The Delivery Saga... Anyone

[dp1984]

I was scheduled for delivery on 9/19. Drove 3 hours to Nashville (in a rental provided by Tesla), only to be told upon arrival that my car did not make it in time, which they neglected to tell me. That was a whole day wasted. Communication since then has been less than great, but yesterday I was assigned a different VIN and told that the vehicle is in Birmingham awaiting transport to Nashville, but that it could take up to 9/30 to arrive, depending on the schedules of "third-party transporters." And I jus don't understand how it can potentially take more than a week to transfer the car 3 hours up the road.

Seems there are two issues: Unreliable shipping and bad communication practices. Battery day, shmattery day, Tesla needs to get the basics figured out if they're really going to live up to their ambitions (and stock valuation).

 

[dp1984]

That may have been an acceptable excuse back when the MS and/or MX were new. But not now. Tesla needs to put on its big boy pants and build cars/create processes that allow them to reliably deliver their product on time and in full working order. It's not acceptable that a large portion of their cars are either late or are unfit for delivery.

I'm convinced that Tesla needs a competitor. This is what happens when one company has a monopoly.

Exactly...Tesla is the electric car equivalent of the cable company.

 

[bob_loblaw]

I was scheduled for delivery on 9/19. Drove 3 hours to Nashville (in a rental provided by Tesla), only to be told upon arrival that my car did not make it in time, which they neglected to tell me. That was a whole day wasted. Communication since then has been less than great, but yesterday I was assigned a different VIN and told that the vehicle is in Birmingham awaiting transport to Nashville, but that it could take up to 9/30 to arrive, depending on the schedules of "third-party transporters."

I hope I'm not in the same boat. I wasn't given much info yesterday on when my car would leave Birmingham, but my delivery appt is still in the system for tomorrow. Looks like I'll have to call them this evening to make sure I don't show up for nothing tomorrow.

 

[jmatero]

I understand your frustration, honestly. But here’s the situation in a nutshell!

1. Tesla has one factory building 4 models shipped everywhere in the world (Except China for M3).
2. They don’t really custom build cars. They build in batches. For the M3 it’s 1 motor or 2, regular or long range battery, perf or non perf components, white or black interior, etc. Not a lot of options, limited colors. They then match you to a car. That car may be already built and sitting in Fremont, the same config cancelled or declined by somebody else, in production, or in the queue to be built.
3. If a customer is unable to take delivery at a particular time or declines their car at delivery, it’s not a lost sale for the quarter. There’s a LONG line of people who ordered the exact same car and they’ll be assigned your VIN. ESPECIALLY if it’s toward the end of a quarter. There will be no unmatched inventory on October 1st. That’s why you have a bazillion posts here saying “I ordered a long time ago....still no word on a VIN... and today out of nowhere they told me I’m taking delivery tomorrow morning.”
4. If you go on your trip and decline delivery, you’re not going to cancel and drive down to your local Chevy dealer and buy a Bolt EV. You know exactly what you want and it’s a Tesla. Your most likely going to VERY pissed off until you ultimately take delivery... and forget about this mess once you get behind the wheel. Customer loyalty is a non-factor for Tesla right now because they’re the only game in town and sell everything they build. By the time real competition appears, they’ll have Berlin and Austin up and running, and Fremont won’t be building for the whole world.

Fingers crossed that you enjoy the wedding and take delivery soon after you return!!!

 

[OCR1]

I’m not following something here. If someone ordered a Model 3 in May how could they still be waiting on the car in September. May orders were fulfilled in June. I don’t recall any shortage of vehicles for the end of Q2.

As someone else mentioned, Tesla does not custom build Model 3’s. They build cars in batches by trim/color/option combinations. It’s theoretically possible that you ordered a car in a configuration that Tesla does not produce that many of and somehow your order slipped through the cracks. But there were plenty of Model 3’s available for sale with delivery prior to end of June.

As of this morning Tesla has over 900 Model 3’s in inventory. Looking at my zip code I see over 100 Model 3’s available for sale within 200 miles of me. If someone really wants a Model 3 prior to the end of the month they will find a way to get one. Even if you went with an Audi or other brand, you might not be able to get the exact combination of options and colors you are looking for.

 

[sublimejackman]

I’m not following something here. If someone ordered a Model 3 in May how could they still be waiting on the car in September. May orders were fulfilled in June. I don’t recall any shortage of vehicles for the end of Q2.

As someone else mentioned, Tesla does not custom build Model 3’s. They build cars in batches by trim/color/option combinations. It’s theoretically possible that you ordered a car in a configuration that Tesla does not produce that many of and somehow your order slipped through the cracks. But there were plenty of Model 3’s available for sale with delivery prior to end of June.

As of this morning Tesla has over 900 Model 3’s in inventory. Looking at my zip code I see over 100 Model 3’s available for sale within 200 miles of me. If someone really wants a Model 3 prior to the end of the month they will find a way to get one. Even if you went with an Audi or other brand, you might not be able to get the exact combination of options and colors you are looking for.

Ordered in May with an anticipated delivery of mid August. Unfortunately my ignorant brain didn't take in account quarterly earnings reports. Just wanted a new car. I'm hoping this Tesla monopoly is killed soon and a real competitor comes in soon.

Yeah but the Audi dealer will at least pretend like they care about my business.

This experience is miserable. I just want to move on from it, maybe that will involve having a new Tesla or maybe it won't... Either way, after years of defending Tesla, I will no longer recommend them to anyone for any reason. And if the Model 3 does arrive before the quarterly earnings report is due and I get it, it will be my last.

 

[valaeyron]

I’m not following something here. If someone ordered a Model 3 in May how could they still be waiting on the car in September. May orders were fulfilled in June. I don’t recall any shortage of vehicles for the end of Q2.

As someone else mentioned, Tesla does not custom build Model 3’s. They build cars in batches by trim/color/option combinations. It’s theoretically possible that you ordered a car in a configuration that Tesla does not produce that many of and somehow your order slipped through the cracks. But there were plenty of Model 3’s available for sale with delivery prior to end of June.

As of this morning Tesla has over 900 Model 3’s in inventory. Looking at my zip code I see over 100 Model 3’s available for sale within 200 miles of me. If someone really wants a Model 3 prior to the end of the month they will find a way to get one. Even if you went with an Audi or other brand, you might not be able to get the exact combination of options and colors you are looking for.

That’s why they’re so upset. They shouldn’t be waiting like that. And most of those cars are already VIN assigned to people but show up in the inventory anyway which annoys people since it gives a false sense of what is available.

 

[UncertainTimes]

On the flip side I probably “stole” someone else's car who couldn’t take delivery as planned. I made my order and took delivery in less than a week. I’m pretty happy...

 

[OCR1]

Ordered in May with an anticipated delivery of mid August. Unfortunately my ignorant brain didn't take in account quarterly earnings reports. Just wanted a new car. I'm hoping this Tesla monopoly is killed soon and a real competitor comes in soon.

Tesla generally only delivers cars to North America in the third month of each quarter. So an order placed in May should be fulfilled in June. And order place in July would not be fulfilled until end of September. Having such a narrow window for North American deliveries can be stressful on people who need a car quickly. Tesla does not have inventory like dealers so you have no choice but to be on their schedule if you want one of their cars.

I’m not trying to make excuses for them. It would be better if they had a more flexible delivery system. But given that they don’t it’s important that everyone understand how North American deliveries work before they place their orders to avoid the frustration you are currently experiencing.

I am confident that you will get your car by the end of this month, if not sooner. Tesla can be incredibly disorganized, but somehow they seem to find a way to deliver every last car by the end of the quarter very consistently.