Roadster reservations

[g-force]

no they are still open for 4-5 hours

 

[DarthPierce]

Just a guess that he's referring to Tesla Germany, not Tesla US.

 

[Lloyd]

I called again on mine today. Its been 12 days since the wire was sent! They show it received, but they are manually updating the owners site and sending out confirmation e-mails and said that it may take several more days to receive a confirmation and update the status on your site.

Edit: I️ got a nice call back from Tesla today acknowledging receipt of my deposit. They said it may still take several days to get the owners page updated.

 

[dhrivnak]

Maybe this is the reason:

"Just FYI the local store in south FL, a sales person mentioned there are 45,000 reservations so far for the Roadster 2. I asked her 3 times, are you sure because it is a hard number to believe. I am shocked by this number as Ferrari only sells 7,000 cars a year and McLaren about 1800, all at about the same price point of the TSLA. The next day I received an email from her telling me that there is no official reservation number, she was relatively new there and probably didn't realize she shouldn't have mentioned that."

R&R Capital's Comments | Seeking Alpha

I too find this VERY hard to believe. In many ways the original Roadster was just as ground breaking out running and handling cars such as a Porsche Turbo Carera or a Ferrari 550 yet cheaper than either. Tesla sold only 2500 of them. The market for high performance cars is not that large.

 

[JenniferQ]

I think we are okay. I got this today:

 

[dailydriver]

I called again on mine today. Its been 12 days since the wire was sent! They show it received, but they are manually updating the owners site and sending out confirmation e-mails and said that it may take several more days to receive a confirmation and update the status on your site.

Same here. I'm sure it is a manual process for Tesla to update the reservations to reflect the funds have hit their bank account. I see this as a sign that they may have be inundated with the amount of reservations in the first week.

 

[ecarfan]

I think we are okay. I got this today: View attachment 263575

Thanks, glad to hear Tesla is saying they have a “high volume” of reservations. Maybe the “45,000” is possible, but it seems unlikely. If Tesla “only” has 4,000 reservations I will be very impressed!

 

[CarlK]

I doubt that the price will be raised as Tesla has not done that before. In fact, they have been lowering the price of the S and X by giving more standard equipment that they had charged for in the past.
In addition, you are losing more than interest. You are losing the 'opportunity cost' of investing that money elsewhere, like in TSLA.

Certainly an individual decision and I hope it works out for you. Good that Tesla gets those funds to invest in growth.

Tesla did raise the price of P85. It was a great deal in the beginning that it cost only $20K extra than the non-P model and it came with 21" wheels and maybe air as standard. Tesla first took the free 21" away and than increased the price difference between P and non-P over the years. Then there is the NSX story. Honda did not realize how good the car was and marketed it at only ~$60K in the beginning. Everyone saw it as a steal and you could not get one without paying up to 50% dealer mark up. Eventually Honda raised price of the car. A car's price is always set by the market. We still need to see how the market sees value of the Roadster. If I have to guess I'd say it's more instead of less than the price Tesla set at.

Anyway I'm more of an emotional person than you are a pragmatical one. My reason for the reservation is more that I want to be sure I will get my hand on one than any cost difference.

 

[gregd]

I too find this VERY hard to believe. In many ways the original Roadster was just as ground breaking out running and handling cars such as a Porsche Turbo Carera or a Ferrari 550 yet cheaper than either. Tesla sold only 2500 of them. The market for high performance cars is not that large.

The original Roadster was limited to 2,500 production not because of the market, but because that's what the contract with Lotus was for. Also, in 2012 the exemption they had on the use of a single-stage airbag ran out, so it would have been a bit of a re-design to keep the car in production, and they were focusing resources on getting the Model S to market. Tesla was an unknown company back then, and regardless of how ground-breaking the Roadster was, it's hard to sell something if nobody knows it exists, or if they've heard of it, don't believe it can be real. Remember, this was at a time when electric cars were universally ugly, did 0-60 in "someday", and had a range of "can't get there from here". That's why the test rides at the unveiling were so important, to prove it's real.

45,000 reservations, world-wide, for the new Roadster is way more than I had expected to have been made so soon, but not outside the realm of possibility. The car is going to be in demand when released, and the lesson learned with the Model 3 is that if you want one any time soon, you need to get your reservation in early.

Still, I wonder if the person reporting it was just looking at the RN, and thinking it was sequential....?

 

[dhrivnak]

The original Roadster was limited to 2,500 production not because of the market, but because that's what the contract with Lotus was for. Also, in 2012 the exemption they had on the use of a single-stage airbag ran out, so it would have been a bit of a re-design to keep the car in production, and they were focusing resources on getting the Model S to market. Tesla was an unknown company back then, and regardless of how ground-breaking the Roadster was, it's hard to sell something if nobody knows it exists, or if they've heard of it, don't believe it can be real. Remember, this was at a time when electric cars were universally ugly, did 0-60 in "someday", and had a range of "can't get there from here". That's why the test rides at the unveiling were so important, to prove it's real.

45,000 reservations, world-wide, for the new Roadster is way more than I had expected to have been made so soon, but not outside the realm of possibility. The car is going to be in demand when released, and the lesson learned with the Model 3 is that if you want one any time soon, you need to get your reservation in early.

Still, I wonder if the person reporting it was just looking at the RN, and thinking it was sequential....?

Yes Tesla was very new and unknown, but they could have produced many more Roadsters if they had orders. Lotus was willing to provide as many gliders that Tesla would buy. True they had to stop selling in 2012, but before then they could have built more if the orders were there. I REALLY hope you are right about the 45,000 reservations but I will go on record that the order count is an order of magnitude lower. PLEASE probem me wrong as this is something I would love to be wrong about.

 

[shokunin]

I don't even think Tesla corporate has firm handle on the number of Roadster "confirmations", cancellations by those who just wanted test drives at the Semi Event, and the number of referral owners that are eligible for a Roadster discount.

Tesla did raise the price of P85. It was a great deal in the beginning that it cost only $20K extra than the non-P model and it came with 21" wheels and maybe air as standard. Tesla first took the free 21" away and than increased the price difference between P and non-P over the years

They didn't change the advertised price on the P85 or other models before production though. They changed the price later to reflect demand and cost of options.

 

[bonnie]

Yes Tesla was very new and unknown, but they could have produced many more Roadsters if they had orders. Lotus was willing to provide as many gliders that Tesla would buy. True they had to stop selling in 2012, but before then they could have built more if the orders were there. I REALLY hope you are right about the 45,000 reservations but I will go on record that the order count is an order of magnitude lower. PLEASE probem me wrong as this is something I would love to be wrong about.

Calling @TEG -- I thought Lotus was not willing to supply any more gliders.

I won't argue on lack of orders - but the Roadster was handbuilt, the company was still a niche EV company, and people thought an electric car was exotic. Times have changed since then. Tesla is more mainstream, there is a supercharger network, and just about everyone is aware of EVs, if not considering.

 

[ecarfan]

I don't even think Tesla corporate has firm handle on the number of Roadster "confirmations", cancellations by those who just wanted test drives at the Semi Event...

Are you saying that to get a test ride at the event you had to make a reservation for a new Roadster at the event?

 

[shokunin]

Are you saying that to get a test ride at the event you had to make a reservation for a new Roadster at the event?

Yes, you had to put down the initial $5000 deposit via credit card to get a test drive in the Roadster.

 

[AlMc]

Are you saying that to get a test ride at the event you had to make a reservation for a new Roadster at the event?

Yes.

EDIT: Slow types here

 

[bonnie]

Are you saying that to get a test ride at the event you had to make a reservation for a new Roadster at the event?

Yes, you had to put down the initial $5000 deposit via credit card to get a test drive in the Roadster.

Word is that the Tesla staff were telling people it wasn't refundable (it was), just to cut down on the number of people pulling that trick. It's a headache for them to process the cancellation paperwork.

Those of us who qualified to purchase a discounted Founders also got the coveted silver wristband for the test drive, no deposit required.

 

[JenniferQ]

We had a reservation way back when on the Roadster but were still living in OZ and it just didn't seem possible to make it so. Then we had one on Fisker when we moved back here. That fell apart. So happy Tesla has made it to this point. We will be an all Tesla fam soon.

 

[TEG]

Calling @TEG -- I thought Lotus was not willing to supply any more gliders.
I won't argue on lack of orders - but the Roadster was handbuilt, the company was still a niche EV company, and people thought an electric car was exotic. Times have changed since then. Tesla is more mainstream, there is a supercharger network, and just about everyone is aware of EVs, if not considering.

I don't know all the details, but Lotus was making things a lot by hand, and not in the high speed mass production game.
From what I could tell they worked a contract with Tesla for some number of gliders over time, and then extended it slightly near the end.
And there was the whole situation with the Lotus airbags being an old style only sellable by a low volume manufacturer under some exemption and Tesla was running into those regulations so had to stop selling them because they no longer qualified for that exemption.


Lotus deal to bridge Tesla Roadster production gap

...The earlier deal with Lotus, for 1,700 gliders, was set to expire in March 2011. With the extension, Lotus will provide at least 2,400 of the partially assembled vehicles...

:: Tesla Motors, Inc.; Receipt of Application for a Temporary Exemption From the Advanced Air Bag Requirements of FMVSS No. 208, 41814-41817 [E7-14694] ::

Tesla Motors wins waiver for all-electric Roadster

...
January 28, 2008
By JUSTIN HYDE
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF
WASHINGTON Tesla Motors won a waiver for its all-electric Roadster today from federal regulators, who found that the California electric vehicle company could be forced out of business if it had to meet an air bag standard.

Tesla has said it plans to produce 650 Roadsters this year, powered by 6,831 lithium-ion batteries that are expected to carry the vehicle 220 miles on a charge. The company has used the two-seat Lotus Elise sports car as the basis for its $98,000 Roadster, but with substantial changes for batteries, electric motors and safety.

Lotus and other small carmakers have struggled to meet a 2006 federal rule requiring air bags that vary their deployment based on a passenger�s size. The Elise was granted an exemption from the rule in August 2006, after Tesla had decided to build the Roadster off the Elise. While Lotus will assemble the Roadster in England, Tesla had to seek its own waiver for the Roadster or be barred from selling it in the United States.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that it would grant Tesla a three-year exemption from the air bag rule, saying the company made an effort to comply and that the vehicle was still equipped with standard air bags for all passengers. The agency said Tesla had operating losses of $43 million between 2002 and 2006, and that denying the request was likely to put Tesla out of business in the U.S. and potentially worldwide.

The Tesla Roadster is one of the most advanced fully electric vehicles available, NHTSA said in its decision. We believe that the public interest is served by encouraging the development of fuel-efficient and alternative-fueled vehicles.

NHTSA estimated that the three-year waiver would cover 3,825 Roadsters, including 625 this year and 1,600 in each of the following two years.

Tesla said last week that it had completed safety tests of the Roadster, and had set a March 17th target for starting regular production, which had been delayed by transmission problems. The company has a technical center in Rochester Hills.

I think basically Tesla was limited on Roadster production for various reasons including needing to keep that old style low volume manufacturer air bag exemption within NHTSA guidelines, and also agreements with Lotus (and their suppliers) on how many parts could be provided. I think Tesla basically sold as many Roadsters as they could muster, and may not have been able to sell more even if there was demand.

Tesla had to keep requesting to be allowed to sell the old design under low volume manufacturer exemptions. Here was another instance:
Federal Register :: Tesla Motors, Inc.; Receipt of Petition for Temporary Exemption From the Electronic Stability Control Requirements of FMVSS No. 126

I think, at that time, Tesla was not in a financial position to re-engineer all these safety systems to bring them up to the latest standards, so the days were numbered for the original Roadster design.

 

[adiggs]

Who starts the poll on how long it takes to sell out the founder spots? I'll put my money on 10 minutes.

I'm figuring on more like a year or two. I put in a Signature Model X reservation about 6 months after the reveal. I remember when I went into the store to give them my money, being afraid that all the Signature reservations had been taken. My wife and I were actually #183 (in North America) out of what was eventually 1200.

They'll get a few hundred reasonably quickly, and then they'll see another rush as delivery approaches and people that don't want to wait in line behind non-Founders decide to put in a Founder's deposit and jump the early line.

Or at least - that's what I predict.


My wife and I realized tonight that if Tesla stock performs consistently with our investment thesis, then we're going to get in line for one of these. And I'm certain that we won't get a Founder's, or even an early non-Founder's build We'll wait a year for the rest of y'all to help Tesla work out the kinks.

 

[K-MTG]

I'm figuring on more like a year or two. I put in a Signature Model X reservation about 6 months after the reveal. I remember when I went into the store to give them my money, being afraid that all the Signature reservations had been taken. My wife and I were actually #183 (in North America) out of what was eventually 1200.

They'll get a few hundred reasonably quickly, and then they'll see another rush as delivery approaches and people that don't want to wait in line behind non-Founders decide to put in a Founder's deposit and jump the early line.

Or at least - that's what I predict.


My wife and I realized tonight that if Tesla stock performs consistently with our investment thesis, then we're going to get in line for one of these. And I'm certain that we won't get a Founder's, or even an early non-Founder's build We'll wait a year for the rest of y'all to help Tesla work out the kinks.

I reserved my X fairly late and got it a 2-3 months later compared to those who reserved years ealerier. I am assuming it will be like that with the Roadster 2.0.

I would rather start saving and investing some cash with $50k. Hopefully Tesla stocks will 4x by 2020