Tesla Model ≡ Thread

[equ]

THere's going to be some 19" wheel that's going to fit, maybe with spacers. Tirerack and aftermarket will figure it out.

Or just rock all-seasons and drive the Chevy on snowy days...

[rumatt]

Yeah they'll get it figured out eventually. I mainly don't want 20" wheels long term, so I'll find some 19's somehow.

Some people are hypothesizing that it's a typo on the Tesla website. Because even the page for the 20 inch wheels says that they don't fit either.

Get your shit together Tesla!

[JST]

Originally Posted by rumatt

Yeah they'll get it figured out eventually. I mainly don't want 20" wheels long term, so I'll find some 19's somehow.

Some people are hypothesizing that it's a typo on the Tesla website. Because even the page for the 20 inch wheels says that they don't fit either.

Get your shit together Tesla!

LOL that's dumb.

I'm really surprised they're not trying to squeeze you in before 9/30. At some point they called me and told me I could pick up earlier than 9/29; I think today might have been the earliest date. I didn't change it just because I have so much other shit going on, but I'm wondering if my car is sitting out in Tysons Corner.

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by JST

LOL that's dumb.

I'm really surprised they're not trying to squeeze you in before 9/30. At some point they called me and told me I could pick up earlier than 9/29; I think today might have been the earliest date. I didn't change it just because I have so much other shit going on, but I'm wondering if my car is sitting out in Tysons Corner.

"Now Tesla Has a Delivery Problem"
https://jalopnik.com/now-tesla-has-a...lem-1829105380

[SARAFIL]

Originally Posted by wdc330i

"Now Tesla Has a Delivery Problem"
https://jalopnik.com/now-tesla-has-a...lem-1829105380

Seems like a new issue every few weeks for Tesla - a lot of growing pains, seems like reality is starting to sink in that effectively building, selling and servicing high volumes requires more than just some big picture visionary thinking. Looks like they shuffled around some senior leaders a few weeks ago but wonder if Musk’s ego will truly let him get out of the way and delegate the operational details to people that truly get it.

[rumatt]

Originally Posted by JST

LOL that's dumb.

I'm really surprised they're not trying to squeeze you in before 9/30.

I suspect they would have if they could, but they're just backed up.

I do believe it's not random that the moment I switched to fully loaded I had a car assigned. Since delivery is now they bottleneck they are unloading the most expensive vehicles first.

Regarding the delivery problem... My sales guy even told me that the shipments they have coming in dwarf anything they had ever seen before and he had no idea how they were going to process them all. He said they were looking into temporary workers to deliver cars.

[JST]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

Seems like a new issue every few weeks for Tesla - a lot of growing pains, seems like reality is starting to sink in that effectively building, selling and servicing high volumes requires more than just some big picture visionary thinking. Looks like they shuffled around some senior leaders a few weeks ago but wonder if Musk’s ego will truly let him get out of the way and delegate the operational details to people that truly get it.

I've been saying since day 1 that there's a reason that the franchise dealer system was created in the first place. It's an annoying and shitty system in a lot of ways, but from the perspective of the OEM it allows them to offload a tremendous amount of logistics, end-user interaction, and financial risk.

I think Tesla will eventually have to bring in retail "partners" to help with this process; they can't do what they are doing long-term, I don't think.

OTOH, Apple has continued to maintain a giant retail operation when nearly all other manufacturers have gone the other way, so maybe there is space to keep doing what Tesla is doing, if they do it right.

As for the delivery process, there's a lot of sturm und drang about it, and I've run into some hiccups in terms of communication internally, but by and large I've been impressed with the process so far.

[robg]

Originally Posted by JST

I've been saying since day 1 that there's a reason that the franchise dealer system was created in the first place. It's an annoying and shitty system in a lot of ways, but from the perspective of the OEM it allows them to offload a tremendous amount of logistics, end-user interaction, and financial risk.



I think Tesla will eventually have to bring in retail "partners" to help with this process; they can't do what they are doing long-term, I don't think.



OTOH, Apple has continued to maintain a giant retail operation when nearly all other manufacturers have gone the other way, so maybe there is space to keep doing what Tesla is doing, if they do it right.



As for the delivery process, there's a lot of sturm und drang about it, and I've run into some hiccups in terms of communication internally, but by and large I've been impressed with the process so far.

Agree. Good point on Apple but the logistics involved in selling and repairing phones/accessories/computers seem less challenging than doing so with vehicles. One obvious difference is the amount of space required. The density of product in an Apple store is one of the keys to their success.

[rumatt]

I dunno.

1. I hate middlemen in general, unless they are truly necessary.

2. Car buying and repair is notoriously unpleasant and one of the worst reputations out there for retail customer experiences.

I really like what he's attempting to do with it, for multiple reasons. The buying experience so far has unlike any other, and in a good way.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by robg

Agree. Good point on Apple but the logistics involved in selling and repairing phones/accessories/computers seem less challenging than doing so with vehicles. One obvious difference is the amount of space required. The density of product in an Apple store is one of the keys to their success.

All true, but...

Another significant difference is that Apple was a mature business when they launched their retail operations. While they've had massive growth since then and the business itself has changed in major ways, they were not brand new at doing everything at the time.

Tesla is still new, trying to do a lot of things in non-standard ways, and facing stiff opposition to some of them in addition to other dealing with regular pressures and those brought on by a megalomaniac showrunner with multiple priorities.

I have no doubt that Tesla can do a fully owned and scaled up operation while skipping the franchise model altogether. A lot of things have to come together to make it happen.