Tag: car update

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

Last week I wrote about the date slippage in the delivery timeframe for my Tesla. The original date window that had actual dates was Aug 14-Sep 3. That’s slipped, but not as much as I noted last week. As I returned from vacation, I got a notice that the window was set for Sep 7-9. What’s more, I had a VIN assigned, so I’m guessing the car is in, or near production. My guess it got built sometime this week (Aug 30-Sep3) and then dropped on a truck to arrive in Denver.

That means from the earliest date, I’m slipped about three weeks and from the last date of that window, I’ve slipped a week. Not bad, and I’m definitely excited. The only downside is that I may be out of town on the 8th/9th, so I may have to schedule the pickup for Sep 13/14.

A couple days later, I saw the date move again: Sep 2-Sep 8, so the car was definitely built and scheduled in some way to make it’s way from CA to CO.

Then on Sept 1, I got an email saying that I could schedule the pickup. This was an automated tool, which only allowed me to schedule the 10th or 11th. Not the 9th, and not even the 13th.

Strange.

I reached out to the local Tesla store and told them I had a trip scheduled for those days. They ended up saying they do think the car will be there the 7th, and we scheduled a late afternoon pickup for that day.

Less than a week now.

The other item that changed was a notice when I signed in to check the date at the end of August. I got the statement that radar was being removed from this evolution of the car, which I’d see in the news. All of the Model 3/Ys built in late Q2 or Q3 (or most of them) would not have radar. A little disconcerting, but what do I know about the science of a self-driving, or assisted driving car.

I had to agree this was OK, which I’m assuming means that my car got dropped into the official build queue when I clicked that.

So far, I don’t know that I think about this, but I’ll see how the car drives and reacts in my care. To me, I’m mostly worried about tracking cars around me and deer/wildlife out in the country. I’m not expecting or looking for full self driving, nor do I plan on adding that for the time being. If I take road trips, I might try out the monthly subscription and see, but for now, I’m really looking to just enjoy the acceleration when I need it and the cool features of driving a big computer around.

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y. If you are thinking of ordering one, I’ve got a referral code. You get 1,000 free Supercharger miles and so do I. Use: http://ts.la/john92950

I ordered a Tesla Model Y in May 2021. I wrote about the decision a bit, and as of this date, I haven’t gotten the car yet. When I took the test drive, the salesman noted that cars would likely be delivered in August then. Maybe July, but likely August to September. I ordered that night, May 21.

I didn’t track this explicitly, but the first time I checked on Jun 1, I had a month range. Here is the summary of what I’d seen as the possible delivery dates. The first date is the day I checked.

• May 22 – July-Sept
• Jun 1 – Aug-Sept
• Jul 6 – Aug 14-Sep 3
• Jul 18 – Aug 15 – Sep 4
• Jul 23 – Aug 18 – Sep 10
• Jul 30- Aug 21 – Sep 10
• Aug 4 – Aug 26 – Sep 15
• Aug 10 – Aug 27 – Sep 16
• Aug 16 – Aug 26 – Sep 15
• Aug 18 – Aug 27- Sep 15
• Aug 19 – Aug 28 – Sep 16

Mostly things have slipped, but last week things improved by a day. I can’t imagine how hard it is to predict these days, given a large manufacturing environment. I do like seeing the updates, and I don’t think they need to keep emailing me. It’s a few minutes to check if I want to know.

As I get closer, I keep checking daily. I’m out of town this week, so having it slip to Aug 30 at the earliest is fine.

When I checked on Jun 1, this was when I saw a story that the third quarter was sold out. When I looked at the ordering process, the estimate in the tool was October, so I was glad we’d ordered that day. Not to mention May 22 had a $500 price increase, and a few more since.

When I started this process, delivery was November, and when I checked the date for my last post, things were delivering in December. This week I saw a note that you can’t get a Model Y in the US before 2022 right now, in mid August.

Priorities and Changes

One thing I’ve seen a few people note is that the higher priced models, the performance ones, sometimes will jump in line ahead of the cheaper ones. I have the lower Model Y version, the longer range one. There is no standard range one right now.

I understand Tesla might want to get those cars out quicker, as they add more to the bottom line, but I don’t know how many they’d have to prioritize to make a material difference. I certainly do think that the Plaid Model S and Model X might get re-prioritized slightly by cost rather than order date, but I don’t really know.

Just as likely, in my mind, is a glitch in their process and their picking the dates they send to customers.

I don’t feel too upset that a couple week slippage has appeared from the first date. It gives me a little more time to get prepared and get money ready, as quite a bit is due at delivery. Plus I am doing some work getting my old car ready to sell.

Other Possibilities

I saw a Ford Mach-E recently at the gym. At first I thought it was a Model Y with a Mustang badge on the front. I walked around, and realized it was a Ford. It’s nice looking.

If you order this, with the standard range version (230mi range), it’s 16+ weeks on the Ford site. If you want extended range, 302 miles, it’s 24+ weeks. That’s longer than Tesla.

I got a mailer about the BMW Electric cars, and that caught my eye. They don’t deliver until next summer.

I considered a Polestar 2, but I was a bit concerned that it’s another 1.0 car, and not a lot of charging infrastructure, plus lower range. Those say delivery in September, which is good.

Ultimately, no one has a track record here, and as I’ve watched the Bolt, the Leaf, Tesla, and other cars, it takes time to work out bugs. I think especially with the software, which is what I’m most concerned about.

Summary

I’m camping this week, so even if the car were available Aug 26, I couldn’t get it until next week. I’m hoping I get an update sometime while I’m in South Dakota that gives me a specific date when I can go pick it up. Hopefully this is the week of Aug 30 or Sep 6.

I’m certainly excited and ready.

Video versions of these posts on My Colorado Tesla Experience Channel. You can see all of these posts by following the Tesla tag.

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y. If you are thinking of ordering one, I’ve got a referral code. You get 1,000 free Supercharger miles and so do I. Use: http://ts.la/john92950

I’ve never ordered a car before. My Dad ordered one when I was a kid, picking out the options at the showroom and then having the car appear a few months later. I thought that was cool and looked forward to the day when I could do that.

Fast forward 40-some years, and I’ve never done that. Instead, I’ve tended to get lots of used cars. I think I’ve owned 30 cars, and while a few were new, all were off the lot. I have gone to a dealer intending to buy and picking from available models. I’ve also gone for a specific car and set of options and purchased that one. In all those cases, I might have some some research, but in a short period of time I had a car I could drive. I think the quickest was about 20 minutes for a lease and the longest for 5-6 hours of waiting and being annoyed at inefficient salespeople and finance managers.

The Tesla Sales Experience

There isn’t a Tesla lot. There are some dealer stores, but they are more like retail stores, where you can see a car, schedule a test drive, but you don’t get a car that day. There are some used Teslas available, but I don’t know how quickly you could get one for yourself.

Instead, you order a Tesla online. You can do this at the store, with a salesperson, or do it at home, but the process is the same. You go to Tesla.com and then pick a model. You click “Order Now” and then decide on your options. This is similar to other car manufacturers, but Tesla has relatively few choices.

This is my process, which I followed from the comfort of my home at 10pm on a Friday night.

My Decisions

To get started, you go to Tesla.com and then pick your model. On every page, and in every section on the car, there is an “Order now” button.

In my case, I wanted a Model Y. For this model, there are only two choices, as of mid 2021. There is the long range version with AWD and the performance version. I was more concerned with range, and could live with a 1s slower 0-60 time.

I selected this car and then the options went to the color. The default white is no charge, but all other colors cost more. I chose, or rather my wife wanted, the dark silver. We live on gravel roads, and white / black cars don’t look good. Something similar to road dust us better

Note: Red is $2k more, the others $1k.

Next is wheels. I’m not a big wheel guy. I think some look nice, and the 20” induction ones are good looking and $2k more, but everyone notes they are a stiffer ride and chip/damage easily. I’m find with 19” wheels. Cheaper for tires, and for a second winter set.

The next section asks if you want a tow hitch. I don’t plan on towing, as we have other vehicles to do this. If I need one, I can get a small hitch from a third party for less, and really, I don’t plan on towing anything with lights. Mostly this would be a bike/ski rack, so I’m skipping this option.

The default interior is black, which I am fine with. It will show less dirt. White looks nice, but it doesn’t fit my lifestyle. This is a $1k option. For the seating, I’ve seen 7 seats in many cars, including my X5’s model, and the back seats aren’t usable. Plus, it’s $3k and my dogs won’t like the seats. They prefer the open space.

The last option is Full self driving. I’m not sold on most of this, and it’s $10k. Plus it’s in beta. The recent updates from actual drivers on the latest beta haven’t been great, so I’ll skip this.

Since Tesla is somewhat building to match demand, you’ll likely need to wait a period of time. I caught the beginning of a sales boom, where demand is far outpacing. When I ordered in May, the estimate was July. It’s not late August. Here, for an order shown late in July, it’s December, and my guess is you’d get a car in January.

If you click this, you get a summary, shown below. You also decide whether you want to buy it, get a loan, or a lease. You then can put your $100 down, and your terms are set.

I chose a loan, which defaults to $4500 down. That’s fine for me, and once I paid my $100, Tesla started to send me emails and give me further steps, like filling out the credit app, choosing a delivery location, and prepping for insurance. These were things I needed to do, and I liked getting reminders when I’d forgotten some.

I still haven’t done the insurance, which they note I need to have done to pick up the car. I’ll get that done when they give me an actual delivery date.

All in all, this was a smooth process and I look forward to getting my car. If I don’t back out.

There is also a rambling video version of this post on My Colorado Tesla Experience Channel. You can see all of these posts by following the Tesla tag.

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y. If you are thinking of ordering one, I’ve got a referral code. You get 1,000 free Supercharger miles and so do I. Use: http://ts.la/john92950

I did it. I ordered a Tesla Model Y.

Actually, I did this in mid May, after a test drive with my wife. We had been talking about it, and when she said I could seriously consider one, I scheduled a test drive. We went one afternoon, had a “touchless” test drive, where the salesman at the store walked us to the car and then let us take it out.

After we both drove it for 15-20 minutes, we returned and my wife said “why don’t we have one of these?” I agreed, and when we got home, I ordered the car. It was good timing, as I woke up to an announcement that Tesla had raised the price by $500 that morning. Since then they’ve increased the price again, so I’m glad I ordered the car.

I’m writing (and video blogging) about the process from the standpoint of someone that isn’t an early adopter, isn’t necessarily a Tesla fan, but have been watching the evolution of the company and their products. I’ll add more posts about the process as I think of the experience and how I’m approaching it.

For now, I’m expecting the car in the next 30ish days, so I am finally starting to prepare for the delivery of the car. This is the first car I’ve ordered, and it’s both exciting and a little nerve-wracking at times.

It’s a new paradigm, and I have some range anxiety, a bit of cost concern, and anticipation for the driving experience. All of those are affecting my life to some extent.

Here’s the car I ordered:

• 2021 Model Y, Long Range AWD
• Metallic gray exterior, black interior
• 19″ standard wheels
• 5 Seat, no hitch, no FSD.

It’s going to be interesting, one way or the other.

If you want to see a rambling video version of this post, you can see my “I ordered a Tesla” video on My Colorado Tesla Experience Channel. You can see all of these posts by following the Tesla tag.