Tracking P85D delivery thread

[RobinF]

It looks like I'm one of those orders right on the cusp of 2015 so an atypical delivery is in my near future. First when I ordered the estimated delivery was late December. Fair enough. My DS tells me the car has been built (entered production the 18th) and is being delivery prepped in the Freemont SC. But I'm in Houston, so what they plan to do is get a truck to drive it from there directly to my house so that it counts as a 2014 delivery (for tax purposes) since it left their possession in 2014. That's marginal but I don't think the IRS will mind.
Reading this thread has been interesting. First the controversy was the nextgen seats. I got bit by that one as they say my car will not have the nextgen seats until they are installed later at the Houston SC. That's certainly worthy of a grumble but I'll take it. Next this range fiasco trumped the seat concerns. I would not have planned any range-stressing trips in the new car immediately after delivery but I definitely won't now. As an engineer I can understand that tuning the power controls on a dual motor car can be very touchy and require finely tuned software. I worried that Elon's mouth was writing checks his engineers could not cash; but given some time the peak efficiency logic should come out. The S P85D is truly an engineering tour de force and that's why it's my dream car. There are so many things right about this car and the fact that it'll get enhanced over the air is a trait no one else can offer. Yes it's expensive and no it's not 100% on day one but damn that 95% is sweet!

 

[toto_48313]

My car (64774) was loaded on a truck last sunday at Fremont, heading to Montreal. Delivery target is now Jan 3rd or 5th.

 

[Vuvision]

Just got confirmation from my local DS to pick up my MC Red P85D tomorrow (12/31/14) at 8:00 AM... can't wait!!! :smile:

 

[RobinF]

Just got confirmation from my local DS to pick up my MC Red P85D tomorrow (12/31/14) at 8:00 AM... can't wait!!! :smile:

Great! (Man, I though I was going to be the first Red D in Houston.;-)

 

[dennis]

An older article, but quite informative on the EPA Testing protocols nonetheless:

The Truth About EPA City / Highway MPG Estimates - Feature - Car and Driver

Interesting read. This passage caught my attention, and reinforces my belief that there is a version of the P85D firmware that achieves 94 MPGe Highway. It just hasn't been released to owners yet.

The EPA seems convinced that cheating is rare, given the complexities of the current tests and the high stakes involved in getting caught. After all, the EPA has to give its approval before an automaker is permitted to sell a particular model. If that’s not enough of a deterrent, there are also big fines for cheating.

 

[darthy001]

@dennis that is the straw I am grasping at the moment. Seems very odd that the epa-numbers for highway should increase and real-world highway-range should decrease..

What is the potential consequence for Tesla if they "get caught" inflating these numbers?

 

[randompersonx]

@dennis that is the straw I am grasping at the moment. Seems very odd that the epa-numbers for highway should increase and real-world highway-range should decrease..

What is the potential consequence for Tesla if they "get caught" inflating these numbers?

In the ICE world, If the mpg rating promised was less than delivered, the manufacturer would have to reimburse the original owner for the difference in cost. Plus fines direct to the government. I don't think this sort of issue has happened yet in the EV world.

 

[mikeash]

Compensation is an interesting question. In the ICE world, MPG is mostly about the costs of driving the car. Lower MPG means you buy more gas and that's what they reimburse you for. In the EV world, the fuel is extremely cheap and few EV owners care all that much there. Efficiency with EVs is more about how far you can drive on a single charge, not the ongoing costs of running the car. A somewhat reduced range could be completely irrelevant for someone who never approaches the max range, or it could be a complete disaster for someone who regularly pushes the limits. How would you compensate that? Just paying for the extra electricity used would be completely inadequate. In any case, let's hope that whole question is rendered moot.

 

[wayner]

My car (64774) was loaded on a truck last sunday at Fremont, heading to Montreal. Delivery target is now Jan 3rd or 5th.

If you get delivery when expected you may be better off compared to many folks in Toronto (like me) who were supposed to take delivery this week. But there appear to be a bunch of Toronto-bound P85Ds stuck in Chicago.

 

[403portside]

Just found out my car with tan seats will be delivered tomorrow with next gen in front. Small victories

 

[Vuvision]

Great! (Man, I though I was going to be the first Red D in Houston.;-)

A buddy is also picking his black D tomorrow at the same time. Are you taking delivery of yours at local Tesla CS, the one on Westchase? If yes, my office is literally across from Tesla CS and I can meet up with you and compare note.

Btw, I'm going to swap out the stock 19" wheels to aftermarket 20" wheels tomorrow.

 

[roystep]

My car (64774) was loaded on a truck last sunday at Fremont, heading to Montreal. Delivery target is now Jan 3rd or 5th.

Wow! That gives me hope that my P85D is on that same truck!
I am VIN 63073, was originally scheduled for delivery on Dec 19, obviously delayed...and my DS ain't talking much.
Dashboard stuck to "Production complete etc..." for over a week now...

 

[403portside]

New tesla blog post on range. Jerome just sent this link to me.

Driving Range for the Model S Family | Blog | Tesla Motors

 

[wayner]

Dashboard stuck to "Production complete etc..." for over a week now...

My production was complete over two weeks ago and I had hoped it might make it here before Christmas rather than my scheduled Dec 30 date. Now I am hoping for Orthodox Christmas!

 

[RobinF]

A buddy is also picking his black D tomorrow at the same time. Are you taking delivery of yours at local Tesla CS, the one on Westchase? If yes, my office is literally across from Tesla CS and I can meet up with you and compare note.

Btw, I'm going to swap out the stock 19" wheels to aftermarket 20" wheels tomorrow.

No, actually I posted upthread that they are sending it to my house directly so that they can claim it delivered in 2014 when it will actually arrive this weekend at the earliest. I'm optimistic that the front seats might be the tan nextgen ones I ordered.

 

[RomeoT]

Got the D today with front and rear black Nappa Seats. We thought at least the front seats would be Nextgen. :cursing:

- - - Updated - - -

Driving back from Springfield SC was 25 miles, and the avg energy consumption was 318wh/m with insane mode set. 19" wheel, avg speed 58mph.

 

[spentan]

Interesting, I did some filtering on the spreadsheet.

There are very little P85Ds being delivered in SoCal, and the amount of red ones, even less (if not mine only).

I understand the spreadsheet is not gonna represent all deliveries, but it sure is interesting.

 

[yak-55]

New tesla blog post on range. Jerome just sent this link to me.

Driving Range for the Model S Family | Blog | Tesla Motors

On the strength of this (post above) from JB, I have decided to go ahead with my scheduled delivery today at 4pm (talk about just in the nick of time). While I am
still at the mercy of a future delivery from Tesla for range (and seats) at least they have now made very firm public commitments for both. Looking forward to enjoying the car
with much less worrying ! Apologies for any contributions to the kvetching regarding range I may have contributed that any felt offense to -- as I outline below, I just want
the car (and now including the promised the future corrections) that were advertised when I ordered!

Well .... its coming up on decision time for me. I am scheduled for delivery on Tuesday the 30th and having a hard time with the reported range issues. Do I accept delivery
or cancel/reorder for a later delivery ?

While some may argue my expectations are out of line, or that other high end car experiences are no better, for me, the last few months have been quite a roller coaster.
In September I ordered a P85 (not plus) with 19" wheels and steel springs ... and only a few wishes ... AWD and better seats prominent among them. Then came the P85D
announcement!! This seemed perfect. AWD for better handling, Insane acceleration for the occasional hole-shot, better seats, and equal (or better!) range when driving mildly.
(FWIW, the Autopilot stuff isn't of much interest to me). Dug a little deeper into the wallet and changed my order based on the early promises for the P85D.

Two months later, the car is apparently on its way and my hopes are only partially fulfilled vis-a-vis the P85 expectations I had developed. The handling and acceleration
improvements seem to be fully delivered based on the reports to date. But I had to pay for air suspension (which I don't value), won't get the (reportedly superb) seats for
some time, and there is now growing (if imperfectly controlled) data showing something like 25% *higher* electrical consumption in real world highway driving. That said,
I *do* want a P85D (at least the one I understood I was promised).

If I had some assurance there would be progress by a date certain on the range issue (or even a vague promise like for the seats) I would take delivery without hesitation.
But as of now, I'm wondering if waiting till March (or April or May) to see the range issue definitively addressed, steel springs become available, and next generation seats
available at delivery, might make sense. e.g. what if range is NOT fixable with s/w ... and a h/w change is required (inverter, motor, control electronics etc). In addition to
a new car a with last calendar year VIN, intrepid P85D early adopters might get stuck with a prototype for the long term ... impacting resale value if there is a later fix that
is not retrofitted.

Sorry for the inconclusive post, I really am on the fence here. I've been reading this thread since the beginning, so I'm familiar with the range of opinions, from
"don't worry - they'll make it right", to "you have unreasonable expectations", to "buyer beware - your getting what you get, no reason to expect more".

So to add to my knowledge base, can anyone provide facts that would suggest/support the idea that a s/w solution to the range issue is a reasonable expectation ?
Something more than Elon said so (and then retracted/deleted it) or speculations on the root cause and its "likely" resolution? Is there any precedent for meaningful
performance improvements via s/w (not just new UI /entertainment/comfort features) from Tesla with the roadster or earlier S ?

 

[Super Snake]

New tesla blog post on range. Jerome just sent this link to me.

Driving Range for the Model S Family | Blog | Tesla Motors

The thing I love most about this car that this article confirms is that it will always be updated and get better!

 

[CalDreamin]

On the strength of this (post above) from Jerome, I have decided to go ahead with my scheduled delivery today at 4pm (talk about just in the nick of time). While I am still at the mercy of a future delivery from Tesla for range (and seats) at least they have now made very firm public commitments for both. Looking forward to enjoying the car with much less worrying ! Apologies for any contributions to the kvetching regarding range I may have contributed that any felt offense to -- as I outline below, I just want the car (and now including the promised the future corrections) that were advertised when I ordered!

Awesome! Let us know what you think of your new ride :smile: