Tesla delays of standard selection model 3
One week from today it has been three years since Elon Musk revealed Tesla's long-awaited, affordable electric car, the model 3. Although deliveries of high-spec model 3s began in July 2017, anyone who wanted the version that actually cost $ 1 35,000 before tax incentives cannot even book one to the end of last month. Now it seems that the long wait for Standard Range Model 3 is getting even longer, as customers report that Tesla delays scheduled delivery dates and tries to summarize them into more expensive versions.
According to several reports by the official Tesla .com forum, the Tesla Motors Club, the Model 3 Owners Club and Reddit's r / teslamotors forum, Tesla has been subtitling customers to delay previously scheduled deliveries of the long-awaited base model. Many of these owners report that delivery dates had been scheduled for the last weekend of the quarter, when Tesla typically plans major deliveries, but the text messages informing them of the delivery delay do not specify a new delivery date. "Our apologies, we have to reschedule the delivery agreement to a later date," read these messages. "A Tesla representative will reach out when we have a better estimate of your delivery time from Tesla."
These now delayed "preliminary" delivery dates were communicated to customers via text message from Tesla, but no further communication has been reported in addition to the delay message. Several owners report that their accounts now state that the delivery of their ordinary orders will take place within six to eight weeks, but Tesla employees say these are automatically generated estimates and not obligations. These estimates were originally set to 2-4 weeks for customers who ordered as soon as the message was made on February 28, but Musk said during the announcement that deliveries may take longer than what depends on how long the customers have had reservations. According to Musk:
"Well the priority is for long-term reservation holders, so we must first consider how many of the long-term reservation holders want the $ 35,000 car. So it really depends on it and it has obviously been embarrassed to date, so we must first consider how many reservation holders want to buy that car, they will get priority, and then there will be new new orders, but i do, but i should say that it is very likely that someone who orders will get the car in US by the end of June, let's say ̵[ads1]1; before before the next tax credit. ”
Although none of these customers report further insights from Tesla on their possible delivery date, several of them have reported phone calls from the company trying to summarize them into more expensive versions of the car. "I just got a call from someone at Tesla and ask me to pay more for longer selection model 3," reports a customer at Reddit. My ion won't be ready by the end of June. This is after telling me that my car would be ready by the end of March and having me cough more money when I ordered. "Customers waiting for delivery at other trim levels also report calls from Tesla trying to summarize them to Higher specifications, as well as beating the company's sunroof.
The fact that not a single standard vehicle has been reported delivered, or even confirmed in nature, suggests that Tesla may not have built any, since each trim level, except the base standard Range, delivered, including the so-called Standard Range Plus, calls customers moving a "bait and switch" and wondering if Tesla has ever planned to deliver Standard Range cars in the quarter. "I have the same delayed delivery text today after a call that ask if I wanted to upgrade to a SR +, "reported a relatively forgiving customer at TMC." I do not blame them but look like they sent these dates to try to push someone upgrades. "" I guess it's a last minute upgrade to SR + or another version, "another says.
It is possible that the delay is only the product of an overloaded delivery infrastructure. Musk has recently told Tesla employees to "please consider your primary priority to help with car deliveries," such as "a massive wave of deliveries" in North America, Europe and China, stressed the company's delivery infrastructure. "North America is also stressed, as the last month of this quarter is almost all of North America based," he wrote in a joint email published by CNBC. "During the first two weeks of March, most cars were shipped from the California plant to the east coast to secure arrival before the end of the quarter."
If Standard Range Model 3 deliveries are only delayed until the end of the quarter, for logistical or economic reasons, customers hope that this delay will not take much longer. Beyond the long length of the wait, which will pass the three-year mark since some of the customers
If deliveries have been canceled first deposited deposits, if delivery times remain at the end of June, this would mean a further reduction in the tax credit from $ 3,750 to $ 1,875. This would be another blow to customers who have been expecting years to stretch into a model 3 and need all the help they can get.
Finally, this question raises the question whether Tesla is very serious about delivering a $ 35,000 car in meaningful volume or whether the standard range model 3 will be a repeat of 40 kWh model S. Tesla strongly hyped Model S base price of $ 50,000 after $ 7.5,000 tax credit as evidence of Elon Musk's "master plan" in action, just to cut it from the lineup after just a handful of deliveries. At that time, Tesla said that only four percent of customers chose the smallest package, "which is not enough to justify the production of that version," even though the availability delay and making it the only model S that is not capable of Supercharging , certainly helped to achieve this result.
This time it will be a little harder to get out of delivering the margin compression base model 3. After all, when Musk first revealed Model 3, he made it clear that the base version would not be what customers would regret ordering. "I want to emphasize," he said, "even if you don't buy any options at all, this will still be a fantastic car … it's a very good car, even without a choice." It was of course also three years ago …
