Tesla Model 3 delivery is FUBAR

[ummagawd]

well i'm joining the club here... i'm 0/2 on delivery dates

first time was some kind of mistake (i had a VIN, went to pick up... no car, VIN disappeared) but they rematched me again for this Tues (i got a new VIN) was assured everything was fine now, blah blah

I just got a call saying their truck drivers have hit their max something something and now i'm not going to get it until the 29th of Sept....

anyways... thought it would be a great first post for me

 

[Goatdan]

This is not true. MANY auto dealerships deliver this many cars.

I said this really poorly. I meant doubling the delivery rate quarter to quarter.

You're also absolutely right that other dealerships deliver equal amounts or more. You're also right that they don't deliver this many "custom" deliveries. It's a bit of a unique situatuon.

 

[williamq]

How many car-transit trucks in Bay area before this? Tesla almost double the delivery this quarter. As a former Model S and now Mode X and 3 owner, I just want to say be patient, give them some understanding, you will never regret your new model 3.

 

[artsci]

I wanted to follow up on this thread and comment that we have our car!

Owings Mills went above and beyond to get us a new VIN and get us in a car. It took a bit longer than a normal delivery, but it was worth waiting every minute for the car. Its amazing.

You probably have my car

 

[SarahsDad]

Well, just to contribute my 2 cents - I've been a Tesla owner since 2013, a Day 1 Model 3 reservation holder, ordered P3D Jun 26, got a VIN (63xxx) and a delivery date of Sept 14 in Charlotte. I had to send all documents (and final payment) to Raleigh ahead of time (only Raleigh is allowed to "sell" Teslas in NC).

But initial delivery was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence. Then I saw on my Tesla Account that I was rescheduled for this past Sunday at 1:30P. I confirmed with a call to Tesla on Saturday that I would get home delivery "some time" on Sunday.

Well, Sunday came and went, no email, call, or text. I emailed my Delivery specialist several times, no response. I called Charlotte multiple times, left voicemail messages to call back, no return call.

Until this afternoon - my wife texts me that SHE missed a call from Tesla (she's listed as a secondary contact but I never received a call). The voicemail said they were calling ‘to see if you've received the documents for your car.' You mean the ones I sent to Raleigh 2 weeks ago? Really?

So I called the number back, got stuck in voicemail again, and left another message.

I called back 2 more times just because I was getting so frustrated.

Finally, I reached a human being. I explained that I was returning a call from Tesla about whether I had received my documents, that I was supposed to take delivery Sunday but no one showed up, etc. etc. He asked for may name and phone number. Then he asked for my Model 3 Reservation Number. Really? I had to look that one up. Then he says "So what is the reason for your call?" Really? I had just told him I was returning THEIR call. AND I'd told him that I'd waited around all day Sunday for my car to be delivered and no one showed up. AND no one has returned my emails or calls since.

After explaining all this, I get put on hold. For a while.

When he gets back on, he tells me "A delivery specialist will be calling you right back to schedule delivery". Wait, what? I thought that's who I was talking to. No explanation. Just that someone would call me right back.

That was hours ago. Still nothing.

I'm pissed and embarrassed this delivery process is so, in the words of the poster, FUBAR. I've been an ardent supporter of Tesla for over 5 years. But I'm starting to believe other people, like my wife, who after that phone call said " I'm beginning to think this is the worst run company ever".

Hoping we all get our cars this week like Kimball Musk said... Kimbal Musk said Tesla can 'probably' deliver customers' Model 3 cars this week if they reach out to the company

 

[Knightshade]

Yup.

Haven't heard from my IDA since Friday morning (when his only reply was basically a non-answer)

On Thursday I traded in my current car, and paid for the new one in full- the IDA having assured me he wouldn't ask me to do that until we were just a few days from delivery so I wouldn't be without a car for more than a few days.

Online I had a scheduled delivery over the weekend.

Weekend came and went- nothing.

Pretty much nothing from Tesla since. Emailed IDA Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. No reply to any of them.

Just got off the phone with the 888 number.

The woman said she "thinks" my car is either in my state now, or on its way to the state- but she couldn't be sure.

Don't these cars have GPS and LTE? Isn't tesla able to tell you where they are to within like 5 feet anywhere?

It's been "on the way" to the state since August 20th at this point.

She then said she'd pass my info to the delivery department who would get back with me and that was all she could do, and have a nice day.

 

[deadward]

Third visit to Tesla Burbank in a week. Associate Store Manager Gerald helped me for about 30 minutes. Saw a missing Delivery Object on my Opportunity Object (order item in their backend), the latter of which had a status matching a reservation, not an order.

A phone call to Order Ops from Gerald got the ball rolling on getting the database object fixed. Two hours later, got a "Next Steps" email, and 30 minutes past that I was on the phone with the delivery center and scheduled in minutes.

VIN is 044xxx, I'm scheduled for Friday pickup at Marina Del Rey. I'm assuming it was built months ago, matched to me soon after ordering, and been sitting a while as this nonsense got sorted out.

 

[R1Fast]

My delivery day experience: take 1

Worst part is, I finally talked to someone in Vegas this afternoon that confirmed my car is actually still sitting in Fremont.

 

[neroden]

Third visit to Tesla Burbank in a week. Associate Store Manager Gerald helped me for about 30 minutes. Saw a missing Delivery Object on my Opportunity Object (order item in their backend), the latter of which had a status matching a reservation, not an order.

A phone call to Order Ops from Gerald got the ball rolling on getting the database object fixed. Two hours later, got a "Next Steps" email, and 30 minutes past that I was on the phone with the delivery center and scheduled in minutes.

Thank you -- this is another valuable clue as to how Tesla the company has totally and utterly ****ed up everything related to delivery.

There's definitely *major* computer system problems. I'm glad you encountered someone (Gerald) who actually understands their computer system well enough to *identify* the problem in the database. It sounds like people who are caught in "limbo" (without so much as a delivery advisor or fake delivery date) need to contact "Order Operations", as they seem to be the only ones who can fix the "limbo" orders in the database.

 

[deadward]

Yeah, it's a definite cluster**** on their backend.

From what I gathered from my last few visits to the store, I did /at one point/ have that necessary delivery object and associated "ordered" status, as that is the only database object and status to which a VIN (which I was first told that I had over 6 weeks ago) can be assigned.

My theory is that in some brief window between a VIN being assigned and the date an advisor was supposed to first contact me, something went awry in logistics or manufacturing (car needed revision, transport was delayed, delivery scheduler got backlogged/fired, who can say...?) and somebody decided or was told "Oh, just delete the delivery object, since that's how the VIN got assigned, and then there won't be any expectation to schedule delivery without one." But not having a delivery object left me with a "reservation" not an "order", no config to look at or assigned delivery personnel for anyone to reach out to, and an assigned VIN sitting at a staging facility until somebody recognized the error.

I won't assume it was malice. Maybe they were trying to shuffle my VIN and get me a car sooner. But there was certainly a measure of ineptitude mixed in somewhere.

Either way, thank you /u/neroden for pressing the importance of pestering Tesla. I'm set for delivery and I'm more giddy and anxious than any Christmas Eve in grade school.

 

[AustinPowers]

BUT, I don’t think you can compare with other brands that all work off dealer inventory. Tesla is building to order. But they are trying to maintain efficiency of production and shipping while getting everyone what they ordered on time. So it is really not pure build to order. It’s a new model, and it remains to see if they can make it work at these volumes. Nobody else does it.

Wrong. At least over here, almost any car is built to order.
No one walks into a dealership and buys a car from the lot, unless it's a pre-owned or test-drive/loaner vehicle the dealership intends to sell. Just not the German way to buy cars.
So yes, all legacy automakers are used to building to order and delivering when ready. From my experience, no delivery appointment ever needed to be rescheduled, nor were there ever any defects, damage, batteries in need of replacement or anything like it.
Tesla simply can't cope with the demand, and that has been the case for years. Add to that the lack of communication skills of their staff, from Elon's cringeworthy-to-listen-to speeches right down to the lowest store personnel not answering calls or not replying to emails etc. even if promised to do so - several times. Bad management on so many levels it's simply astonishing.

 

[Swampgator]

Wrong. At least over here, almost any car is built to order.
No one walks into a dealership and buys a car from the lot, unless it's a pre-owned or test-drive/loaner vehicle the dealership intends to sell. Just not the German way to buy cars.
So yes, all legacy automakers are used to building to order and delivering when ready. From my experience, no delivery appointment ever needed to be rescheduled, nor were there ever any defects, damage, batteries in need of replacement or anything like it.
Tesla simply can't cope with the demand, and that has been the case for years. Add to that the lack of communication skills of their staff, from Elon's cringeworthy-to-listen-to speeches right down to the lowest store personnel not answering calls or not replying to emails etc. even if promised to do so - several times. Bad management on so many levels it's simply astonishing.

Ah, The Bimmer fan pops up again.
Tesla is definitely experiencing some bad growing pains. They are a new company and growing at an almost exponential rate. My delivery has been delayed twice and I am not too happy about it. But seriously Austin, even the Germans deliver cars with defects. All the time.
Here is the latest JD powers. Tesla is not on it because of small sample size. Next year they will, and I suspect they will be towards the bottom, but they will improve.

 

[AustinPowers]

Don't make the payment until you see the car in person.

Don't understand this either. Who in his/her right mind pays a car before he/she had time to fully inspect it, drive it, etc.? This is not peanuts we are talking about but the second most expensive purchase after a house that most people make in their lifetime (a car in general I mean, not the Model 3 in particular). I wouldn't dream of handing over tens of thousands of Euro to a cardealer without having gotten the vehicle and being 100% satisfied with it.

 

[Knightshade]

Don't understand this either. Who in his/her right mind pays a car before he/she had time to fully inspect it, drive it, etc.? This is not peanuts we are talking about but the second most expensive purchase after a house that most people make in their lifetime (a car in general I mean, not the Model 3 in particular). I wouldn't dream of handing over tens of thousands of Euro to a cardealer without having gotten the vehicle and being 100% satisfied with it.

Lots of people have no choice. Some states Tesla can't legally sell cars- so if you don't pay in advance you don't get a car.

Likewise the places that are doing home delivery- no payment, no delivery.

You have 2 days to return it for a full refund if there's something wrong with it.

 

[AustinPowers]

Ah, The Bimmer fan pops up again.
Tesla is definitely experiencing some bad growing pains. They are a new company and growing at an almost exponential rate. My delivery has been delayed twice and I am not too happy about it. But seriously Austin, even the Germans deliver cars with defects. All the time.
Here is the latest JD powers. Tesla is not on it because of small sample size. Next year they will, and I suspect they will be towards the bottom, but they will improve.
View attachment 338214

What kind of statistic is that, where Chevrolet, one of the most unreliable automakers in history is ranked above Toyota, or Subaru, who have some of the most reliable cars ever made in their portfolios?
Then again this is for the US market, and as past experience on this very forum has shown me, cars for that market seem to be made to very different standards than those for other markets across the globe, significantly skewing the value of such statistics.

And carmakers other than Tesla, Germans in particular if you will, delivering cars with defects "all the time"?
Seriously?
If that were the case here, in the nation of car crazy, never-to-be-satisfied perfectionists, there would be such an outcry and public shaming of said automakers that no one would consider buying from them ever again.
Just look at the pictures posted in all the threads here about Model 3 deliveries gone wrong and tell me honestly you have experienced things even remotely similar from the likes of Toyota, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Lexus etc?

And by the way, I am no "Bimmer fan". I just happen to drive one, until my next car comes along. e-Golf or Model 3, depending which arrives first (plus my wife and I haven't finally decided yet who gets the Golf and who the Tesla ). Just got info update from VW that my delivery will be near the end of the year, nothing from Tesla about delivery (or even invite to configure) just yet.

 

[voip-ninja]

Wrong. At least over here, almost any car is built to order.
No one walks into a dealership and buys a car from the lot, unless it's a pre-owned or test-drive/loaner vehicle the dealership intends to sell. Just not the German way to buy cars.
So yes, all legacy automakers are used to building to order and delivering when ready. From my experience, no delivery appointment ever needed to be rescheduled, nor were there ever any defects, damage, batteries in need of replacement or anything like it.
Tesla simply can't cope with the demand, and that has been the case for years. Add to that the lack of communication skills of their staff, from Elon's cringeworthy-to-listen-to speeches right down to the lowest store personnel not answering calls or not replying to emails etc. even if promised to do so - several times. Bad management on so many levels it's simply astonishing.

IMO Tesla has two somewhat diametrically opposed things coming to a head.

* A delivery team made up of low-paid inexperienced (many probably very young) people.
* A crushing # of needed deliveries, with the numbers increasing week after week as cars are piling up waiting for distribution to their eventual owners.

Tesla wants to post a profit in Q3, so they laid off a bunch of people... and then started filling the gaps with temps and new hires with zero experience with Tesla's systems.

This is a recipe for disaster, as Tesla is finding out.

I can't even contemplate how they will double volume again over the next couple of quarters as Musk has insisted when they've been completely steam-rolled trying to deliver 4k units per week.

What Tesla needs is an entire team of supply chain and distribution specialists.... really REALLY good ones to come in and get this mess sorted FAST. Unfortunately those people aren't cheap, and even if Tesla is willing to pay they might steer clear based on what has been going on this past year with Tesla.

 

[Swampgator]

What kind of statistic is that, where Chevrolet, one of the most unreliable automakers in history is ranked above Toyota, or Subaru, who have some of the most reliable cars ever made in their portfolios?
Then again this is for the US market, and as past experience on this very forum has shown me, cars for that market seem to be made to very different standards than those for other markets across the globe, significantly skewing the value of such statistics.

And carmakers other than Tesla, Germans in particular if you will, delivering cars with defects "all the time"?
Seriously?
If that were the case here, in the nation of car crazy, never-to-be-satisfied perfectionists, there would be such an outcry and public shaming of said automakers that no one would consider buying from them ever again.
Just look at the pictures posted in all the threads here about Model 3 deliveries gone wrong and tell me honestly you have experienced things even remotely similar from the likes of Toyota, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Lexus etc?

You must not understand the difference between initial quality and long term reliability. Auto industry average is a little less than one defect at delivery per car delivered. BMW is a little better than average at 87/100 cars delivered. So yes, if BMW delivers 100 cars, the odds are 87 of them have 1 issue at delivery. These are typically paint or trim issues for most cars.
And I have owned a BMW 3 series. Initial quality was great. Reliability sucked. I sold it after 2 years as the warranty period was about to end, because I couldn't afford to fix it. Also owned a VW diesel that blew 2 motors. German engineering is overrated. A Honda civic or Toyota Camry will be more reliable long term than any German car, period.
Kinda getting off topic here, but you boys over in Germany had better get with the program.
The Audi E-Tron? Gimme a break. It has no better specs than the Q5, for 20 grand more. Can Audi make an EV that is better than their ICE offering? Sure. They just choose not to. This is the same with Porsche, MB, etc. The Taycan will not beat a 911 BY DESIGN. And it will cost the same or more. This is a recipe for disaster for the German brands.
Tesla has chosen to build an EV that is BETTER than the competition. That is why they are outselling all BMW sedans combined in the US with one model.
All that said, yes, Tesla delivery system right now is FUBAR. Will it get better? Likely. And when it does, the product (Model 3) is still more compelling than competitive offerings from Germany.

 

[mos6507]

What kind of statistic is that

One based on actual data rather than generalizations slinging around a forum.

 

[mos6507]

Tesla has chosen to build an EV that is BETTER than the competition. That is why they are outselling all BMW sedans combined in the US with one model.

No. Tesla is selling more because it's 2+ years of accumulated demand being met in one swift burst. Once it burns through reservations then we'll see the true demand in relation to other sedans (a dying segment, btw).

 

[mattjs33]

No. Tesla is selling more because it's 2+ years of accumulated demand being met in one swift burst. Once it burns through reservations then we'll see the true demand in relation to other sedans (a dying segment, btw).

^^ This, thank you.

Although I think you should have wrote, "attempting to be met".

Elon painted himself into a corner with this "profitable by Q4" stuff. These end-of-quarter frantic rushes are doing the company no favors. If they had tempered the growth rate, with realistic goals, they wouldn't be having the issues they're having currently.