Did you reserve a Tesla Model 3 ?

[kubel]

I reserved after the unveiling. I didn't want to be like the other 115,000 people who blindly raised their hand for a product that they never saw only because it had a Tesla halo surrounding its name.

Since we are close to 2 years from first deliveries (and likely 4+ years from my delivery), I think it's likely that I'll pull out and go with another product like the Bolt or LEAF. My gas car has 130,000 miles on it, and while I'm sure I can squeeze another 30,000 miles out of it without any issues, I'm not sure I *want* to do that.

 

[gbarry42]

I have never camped out in front of a store before. Yet, there I was, Wednesday evening (wife's idea, same as the LEAF was). For our efforts we finished our reservation at 10:12, right behind Tony Williams. San Diego UTC was one of those extreme events, with 50 overnighters, 100 people at daybreak, and over 300 just by the time the store opened.

As the owner of a Prius and a LEAF, it's easy to see that I would order a car regardless of its looks!

Put down $1000. Got a cookie!

 

[evnow]

I reserved after the unveiling. I didn't want to be like the other 115,000 people who blindly raised their hand for a product that they never saw only because it had a Tesla halo surrounding its name.

I think we knew quite a bit. We knew its size, its price, its range. We knew it would be fast and it would have family resemblance in terms of how it looked. So, I think it was much more than blind allegiance. For eg. if Apple were to come up with their EV, I'd be interested - and will reserve - even though I've never owned an Apple product (except for cheap used iPod I bought to use with Leaf).

 

[garsh]

I think we knew quite a bit. We knew its size, its price, its range.

Exactly. Plus, we knew that the $1000 was fully refundable at any time, so it would be easy to back out if we didn't like something.

Then there's the fact that I bought a Leaf *despite* it's awful looks.

As the owner of a Prius and a LEAF, it's easy to see that I would order a car regardless of its looks!

Heh. Yeah, me too. I still believe that the Leaf is the ugliest car I've ever owned, and one of the ugliest available.
But, I really wanted to own an electric car. I haven't been disappointed - it's been a fine commuter, but now I'd like an electric car that can handle all of my trips.

 

[lasvegas95]

Drove by the Vegas store at 8:30am and there were about 50+ people in line. Had a meeting at 10 so couldn't stay. Called at 11am and they said line was around the corner. Went in at 2pm and walked right in. They were very nice. Said the line was over 100 people at one point. Just happy to get my reservation in before the online ones.

 

[ColumbiaRiverGorge]

I reserved a model 3 on Friday when it got to 198,000 orders as my original plan was to take delivery in 2020, after 9-10 years of my '11Leaf. I don't know if my model three will arrive before 2020, but I figured if I waited longer to reserve who knows how long it would take to get. They are now at 275,000 reservations but I am on the west coast so that should help. My Leaf is going to need a new battery in the next year and then I'll keep driving it until the 3 arrives. I doubt I'll get the federal tax credit? Either way this is my next car.

 

[Valdemar]

I had mixed feelings about not putting a deposit but given the latest numbers I feel better about it, as it surely feels like everyone will have one in the area I live in. After all driving a Leaf may be a better option than driving a plebeian Tesla

 

[xan]

I reserved mine online as soon as the car first got unveiled. I regret not having done so sooner, but I estimate I am about 100,000 in queue (not counting all the Tesla owners that will get priority), considering I ordered about a minute and a half before Elon said 115,000 reservations have already been taken.

Depending on what Nissan announces for 2017, many of those preorders (mine included) could get canceled and refunded.

 

[garsh]

Depending on what Nissan announces for 2017, many of those preorders (mine included) could get canceled and refunded.

I guess that's possible, but I don't see it happening.

The Model 3 is a sleek sporty sedan. The Leaf is an econobox. There will be some amount of cross-shopping since they are both electric vehicles, but otherwise this would be like a consumer deciding between a BMW 3-series and a Honda Fit. They're very different vehicles that really shouldn't end up eating into each other's markets.

I think Nissan's main worry will be the Bolt. If Nissan can't offer more range for less money, then Leaf V2 is probably going to flop. I hope they can provide a compelling offering. I was glad to see Nissan as a first-mover in electric cars, and I hope they can remain as one of the leaders.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

^ They'll have to do a lot to keep the excitement level up over the coming months and years to keep people in the boat. Even if they start deliveries on time, most folks will be waiting 3-5 years for their cars.

A new Leaf could be substantially cooler if Nissan wanted it to be, but I'd be surprised if they made that big a course correction. Probably have to call it something other than "Leaf"; something along the lines of that infiniti idea they floated a while back could be a possibility if they could get 60kwh into it. We already know what the Bolt is going to look like; not nearly as dorky as a Leaf, but still screams practicality rather than projecting the "personal luxury sedan" image ala BMW 3 series.

Not to mention the supercharger network, which may turn out to be Tesla's biggest differentiator. GM, Nissan, BMW, you name it, all seem to think owners will be content relying on an ad hoc patchwork of local do-gooder charging infrastructure that's totally unreliable along with some crappy facilities at dealers where you may or may not be welcome, ICEd, or just generally a lousy place to hang around for 45 minutes.

I don't see any of these putting a dent in the Tesla 3. This is Tesla's game to lose, it will all come down to delivering, a delivering with quality.

 

[garsh]

Not to mention the supercharger network, which may turn out to be Tesla's biggest differentiator. GM, Nissan, BMW, you name it, all seem to think owners will be content relying on an ad hoc patchwork of local do-gooder charging infrastructure that's totally unreliable along with some crappy facilities at dealers where you may or may not be welcome, ICEd, or just generally a lousy place to hang around for 45 minutes.

This! This is the big differentiator for a long-range EV.

When I need gas, I know I can go to any gas station using my GPS and get gas. I might have to wait 5 minutes if there's a line, but that's it.

When I have a Tesla, I know I can go to any supercharger and get a charge. I might have to wait 30 minutes if it's busy (and yes, that sucks if you're in a hurry). And there's also the possibility of it being ICEd, but they tend to be located in locations that are not overly popular for ICE parking.

If I need a charge in my Leaf, I have NO IDEA if the L2 charging station that my GPS is steering me towards is available. It may be on a dealer lot which is inaccessible on a Sunday. It may require a payment or a membership card that I don't possess. It may be in the middle of a very popular parking lot and ICED (I experienced this when trying to charge at a Whole Foods charger). I need to actually investigate the location ahead of time, and possibly call the owner, to know if I can rely on it. That is a huge planning overhead when you start talking about longer-range driving.

 

[aarond12]

There was one thing I really, truly missed going from my Mitsubishi i-MiEV to my Nissan LEAF: REAR-WHEEL DRIVE. Being able to take off, especially while turning, without wheelspin is so nice. It's great that I will once again have real-wheel drive in 2020 when my Model 3 gets built.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Apparently, there are now over 300,000 deposits for the Model 3.

 

[xan]

Not to mention the supercharger network, which may turn out to be Tesla's biggest differentiator. GM, Nissan, BMW, you name it, all seem to think owners will be content relying on an ad hoc patchwork of local do-gooder charging infrastructure that's totally unreliable along with some crappy facilities at dealers where you may or may not be welcome, ICEd, or just generally a lousy place to hang around for 45 minutes.

This! This is the big differentiator for a long-range EV.

Really a great point. Don't get me wrong, I am sure I would like the Model 3 more than a gen 2 Leaf. But if Nissan swallowed its pride and allowed gen 2 Leafs to use Superchargers, that would be a huge bonus for the Leaf.

Perhaps I will lease a gen 2 Leaf or a Prius Prime (not really interested in the Bolt) and then when lease time is up, it may be finally time to take delivery of my Model 3.

 

[webeleafowners]

We thought about it VERY seriously right up till last week. But the 5 seat non convertible thing is holding us up. We took a 2016 30 KW leaf for a drive while we were topping up the smart car ED before a little longer than normal trip at the Nissan dealer and really liked it but for us it is huge and we NEVER use the back seat. The 2017 Leaf will be more than enough range for us. Really 120 miles or 200 KM would be fine. I think the new smart 453 will be somewhere around there and would probably be a good fit for us and a little more affordable. (Would like to have the house paid off by 2020). Time will tell. The 2017 leaf would probably sit nice in the driveway beside the 451 smart though. Just got to get over that lack of convertible thing.

 

[garsh]

But if Nissan swallowed its pride and allowed gen 2 Leafs to use Superchargers, that would be a huge bonus for the Leaf.

I know Tesla has released various patents, but have they actually offered Supercharger network access to other manufacturers? Since Musk's goal is widespread EV adoption, I would think Tesla would have, but I've never read anything to that effect.

 

[cwerdna]

But if Nissan swallowed its pride and allowed gen 2 Leafs to use Superchargers, that would be a huge bonus for the Leaf.

I know Tesla has released various patents, but have they actually offered Supercharger network access to other manufacturers? Since Musk's goal is widespread EV adoption, I would think Tesla would have, but I've never read anything to that effect.

From https://chargedevs.com/newswire/elon-musk-tesla-is-in-talks-with-other-automakers-about-sharing-the-supercharger-network/

Competing fast charging standards are a major impediment to electric road trips. If Tesla’s vast Supercharger network could be used by other automakers’ EVs, it would do much to remove this roadblock. Elon Musk has discussed this possibility in the past, and at a recent press conference in Germany, he hinted that it may soon become a reality.

“Our Supercharger network is not intended to be a walled garden,” said Musk. “It’s intended to be available to other manufacturers if they’d like to use it. The only requirements are that the cars must be able to take the power output of our Superchargers, and then just pay whatever their proportion their usage is of the system. We’re actually in talks with some manufacturers about doing just that, and it will be exciting to share that news.”

From a year before that
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/184141-tesla-reveals-plan-to-share-supercharger-network-with-other-electric-car-makers

When asked by a UK journalist for Pocket-lint what kind of sharing arrangement he envisioned, Musk responded that he specifically wants to avoid the walled garden effect with Supercharger technology, and that the main barrier to universal adoption by other EVs is whether or not other vehicles can accept the power level that a Supercharger delivers. Musk also noted that other manufacturers that want to use the Supercharger network would have to adopt the same cost structure. Currently, Supercharger users don’t pay for a fill-up; Musk has stated that each adoptee would need to contribute capital costs “proportional to their fleet’s usage of the network.”

It would have to be a deal between both Nissan and Tesla. And, I wouldn't be surprised if Tesla would want a licensing fee/access fee per vehicle just like it was $2K to enable it on the 60 kWh Model S at purchase time or $2.5K afterward: http://shop.teslamotors.com/products/enable-supercharging

Re: patents, AFAIK, no (major) automaker has taken up Tesla on their patent offer: https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you. I don't know the legal details and what the user would have to give up. And, what if Elon's gone? Would the company still honor it and not sue/demand licensing fees after the fact?

As many of us have said, Elon's good at hype.

 

[TimLee]

Really poor poll to not include options for those that did NOT make a reservation.

 

[redLEAF]

Really poor poll to not include options for those that did NOT make a reservation.

It would actually be OK if it was rephrased to read something like:

'If you reserved a Tesla Model 3 how and when did you do it ...'

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Why not collect reasons for all the people who didn't order one?

- Still too expensive
- Too long to wait
- Didn't want to risk $ on an uncertain company
etc