Tesla, TSLA & the Investment World: the Perpetual Investors' Roundtable

[Ipcress]

It is utterly ridiculous. That a person couldn’t or wouldn’t call ahead when they were such a distance away as the OP stated and simply prebook a double slot is beyond ridiculous. It’s not 2013 nor 2018 nor are either of those models new to the market, though one is still in a high demand period which could cause a delay in test driving availability.

And because demo vehicles and advisors can still be a limited resource here’s another thought, one could book a single test drive of the vehicle they’re most leaning toward and come back a month or 6 later and book to test drive the other model.

Or one could book a test drive of one vehicle at one location and book the other vehicle at a different location and simply time such test drives when they’re in the area visiting family, friends or when on vacation, or, or, or. Tesla is not going to stop a person from doing those things.

Obviously, if you just show up there may not be a time slot available or the vehicle you want to test drive available. That happens at dealerships too you know, where at some locations vehicles and salesmen can be a limited resource.

Don’t be a dumb human and not think ahead. Don’t be a dumb, arrogant, entitled human and think you’re somehow special and that anyone is going to drop everything and cater to you because you’re spending some money.

I guarantee I could contact the Tesla location in question and manage to get myself a test drive in both vehicles if they were available by being pleasant, reasonable and understanding. Yes, part of being those things would be to compromise if needs be and maybe not getting the test drives exactly at the times I’d most prefer.

What I don’t do is make my first post on a Tesla enthusiast’s forum about how Tesla won’t let me test drive two vehicles and go on about how much money I’m prepared to spend. That person calls me to book an appointment for anything and instantly my schedule is full from now until you know what freezes over.

Call ahead? Have you ever tried to call any Tesla entity --about anything? It's absolutely, positively impossible.

Please don't respond with another angry, multi-paragraph rant. of course you're right, and everyone else is wrong. It's easy to reach a SC on the phone, and book multiple test drives.

 

[MP3Mike]

It's easy to reach a SC on the phone, and book multiple test drives.

Yeah, calling a Super Charger isn't likely to get you a test drive. (Neither is calling a Service Center...)

You would have better luck with a Tesla store/gallery. (Or even just clicking the "Demo Drive" button on the Tesla web site.)

 

[Krugerrand]

Now that I find hard to believe.

You can find it any way you want, but I literally just got a big box store to ignore a strict company policy to accommodate my situation. I just got a government worker to bend over backwards fixing an issue for me that wasn’t even their department. I’ve had random call center people call me back a day or two later to see if where/who they transferred me to was able to help.

Service industry people have to deal with people crapping on them all day long, everyday because people suck. Therefore I treat them with respect and understanding. It’s such a change from the norm for them, they are only too happy to go above and beyond. Simple.

 

[Krugerrand]

Call ahead? Have you ever tried to call any Tesla entity --about anything? It's absolutely, positively impossible.

Please don't respond with another angry, multi-paragraph rant. of course you're right, and everyone else is wrong. It's easy to reach a SC on the phone, and book multiple test drives.

Everyone always has an excuse why they can’t get someone to do something for them.

Then take a drive to the location and speak to someone in person. It’s a long drive? Then go sightseeing along the way. Stop at a restaurant you’ve always wanted to try or a museum that looks interesting. Oh, you’re life and time is too important for any of that? Then don’t get a test drive and carry on. Or use the Tesla website to book a demo.

I am right. You don’t see me complaining about not getting something I want or need. I find a way. And I don’t blame other people for it or stamp my feet like a spoiled child.

 

[betstarship]

I bought a house (Japan trip was eye-opening and enlightening), am in the middle of escrow, need to sell a little of my remaining TSLA holding, and am playing russian roulette with the share price during this debt ceiling ..."process". I have a little over a month.

Any feedback? I'm leaning towards just selling sometime this week and be happy.

 

[2daMoon]

I bought a house (Japan trip was eye-opening and enlightening), am in the middle of escrow, need to sell a little of my remaining TSLA holding, and am playing russian roulette with the share price during this debt ceiling ..."process". I have a little over a month.

Any feedback? I'm leaning towards just selling sometime this week and be happy.

Based upon careful technical analysis it would be a sure bet that the sooner you sell, the sooner the SP will rocket higher.

 

[Knightshade]

I bought a house (Japan trip was eye-opening and enlightening), am in the middle of escrow, need to sell a little of my remaining TSLA holding, and am playing russian roulette with the share price during this debt ceiling ..."process". I have a little over a month.

Any feedback? I'm leaning towards just selling sometime this week and be happy.

Possibly better asking in the "other" thread but one option if you don't expect a huge drop, since you intend to give up shares, but have some weeks to do it, would be to sell at/near the money weekly calls and also pocket a bit of premium.

 

[dedicatedtek]

not sure if this is the correct thread, but...

Hi, my name's "John", and it's been 7 days since I took a test drive....

 

[betstarship]

Possibly better asking in the "other" thread but one option if you don't expect a huge drop, since you intend to give up shares, but have some weeks to do it, would be to sell at/near the money weekly calls and also pocket a bit of premium.

When in Japan, I watched CNN for SE Asia. All they talked about, when it concerned the US, was the debt ceiling while most in the US on my whatsapp were talking about Trump.

It's telling and if the US does default on its debt...it's gonna get ugly (8-10M in job losses from what's estimated in the near-term). Lots of trickle down effects and the loss of the leadership of the US dollar. Huge black swan. Even with the Twitter overhang on TSLA over with and realized sometime in the next month as the new CEO comes in and Elon takes on more of a role in Tesla...this is a bigger deal in the market in the short-term.

I'm concerned that if a deal doesn't happen, it'll realize a recession and a 20-30% drop in share price until resolved. If everything goes well, I can see how we're back to >$200 / share.

 

[Drumheller]

I bought a house (Japan trip was eye-opening and enlightening), am in the middle of escrow, need to sell a little of my remaining TSLA holding, and am playing russian roulette with the share price during this debt ceiling ..."process". I have a little over a month.

Any feedback? I'm leaning towards just selling sometime this week and be happy.

Obviously I don't know the future. That said, I view the "debt ceiling" drama as more theater put on by criminals to keep the public distracted. I anticipate a last minute deal and the market may rally the next day. I hope it works out well for you!

 

[winfield100]

Lack of service centers is why I think Tesla shouldn't produce lower cost vehicles. I'm in NWFL and it's a 4-hour round trip to the west for service. The working class buying a $25k car doesn't have to full days to make a service run. Now I read Tesla is opening a new SC 2-hours to the east, so for me it's again a 4-hour round trip and almost guaranteed I will always have a 4-hr round trip since now there is a SC 2 hours east and one 2 hours west. I see multiple Tesla's daily and there is a supercharger 5 miles from me. This SC distance makes me consider not purchasing another Tesla in the future.

@GatorMeat
So you are around Tallahassee? or Gainesville?. (up in NWFL) I'm a bit confused looking at a map of Florida and service centers.
mine is off Colonial Blvd in Ft Myers, though I've used it once, when I purchased my MYLR and used the Rockville, Md, once when I had the windshield replaced, (just opened after moving from Gude Drive in Rockville)

If you don't buy one, well, someone else probably will at least for the next few years. It took 10 months from order to receipt for my MYLR which now has >20,000 miles in 364 days

(there is a Florida Tesla users group btw)

could Elon's Twitter interview with Rhonda Santis be stealth advertising? will it affect the SP positively?

 

[Artful Dodger]

Dry Electrode Lithium Doping Process // 'New' Tesla Patent | The Limiting Factor w. Jordan Giesige (1 hr ago)

 

[Unpilot]

My google driven news feed keep showing me ....um..."slanted" Tesla articles.
I have been clicking on the three little dots to send feedback and in some instances block sites, and it has been getting better.

However, today I got a clickbait headline about a Tesla "bursting into flames" and no apparent way to do either.

All that to say that even a Tesla loving advocate such as myself that has been trying to reduce the amount of "Tesla bursting into flames" articles I get still gets them....imagine what folk who don't try and curate news get!

This is what the Mission is up against.

 

[GhostSkater]

@unk45 I have a question for you if you think you might have any insight on it

How do you view Tesla getting a foothold in Brazil and South America if the Mexico vehicle is indeed destined to here? I mean, I'm sure they could sell everything they make, but what I have a bit of doubt is if they start cranking them out fast, will the initial demand be there to absorb it? It's a whole new place that for 99% might have no clue in EVs and big skepticism and have to be converted to it

If it was a lower production vehicle, I'm sure everything would be sold and there would be month long wait, but I'm not totally sure when doing 1M+ a year

As time go by sure, there will be wait lines

I think it would compete with Corolla here for the price we expect, and even that sold less than 50k units in 2021

 

[jerry33]

not sure if this is the correct thread, but...

Hi, my name's "John", and it's been 7 days since I took a test drive....

And my heart rate is still elevated.

 

[Nocturnal]

My google driven news feed keep showing me ....um..."slanted" Tesla articles.
I have been clicking on the three little dots to send feedback and in some instances block sites, and it has been getting better.

However, today I got a clickbait headline about a Tesla "bursting into flames" and no apparent way to do either.

All that to say that even a Tesla loving advocate such as myself that has been trying to reduce the amount of "Tesla bursting into flames" articles I get still gets them....imagine what folk who don't try and curate news get!

This is what the Mission is up against.

Makes me wonder when people will stop clicking. How many hate articles can a single weirdo consume?

 

[aronth5]

So odd. When I was at my service center to get a CCS upgrade, they offered to let me take the demo plaid S or model Y for lunch. I didn’t even ask for a test drive. I turned them down since I had already eaten. (Model X was being driven by someone else at the moment.)

I had a similar experience last week when I was offered a Model X test drive while I waited for service when my MY needed front end suspension work at the North Shore Peabody, Mass service center. Service staff were excellent.

Even with 3 service centers in eastern Mass they still had 46 appointments scheduled for the next day. That has to be difficult to sustain. Several owners had driven several hours down from NH and Maine for service and mentioned how much Tesla needed to set up service centers in their states. Hopefully just a matter of time.

 

[TesslaBull]

I was considering an X, and get multiple texts from sales. I'm 4 hours from a test drive location. I made a road trip and requested to drive a Y and X and I was told I can only drive one. So I am going to buy a $100k car and drive 6 hours to test drive it and Tesla sales tells me I can only drive one vehicle? Another reason I probably won't buy another Tesla

Hmm, Mara Lago. Is your real name Don by any chance?(Donald).

 

[SOULPEDL]

I think this is yesterday's news, but Waymo and Uber? They talk about a single Uber app where you can order either food or a ride, and the ride can be Uber or Waymo? At least that what I understood. I'd love to know the % split on Waymo users here (so would everyone I'm sure). If they charged 1/2 price for a Waymo ride, I bet folks would give it a go, then later decide the value of their time. Was a smart move for Waymo and I'm sure Uber gets some of the $ to compensate for a lost ride to Waymo while still saving for the consumer (maybe not 50% but we'll see).

Then it mentions Uber Eats as well. How is food delivered to the door? Or does the customer need to come to the Waymo to receive the food? Hmm...

Waymo and Uber join forces to bring autonomous driving to the Uber platform

Waymo and Uber have announced a partnership that will bring autonomous driving technology to the Uber platform. The multi-year deal aims to make Waymo’s autonomous system, known as the Waymo Driver, available to a larger [...]

driveteslacanada.ca

Fast forward, the more that people experience Waymo, (no freeway use, ~2x travel time, not in your area...) the bigger the impact when those same folks decide to hire a Tesla on the network (2X faster, safer vehicle, and lower cost). Waymo sets the baseline for us AND gets folks to adapt early. The newer Waymo's around here look like they have even more hardware and I believe they went electric (but aren't using yet per this article of a recent rider). That combo of hardware cannot be cheap. Non-Tesla Electric with Lidar $$$. Easy to beat!

Taking a driverless Waymo in Phoenix over the holidays was fun but unsettling

With my flight home delayed, I took the opportunity to test out Waymo One, which is running driverless cars in the Phoenix area.

www.cnbc.com

Not sure why the rider mentions freeways, I didn't think they were used at all by Waymo.

 

[M|S|M MYP]

It's easy to reach a SC on the phone, and book multiple test drives.

Def YMMV on this one.