WIll you be allowed to add addtional options after you've configured your car?

For the Model S/X once you have configured/confirmed/placed your order you can make changes up until it goes into production, but it costs $500 each time you make a change.

Some things can be added after you get your car but cost more. Again on the Model S/X Auto-Pilot is $2,500 when you order your car or $3,000 after. I think the only other thing that could be added later was supercharging on a Model S 60: $2,000 when you order or $2,500 after you have gotten your car. (See the $500 change price included, just like if you change your confirmed order.)

Of course it might be possible for you to get them to retro-fit the Tech package, but I suspect it would be cost prohibitive.

 

I'm worried it's the bigger options (Dual Motors, upgraded interior, bigger wheels, etc) that will get the car first. Things like Auto Pilot and Super Charging are just Tesla flicking the switch on items that are already built into the car.

Ideally at some point Tesla will release something that states - models configured with X options will ship Q4 - 2017, models configured with Y option will ship right after that etc, etc.....I don't really want to spend 2.5k on dual motors but if that's what it takes to get a car fast enough to not miss out of $7,500 worth of federal tax rebates then of course I'll do it. The alternative would be me not fewer options but essentially paying $7,500 more for not getting things. I just need tesla to TELL me how I have to configure my car to make it in the tax credit window.

 

They will definitely give expected ship dates for the various configurations before people make their orders (they certainly did for both Model S and Model X).

 

I wouldn't expect dual motors to cost less than $4.5k. Just figure that people checking every box will get theirs first, and every box you leave unchecked will delay your car. My guess is that there will be $50k+ of available options to check off. (There are ~$75k of options available for the Model S.)

I don't see how Tesla can give an accurate estimate before people order, since the order of production won't be known until after the orders are placed. And the more higher optioned cars that are order will push lower optioned cars further out. (If everyone orders a "stripper" version than it will just go in order #/reservation order.)

BTW: It isn't a $7,500 rebate, it is a non-refundable tax credit. (If you don't owe tax you won't get any money back.)

 

I added the cold weather package after confirmation but before production and I wasn't charged anything extra. However, that was 2 years ago and the policy has probably changed since.

 

I saw a post somewhere else that said one of the options that delayed your Model S by several months was to pick the Red Multicoat color. So there could be some really hard choices to be made if a color you really want delays the car. I guess if that ends up being the case, I may buy whatever color doesn't cost extra and spend some of the tax credit on a nice vinyl wrap later.

 

Any model S/X experts out there know if the "flip a switch" items got you your car faster, versus those options which actually cost both you and Tesla cash to add?

I realize the answer may be a combination of both, I was just curious. Seems like if they can incentivize "no cost to them" options that does a better job of making them more cash immediately, unless of course those options which cost them cash to add are just that much more profitable.

 

The items that got you your car sooner where all manufacturing items. The biggest one is that they always ship the largest battery configuration first.

 

I found at least 1 old Model S thread talking about the gray interior being a delayed option:
Specific features delivery delay

So it appears that battery option was the biggest driver (as posted above) but there were a few other odd options that could throw you off a few months. I just hope we aren't down the the wire on the federal tax credit when Model 3's actually start getting delivered (i.e. the 200k trigger already set and we are counting down quarters as it reduces).

 

I don't recall that but perhaps my memory is fuzzy. I recall there being a lot of teeth-gnashing as people with low reservation numbers but configured 60 packs or coil suspension or non-P or whatever simply being passed over while folks with higher numbers but choosing more expensive options were given their cars. I recall the users here on TMC figuring out that they were batching cars. I certainly was not given a "ship date" until 3 days before the car was ready. Note that I have not been involved with Model X in any way, shape, or form so maybe they've improved their communication.

Further, supply chain problems (like the grey interior issue noted above) are unknown at the beginning but could delay production.

The bottom line is that you are dealing with a company that completely sucks at communication and is still making up nearly everything as they go along. Every product they've ever shipped has been late, the misinformation within the company is legendary (different SC's telling different stories that also contradict what's being said by corporate folks, etc). Here's the law on the tax credit:

From: Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit (IRC 30D)
Qualified Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit (IRC 30D) Phase Out
The qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle credit phases out for a manufacturer’s vehicles over the one-year period beginning with the second calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which at least 200,000 qualifying vehicles manufactured by that manufacturer have been sold for use in the United States (determined on a cumulative basis for sales after December 31, 2009) (“phase-out period”). Qualifying vehicles manufactured by that manufacturer are eligible for 50 percent of the credit if acquired in the first two quarters of the phase-out period and 25 percent of the credit if acquired in the third or fourth quarter of the phase-out period. Vehicles manufactured by that manufacturer are not eligible for a credit if acquired after the phase-out period.

So my guess is that if you reserve early you'll get at least 50% of the credit regardless of your config. If you're not planning to get a loaded car I would budget based on that. Also, as others have said, allocate your budget to hard parts (battery, motors, tech package, etc) vs software (autopilot, supercharging) as the software things can be enabled more cheaply later.

 

Hopefully we will be able to easily tell which options are software based (autopilot, supercharger) easily in the design studio just like you can right now on a Model S.


I think we are all in for a wild ride if this is anything like the Model S reservations. Even in the Model X reservation threads new options are popping up after people are first let in to configure and confirm their cars (i.e. the 72A charger). The $7500/$3750/$1875 tax credit phase out period is going to make this pretty nerve-wracking. Especially for folks who are counting on the full credit to be able to purchase their cars.

 

Your right in all of this, but this time at least they have been upfront about that the more expensive option will ship first even before the first reservation have been made, so everybody making an TM3 reservation will know this in advance. So they are learning from their earlier mistakes, and gets better at communications

 

But there weren't really any software only options in the old days (40kW, which died quickly, and SC on the 60kW), so what they did way back when isn't really applicable. The big battery cars shipped first because they have more profit

I have a hard time seeing Tesla ship a 3 without SC and AP over one with them, if both have the hardware. Turning on SC and AP is pure profit.

 

With the Model X I believe they are shipping autopilot cars before non-autopilot cars, but only within the same performance and battery class. Battery size and performance options are still the greatest deciding factor on when you get the car.

 

That's very interesting, I never even thought about battery size bumping you higher, in fact I would have thought just the opposite.... After all, if they're constrained on batteries you'd figure they can crank more cars out with smaller battery packs then with large ones, and being able to crank out more cars seems like it would be beneficial for the quarterly earnings calls.

I'm not arguing at all, I"m sure you're right and I really appreciate that bit of info. As someone who's new to Tesla's ordering process I may have to rethink how I plan to configure my car....

 

You need to look a little bit at the history of Tesla selling cars. Let's just optimistically assume that they actually deliver vehicles Q4 2017 (they haven't hit an initial delivery date yet). Let's say they do though, it won't be all cars with X options shipping by the end of the year, it will likely be a handful of cars delivered on stage New Year's Eve 2017 at the Model 3 Reveal Event (very similar to the Model X reveal). There will be no signature cars, so instead the highest battery pack performance model will ship first. You can expect this will cost at least double the base price of the Model 3. For Model X the first 6 months of production vehicles is looking to be performance models only. Given the interest in Model 3 and the desire to get the full tax break, it is certainly possible that they only delivery performance models for the entire first year of production. If you were wanting a base model, I wouldn't count on it before 2019, and I wouldn't count on getting any tax credit. This is why Elon is quoting the price WITHOUT tax credits.