Owning a Tesla has been like being part of a small exclusive club for the past few years and I personally like that I have a vehicle that I dont see everywhere I go. If they go from selling 50k cars a year to their goal of 500k cars by 2020 and you begin to see Tesla's everywhere will you still feel the same about your car when Tesla is not unique any longer and they are everywhere?
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Will you still feel the same about Tesla after the Model 3?
- Thread starter BestRadar
- Start date
I'm sad that Model S is so common and known now that nobody waves to me anymore. I still wave, but now people think I'm crazy.
igotzzoom
Active Member
If I could make an analogy, it's kind of the difference between owning a Mercedes AMG or a CLA250. The CLAs are everywhere, and around where I live, about as common as Camrys and Accords. AMGs are relatively rarer. However, having said that, living in an affluent coastal California community, the Model S and X are not that uncommon. When I see a P90 or P100 D, it still gets my attention, because they're relatively rare.
Tesla is still less than 2% of the total market. Not to worry.
I do look forward to the day when all of those smoke belching gasoline and diesel machines are replaced with a Tesla. Bring it on.
ThisIsTrue
Re-member
The vision isn't to make drivers "part of a small exclusive club."
If you go to the Tesla factory, you might see: "Our Mission: To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy."
Creating an exclusive club for rich guys doesn't do that. Getting electric vehicles, and powerwalls, and solar roofs, and other technologies out to The Masses does, and the Model 3 is a major step in that direction. So will I "feel the same about Tesla" when it's shipping in quantity? Nope: I'll feel better about Tesla.
Why? I didn't buy in to an exclusive club, I bought into Elon's vision, which might extend the life of the human race. I did that by buying a car, getting more solar on my house to power it, and buying TSLA stock. And I fervently hope Elon can make it happen before it's too late.
igotzzoom
Active Member
There is still something special about owning something different and not common. When they become common like any other car on the road I will probably look into something else. I personally did not buy the car because of the environment i did it because it was unique and different.
ThisIsTrue
Re-member
And one of the best cars on the road.
Yep, I get that. But that's not the company's stated mission, which is powerful. And they're working toward that mission very nicely, with well-defined steps along the way. So that's why I won't have lessened feelings about the company as it meets its objectives. Your mileage, obviously, may vary.
igotzzoom
Active Member
I may be going off on a tangent here, but indulge me while I share a bit of my stream of consciousness. People who just want reliable transportation that will hold its value buy Toyotas. Since I'm known as a "car guy" to my friends and family, a lot of them come to me for buying advice. If I get the sense they're most interested in just Point A to Point B transportation, I immediately steer them to Toyota. If they say they want "fun to drive" I'll recommend Mazda or BMW. I also ask what their budget is.
I would probably never personally own a Toyota passenger car, simply because of the connotation the cars carry for me, which is "boring but reliable." I feel somewhat differently about their trucks and SUVs. I probably would not own a BMW likewise for their reputation for being driven by @$$hats, never mind the fact that they're ridiculously expensive to maintain after about 5-7 years.
A lot of my friends see me as a snob or status slave for wanting a Tesla. My attraction to Tesla is two-fold. 1) I want to see the growth of EVs in general. 2) I want to do it in style. Yes, I could buy a Chevy Bolt or Kia Soul EV right now. The Bolt is subjectively unattractive to me, and the current Soul EV has too short a range for me. The Model 3 looks cool, and I'm confident will be quick and fun-to-drive. Do I care that Model S and Model X drivers will feel "less special" once the Model 3 comes out? Not really. I know the "ooh-ahh" factor of my Model 3 will only last so long until they're as common as the aforementioned Camry and Accord. Will I buy a second one? Don't know yet. That will largely depend on my ownership experience with the first one. Not to mention there may be other compelling EV options on the market by then.
Those that bought a Model S or Model X for the "new shiny" factor will likely find another "new shiny" thing to chase after and acquire.
I would probably never personally own a Toyota passenger car, simply because of the connotation the cars carry for me, which is "boring but reliable." I feel somewhat differently about their trucks and SUVs. I probably would not own a BMW likewise for their reputation for being driven by @$$hats, never mind the fact that they're ridiculously expensive to maintain after about 5-7 years.
A lot of my friends see me as a snob or status slave for wanting a Tesla. My attraction to Tesla is two-fold. 1) I want to see the growth of EVs in general. 2) I want to do it in style. Yes, I could buy a Chevy Bolt or Kia Soul EV right now. The Bolt is subjectively unattractive to me, and the current Soul EV has too short a range for me. The Model 3 looks cool, and I'm confident will be quick and fun-to-drive. Do I care that Model S and Model X drivers will feel "less special" once the Model 3 comes out? Not really. I know the "ooh-ahh" factor of my Model 3 will only last so long until they're as common as the aforementioned Camry and Accord. Will I buy a second one? Don't know yet. That will largely depend on my ownership experience with the first one. Not to mention there may be other compelling EV options on the market by then.
Those that bought a Model S or Model X for the "new shiny" factor will likely find another "new shiny" thing to chase after and acquire.
I didn't really want to buy such an expensive car but I did as I believed in the idea and wanted to make a change. It's happening so I'm happy about it. I did feel being part of a small group of like minded through the years. That will be gone soon. But that's fine. That was never my goal. I will try to hold on to my old Model S as long as I can and be one of the new that still drives around with such an old car that has 300k miles on it. All the shiny new P150DL will give me the looks and stay away from me at the Superchargers
tinm
2020 Model S LR+ Owner
I hope I don't feel the same about Tesla after the Model 3.
Specifically, I hope that they are working really hard (hear me, Jon McNeill and team?) to improve the culture within the sales and service side of the company. Specifically, the inconsistent quality of communication with customers, partly no doubt due to a lack of a sense of accountability on the part of every team member.
They have had this problem since day one, and they've been able to get away with it because of the niche nature of the car and the incredible level of slack the dedicated early adopters of Tesla (me included) have always cut to the company.
But that won't fly in a mainstream market. Model 3 means post-early-adopter. The mainstream market expects accountability, they expect consistency of communication, reliability of communication, and punctuality when it comes to communication. They expect problems to be solved quickly. There should be systems in place that provide a safety net for customer issues once they've been received by the company, and those issues need to be raised and kept raised and if necessary escalated until the issues are resolved in a timely manner. No more service people telling you one thing then never calling or emailing back. That is, if they ever respond to you in the first place. No more random delays or surprises from delivery specialists. Get the systems in place so you can reliably under promise and over deliver, not the other way around.
This is CRM 101, something every self-respecting large company that truly values their customers and a long-term (permanent?) relationship with their customers knows already: be accountable to them. Be punctual. Communicate. Answer emails. Answer phones. Follow up. Get stuff done. Get things resolved. So both parties can move on.
That's what your customers want, Tesla. And that's what the Model 3 marketplace will expect.
So yes I very much hope to feel different about Tesla come the Model 3. I hope to feel better.
Specifically, I hope that they are working really hard (hear me, Jon McNeill and team?) to improve the culture within the sales and service side of the company. Specifically, the inconsistent quality of communication with customers, partly no doubt due to a lack of a sense of accountability on the part of every team member.
They have had this problem since day one, and they've been able to get away with it because of the niche nature of the car and the incredible level of slack the dedicated early adopters of Tesla (me included) have always cut to the company.
But that won't fly in a mainstream market. Model 3 means post-early-adopter. The mainstream market expects accountability, they expect consistency of communication, reliability of communication, and punctuality when it comes to communication. They expect problems to be solved quickly. There should be systems in place that provide a safety net for customer issues once they've been received by the company, and those issues need to be raised and kept raised and if necessary escalated until the issues are resolved in a timely manner. No more service people telling you one thing then never calling or emailing back. That is, if they ever respond to you in the first place. No more random delays or surprises from delivery specialists. Get the systems in place so you can reliably under promise and over deliver, not the other way around.
This is CRM 101, something every self-respecting large company that truly values their customers and a long-term (permanent?) relationship with their customers knows already: be accountable to them. Be punctual. Communicate. Answer emails. Answer phones. Follow up. Get stuff done. Get things resolved. So both parties can move on.
That's what your customers want, Tesla. And that's what the Model 3 marketplace will expect.
So yes I very much hope to feel different about Tesla come the Model 3. I hope to feel better.
I'm super excited for more Teslas on the road! I live in a smaller town and it's very rare to see a Tesla. I take delivery on my MS 100D next month. The fact that it's such a rare car where I live is a bit of a negative to me. I'm not a car guy and don't care about driving something that makes people do double takes. It will take some getting used to!
I never cared about cars until Tesla. I waited in line to reserve a Model 3 last year. Fast forward a year later and I made the mistake of test driving an S. Ordered a 100D a week later. Feels like the perfect car for me!
I didn't buy my Model S to be exclusive. I actually don't like being seen in a car some people might consider an exotic and I never thought I would ever buy anything so expensive.
I welcome the Model 3 and I hope more people will be able to get the Fahrvergnügen I've experienced driving my car. Though having more Teslas on the road will take away the game I play when out spotting Teslas. In a few years it might be about as fun as spotting Subarus around here. I already spot a lot of Nissan Leafs when out and about.
I welcome the Model 3 and I hope more people will be able to get the Fahrvergnügen I've experienced driving my car. Though having more Teslas on the road will take away the game I play when out spotting Teslas. In a few years it might be about as fun as spotting Subarus around here. I already spot a lot of Nissan Leafs when out and about.
There's a lot of porsches on the road but they're still pretty cool to see one. You can get a base level mercedes in the $30,000 range but you still dont see the road flooded with those. (probably because german cars break down a lot and vanish but that's besides the point)
I dont know you, but that makes you sound rather insecure. I'm sure you have more ways to prove your value than the rarity of your car.
Some of you guys are crazy. I am insecure because I don't want a car that I see everywhere. Maybe I just like to be different. I also customize all my cars to make them their own. I don't like to be in a parking lot and have to look at my license plate to tell which car is mine or someone else's because they all look the same.
igotzzoom
Active Member
Maybe not in Louisiana, but CLAs are nearly as common as Accords and Camrys in So Cal.
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