Where, Oh Where, Is the Next Batch of Invites?

[smak]

All of the above invites, you checked your account this morning, or yesterday and you couldn't configure?

 

[suwaneedad]

I'm in the same boat. I can configure online now, but no email was received. I'm a day one in-store reservation, I bought a private party Model S last December. I think I'm just going to hold off.

Bought your S Dec 16 or Dec 17?

 

[Kenriko]

I checked my account two hours ago and could not configure. Just checked and I could!! I’m a current owner who reserved 12/18/17. Looks like they are done with owner invites.

 

[WARP 10]

I checked my account two hours ago and could not configure. Just checked and I could!! I’m a current owner who reserved 12/18/17. Looks like they are done with owner invites.

Got the email today. Current owner, reserved 08/16. SR battery still shows late 2018, Dual motor shows mid-2018.

 

[UkrHog]

I'm guessing you made your reservation sometime before us. We had bought our MS in March, thinking we'd keep our second car for a while after putting money into the AC and tires and then started having issues with it, so unfortunately didn't order until pretty late. After driving our S got spoiled driving it and couldn't see buying anything else for our second car. We have AWD and SAS on our S and think I'd like it to be closer in ride to it, plus our driveway is on an incline so think the SAS will help us at home and around town with all of the annoying speed bumps they have put up everywhere. I was getting nervous for people not having seen any movement in invites and know a lot of people are hoping to get a 1st production sooner than later. Pretty sure we'll hold off, freeing our invite up for them.

We went ahead and ordered it

 

[MayorJustin]

I checked this morning and wasn't able to configure. Got an email at 4:52pm Pacific saying I could configure, so I did!

CA, Owner, Reserved around 5/17/17

 

[Drax]

Amazing.

I’m a current Model S owner who’s been sitting on an invitation to configure for “a while” now, and just for fun I decided to place a deposit for a 2nd reservation last week. After seeing this thread I checked up on both of my reservations, and I can now configure both cars! No emails, but they’re ready. Hilarious.

 

[dm33]

Amazing.
Hilarious.

Ya. I'm laughing loads. When Elon said existing owners would get priority, I assumed ownership would affect the placement but not be absolute. Owners would move earlier in the line but not in front of everyone. What I'm hearing is that both current ownership and more expensive model are absolutes. You get to move in front of everyone that isn't an owner or wants a cheaper model regardless of how long they've been in line.

Any current owner can walk in at any point and get a Model 3 ahead of people waiting years. And anyone willing to buy a more expensive configuration gets absolute placement in front of someone waiting for the SR model no matter how long they've waited.

That is simply not equitable. Sure it maximizes profit, but valuing customers solely by how much money they are willing to spend harks back to the days of an extreme class based society.

When does the priority for money stop? What if Tesla offered premium service. Sign up for fast access service and get your car fixed. If Tesla actually makes loads of Model 3s, service centers could be overwhelmed. Sign up for a $100/yr priority service and cut in line, get your car fixed now while anyone unwilling to pay waits indefinitely for warranty service. If too many people sign up for that, how about a $1000/yr super priority service to cut in front of the people who spend $100/yr.

Should we apply priority based on waving money around to everything? How is this different than bribery. Its a business. Why not accept cold hard cash to get priority for every service call, every show room visit, every interaction with Tesla can be so much better if you wave a ton of cash in their face.

Does this ever get to a point where it seems wrong? I can see the people who are on the privileged side can enjoy their privilege. Owners get immediate ability to order vs multi-year waits. No problems. But when money becomes the new priority, is it still ok?

 

[SMAlset]

Ya. I'm laughing loads. When Elon said existing owners would get priority, I assumed ownership would affect the placement but not be absolute. Owners would move earlier in the line but not in front of everyone. What I'm hearing is that both current ownership and more expensive model are absolutes. You get to move in front of everyone that isn't an owner or wants a cheaper model regardless of how long they've been in line.

Any current owner can walk in at any point and get a Model 3 ahead of people waiting years. And anyone willing to buy a more expensive configuration gets absolute placement in front of someone waiting for the SR model no matter how long they've waited.

That is simply not equitable. Sure it maximizes profit, but valuing customers solely by how much money they are willing to spend harks back to the days of an extreme class based society.

When does the priority for money stop? What if Tesla offered premium service. Sign up for fast access service and get your car fixed. If Tesla actually makes loads of Model 3s, service centers could be overwhelmed. Sign up for a $100/yr priority service and cut in line, get your car fixed now while anyone unwilling to pay waits indefinitely for warranty service. If too many people sign up for that, how about a $1000/yr super priority service to cut in front of the people who spend $100/yr.

Should we apply priority based on waving money around to everything? How is this different than bribery. Its a business. Why not accept cold hard cash to get priority for every service call, every show room visit, every interaction with Tesla can be so much better if you wave a ton of cash in their face.

Does this ever get to a point where it seems wrong? I can see the people who are on the privileged side can enjoy their privilege. Owners get immediate ability to order vs multi-year waits. No problems. But when money becomes the new priority, is it still ok?

If I'm not mistaken this is how it has worked for previous models as well. It's their "thank you loyal customers for continuing to support Tesla". Once you have your car you'll be in the same owner position for future vehicles even if you only buy a base Model 3. Time and time again Elon, and staff at Events, have made a point of thanking the owners and said without them and their support over the years the next vehicle wouldn't be coming out. Lots of companies have loyalty programs, and as an owner it's appreciated that you get this perk. Doesn't mean you have to buy the next vehicle but nice if you do. This is a very young company, reimagining and redesigning a car. They need loyal customers and this is their way to show their appreciation. You are not buying a car from GM here who's got their production lines set. You choose to look at it from a rich vs poor perspective but it's not. Someone who bought a used, older Tesla and even paid $40-50K would be valued as a repeat customer and given the same treatment as one who bought a fully loaded Model X.

 

[SMAlset]

FWIW we did end up receiving an email later in the afternoon telling us that we were able to configure, but it did come after our seeing we were able to when we checked in on MyTesla.

 

[ebmcs03]

Ya. I'm laughing loads. When Elon said existing owners would get priority, I assumed ownership would affect the placement but not be absolute. Owners would move earlier in the line but not in front of everyone. What I'm hearing is that both current ownership and more expensive model are absolutes. You get to move in front of everyone that isn't an owner or wants a cheaper model regardless of how long they've been in line.

Any current owner can walk in at any point and get a Model 3 ahead of people waiting years. And anyone willing to buy a more expensive configuration gets absolute placement in front of someone waiting for the SR model no matter how long they've waited.

That is simply not equitable. Sure it maximizes profit, but valuing customers solely by how much money they are willing to spend harks back to the days of an extreme class based society.

When does the priority for money stop? What if Tesla offered premium service. Sign up for fast access service and get your car fixed. If Tesla actually makes loads of Model 3s, service centers could be overwhelmed. Sign up for a $100/yr priority service and cut in line, get your car fixed now while anyone unwilling to pay waits indefinitely for warranty service. If too many people sign up for that, how about a $1000/yr super priority service to cut in front of the people who spend $100/yr.

Should we apply priority based on waving money around to everything? How is this different than bribery. Its a business. Why not accept cold hard cash to get priority for every service call, every show room visit, every interaction with Tesla can be so much better if you wave a ton of cash in their face.

Does this ever get to a point where it seems wrong? I can see the people who are on the privileged side can enjoy their privilege. Owners get immediate ability to order vs multi-year waits. No problems. But when money becomes the new priority, is it still ok?

Well thank god we have lemon laws then. Not fixed in 30 days. Buy back!

 

[sreams]

Ya. I'm laughing loads. When Elon said existing owners would get priority, I assumed ownership would affect the placement but not be absolute. Owners would move earlier in the line but not in front of everyone. What I'm hearing is that both current ownership and more expensive model are absolutes. You get to move in front of everyone that isn't an owner or wants a cheaper model regardless of how long they've been in line.

Any current owner can walk in at any point and get a Model 3 ahead of people waiting years. And anyone willing to buy a more expensive configuration gets absolute placement in front of someone waiting for the SR model no matter how long they've waited.

That is simply not equitable. Sure it maximizes profit, but valuing customers solely by how much money they are willing to spend harks back to the days of an extreme class based society.

When does the priority for money stop? What if Tesla offered premium service. Sign up for fast access service and get your car fixed. If Tesla actually makes loads of Model 3s, service centers could be overwhelmed. Sign up for a $100/yr priority service and cut in line, get your car fixed now while anyone unwilling to pay waits indefinitely for warranty service. If too many people sign up for that, how about a $1000/yr super priority service to cut in front of the people who spend $100/yr.

Should we apply priority based on waving money around to everything? How is this different than bribery. Its a business. Why not accept cold hard cash to get priority for every service call, every show room visit, every interaction with Tesla can be so much better if you wave a ton of cash in their face.

Does this ever get to a point where it seems wrong? I can see the people who are on the privileged side can enjoy their privilege. Owners get immediate ability to order vs multi-year waits. No problems. But when money becomes the new priority, is it still ok?

Once you purchase a car, the warranty is a contract between the you and the car manufacturer. It really isn't comparable to a fully refundable deposit for a place in line.

I am a non owner, and if I managedTesla, I would have treated the line a bit differently (maybe owner priority over others who reserved during the same day, week, or month). But I don't manage Tesla. They are a private company and these decisions belong to them.

As for prioritizing more expensive versions of the Model 3... I think it is less about "profit" and more about keeping the company alive. Tesla is making huge investments to survive and expand at a massive rate. Pretty much none of their profit is lining anybody's pockets. It is going back into their mission. If they need to push me back in line a bit to do that and stay afloat, I fully support them.

 

[Wolverinegeoff]

Ya. I'm laughing loads. When Elon said existing owners would get priority, I assumed ownership would affect the placement but not be absolute. Owners would move earlier in the line but not in front of everyone. What I'm hearing is that both current ownership and more expensive model are absolutes. You get to move in front of everyone that isn't an owner or wants a cheaper model regardless of how long they've been in line.

Any current owner can walk in at any point and get a Model 3 ahead of people waiting years. And anyone willing to buy a more expensive configuration gets absolute placement in front of someone waiting for the SR model no matter how long they've waited.

That is simply not equitable. Sure it maximizes profit, but valuing customers solely by how much money they are willing to spend harks back to the days of an extreme class based society.

When does the priority for money stop? What if Tesla offered premium service. Sign up for fast access service and get your car fixed. If Tesla actually makes loads of Model 3s, service centers could be overwhelmed. Sign up for a $100/yr priority service and cut in line, get your car fixed now while anyone unwilling to pay waits indefinitely for warranty service. If too many people sign up for that, how about a $1000/yr super priority service to cut in front of the people who spend $100/yr.

Should we apply priority based on waving money around to everything? How is this different than bribery. Its a business. Why not accept cold hard cash to get priority for every service call, every show room visit, every interaction with Tesla can be so much better if you wave a ton of cash in their face.

Does this ever get to a point where it seems wrong? I can see the people who are on the privileged side can enjoy their privilege. Owners get immediate ability to order vs multi-year waits. No problems. But when money becomes the new priority, is it still ok?

Bribery typically involves money for something illegal. What you are describing is just capitalism. Tesla is allowed to structure their deliveries in whatever way they believe gives their business the best chance of surviving and profiting, as long as they aren’t using race/religion/gender/disability status to determine who gets cars first. If we don’t agree with it, we are free to take our money elsewhere and get other companies to invest more money in EVs by speaking with our wallets (Leaf, Bolt, etc). If Tesla is the best/only game in town, we are subject to the whims of their business plan. Tesla doing well and profiting is better for all of us, as it will keep them around, plus push other companies to expand into the market too and put out better EVs to get a piece of the pie.

 

[Marilyn]

Reservation placed late July 2017(S Owner) and just checked my status which must have been updated in the past few days.... ready to design my 3

 

[animorph]

We have two reservations and one Model X. I just checked the website. We can configure our first day reservation, though we're waiting for at least white seats. The second one, made 10/19/2016, is not yet configurable. I assume the second one is essentially a non-owner reservation.

 

[Subhuman]

If I'm not mistaken this is how it has worked for previous models as well. It's their "thank you loyal customers for continuing to support Tesla". Once you have your car you'll be in the same owner position for future vehicles even if you only buy a base Model 3. Time and time again Elon, and staff at Events, have made a point of thanking the owners and said without them and their support over the years the next vehicle wouldn't be coming out. Lots of companies have loyalty programs, and as an owner it's appreciated that you get this perk. Doesn't mean you have to buy the next vehicle but nice if you do. This is a very young company, reimagining and redesigning a car. They need loyal customers and this is their way to show their appreciation. You are not buying a car from GM here who's got their production lines set. You choose to look at it from a rich vs poor perspective but it's not. Someone who bought a used, older Tesla and even paid $40-50K would be valued as a repeat customer and given the same treatment as one who bought a fully loaded Model X.

Sorry this is incorrect. Both the Model S and Model X deliveries were based on actual reservations numbers (i.e. place in line). You could jump the line if you purchased a "signature" edition but you also had to shell out a lot more money upfront for that honor. Tesla learned it's lesson of explicitly telling costumers where in line they are. The way the S and the X rolled out certain features caused people to get bumped down the list which resulted in angry costumers as it was very easy to tell when a lower reservation holder received there car before yours.

I do agree with dm33 sentiment. I'm cool with current owners getting priority at the time of the reveal or even a grace period beyond the reveal (6 months to 1 year, start of production, etc.). However, I'm not cool with an owner putting a reservation in yesterday and being able to configure today while I have had my reservation since day one. The owner should receive priority based on the day they reserved. If an owner reserves today they should jump ahead of the line on all reservations placed today and beyond. They should no longer be able to go to the very beginning of the line.

 

[WileyTheMan]

If an owner reserves today they should jump ahead of the line on all reservations placed today and beyond. They should no longer be able to go to the very beginning of the line.

Regardless, its how Tesla decided to do it. I've gone through my stages of grief, so I'm just going to zen until I get the invite. Honestly, when they ramp up production sufficiently, this will all be a non-issue.

 

[smak]

Giving preferential treatment to your current and familiar customers?

Only been going on for like 2 million years.

 

[Foxhound199]

Giving preferential treatment to your current and familiar customers?

Only been going on for like 2 million years.

Try telling that to the cable company.

 

[McHoffa]

Try telling that to the cable company.

or cell service providers... they all have great deals if you jump ship from someone else, but for me, a customer of 12 years? Nope.

I also completely agreed with letting owners get their cars first when it was people that owned before, because they helped make the Model 3 possible, they're more forgiving, etc. But someone who buys a S/X in December, then reserves a Model 3 in February and gets an invitation a week later? I'm sorry, but that's a little ridiculous. Meanwhile, us non owners just keep getting pushed further and further back. I'm waiting, but a lot of people are just going to give up because of the delays and pushbacks.