Tesla Website lack of Information

[AlmightyDollar]

Has anyone else gotten frustrated when doing research on different models/trims through tesla’s website?

First thing I noticed was that they provide you with one photo of the car and then no detailed comparison between trim levels. I heard on ONE random website that the long range and above gets floor mats, others say the opposite? Not that important, just an example. If you are even remotely interested in Tesla’s right now, and like to do research before buying your car, it seems like the only place with a bit of valuable information is on this forum?

They should really include a “whats included” and perhaps a standard equipment list.

 

[bwbrs]

If you click the "Feature Details" button on the interior section of the build a car menu, it lists what's included for the trim you have selected.

SR does not come with mats, other trims do.

 

[AlmightyDollar]

If you click the "Feature Details" button on the interior section of the build a car menu, it lists what's included for the trim you have selected.

SR does not come with mats, other trims do.

Yea I have seen that, its still not very informative.. they should really include a “compare trims” option as well as add some dang photos.

 

[CHARLIEVET]

Yeah, my 3 is the first car I've purchased in many years not to have floor mats or HomeLink installed at the factory. And Homelink is not installed in any 3 or Y trim level, not just the 3 SR+! Seriously, what percentage of Tesla buyers do not require a garage door/gate opener? Two or perhaps as many as 5%?! Should be factory installed in all 3 and Y models for $300, instead of having to purchase and then have a service person come to the house to accomplish the install. Wasteful... Thanks! Charlie

 

[AlmightyDollar]

Yeah, my 3 is the first car I've purchased in many years not to have floor mats or HomeLink installed at the factory. And Homelink is not installed in any 3 or Y trim level, not just the 3 SR+! Seriously, what percentage of Tesla buyers do not require a garage door/gate opener? Two or perhaps as many as 5%?! Should be factory installed in all 3 and Y models for $300, instead of having to purchase and then have a service person come to the house to accomplish the install. Wasteful... Thanks! Charlie

Yea thats definitely another thing, the fact that you cant customize your car with any add ons even though you are “custom” ordering it is very strange. They kept the order method simple and clean but I think being able to choose accessories/packages like any other car manufacturer offers would have been great.

 

[Gasaraki]

It's on the first page....

 

[Gasaraki]

Yea thats definitely another thing, the fact that you cant customize your car with any add ons even though you are “custom” ordering it is very strange. They kept the order method simple and clean but I think being able to choose accessories/packages like any other car manufacturer offers would have been great.

They do not custom build cars for people. That's just a placebo button. When you custom build, it just puts you on the list for the next batch of cars with that same config coming off the line. If you want a blue, LR, with white interior, they will put you down as wanting that and then they check, "ok, the next batch of blue, LR, white interior cars is getting built in 3 weeks. Put this person down as getting one from that group build".

That is also why they can't offer too many options because they don't custom build cars for people. Anything custom has to be done after the car is built like how dealers add stuff to the cars after they get it, to customize it just the way you wanted it.

 

[Kevy Baby]

[Homelink] Should be factory installed in all 3 and Y models for $300, instead of having to purchase and then have a service person come to the house to accomplish the install. Wasteful...

I know I am not the only one who is glad it is not standard. I never saw the point of a $300 garage door opener for me, particularly since my garage is separated from my condo and I would not be able to use any of the other cool functions of Homelink.

Yea thats definitely another thing, the fact that you cant customize your car with any add ons even though you are “custom” ordering it is very strange. They kept the order method simple and clean but I think being able to choose accessories/packages like any other car manufacturer offers would have been great.

There's a little irony to responding to a person who is complaining that something is not included (you have to purchase it OPTIONALLY) to complain about the lack of options. But I digress

One needs to remember that Tesla is still a young and rapidly growing company. Adding a "custom build" option adds a significant complexity to the manufacturing process (not to mention greatly increased lead time for you to get your car). Besides, the notion of a custom built from the factory car is a fallacy in the real world. All that is really available are different trim packages that come with a bundle of different features of which one usually only wants some of of.

 

[JindoFuzz]

I know I am not the only one who is glad it is not standard. I never saw the point of a $300 garage door opener for me, particularly since my garage is separated from my condo and I would not be able to use any of the other cool functions of Homelink.

There's a little irony to responding to a person who is complaining that something is not included (you have to purchase it OPTIONALLY) to complain about the lack of options. But I digress

One needs to remember that Tesla is still a young and rapidly growing company. Adding a "custom build" option adds a significant complexity to the manufacturing process (not to mention greatly increased lead time for you to get your car). Besides, the notion of a custom built from the factory car is a fallacy in the real world. All that is really available are different trim packages that come with a bundle of different features of which one usually only wants some of of.

Yup. I park in my driveway and would never use Homelink.

 

[jjrandorin]

Yeah, my 3 is the first car I've purchased in many years not to have floor mats or HomeLink installed at the factory. And Homelink is not installed in any 3 or Y trim level, not just the 3 SR+! Seriously, what percentage of Tesla buyers do not require a garage door/gate opener? Two or perhaps as many as 5%?! Should be factory installed in all 3 and Y models for $300, instead of having to purchase and then have a service person come to the house to accomplish the install. Wasteful... Thanks! Charli

I know I am not the only one who is glad it is not standard. I never saw the point of a $300 garage door opener for me, particularly since my garage is separated from my condo and I would not be able to use any of the other cool functions of Homelink.

There's a little irony to responding to a person who is complaining that something is not included (you have to purchase it OPTIONALLY) to complain about the lack of options. But I digress

One needs to remember that Tesla is still a young and rapidly growing company. Adding a "custom build" option adds a significant complexity to the manufacturing process (not to mention greatly increased lead time for you to get your car). Besides, the notion of a custom built from the factory car is a fallacy in the real world. All that is really available are different trim packages that come with a bundle of different features of which one usually only wants some of of.

Thats not exactly true, although I get where you are saying that. When you order a BMW, you can get pretty much the exact feature set that they offer built into the car, with a few exceptions. They not only have trim packages, but separate options inside of those trim packages that you can order. It DOES get very confusing pretty quickly because some packages are reserved for some trims, but because of the large number of option packages, you can get a car pretty much how you want.

Couple that with their "individual" program, and if you are buying a high enough trim level (in general M3 and up, 550 and up), you can get things like custom colors that are not on the menu, custom leather, etc (all for a cost).

So, a custom built from the factory car is not a fallacy in the real world, most of the german brands offer it, provided you want to spend enough money. The "regular" brands, dont thats true

 

[MadMax082]

Yup. I park in my driveway and would never use Homelink.

Many other people do have a garage. Automatic garage opener should be an option during your ordering process. I understand that it complicates production. I think what should happen is.....you order your car with lets say a "home link" option. The car price includes extra $300 and on the day of the delivery the SC can install it automatically, instead of you scheduling it after taking delivery.

I have this exact dilemma. I purchased the "home link" and already received it. I contacted my SA and asked him if they can install it on the day of the delivery. He said its possible if the service center has time to do it on the same day. But I will still have to schedule it on my app after taking delivery.

I think this could be automated. People who purchase something like home link along with the car should get it on the day of the delivery.

 

[AlmightyDollar]

I know I am not the only one who is glad it is not standard. I never saw the point of a $300 garage door opener for me, particularly since my garage is separated from my condo and I would not be able to use any of the other cool functions of Homelink.

There's a little irony to responding to a person who is complaining that something is not included (you have to purchase it OPTIONALLY) to complain about the lack of options. But I digress

One needs to remember that Tesla is still a young and rapidly growing company. Adding a "custom build" option adds a significant complexity to the manufacturing process (not to mention greatly increased lead time for you to get your car). Besides, the notion of a custom built from the factory car is a fallacy in the real world. All that is really available are different trim packages that come with a bundle of different features of which one usually only wants some of of.

Lots of newer companies offer a semi custom build. Take a look at genesis for example. I agree that it will increase the lead time, but some people are not in a hurry to get a car and many would prefer to be able to add options/accessories by the time it arrived versus having to tear into their car to get it to their liking.

the company may be young, but that also means most people are not familiar with Teslas. My main point was that the website lacks a good bit of detail compared to other companies. They at the very least could have added more pictures to show case different angles, or better yet a 3D walkthrough of the interior/exterior of the vehicle.

 

[AlmightyDollar]

It's on the first page....

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Thats actually what I was looking for, i had not visited the website on a computer and didnt realize there were more drop down arrows to choose from on my phone when clicking on the “feature details”.

 

[jjrandorin]

Lots of newer companies offer a semi custom build. Take a look at genesis for example. I agree that it will increase the lead time, but some people are not in a hurry to get a car and many would prefer to be able to add options/accessories by the time it arrived versus having to tear into their car to get it to their liking.

the company may be young, but that also means most people are not familiar with Teslas. My main point was that the website lacks a good bit of detail compared to other companies. They at the very least could have added more pictures to show case different angles, or better yet a 3D walkthrough of the interior/exterior of the vehicle.

While I understand and somewhat agree with you, those are things a company does when they are trying to increase sales / drum up hype on their product. At this time at least, Tesla has no need to do that. they sell virtually every car they make, and they are, for the most part, already sold based on word of mouth, etc.

FWIW however, the specific issue with the homelink install I agree with 100% (although me agreeing means nothing, lol). Homelink used to be installed on every vehicle, then tesla changed it. Most of us were under the understanding that this was due to licensing cost. We dont think tesla is making much (or any) money for a $300 option that has to be installed after the fact, when you count the module, and the time it takes to schedule a slot in the service center or with mobile service.

Even if you buy the module from someone selling it on ebay or something, and even if you install it yourself, tesla would charge you shop time to activate it, which pushes the cost for doing it that way to basically the same thing you pay ordering it from tesla. It should be a click box on the order form "with homelink" $300.

I dont think we will see tesla get to BMW levels of personalization / custom ordering, though, and I dont think they should, personally. Thats one problem BMW has now, in fact. Dealers only order what they THINK people want, but any savvy BMW purchaser knows they can order one exactly like they want, and get basically the same price. An ordered car is one someone can back away from, so dealers dont like doing it (with a few exceptions).

Every time you add an option, you add some complexity to the build process. Hell, at one point, tesla was basically giving people who ordered a Standard Range vehicle a Standard Range+ vehicle and simply turning things off in software, because that was cheaper than actually building it different.

So, While I understand the complaint, and for homelink specifically understand and agree with the complaint, in general Tesla is likely not going to have a ton of options, and as someome else up thread stated they dont actually build a car "for you" like german manufacturers do when you order a car. Since the options are limited, you just get slotted into the next "Blue / Black / AWD " car, and they put on certain wheels.