INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Tesla has opened the Model 3 waitlist floodgates, inviting all reservation holders in the U.S
and Canada to order the electric sedan that&sinextricably tied to its survival.
As of Thursday, existing reservation holders in the United
States and Canada can log onto the Tesla website and complete their order in the company online design studio
Emails are gradually rolling out to reservation holders.
Tesla won&t disclose how many people in the U.S
and Canada have made the $1,000 refundable deposit for the Model 3
More than 450,000 people had reservations globally at the end of the first quarter, according to a shareholder letter issued in May
The number of Canadian and U.S
customers on the waitlist certainly number in the tens of thousands.
Tesla at a crossroads
Tesla sits at a critical juncture
The company has failed to meet any of its production and delivery targets for the Model 3 since its splashy event in July 2017 when CEO Elon
Musk handed out the first vehicles to employees
Meanwhile, it pouring through cash as it struggles to solve production bottlenecks for the car that is supposed to thrust Tesla from niche
maker of luxury electric cars to mass manufacturer — a vital piece of Musk broader master planto provide and sell a sustainable energy
ecosystem of products, including solar panels and energy storage.
The stakes are high and Musk actions in recent months have a noticeably
The company recently erected a massive tent, two football fields in length, on the grounds of its Fremont, Calif
factory that houses a hastily built assembly line for the Model 3.
Amazing work by Tesla team
Built entire new general assembly line in 3 weeks w minimal resources
Love u guys so much! Pic of 1st Model 3 dual motor performance coming off the line … pic.twitter.com/Xr55P3fmGd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
June 16, 2018
Musk has taken to sleeping at the factory as the deadline looms.
The company Model 3 problems first came to light in early
October 2017 when it reported it had produced just260 of its new electric cars in the third quarter and delivered only 220
Production figures have improved, but the company has yet to hit its targets.
Now, all eyes are on Muskas he tries to meet a goal of
producing5,000 Model 3 sedans a week by the end of June
The company is expected to report production and delivery numbers for the latest quarter, which ends June 30.
Three Model 3 choices
Tesla
is focusing on higher-margin variants of the Model 3 for now
On Wednesday, Tesla sent an emailto reservation holders introducingnew Model 3 options, as well as making some noteworthy pricing
adjustments and delivery estimates.
Reservation holders can now choose fromthree versions of the Model 3: the long-range 310-mile rear-wheel
drive, long-range dual motor all-wheel drive or the performance variant
Delivery estimates will be shown to customers as they make their selection and will depend upon their order date and the vehicle
configuration selected.
Tesla also lowered prices for the dual motor and performance variants.The new pricing will be retroactively applied
to customers who have already placed their orders, according to the company.The dual-motor long-range battery Model 3 now starts at $53,000,
a price reduction of $1,000
The base performance version is now priced at $64,000, down from $78,000, thanks to Tesla making many of the premium features into optional
The performance upgrade package is an additional $5,000
Premium paint colors and a white interior each cost an additional $1,500.
For those who are desperate for any Model 3, price be damned,
their best option is to pick the dual motor performance version
It no mistake that it also the most expensive one
Tesla estimates deliveries for this version in two to four months for the earliest reservation holders, according to a review of the design
studio.
The elusive $35,000 Model 3
But for those early reservation holders, who have been pining for Tesla cheapest Model 3 — a
$35,000 version equipped with a standard220-mile range battery — the wait just got about three months longer.
Deliveries of the standard
battery version of the Model 3 won&t begin for six to nine months for the earliest reservation holders
That means a person who plunked down a refundable $1,000 deposit on March 31, 2016 might not get the standard battery Model 3 until March
2019.
Keep in mind that this base version isn&t an available option yet.The company said in its first quarter letter to shareholders that it
will begin offering the base model with a standard-sized battery pack after it achieves a production rate of 5,000 Model 3s a week.
A
month ago, the Tesla Design Studio showed deliveries of the standard battery Model 3 (again for the earliest reservation holders) would
(See the screenshot captured May 25, 2018 below.)
For prospective customers who put down a deposit today, the wait is up to a year.And now
that the waitlist has opened up, that timeline could get a lot longer.
Tesla has pushed out the delivery date for the base version of the
Model 3 before, largely because it has focused its efforts on higher-margin versions of the Model 3
Production bottlenecks haven&t helped
Tesla estimated back in December that deliveries to early reservation holders for the standard battery version with rear-wheel drive would
begin in early 2018.
For the most fervent Tesla fans, another three months might be palatable, even with the repeated delays
But peruse social media and forums dedicated to Tesla owners (and prospective ones) and it clear that patience is beginning to dwindle for
Further delays could prompt folks on the waitlist to finally ask for their deposit back and turn to other automakers that are finally
bringing EVs to market,particularly if Tesla loses the federal credit for plug-in electric vehicles.
All plug-in vehicles sold in the U.S
are eligible for a full federal tax credit of up to $7,500
Once Tesla, or any other manufacturer for that matter,sells its 200,000th vehicle in the U.S., it begins to lose the $7,500 tax credit
The credit is not pulled immediately
The tax credit is made available through the end of the current quarter and continues through the following one
From here, credit drops 50 percent per vehicle for another six months
The credit continues to fall until it disappears altogether.
Tesla is expected to hit that 200,000 mark in 2018.
