will the pre-production cars be used for test drives for the first buyers, who will have to configure their cars before production starts? I have no idea if I'll be that high up in the queue because I didn't place my reservation the first day, but I was soon after that, and being an owner, in a western state, and planning on getting some of the big options, will give me a bit of a boost over non-owners, people getting the base model, and folks in the east.

 

[SageBrush]

Will the pre-production cars be used for test drives for the first buyers, who will have to configure their cars before production starts? I have no idea if I'll be that high up in the queue because I didn't place my reservation the first day, but I was soon after that, and being an owner, in a western state, and planning on getting some of the big options, will give me a bit of a boost over non-owners, people getting the base model, and folks in the east.

I imagine the only groups ahead of you are Tesla employees and current owners in California. WAG: somewhere around 10k th ?

x-mas is looking good for you!

 

[daniel]

I imagine the only groups ahead of you are Tesla employees and current owners in California. WAG: somewhere around 10k th ?

x-mas is looking good for you!

I'm thinking most Tesla employees cannot afford the car. At double the cost of a Honda Civic, it's still not a cheap car. But I'm also thinking an awful lot of owners in CA, OR, and WA reserved on Day 1. And since owners at this point means people who could afford a Roadster or a Model S, I'm thinking most of those owners are going to buy the fully-loaded model. With inevitable delays (which is okay, because it means they're more committed to getting it right than to meeting an arbitrary deadline) I'm expecting my car between February and June of next year.

 

[SageBrush]

I'm thinking most Tesla employees cannot afford the car. At double the cost of a Honda Civic, it's still not a cheap car. But I'm also thinking an awful lot of owners in CA, OR, and WA reserved on Day 1. And since owners at this point means people who could afford a Roadster or a Model S, I'm thinking most of those owners are going to buy the fully-loaded model. With inevitable delays (which is okay, because it means they're more committed to getting it right than to meeting an arbitrary deadline) I'm expecting my car between February and June of next year.

I'm not really sure how many Tesla have been sold to date. Does 200k sound ball-park ?
If so,
then about half in the US
and half US sales in CA

So about 50k possible current owners ahead of you. A 20% uptake rate by this group sounds pretty optimistic to me, so I'll stick with my earlier guess. Of one thing I am quite certain: you are way, way, ahead of me in the queue.

 

[jgillispie]

I hope the rumor of doing RWDs first isn't true. Although I assume a lot of Californians don't need the AWD, that would just throw me even farther back in the pack being in the midwest.

 

[daniel]

I'm not really sure how many Tesla have been sold to date. Does 200k sound ball-park ?
If so,
then about half in the US
and half US sales in CA

So about 50k possible current owners ahead of you. A 20% uptake rate by this group sounds pretty optimistic to me, so I'll stick with my earlier guess. Of one thing I am quite certain: you are way, way, ahead of me in the queue.

Okay. That sounds reasonable.

Do you have a reservation? I presume you are neither an owner nor a Tesla employee.

I hope the rumor of doing RWDs first isn't true. Although I assume a lot of Californians don't need the AWD, that would just throw me even farther back in the pack being in the midwest.

Is there really such a rumor? What I read somewhere was just the opposite: To get the quick cash flow they were going to build the fully-loaded orders first. Sort of like the Signature Model S were fully loaded. There are some options I absolutely do not want, that I think make the car worse, such as leather and the glass roof, and others I consider must-haves, such as dual motors and a big battery pack. (Even better than dual motors would be an independent motor on each wheel.)

 

[geoffreak]

Is there really such a rumor? What I read somewhere was just the opposite: To get the quick cash flow they were going to build the fully-loaded orders first. Sort of like the Signature Model S were fully loaded. There are some options I absolutely do not want, that I think make the car worse, such as leather and the glass roof, and others I consider must-haves, such as dual motors and a big battery pack. (Even better than dual motors would be an independent motor on each wheel.)

Yes (starts at 3:21)

 

[SageBrush]

Do you have a reservation? I presume you are neither an owner nor a Tesla employee.

My reservation is from about 20 minutes before the start of the reveal and I live in Colorado. I expect to pay about $40k (far from fully optioned) so I estimate my place to be middling in the pack and unlikely to be earlier than 100k. I'm fine with waiting though and letting the early bugs get sorted out before I take delivery since the nearest service center to me is a 6 hour drive. And honestly, I vacillate between "I'm definitely buying this car" to "I'll decide after a test drive." The jackal in the White house pushes me towards purchase unrelated to the car's merits. While I like EVs very much, I am a Tesla and Musk groupie to the bone.

My understanding mirrors your own, that the more expensive cars will tend to be built first.