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Updated Info on 2020 Roadster

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Let's use this thread to update on any communication we have with official Tesla employees on the 2020 Roadster. I will go first. Perhaps I didn't notice before, but note the "Production is expected to begin in 2020" which makes me think this is a 2021 delivery.

I also recently spoke with Tesla asking if they would tell me anything about the extra features I will get with the Founders Series Roadster and was told this is "super secret" information and is "27 levels above" the person I spoke with and that "only a few people in the company know the answer to this. I asked specifically about the Space X option and was told that Tesla employees know nothing more than we can read from Elon on Twitter.

So, we are all going on faith here with respect to what the FS Roadster comes with. As interest rates rise, opportunity costs are rising by the quarter, but it is ok. This will be the most desirable car on earth upon its release and it will be a true joy to be part of the revolution.

Tesla/Elon has a history of doing right by people with various personal guarantees Elon has made and such and I think the same will be true here. The only worry I have is that order time will come and they will say "we got your initial deposit of $250K, and the total price is $425K." Does anyone have any insight into this being a real risk or not?
 

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The one thing I heard (I can't find any evidence) is that for those on the referral program, they will get only a single Roadster per year if they accumulated enough referrals for more than one. This way Tesla will limit an influx of "used Roadsters" on the market which could steer away sales from them.

I think Andy, has over 280+ referrals, so he's expected 5 free Roadsters right now, but I assume he'll keep collecting even more before it becomes available.
 
It will cost a lot but there will be people who will pay that for different reasons. Who wouldn't want something that will make the car to go way faster than best hypercars and with rocket technology at fraction of the $2~3 millions price tag of those cars. Some may even use it in places legal to do so.
 
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The one thing I heard (I can't find any evidence) is that for those on the referral program, they will get only a single Roadster per year if they accumulated enough referrals for more than one. This way Tesla will limit an influx of "used Roadsters" on the market which could steer away sales from them.

I think Andy, has over 280+ referrals, so he's expected 5 free Roadsters right now, but I assume he'll keep collecting even more before it becomes available.

Referral winners are limited to two Roadsters maximum, per Tesla.
 
I doubt it. And if they do, there are very simple ways to get around that kind of stipulation.

Unless they choose a method similar to the new Ford GT. I don't think Tesla would do that, but if they do it will be interesting.

Source = John Cena Taps Out, Settles Lawsuit with Ford After Selling His Ford GT

Here's my guess.

(1) They will probably sell the 1st year's run of Roadsters because as we've seen in the past week, they are now all about profitability (no more referral, no more free supercharging, increase in supercharging fees, removal of the 75 battery.
(2) After the 1st year's run, they will probably then invite referral owners to order their Roadster but to also comply with some sort of strict T&C. They will only be allowed to order their 1st Roadster if they quality for 2.
(3) Their second referral Roadster (where applicable), will be then configured a year after.

If profitability is their #1 priority, they don't want to dilute the Roadster by having referral owners selling them on the market for less than it's MSRP or even at MSRP as they benefit nothing during that same fiscal year (yes they have benefited in the past years with the added sales), but profitability is about the current quarter, fiscal year and the years thereafter.

I could be wrong, but I'm curious to see what happens next year.
 
Unless they choose a method similar to the new Ford GT. I don't think Tesla would do that, but if they do it will be interesting.

Source = John Cena Taps Out, Settles Lawsuit with Ford After Selling His Ford GT

But he was dumb and actually bought it himself, and then sold it to a third party. If someone wants to "sell" a NGR (and Tesla has a 'no sale' clause), just buy it in a 2-member LLC (both the buyer and seller). The LLC owns the car. Tesla can't prevent you from buying/titling the car in the name of a properly registered business/LLC/partnership in your own name. Once the car is purchased, you just convey 100% ownership of the LLC to the buyer. Done and Done.

If profitability is their #1 priority, they don't want to dilute the Roadster by having referral owners selling them on the market for less than it's MSRP or even at MSRP as they benefit nothing during that same fiscal year (yes they have benefited in the past years with the added sales), but profitability is about the current quarter, fiscal year and the years thereafter.

The lost 'profitability' of the referral NGRs is a myth and just drop in the bucket.

See my analysis here: Elon Canning Referral Program!
 
But he was dumb and actually bought it himself, and then sold it to a third party. If someone wants to "sell" a NGR (and Tesla has a 'no sale' clause), just buy it in a 2-member LLC (both the buyer and seller). The LLC owns the car. Tesla can't prevent you from buying/titling the car in the name of a properly registered business/LLC/partnership in your own name. Once the car is purchased, you just convey 100% ownership of the LLC to the buyer. Done and Done.



The lost 'profitability' of the referral NGRs is a myth and just drop in the bucket.

See my analysis here: Elon Canning Referral Program!

you bring up a good point, however this won't be a sale per say. It's an award, and I think Tesla will require the car to registered by the actual owner of the My Tesla account and not an LLC or anyone else including a family member. I would like to check which whoever won the Model S and Model X in the past from the US to see how it was handled. Those T&C will be very interesting once they are available to the referral winners.

The other question is because the value of the Roadster will be $250K, it should be reported immediately as income to the IRS. Does this imply that Tesl will be required to collect the tax and submit to the IRS right away, or are you expected to pay the IRC at tax time or make an early payment to the IRS? Lottery winners (in CA) usually have to have the tax removed from they winnings at time of collection. When your RSUs vest most companies sell a portion to immediately pay the taxes. I have no idea how the Roadster will work, but it would be great to hear from Model S and Model X winners what occurred.

I'm speculating a lot here, but then it's good to brainstorm all possible scenarios in advance.
 
you bring up a good point, however this won't be a sale per say. It's an award, and I think Tesla will require the car to registered by the actual owner of the My Tesla account and not an LLC or anyone else including a family member. I would like to check which whoever won the Model S and Model X in the past from the US to see how it was handled. Those T&C will be very interesting once they are available to the referral winners.

The other question is because the value of the Roadster will be $250K, it should be reported immediately as income to the IRS. Does this imply that Tesl will be required to collect the tax and submit to the IRS right away, or are you expected to pay the IRC at tax time or make an early payment to the IRS? Lottery winners (in CA) usually have to have the tax removed from they winnings at time of collection. When your RSUs vest most companies sell a portion to immediately pay the taxes. I have no idea how the Roadster will work, but it would be great to hear from Model S and Model X winners what occurred.

I'm speculating a lot here, but then it's good to brainstorm all possible scenarios in advance.

Tesla may have to report it to the IRS but it will be your responsibility to pay the tax. All income taxes are paid one way or the other. Your employer, for example, will deduct the taxes from your paycheck but you can ask it to deduct any amount, or not at all, you want. You stock broker, as another example, usually don't deduct taxes from your stock sales. Either way you are still responsible for reporting and pay estimated taxes each quarter.
 
There is no word on how sporty this is. I know this is fast in a straight line, but that does not mean it can corner fast. Hope to get some lap time numbers for this before I make my decision.

Oh it will. Even the Model 3 performance could match Cayman GT4 track time according to Motor Trend. The Roadster can only be (a lot) better with sports car set up (likely lower, stiffer chassis and wider and shorter track), beefer tires and 3 motor torque vectoring. That's even before the SpaceX package which I believe most people will do without.