Official Tesla Model 3 thread

[Valdemar]

I saw a couple of M3s over last several days in the wild, or may be it was the same one. I thought they stopped making ugly electric cars some time back, but apparently not.

[SageBrush]

I'm trying to remember ...
Who was the fool here a short month or two ago who kept trolling Tesla and declaring that customers would never receive a Model 3 ?

[SageBrush]

Over 600 posts, WTF ???

That is what happens when ~ half a million people are on the edge of their seats waiting for their cars. Any piece of news gets thrown into the echo chamber. Why, it even spills over to other car forums.

[mtndrew1]

Over 600 posts, WTF ???

That is what happens when ~ half a million people are on the edge of their seats waiting for their cars. Any piece of news gets thrown into the echo chamber. Why, it even spills over to other car forums.

It was also a phenomenally stupid way to implement the change on Tesla’s part. “Woven textile headliner, late availability” on the Model 3 configurator would have mitigated the whole thing.

I’d prefer Alcantara but don’t care that much overall. I would, however, like to know what my car will be equipped with when I give them the next $2,500. Surprises are bad for optics.

[SageBrush]

Tesla is continually changing things in the cars, mostly for the better. It actually leads to REAL complaints when a person places an order and finds that their car delivered some time in the future has not been outfitted with the latest and greatest.

The optics are fine, so long as the customer recognizes and accepts the trade-offs involved in continuous innovation. As Tesla goes more mainstream these complaints are going to get louder as the consumer becomes less informed. And we will have Ed to trumpet the angst and pettiness.

[lorenfb]

I think I found the first statement of yours I agree with.

The S and X will need a comprehensive refresh soon to bring them up to par with (or exceed) the baked-in newness of the 3. The touchscreen hardware, door cards, navigation software, etc all need to be refreshed sooner than later.

If they do it this quarter then the freshened cars already likely started production and are being loaded for the slow trip overseas like they did when the S got a refresh in ‘16. As Tesla delivers cars in the US at the end of a given quarter it gives them time to unload inventory and finalize transactions for cars built to the previous spec. It’s one of the few logistical things Tesla does well.

The issue then becomes how to effectively differentiate the two, i.e. a facelift of the MS won't do it alone.

Given how well they kept the new roadster under wraps, I wouldn't be surprised if a newly design MS is presented in the next six months.

The more effective overall initial Tesla M3 marketing strategy prior to last year's introduction would not have marketed the present
featured M3 but a stripped-down version where a gross profit of 20-25% could easily be achieved at $35K. This approach would not have
cannibalized MS sales and helped Tesla achieve a breakeven profitability in 2018, assuring a higher probability of long term viability.
Obviously the number of reservations would have been much less than the 400K, but so what even if the final and fairly realistic number
of only 100K resulted. Tesla could easily have delivered this many in 2018 and still sold more than any other U.S. BEV OEM with an entry
level BEV at 200+ miles, and without potentially causing reservation holders and shareholders angst. For later 2018 or early 2019,
Tesla could then have readied a new MS with more up-scaled features and a facelift, and with a new more featured M3 at around
$45-$55K while not impacting the MS product line. As it stands now, Tesla really can't deliver the present featured M3 at a profitable
$35K and risks losing sales of the present MS to the M3, and even more importantly possibly entering into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019.

[edatoakrun]

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/fi ... ve-review/

Seems like a fair review...

If so, TSLA may have another major problem.

A lot of model 3 buyers are probably going to be a lot more disappointed and surprised by the model 3's poor quality than by the headliner material substitution.

...There are skills that Tesla still hasn’t mastered. Our Model 3’s turn signals blinked unsteadily and far too fast, like it was one incandescent bulb short of a complete circuit (Tesla says this was fixed with a software update after we returned the car). One DRL was notably dimmer than the other. Body panel gaps, particularly around the doors, were gaping and inconsistent; the paint showed a few sags and one spot of mismatched hue on the driver’s door. There’s a deep irony here: Tesla assembles its cars in what used to be known as New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., or NUMMI, a factory once jointly-operated by GM and Toyota in an effort to teach Japanese quality control and tight tolerances to American autoworkers...

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/fi ... ve-review/

...It was also a phenomenally stupid way to implement the change on Tesla’s part. “Woven textile headliner, late availability” on the Model 3 configurator would have mitigated the whole thing.

I’d prefer Alcantara but don’t care that much overall. I would, however, like to know what my car will be equipped with when I give them the next $2,500. Surprises are bad for optics.

[drees]

[If so, TSLA may have another major problem.

Hey look, I can cherry pick quotes, too!

Out on the road, the Model 3 feels special. There’s an eagerness to the car. Steering, acceleration and chassis are nearly perfectly balanced, no one trait overpowering the others.
...
It’s the kind of friendly, engaging drive that could make anyone excited to slide behind the wheel. Hustling the Model 3 is rewarding and un-demanding. This isn’t a car you drive with an iron grip and dilated pupils. It’s playful, charming, involved without demanding sacrifices in comfort or usability.
...
The Model 3 feels like it hails from a decade in the future. It redefines the scope, painting the Model S as the halfway point between conventional cars and the capital-F Future.
...
Both vehicles were solid, silent, and substantial. ...the cars felt complete, well-engineered, cohesive in philosophy and design.

Seriously though - the endless bashing of Tesla from Ed and Loren is pretty damn tiring.

[Zythryn]

[If so, TSLA may have another major problem.

Hey look, I can cherry pick quotes, too!

Out on the road, the Model 3 feels special. There’s an eagerness to the car. Steering, acceleration and chassis are nearly perfectly balanced, no one trait overpowering the others.
...
It’s the kind of friendly, engaging drive that could make anyone excited to slide behind the wheel. Hustling the Model 3 is rewarding and un-demanding. This isn’t a car you drive with an iron grip and dilated pupils. It’s playful, charming, involved without demanding sacrifices in comfort or usability.
...
The Model 3 feels like it hails from a decade in the future. It redefines the scope, painting the Model S as the halfway point between conventional cars and the capital-F Future.
...
Both vehicles were solid, silent, and substantial. ...the cars felt complete, well-engineered, cohesive in philosophy and design.

Seriously though - the endless bashing of Tesla from Ed and Loren is pretty damn tiring.

Agreed, however at this point I am resigned to the fact that the only counter to their opinions is time.

Someone a few months ago stated that Tesla would never deliver a Model 3 to a customer. Now, that is happening.
Later this year Tesla will start delivering base models,which will disprove another unsupported bit of speculation that Tesla will never deliver a base model.
8 years ago some people were proudly proclaiming that Tesla won’t exist in 5 years.
Here we are 8 years later, Tesla is here but those posters are gone.

There are people that have doubts, and state them. They then later reflect on Tesla surprising them. Kudos to them!
But there are a few that will simply get tired of being wrong and quietly disappear.

[GRA]

Seriously though - the endless bashing of Tesla from Ed and Loren is pretty damn tiring.

The simple answer to that is to stop paying attention, or not bother to reply. I imagine lots of people have already done so. Tesla will or won't survive and will or won't satisfy its customers regardless of what anyone says here.