Will There be a Signature Model 3?

[Red Sage]

Tater. ;-)

The reservations were a spot in line. A position from which one might choose to 'wait and see'. You may end up with other plans instead. Such as when traveling, you make a reservation for a hotel, then you learn a friend has a time share condo in the same area that you can have for less, or nothing.

A preorder is a commitment. You know absolutely that you want it. You are bearing a sign that reads, "Shut up, and take my money!" You are willing to pay up front to ensure you get the product in question, with minimal delay.

 

[gregincal]

Tater. ;-)

The reservations were a spot in line. A position from which one might choose to 'wait and see'. You may end up with other plans instead. Such as when traveling, you make a reservation for a hotel, then you learn a friend has a time share condo in the same area that you can have for less, or nothing.

A preorder is a commitment. You know absolutely that you want it. You are bearing a sign that reads, "Shut up, and take my money!" You are willing to pay up front to ensure you get the product in question, with minimal delay.

All the cases of preordering things I'm aware of A)Don't charge you until it's ready and B)Allow you to cancel at any time. I preorder unreleased stuff all the time and that's the way it works.

 

[tga]

Tater. ;-)

Touché :smile:

I suspect Elon didn't really mean preorder in the sense of non-refundable commitment - many of the M3's sold will be financed, and I don't see any banks making car loans on a car 2 years before delivery.

If they do non-refundable, pay-in-full-upfront preorders, then only well-off cash buyers will be able to pre-order. Then we're right back to the whole "car for elitist rich people", which is exactly what they want to avoid for the M3.

 

[Turmania]

Judging by the past launches, yes there will be. but expect it to be fully loaded and around the same price maybe a little more than the base Model S.

 

[ProphetM]

I personally hope there is not a Signature edition, but that's only because I have no interest in a Sig nor ability to put down the massive reservation fee it would require. So if they make Sigs, I won't get my car as early as I had hoped. They could make them as in previous cars, or they could avoid it out of a desire to not appear elitist. Six months until we all find out...

 

[MacroP]

I'm hoping they get the basic model 3 out first. Sure have a limited Signature edition if that's what people want but if this car is going mainstream - the PR that comes with the release of this new model must be geared towards the entry level price point. IMO the model X has had some negative press recently because of the initial the high price of the Sig model yet we all know here that the regular version coming soon will be much cheaper in basic guise. I'm afraid the same issue may come about if they follow the same path with the model 3.

If Tesla aren't using regular advertising then the general consumer only has these potentially biased or uninformed news articles to go by. They may get turned off initially when all reports mention a potential $50-60k model 3 Sig edition with little to no mention of an unreleased entry level version. That's why I think it is important for the entry level model to roll off the production line first or at least in tandem with a limited edition version.

As a note - any high spec model 3 may undermine the entry level model S either new or secondhand. I'm sure existing owners won't like that.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Definitely Yes. Signatures have worked for the company so far so why would they change it? The question for me is how many will there be? More than just a thousand, I would expect.

I see no reason for Tesla to change the formula that seems to be working so well for them, and the Signatures do provide Tesla several tangible benefits, as others have pointed out.

Current owners didn't get priority for MS or MX Sigs, why should they change for the M3?

No Model 3 Sigs.

I do hope they have an "R" list like they did for Model S for current owners to jump to the front of the line for GP orders. As CatB pointed out those folks will be more accepting of early production bugs.

So while there will be a $35k Model 3 there will also be a $100k high performance model (like BMW's M, Audi's RS, or MB's AMG models). I

. I predict you will not see a $35k Model 3 delivered to a customer until the very end of 2019.

Agree there will be options well above the base 35K Model 3 (maybe the new roaster will be on this platform starting at 130K) and for sure a Sig Performance Model 3 for 80-100K.

2019 for a base Model 3?

When I place my reservation in March or April of 2016, it'll be bad enough waiting until 'late 2017'

I think you misunderstood me. I don't think a single Model 3 will be delivered until late 2018.

I think Tesla will ship a handful of sigs in late 2018 just to say they're shipping. 2019 is when cars will really start to flow

Tesla keeps reinventing the wheel with each car

Hopefully this time it is pretty and aero:smile:

I thought it would be fun to go back and re-visit this thread to see what people got right, close, and, err, not-so-right.

 

[djplong]

Hey, Tesla *initially* agreed with me and said I might get the car as early as November '17. Now, after the 2nd delay, I'm looking at Mar-May '18.

 

[Grendal]

I thought it would be fun to go back and re-visit this thread to see what people got right, close, and, err, not-so-right.

No Sigs at all. I'm still surprised. They do have a rollout priority program though.

 

[CatB]

I’m just crossing my fingers that they overpushed the delay this time with a healthy enough cushion that the next delivery date surprise will be a pleasant one.

 

[Saghost]

I thought it would be fun to go back and re-visit this thread to see what people got right, close, and, err, not-so-right.

Funny thing about that. So what made a Signature car?

They were all top trim level, with all the options and the biggest battery available at the time.

Tesla took larger deposits for them. Tesla included unique paint colors not offered to regular production.

So when it comes to the Model 3, Tesla didn't take the bigger deposits, and didn't call it a Signature version, and didn't include the unique paint color options. But they're still selling a single configuration maxxed out model first for better margin and simpler production - they're simply calling it "first production" instead of "Signature."

 

[HankLloydRight]

Yes, but someone today, or next year could still order the same "first production" configuration if they wanted one. There's absolutely nothing special, limited, or rare about these first production cars, which is what makes a signature a "signature" (especially the color and moniker).

In five years or so, you're not going to be able to sell a "first production" Model 3 for any premium over any other Model 3 just because it was "first production". Non-Signature "first production" Model Ss carry no such premium, and are usually discounted due to the early ramp of production and associated issues.

 

[Saghost]

Yes, but someone today, or next year could still order the same "first production" configuration if they wanted one. There's absolutely nothing special, limited, or rare about these first production cars, which is what makes a signature a "signature" (especially the color and moniker).

In five years or so, you're not going to be able to sell a "first production" Model 3 for any premium over any other Model 3 just because it was "first production". Non-Signature "first production" Model Ss carry no such premium, and are usually discounted due to the early ramp of production and associated issues.

That's a valid point. And once the dual motor and performance versions arrive, the First Production won't be the most desirable for anyone, unless there's some kind of collector's value around low serial numbers.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Yes, but someone today, or next year could still order the same "first production" configuration if they wanted one. There's absolutely nothing special, limited, or rare about these first production cars, which is what makes a signature a "signature" (especially the color and moniker).

In five years or so, you're not going to be able to sell a "first production" Model 3 for any premium over any other Model 3 just because it was "first production". Non-Signature "first production" Model Ss carry no such premium, and are usually discounted due to the early ramp of production and associated issues.

That begs the question: does the Sig Model S have some sort of premium value? (Haven't been paying any attention to the early car resale values.)

 

[HankLloydRight]

All other things being equal, I'd say yes, early Sigs have a slight premium over non-sigs, especially if they are Sig-Red. Non Sig-Red Sigs aren't of high demand, and probably don't carry a significant premium, but some.

 

[BluestarE3]

Yes, but someone today, or next year could still order the same "first production" configuration if they wanted one. There's absolutely nothing special, limited, or rare about these first production cars, which is what makes a signature a "signature" (especially the color and moniker).

In five years or so, you're not going to be able to sell a "first production" Model 3 for any premium over any other Model 3 just because it was "first production". Non-Signature "first production" Model Ss carry no such premium, and are usually discounted due to the early ramp of production and associated issues.

Early "First Production" had Alcantara though.

 

[strider]

Looks like I was batting ~50%. They still aren't shipping $35k Model 3's (but I do expect them to beat my end of 2019 estimate, more like end of 2018) and I would still consider their current production volume a "handful" based on where they need to be. So they are late, but not as late as I predicted.

AWD/P models are still TBD but Elon has talked about them so I expect them to happen... they did do an R list.... they are reinventing the wheel with each car (as evidenced by the painfully slow production ramp)....