Looking at the informal Tesla y preorder tracker that is linked in this forum, about 27% of preorders are the RWD Y. I know the sample size (over 150 responses) isn’t large enough to draw a firm conclusion, but if 27% is somewhat accurate, that’s a large percentage for Tesla to have taken off the table or risk for sales losses (if they cancel RWD production entirely and people either cancel order or don’t upgrade).
It’s painful to witness Tesla continuing to self inflict damage to themselves with sloppy communication and product planning missteps. With a company having the market cap that Tesla has, there is no excuse for it. I come from a fortune 50 corporate marketing background, it’s not an easy task but there should be some executive in the room chiming in when these decisions are being made pointing out the consequences.
To reach or maintain the level of a world class company, Tesla should have had a clear communication plan to existing RWD order holders, in conjunction to communicating to the world (and their customers) the removal of the model. This is a large purchase item for most anyone, the lack of any communication is even worse given we’re talking about a $50k-$56k purchase experience. Hopefully they’ll make it up, is all I’m hoping for. Maybe Monday there will be an email in our inboxes explaining what is going on with RWD and what our options are. That’s the least they can do.
And yes, I know there will be a bunch of fans that say the product will make up for it and quit whining. For those that think that, I can’t think of many companies that make it long term, only relying on overcoming poor customer experiences with a great product. Eventually it catches up... I want Tesla to do better because they need to do better.
