Roadster reservations

[CarlK]

Well, I can't pull the trigger yet. It's a long way out and the deposit isn't trivial. I'm interested, no question about it. If it were around the corner, I'd be much closer. I like the design, but I don't know if it feels "Tesla" enough for me. Probably just because I haven't stared at it long enough. That will definitely change.

I had a hard time sleeping last night because I've been waiting for this moment for some time, and deciding whether to jump in fully or not was tough. But as of now, I'm going to watch things unfold.

Feeling a little .

Having driven sports cars or sporty cars all of my adult life until the Model S this is the moment I've long been waitiong for too. It turned out to be even better than what I've expected. The performance, the range, the look and that it's not a soft top, everything is the best I could ask for. Even the price Tesla could ask for more. It took me only 30 minutes to make the decision that night. I just don't want to wait till Tesla raised the price or made the base model harder to get like to require a higher deposit or full price upfront when first year or two's productions are spoken for.

 

[ohmman]

Having driven sports cars or sporty cars all of my adult life until the Model S this is the moment I've long been waitiong for too. It turned out to be even better than what I've expected. The performance, the range, the look and that it's not a soft top, everything is the best I could ask for. Even the price Tesla could ask for more. It took me only 30 minutes to make the decision that night. I just don't want to wait till Tesla raised the price or made the base model harder to get like to require a higher deposit or full price upfront when first year or two's productions are spoken for.

All I can say is that I’m really envious of your certainty. Enjoy that awesome ride.

 

[ElecFan]

I'm not sure what you mean by this?

I heard one youtuber saying that they could get a Roadster founders edition at 100% discount with their referrals which apparently they initially could not.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I heard one youtuber saying that they could get a Roadster founders edition at 100% discount with their referrals which apparently they initially could not.

I think Bjørn Nyland said that such buyers still have to pony-up the deposit?

EDIT: Maybe that was Buyers who didn't have the full 100% discount credit ...

 

[ElecFan]

I think Bjørn Nyland said that such buyers still have to pony-up the deposit?

EDIT: Maybe that was Buyers who didn't have the full 100% discount credit ...

I'm not sure if they have to 'pony-up the deposit'. Bjorn did say the discount he receives will be seen as income so he has to pay tax for that (some 40.000€ at 160k discount or something).

 

[WannabeOwner]

Yes, that too, but (from my memory) that's a separate issue. I think his tax on Gifts, in Norway, might be as high as 50% I know he put off getting his free MS so that it was not in the same tax year as his free ("Free" haha, not in his case ...) MX because, even if he sold the MS immediately, the tax would have been horrendous ...

 

[davidc18]

I have been wondering what year the non founders will start arriving (wondering if going all in with a founders edition is the only way to get the car anywhere near the launch year) all speculation of course but it is the question that is holding up my deposit.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I'm not sure if they have to 'pony-up the deposit'. Bjorn did say the discount he receives will be seen as income so he has to pay tax for that .

It's the same here in the US. Depending on how much of a discount one has, tax federal tax could be between 33% and 39%. Plus state income tax. So if you have 55 referrals for a 100% discount and live in an income-tax state, you could end up owing $100k in taxes to claim the prize.

If anyone has any links to this claim that people claiming referral award discounts need to put a deposit down anyway, please post. Because there has been no official communication from Tesla on the matter.

 

[WannabeOwner]

@HankLloydRight This was the video I was referring to. On re-viewing Bjorn is speculating, but suggest you see what you think

YouTube @ 5m57s

 

[HankLloydRight]

@HankLloydRight This was the video I was referring to. On re-viewing Bjorn is speculating, but suggest you see what you think

YouTube @ 5m57s

I had seen that before, but don't see anywhere in that video where he says people with referral discounts need to put up the deposit up front.

 

[ElecFan]

I had seen that before, but don't see anywhere in that video where he says people with referral discounts need to put up the deposit up front.

At @6m55s he says he thinks he'll have to put down an order for the founders edition and 'pay a lot of money' (which he says he doesn't have). It's clearly anyone's guess. I hope he'll get to the 100% and doesn't need to pay the 250k. His contributions are great, he's funny and gives a lot of useful info.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Ok, that's entirely his speculation.

My speculation is that I would think Tesla would tell us 'referral discount' people what the procedure is for claiming the discount. For Ben who already has 55 referrals, and other folks near the top, I don't think Tesla would require those people to put down a full $250k deposit now for the Founder's edition (since that's what the referral discount is for), and then refund most or all of it in 2020.

I also speculate that the Roadster discount program will end on Jan 31, 2018, and at that point Tesla will provide guidance for the referral discount procedures.

 

[AlMc]

That's a lot of loot for a 3 year wait. I've waited before but this one feels a bit different. And more expensive.

Well, I can't pull the trigger yet. It's a long way out and the deposit isn't trivial. I'm interested, no question about it. If it were around the corner, I'd be much closer. I like the design, but I don't know if it feels "Tesla" enough for me. Probably just because I haven't stared at it long enough. That will definitely change.

I had a hard time sleeping last night because I've been waiting for this moment for some time, and deciding whether to jump in fully or not was tough. But as of now, I'm going to watch things unfold.

Feeling a little .

I am in the same boat. Did the whole Sig X deposit thing only to realize that I could have purchased the X outright if I just invested the money in TSLA at the time of the deposit.
My 'boss' gave me the thumbs up if I wanted to go there but at this time I am going to pass.

Congrats to all who are putting down deposits. Tesla and I (not that 'I' matters) thank you for your support!

 

[andrewket]

fwiw, I asked Tesla if those of us whom have qualified to purchase the founders edition at a discount need to / or if there was any benefit to placing a deposit, and I was unequivocally told no. We are already included on the founders list, and our participation in the program is essentially our “deposit”.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Wow, great news! Thanks for the legwork.

 

[Britannia]

Dang, I need to stop being lazy in the referrals department. I just want the wheels but maybe I should have set my sights higher? I was torn about putting down 50K for three years. In the end, my husband told me to just do it because he was sick of my one track mind. I also bought more Tesla stock so hopefully in three years it will make a small dent in that final bill.

 

[K-MTG]

I really wish I had to deal with the tax problems associated with the Roadster. But at 1 referral and 2 cancellations....not gonna happen lol

 

[Canuck]

It also screams, “we need cash now.”

That's how I read it too. What do they base the specs on? Unless there's a prototype in existence that performs as per the specs, I'll take those specs with a grain of salt.

Which might be why the P version of the Model 3 either won't be made or is a much lower priority now...

If they lower the priority, and drag out the production of the P/L version of the Model 3, I will probably not wait for it since it's already "Late 2018" for my reservation in Canada. Unfortunately, I'm not immortal and therefore there's only so long I'm willing to wait for P/L before settling for a 3 without it.

Also, if they don't make a P/L version of the Model 3 because of the new Roadster, then they are telling someone like me to keep the extra cash I was willing to spend on a P/L version of a Model 3. While that Roadster is my dream car, I just can't justify spending that kind of cash whereas I can justify the P/L version of a Model 3. I bet there's far more people out there like me than potential Roadster owners who decided to buy a 3 P/L instead. That's not who the new Roadster appeals to, at least in my view. Yes, they will lose some Roadster sales but in my view it will not be nearly as much as they will lose in cash given the likely high profit margin they will get for a P/L on a 3. If Tesla wants cash, and cash now, your theory sure leaves a lot of cash on the table.

It will also make Elon's tweets saying there will be a P/L version of the Model 3 not true if they don't make it, and we all know everything Elon says is true...

Elon Musk: "Of Course" Tesla Model 3 Will Get Ludicrous Mode

 

[CarlK]

P/L version of the M3 sure will come. The Roadster will have no effect on that. They occupy two completely different market segments, BMW M3 and 911 Turbo S if you will. Don't expect its performance to be close to that of the Roadser or even the MS though. Tesla, like any auto company, will do its best to make people want to buy the $200K+ Roadster or $150K P1xxD instead of $90K 3 P/L.

As for the Roadster I understand by no means it's inexpensive but it's really a super great deal. The market will react when there is a great deal. What prompted me to put down the deposit is not that I want to get the car early but I'm afriad Tesla will raise the price in the future if the response is too good. The original NSX was listed at only ~$60K when it was first released. Honda did not realize it's a super great deal but everyone else did. You could not get your hands on one without paying 50% dealer markup. Eventually Honda raised price to pretty much that level, We'll find out more about details of the Roadster and how market reacts to it as time goes by. For me all I'm paying is interest of the $50K which is not that big a deal.

 

[shokunin]

P/L version of the M3 sure will come. The Roadster will have no effect on that. They occupy two completely different market segments, BMW M3 and 911 Turbo S if you will. Don't expect its performance to be close to that of the Roadser or even the MS though. Tesla, like any auto company, will do its best to make people want to buy the $200K+ Roadster or $150K P1xxD instead of $90K 3 P/L.

Totally agree. The P/L will come to the 3 but expect the performance to be somewhat slower than an equivalent PxxxD/T Model S.

The margins on the P/L are too good to pass up. Building a P/L variant costs Tesla very little in terms of production costs. Hopefully they will offer the Model 3 P/L version with the standard coil versus requiring the air suspension like they did for the Model S. At least with coils, they'll likely be 3rd party coilovers for better ride handling and performance over a non-tweakable air suspension.