Tesla ditches reservations, opens up Model 3 car sales to all customers in North America

[Knightshade]

And its quite a stretch for the longs trying to downplay the active removal of all 35,000 references from the Tesla webpage

Especially when the "removal of all 35,000 references" isn't even true.

Press Kit | Tesla

Combined with 220* to 310 miles of range and a starting price of $35,000 before incentives, Model 3 is Tesla’s most affordable vehicle yet.

They removed references on the pages where you'd go buy the car- since you can't buy the car yet. Not all references on the website though.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Bump. I'm surprised no one has responded to this. I came on here to discuss expecting this to be within the first page of this sub-forum. Almost created a new thread before going back a couple pages.

Anyway, this is certainly a change. The $2,500 is non-refundable form the get-go now. However, it's also less than the $3,500 with the old reservation+configure system.

With Tesla's announcement that the $7,500 federal credit will last for deliveries through 12/31/2018, are prospective buyers, especially for LR RWD at 3-5 months, simply taking a $2,500 gamble that they'll receive the full $7,500 credit?

I know production is ramping up very aggressively, but with Tesla's track record for over-promising and under-delivering, how can anyone be sure they will get the full tax credit? Many buyers may be planning financially to receive that extra, $3,750 at tax time.

Nobody can be sure. The only way to be sure is to be buy from inventory, and there's isn't any.

 

[Big Earl]

And its quite a stretch for the longs trying to downplay the active removal of all 35,000 references from the Tesla webpage

Really? Tesla themselves say that their plans to sell the short range version starting in 2019 haven't changed. Are you suggesting that they're going to increase the price when they introduce it or are you suggesting that they won't produce it at all?

 

[ChrisH]

Isn’t there a small chance they won’t produce it at all? Didn’t they do that with one of the model S’?

It was be a huge PR nightmare and seems like it would kill maybe half the sales of the 3 but I’m getting a bit worried.

 

[Big Earl]

Isn’t there a small chance they won’t produce it at all? Didn’t they do that with one of the model S’?

It was be a huge PR nightmare and seems like it would kill maybe half the sales of the 3 but I’m getting a bit worried.

Considering Tesla's official response to the Ars Technica article, I really don't see them canceling the short range Model 3. The Model S 40 kWh is probably what you're referring to, and Tesla produced those, although only a small amount before replacing it with larger battery variants.

We asked Tesla about this, and a Tesla spokesperson said that nothing has changed. "Tesla plans to introduce the $35,000 version in the future," she said—though she couldn't give a specific time frame for the new lower price.

"It's a mistake to position this as a change in Tesla's plan because it's not," she told Ars in a phone interview. "We're just focusing on the options that are available now for our customers so that it's more clear. There's nothing else to it."

 

[asianxtreme]

Indeed.

It could be a while before they produce the $35k car. If the bulk of the remaining reservations are for this spec and given the gradual phase out of the $7500 EV credit ... will these folks cancel or upgrade?

To be clear, the tax credit only halves if it's delivered Q1/Q2 next year. So the difference is $9k (LR option) - $3750 = $5250. If the difference was only $9k vs $7.5k incentives, I'm sure most people would opt for LR right now.

 

[ChrisH]

To be clear, the tax credit only halves if it's delivered Q1/Q2 next year. So the difference is $9k (LR option) - $3750 = $5250. If the difference was only $9k vs $7.5k incentives, I'm sure most people would opt for LR right now.

Yep!

 

[OldSenileGuy]

I'm confused - if I go to the Tesla site without logging in and try to configure a base Model 3, it lists the price as $49,000, plus $1000 Destination & Doc fee, for an estimated loan payment of $698 per month after $5000 down payment.

If I log in to my account first and try to configure the same car(I'm a day one reservation holder), it lists the exact same prices.

So, uh, where did my $1000 go? Since I'm still undecided as to whether or not I actually want to buy this car*, it seems like I should get a refund on my $1000, right?


*actually I know I WANT to buy it, but undecided on whether or not i SHOULD. I live in an apartment with no charging available, and even though the supercharger map lists a supercharger coming to my neighborhood by "end of 2018", I'm worried that's Tesla Time and I'll be stuck with no convenient charging options until mid-2019 or later.

 

[drawfour]

I'm confused - if I go to the Tesla site without logging in and try to configure a base Model 3, it lists the price as $49,000, plus $1000 Destination & Doc fee, for an estimated loan payment of $698 per month after $5000 down payment.

If I log in to my account first and try to configure the same car(I'm a day one reservation holder), it lists the exact same prices.

So, uh, where did my $1000 go? Since I'm still undecided as to whether or not I actually want to buy this car*, it seems like I should get a refund on my $1000, right?


*actually I know I WANT to buy it, but undecided on whether or not i SHOULD. I live in an apartment with no charging available, and even though the supercharger map lists a supercharger coming to my neighborhood by "end of 2018", I'm worried that's Tesla Time and I'll be stuck with no convenient charging options until mid-2019 or later.

They're listing the total cost, not the delta cost. Your $1000 would be applied to the price, so you would owe $48k, instead of $49k, but obviously the car is still going to cost $49k. And of course, once you order, you pay another $2500, so while the car's total price is still the same, what you owe in the end would be less, since you already paid part of it.

 

[Sneakerbuddy]

I'm confused - if I go to the Tesla site without logging in and try to configure a base Model 3, it lists the price as $49,000, plus $1000 Destination & Doc fee, for an estimated loan payment of $698 per month after $5000 down payment.

If I log in to my account first and try to configure the same car(I'm a day one reservation holder), it lists the exact same prices.

So, uh, where did my $1000 go? Since I'm still undecided as to whether or not I actually want to buy this car*, it seems like I should get a refund on my $1000, right?


*actually I know I WANT to buy it, but undecided on whether or not i SHOULD. I live in an apartment with no charging available, and even though the supercharger map lists a supercharger coming to my neighborhood by "end of 2018", I'm worried that's Tesla Time and I'll be stuck with no convenient charging options until mid-2019 or later.

Oddly, it seems like they are actually punishing reservation holders. If you order from your reservation, you have to put up an additional $2500 so $3500 total towards your firm order. If you cancel and get your $1000 back, you can place a separate order and put up $2500 for that order. Either way, your total cash (deposit + final) will be same, but people without a reservation get to pay the $1000 later.

 

[Big Earl]

Oddly, it seems like they are actually punishing reservation holders. If you order from your reservation, you have to put up an additional $2500 so $3500 total towards your firm order. If you cancel and get your $1000 back, you can place a separate order and put up $2500 for that order. Either way, your total cash (deposit + final) will be same, but people without a reservation get to pay the $1000 later.

You could do that, but reservation holders get priority over new orders, so you'd be setting yourself back a couple of months (estimate on my part). In the end, you're paying the same amount... that extra $1,000 up front got you to the front of the line. I'm not at all bothered by the way things are working out and Tesla has been holding onto $1,000 of ours since March 31, 2016.

 

[rdlink]

Oddly, it seems like they are actually punishing reservation holders. If you order from your reservation, you have to put up an additional $2500 so $3500 total towards your firm order. If you cancel and get your $1000 back, you can place a separate order and put up $2500 for that order. Either way, your total cash (deposit + final) will be same, but people without a reservation get to pay the $1000 later.

Meh. As Big Earl states the $1000 got me a place in line in front of those who didn't put in a reservation. The only benefit from what you're proposing would be if you ended up cancelling your order instead of buying it. I have $3500 on the line, and if I walk away Tesla gets to keep it all. If someone who didn't have a reservation walks away after ordering they only stand to lose $2500. But I don't plan to walk away.

 

[Twiglett]

Oddly, it seems like they are actually punishing reservation holders. If you order from your reservation, you have to put up an additional $2500 so $3500 total towards your firm order. If you cancel and get your $1000 back, you can place a separate order and put up $2500 for that order. Either way, your total cash (deposit + final) will be same, but people without a reservation get to pay the $1000 later.

Odd that you see that as punishment.

 

[X Fan]

The only thing that is missing is the price. The website still references the short range battery, due in 6-9 months (1H19). Prices and specifications are only listed for configurations that are currently available. Once Tesla gets to the point that they are ready to launch the short range battery, the configuration page will be updated with the various applicable options and their prices. I think it's a pretty big stretch by the shorts to conclude that Tesla has abandoned their plans for a $35,000 vehicle.

Agreed....

FWIW, if you order now it's likely your "net" price will be $41.5K + tax, tags, etc.

Of course, some of the original bookings probably figured $35K less $7.5K or a net 27.5K (presuming they had earnings/taxes to offset) but I'm of the belief that it was a small percentage of backlog.

 

[adaptabl]

Agreed....

FWIW, if you order now it's likely your "net" price will be $41.5K + tax, tags, etc.

Of course, some of the original bookings probably figured $35K less $7.5K or a net 27.5K (presuming they had earnings/taxes to offset) but I'm of the belief that it was a small percentage of backlog.

I believe most of the backlog is for the $35,0000.00 model.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Isn’t there a small chance they won’t produce it at all? Didn’t they do that with one of the model S’?

It was be a huge PR nightmare and seems like it would kill maybe half the sales of the 3 but I’m getting a bit worried.

Well, there's a chance that Tesla will go bankrupt and a small chance that Tesla could survive without the SR model.

Right now there's three issues at play:
(1) Too much manual labor in production meaning that margins are low
(2) The tax credit allowing for more upsell on the LR
(3) The pending release of the 3D

The large amount of manual production lowers margin and limits production speed, so there's no way Tesla can profitably sell the SR right now. As/if it gets the new automated line up to speed, we should expect that Tesla will copy parts of the line and incorporate them into other lines to reduce the labor per vehicle, and raise margin. If they raise margin, then they'll be able to sell the SR.

But, since the LR will be more profitable than the SR, it makes sense that Tesla wants to upsell to the LR anyway. And, while the $7.5k is available the price difference for an LR now vs an SR in the future is narrowed, which gives customers more reason to upbuy.

Also, there's a pending release of the 3D, which should increase margin further. But for every 3D it builds, there's an 3R (RWD) it's not building and vice versa. Since the 3D will be less efficient than the 3R, there's no range benefit to waiting, so Tesla will want to push all the 3R buyers to buy as soon as possible, to clear the way for the P3D and 3D buyers.

 

[Gwgan]

Since the 3D will be less efficient than the 3R, there's no range benefit to waiting,

This puts me in the odd situation of considering selling the RWD for the AWD I can now get before the end of the year. Was glad to have the car sooner and did not expect the preferred AWD so soon.