So, What exactly is the value of a Signature Model S?

[qwk]

I feel like you and I were major fanboys who got beaten down over time by Tesla and are now unfortunately at this point. Maybe the wait was too long? It's the weirdest feeling not to be feeling elation as my delivery is a month away.

I've thought a lot about this the last week or two and just think that Tesla (predominantly run by really, really smart people with technical backgrounds) completely misunderstood and underestimated the emotional and psychological aspects of this experience. I used the Vegas analogy because my friends and I are planning a trip there, and I was laughing about how my high roller friends are haggling over which hotel is giving them the best deal when they spend more on one hand of blackjack than their entire room bill for the weekend. It's not logical, but those little goodies that the hotels give them to make them feel "special" make all the difference.

The service charge actually made me feel better -- if Tesla had simply added $1500-$2000 to the base price of the cars (which is what I assume BMW does) and said "free maintenance for everyone!" everyone would be jumping for joy instead of the anger and dropped reservations we've seen. It's not logical, but psychologically it's a night and day difference. The same Spock-like instincts are biting Tesla in the behind, unfortunately, as they did with everything related to the Sigs.

You put into words exactly how this is and feels. Thanks. The Vegas analogy is spot on.

 

[mlascano]

@ mlascano, based on your Sig number, had you reserved a production instead you wouldn't be getting an S this year. That has to be worth something, no?

Tommy, I would have been ~P5000. So yes, early delivery was a big factor in going Sig rather than P, and yes, that is worth something. But as pointed out by many in posts above mine, the premise behind the Sig series was not solely early delivery but exclusivity, almost fully loaded car, etc. and it is here where the Sig premium is failing to live up to my expectations.

 

[dsm363]

They could easily throw in the service plan for Sig cars but that could make other people angry as well. Maybe connectivity included for 4 years instead of 1. They do need to step it up a little to make the Sig reservation worth the deposit. I'm still happy I'm getting the car though.

 

[Lyon]

I, too, felt this way. But it doesn't seem like Tesla is as enthusiastic about US, so my enthusiasm for THEM has waned. I just got my delivery call, and kinda rushed the guy off the phone so I could finish another conversation. Just not feeling it.

I hope that you get a little bit of that zeal back once you get your car!

 

[dsm363]

My delivery person is very excited about the delivery process and has been very nice so it of course varies with each person.

 

[NigelM]

They could easily throw in the service plan for Sig cars.....

Is was suggested on another thread that Tesla should do this and just bump up the 2013 price level to compensate.

 

[Joel]

They could easily throw in the service plan for Sig cars but that could make other people angry as well. Maybe connectivity included for 4 years instead of 1. They do need to step it up a little to make the Sig reservation worth the deposit. I'm still happy I'm getting the car though.

I'm happy I'm getting the car as well. Another point worth making is: failing to provide any value for Model S Signatures could hurt interest in Model X Signatures. For example, my wife wants (and we will most likely get) a Model X. She asked if we should get a Model X Signature. I laughed, and she laughed too. I told her if we got a Model X, we can refer to it as our Signature Model X, and it will be our $9,000 secret.

 

[dsm363]

Is was suggested on another thread that Tesla should do this and just bump up the 2013 price level to compensate.

I agree they should that. They could just say 'everyone who places a reservation after October 1st, 2012 will get free 4 year maintenance. Base cost is now $59,800.'

 

[ckessel]

There's probably a certain amount of anticipation fatigue at this point. It's hard to stay excited for as long as some of us have reserved. When you hit that fatigue point the highs (a delivery call) aren't going to jazz you as much as it should and the lows (service costs) are going to feel worse than they normally would.

 

[DrComputer]

A few weeks ago I asked Jeremy Snyder (not sure of his current title but he's moved up from the SoCal regional manager) about this very issue. Here was my e-mail and his response. Interpret his answer as you will.

My e-mail to him:

I’mstill a bit confused about is the “extra special something” that was promisedto Signature owners. So far from all of the people I’ve read about orspoken to that have taken delivery of their Signature S, they haven’t receivedanything special. No special Jacket, no nice set of leather travel bagsfor the car, no signed plaque, nothing. What happened to makingSignatures owners who paid a premium feel special by getting something morethan delivery a few weeks before regular owners?

His response:
Don't worry, it's in the works and we will be "following"some of the earliest owners. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but givenI had a hand in the idea, I think it's really nice.

 

[AnOutsider]

A few weeks ago I asked Jeremy Snyder (not sure of his current title but he's moved up from the SoCal regional manager) about this very issue. Here was my e-mail and his response. Interpret his answer as you will.

My e-mail to him:

I’mstill a bit confused about is the “extra special something” that was promisedto Signature owners. So far from all of the people I’ve read about orspoken to that have taken delivery of their Signature S, they haven’t receivedanything special. No special Jacket, no nice set of leather travel bagsfor the car, no signed plaque, nothing. What happened to makingSignatures owners who paid a premium feel special by getting something morethan delivery a few weeks before regular owners?

His response:
Don't worry, it's in the works and we will be "following"some of the earliest owners. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but givenI had a hand in the idea, I think it's really nice.

Haha. I don't want a Tesla stalker, thanks. It sort of sounds like an owners video series? If so (and this is of course speculation), our big thank you is becoming marketing material!

 

[dsm363]

I really want a custom Tesla Model S Signature Red corporate jacket:smile: Really though, even something small like that, while not that much in the monetary sense for the Sig premium, would be a nice touch. I hope it's something more substantial though.

 

[AnOutsider]

I'm happy I'm getting the car as well. Another point worth making is: failing to provide any value for Model S Signatures could hurt interest in Model X Signatures. For example, my wife wants (and we will most likely get) a Model X. She asked if we should get a Model X Signature. I laughed, and she laughed too. I told her if we got a Model X, we can refer to it as our Signature Model X, and it will be our $9,000 secret.

Haha, I hear ya. I'm going to give them a bit of time before I decide to downgrade or not. Actually, getting the X in general will come down to how my experiences with the S go.

 

[STxTesla]

The numbers that have been mentioned regarding the extra cost of the Signature has been anywhere from $6,100 to $9,000. This is not the only extra cost that we spent on getting a Sig. The $40,000 deposit sounds like a big number, (and of course it is), but if you want to really look at the picture clearly, the cost of getting a Sig sounds even bigger when presented in the following way:

The 1,000 U.S. Signature Series owners paid, (using the $6,100 number here), an extra $6.1 million dollars to Tesla for their cars.
The 1,000 U.S. Signature Series owners also collectively paid $40,000,000.00 in advance to become a Signature Series owner.

So....we gave Tesla at least $6.1 million extra and a $40 million dollar loan to boot.

I got a key chain.

 

[clmason]

The big perk is using the super charger network. If you own a Sig and live near a charger corridor, which I assume will be deployed in close proximity of the customer base, you will get near exclusive use for th first 6-12 months.

IMO a manifestation of the EV dream is road tripping in a high performance car. Charging for pennies on the dollar amd with a fast turn around. The Sigs get to live the dream first!

 

[AnOutsider]

The big perk is using the super charger network. If you own a Sig and live near a charger corridor, which I assume will be deployed in close proximity of the customer base, you will get near exclusive use for th first 6-12 months.

IMO a manifestation of the EV dream is road tripping in a high performance car. Charging for pennies on the dollar amd with a fast turn around. The Sigs get to live the dream first!

Basis for this? Also not sure that would even be that beneficial for everyone. I think most people are planning on getting by without them, but even those who travel a lot shouldn't need the SC much.

 

[Arnold Panz]

Basis for this? Also not sure that would even be that beneficial for everyone. I think most people are planning on getting by without them, but even those who travel a lot shouldn't need the SC much.

Agree. Other than an occasional trip to Orlando or Naples, I'll probably never use a Supercharger. Maybe 2-3 times a year, max

 

[ipdamages]

At SSL 147 I was in long after the discount was gone. I only went for it after the 300 mile battery was stated to be available. I wasn't interested in less range than my Roadster.

Wow, I hadn't realized that the $10k discount got shut down so quickly. I know it was long gone before I became an owner.

Also, I know everyone wants Tesla to have 5,000 deliveries this year and for the recently announced delivery dates to hold, but I just don't think recent events are very encouraging there. As I wrote earlier, car 71 was delivered last Friday, to the person with Sig 89 reservation. It is hard to imagine them delivering the next 800+ cars in a month or two. But I hope I'm wrong.

As a result, the real Sig benefit of early delivery may prove more meaningful than it is currently valued.

 

[StephRob]

I too am quite disappointed in the value of the Signature cars. At this point, I do kind of regret reserving one. I like the red though and I do think that there may be a small resale premium for the Sig Red ones since some people may also value that color.

However, the point of me posting is to point out one other small benefit of purchasing a Sig (albeit one that is only practical to take advantage of by a small subset of Sig purchasers): the ability to take a tour of the Tesla factory. I am taking delivery at the factory and looking forward to seeing it. I plan to bring my kids, husband and father. How often can you see a state of the art manufacturing facility here in the US? It will be fascinating.

(From other posts on this Forum, I don't believe that non-Sigs can do a factory tour. If I'm wrong, never mind and consider me even more unhappy about the Sig decision!)

 

[rlawson4]

The value is simple. There are getting cars right now. The rest of us are waiting.