Official Tesla Model 3 thread

SageBrush said:

Is there a silver option ? I have to admit, the color pricing scheme has gotten out of hand.

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There was "metallic silver" option which was real silver but that retired. I know some folks w/that color of 3 and that would by my #1 choice of color. I'm unclear if it can be ordered at all at this point, now that it's "off menu".

There still is the "Midnight Silver Metallic" marketing name for $1500 extra and that's dark grey to me (a guy in my group has that) and not silver. That is NOT a color I would want on a car. It's near the bottom of my color choices. I passed on a used '13 Leaf of that color partly for that reason and bought a used blue one, which is what my leased one was, as well.

(My new Bolt is silver (Silver Ice Metallic) and it cost nothing extra. Bolt Premier has 3 available colors that more $395 more. The other 6 colors don't cost extra.)

cwerdna said:

SageBrush said:

Is there a silver option ? I have to admit, the color pricing scheme has gotten out of hand.

Click to expand...

There was "metallic silver" option which was real silver but that retired. I know some folks w/that color of 3 and that would by my #1 choice of color. I'm unclear if it can be ordered at all at this point, now that it's "off menu".

There still is the "Midnight Silver Metallic" marketing name for $1500 extra and that's dark grey to me (a guy in my group has that) and not silver.

Click to expand...

I know silver *used* to be an option -- I own a silver Model 3.
FWIW, I think the blue looks a lot better than the photos, and the dark grey is a surprise to me: it was the color of my Prius Prime and not only did it look pretty good, it did not get anywhere near as hot as a black car would.

As for the prices scheme -- meh.
Tesla has reached $36k price for the Model 3 SR but they wanted to say $35k so they tacked on an extra $1k to most colors.

Nissan is actually having some pretty solid incentives for leasing the 40kWh in my area right now. I might just lease a Leaf for $200 a month then see what the used EPlus and Model 3 are going for in 2022. That'll also hedge against Eplus battery issues and Tesla manufacturing issues.

The signal was a known issue atnd a firmware fix helped but they agreed to replace it. The dash and steering wheel were cosmetic and minor but they had no issue replacing them. The seat had a small noise in retraction and it was determined to be a bad or damaged track so they repacked the entire seat as the track could not be done alone. I was offered a model s loaner but I took $100 Lyft credit per day. Car was cleaned, charged and firmware was upgraded as usual. The entire process was easy and the updates on every item were via text as requested. The best service experience ever. My car was an early build but had no paint defects or panel issues.

Good to hear your overall service experience was good. But to see that many components replaced in the first year is just not acceptable for a $40K / $50K vehicle. With Tesla dropping their prices every month, I'm definitely considering getting rid of the last gas car and getting a MR M3. The main thing holding me back is as they continue to increase their production rate, I don't know if they can continue to reduce their quality issues...and likewise increase their service availability (centers, mobile) to an acceptable level.

jdcbomb said:

The main thing holding me back is as they continue to increase their production rate, I don't know if they can continue to reduce their quality issues...and likewise increase their service availability (centers, mobile) to an acceptable level.

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I definitely share these concerns, I'm still a little skeptical of mobile service times and the nearest center is 1h 45m drive.

golfcart said:

Nissan is actually having some pretty solid incentives for leasing the 40kWh in my area right now. I might just lease a Leaf for $200 a month then see what the used EPlus and Model 3 are going for in 2022. That'll also hedge against Eplus battery issues and Tesla manufacturing issues.

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A 2-3 year LEAF at $200 a month sounds like a very good way to go. IF it really is $200 a month when all is said and done.

SageBrush said:

cwerdna said:

SageBrush said:

Is there a silver option ? I have to admit, the color pricing scheme has gotten out of hand.

Click to expand...

There was "metallic silver" option which was real silver but that retired. I know some folks w/that color of 3 and that would by my #1 choice of color. I'm unclear if it can be ordered at all at this point, now that it's "off menu".

There still is the "Midnight Silver Metallic" marketing name for $1500 extra and that's dark grey to me (a guy in my group has that) and not silver.

Click to expand...

I know silver *used* to be an option -- I own a silver Model 3.
FWIW, I think the blue looks a lot better than the photos, and the dark grey is a surprise to me: it was the color of my Prius Prime and not only did it look pretty good, it did not get anywhere near as hot as a black car would.

Click to expand...

To each his/her own about the colors. There are over 200 Teslas in our EV/PHEV registry at my work at a pretty large % of them are 3's.

The dark grey is still a very low on my list color to me. Have seen it plenty of times in person. No way I'd pay $1500 extra for that. Blue isn't terrible, but not something I'd want to pay $1500 extra for. I'd rather have white for another $500, but the $2K extra in total for white is ridiculous compared to what at least non-luxury car makers charge for certain colors.

golfcart said:

I definitely share these concerns, I'm still a little skeptical of mobile service times and the nearest center is 1h 45m drive.

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That is quite close by my standards, since the nearest service center is 300 miles and a lot of mountains away. However, I have been very pleased with mobile service — having the work done in my garage by a ranger is way more convenient than making a two day trip over the mountains, and setting it up by text message is really easy. I also tend to learn a lot because I can watch the ranger work on my car.

My next service visit will be when mobile service gets replacement passenger side air bag inflators in for the Takata recall — they have done older cars and are now moving on to 2014 and 2015 builds (the limiting factor for Tesla, and other car brands, is the supply of replacement inflators). No need to make the long trek to the service center for that.

cwerdna said:

...The dark grey is still a very low on my list color to me. Have seen it plenty of times in person. No way I'd pay $1500 extra for that. Blue isn't terrible, but not something I'd want to pay $1500 extra for. I'd rather have white for another $500, but the $2K extra in total for white is ridiculous compared to what at least non-luxury car makers charge for certain colors.

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I think that the grey is pretty ugly but it is quite popular, go figure! As you likely know, plain white used to be a base color — it's what I have — but Tesla eliminated it; likely because (in my opinion) it was too popular and they wanted more people to pony up for an extra cost color.

For those who don't like the very limited Tesla color palette and the extra cost, you could always wrap or dip the car. It would also be an additional cost but you could then select any color you wanted and could change it from time to time.

jdcbomb said:

Good to hear your overall service experience was good. But to see that many components replaced in the first year is just not acceptable for a $40K / $50K vehicle. With Tesla dropping their prices every month, I'm definitely considering getting rid of the last gas car and getting a MR M3. The main thing holding me back is as they continue to increase their production rate, I don't know if they can continue to reduce their quality issues...and likewise increase their service availability (centers, mobile) to an acceptable level.

Click to expand...

My 3 hasn't had any issues in 8 months - unlike the second Leaf I had. Even my old Maxima had issues in the beginning. I bet the quality is better now than 8 months back.

BTW, they'll not have any more price cuts. If anything, I expect slight price increases (or may be the $35k SR will go away, with Musk saying the take rate was very low) - esp. as tax credit gets phased out.

Apologies if this is a repost:

U.S. safety agencies to investigate fatal Tesla crash in Florida
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-crash/us-safety-agencies-to-investigate-fatal-tesla-crash-in-florida-idUSKCN1QJ031

US agencies investigate fatal Tesla Model 3 crash in Florida
https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/03/us-agencies-investigate-fatal-tesla-model-3-florida-crash/

It's not yet clear if Autopilot was involved
...
American safety officials are looking into the circumstances surrounding another fatal Tesla crash. Both the NTSB and the NHTSA have confirmed that they're investigating a collision between a Model 3 and a semi truck in Delray Beach, Florida on March 1st. According to the police report, the truck was turning left to enter a main thoroughfare when the Model 3 crashed into the semi's trailer, shearing off the car's roof and killing the driver. It's not certain if Autopilot was active, although the Model 3 kept traveling for more than 500 yards before coming to a stop.

Click to expand...

I saw it posted somewhere this week, but don't remember if it was here or elsewhere.

cwerdna said:

Apologies if this is a repost:

U.S. safety agencies to investigate fatal Tesla crash in Florida
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-crash/us-safety-agencies-to-investigate-fatal-tesla-crash-in-florida-idUSKCN1QJ031

US agencies investigate fatal Tesla Model 3 crash in Florida
https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/03/us-agencies-investigate-fatal-tesla-model-3-florida-crash/

It's not yet clear if Autopilot was involved
...
American safety officials are looking into the circumstances surrounding another fatal Tesla crash. Both the NTSB and the NHTSA have confirmed that they're investigating a collision between a Model 3 and a semi truck in Delray Beach, Florida on March 1st. According to the police report, the truck was turning left to enter a main thoroughfare when the Model 3 crashed into the semi's trailer, shearing off the car's roof and killing the driver. It's not certain if Autopilot was active, although the Model 3 kept traveling for more than 500 yards before coming to a stop.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Same basic crash that also occurred in FL with a semi trailer (perpendicular to an oncoming vehicle) to a MS a few years ago.
That driver was assumed to be watching a video. Basically the MS AP didn't "see" the trailer body.

If the AP was activated, have to love Tesla's use of a neural network approach to AP technology, right? You have thought that
Tesla would have fully simulated every possible scenario involving a left turning semi with an oncoming Tesla vehicle when
using AP after the earlier MS crash.

lorenfb said:

If the AP was activated, have to love Tesla's use of a neural network approach to AP technology, right? You have thought that
Tesla would have fully simulated every possible scenario involving a left turning semi with an oncoming Tesla vehicle when
using AP after the earlier MS crash.

Click to expand...

It has been extensively simulated and Tesla knows that its system cannot reliably recognize the above mentioned scenario.

By the way, there are ~ 200 - 400 similar accidents each year in the US unrelated to assisted driving technology. The Europeans require trucks to have a shield to prevent this type of accident and the US should too.

lorenfb said:

cwerdna said:

Apologies if this is a repost:

U.S. safety agencies to investigate fatal Tesla crash in Florida
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-crash/us-safety-agencies-to-investigate-fatal-tesla-crash-in-florida-idUSKCN1QJ031

US agencies investigate fatal Tesla Model 3 crash in Florida
https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/03/us-agencies-investigate-fatal-tesla-model-3-florida-crash/

It's not yet clear if Autopilot was involved
...
American safety officials are looking into the circumstances surrounding another fatal Tesla crash. Both the NTSB and the NHTSA have confirmed that they're investigating a collision between a Model 3 and a semi truck in Delray Beach, Florida on March 1st. According to the police report, the truck was turning left to enter a main thoroughfare when the Model 3 crashed into the semi's trailer, shearing off the car's roof and killing the driver. It's not certain if Autopilot was active, although the Model 3 kept traveling for more than 500 yards before coming to a stop.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Same basic crash that also occurred in FL with a semi trailer (perpendicular to an oncoming vehicle) to a MS a few years ago.
That driver was assumed to be watching a video. Basically the MS AP didn't "see" the trailer body.

If the AP was activated, have to love Tesla's use of a neural network approach to AP technology, right? You have thought that
Tesla would have fully simulated every possible scenario involving a left turning semi with an oncoming Tesla vehicle when
using AP after the earlier MS crash.

Click to expand...

Here's the link of the earlier MS crash in FL;

https://www.businessinsider.com/details-about-the-fatal-tesla-autopilot-accident-released-2017-6

SageBrush said:

lorenfb said:

If the AP was activated, have to love Tesla's use of a neural network approach to AP technology, right? You have thought that
Tesla would have fully simulated every possible scenario involving a left turning semi with an oncoming Tesla vehicle when
using AP after the earlier MS crash.

Click to expand...

It has been extensively simulated and Tesla knows that its system cannot reliably recognize the above mentioned scenario.

By the way, there are ~ 200 - 400 similar accidents each year in the US unrelated to assisted driving technology. The Europeans require trucks to have a shield to prevent this type of accident and the US should too.

Click to expand...

Then Tesla needs to augment the AP system design or just stop using the term AP and just call it gen2 ACC.

lorenfb said:

SageBrush said:

lorenfb said:

If the AP was activated, have to love Tesla's use of a neural network approach to AP technology, right? You have thought that
Tesla would have fully simulated every possible scenario involving a left turning semi with an oncoming Tesla vehicle when
using AP after the earlier MS crash.

Click to expand...

It has been extensively simulated and Tesla knows that its system cannot reliably recognize the above mentioned scenario.

By the way, there are ~ 200 - 400 similar accidents each year in the US unrelated to assisted driving technology. The Europeans require trucks to have a shield to prevent this type of accident and the US should too.

Click to expand...

Then Tesla needs to augment the AP system design or just stop using the term AP and just call it gen2 ACC.

Click to expand...

"Pro-pilot" is equally deceiving.

I'm partial to "Co-pilot" myself, to emphasize that the human driver must stay engaged.

SageBrush said:

lorenfb said:

SageBrush said:

It has been extensively simulated and Tesla knows that its system cannot reliably recognize the above mentioned scenario.

By the way, there are ~ 200 - 400 similar accidents each year in the US unrelated to assisted driving technology. The Europeans require trucks to have a shield to prevent this type of accident and the US should too.

Click to expand...

Then Tesla needs to augment the AP system design or just stop using the term AP and just call it gen2 ACC.

Click to expand...

"Pro-pilot" is equally deceiving.

I'm partial to "Co-pilot" myself, to emphasize that the human driver must stay engaged.

Click to expand...

Personally, I don't even enjoy using any form of assisted driving on my vehicles.

lorenfb said:

SageBrush said:

lorenfb said:

Then Tesla needs to augment the AP system design or just stop using the term AP and just call it gen2 ACC.

Click to expand...

"Pro-pilot" is equally deceiving.

I'm partial to "Co-pilot" myself, to emphasize that the human driver must stay engaged.

Click to expand...

Personally, I don't even enjoy using any form of assisted driving on my vehicles.

Click to expand...

then the $35k base Model 3 should be perfect. It does not come with any driver assist. It is what I ordered, and I don't think I'll miss it.

lorenfb said:

SageBrush said:

lorenfb said:

Then Tesla needs to augment the AP system design or just stop using the term AP and just call it gen2 ACC.

Click to expand...

"Pro-pilot" is equally deceiving.

I'm partial to "Co-pilot" myself, to emphasize that the human driver must stay engaged.

Click to expand...

Personally, I don't even enjoy using any form of assisted driving on my vehicles.

Click to expand...

Which one of you “vehicles” has this feature that you don’t like to use and why? What don’t you like about the feature and what are the differences between each vehicle?