Early Adopters - Would you do it again?

[Tesla Newbie]

We plan to give our Model 3 a brother when the Model Y is available. We reserved the 3 in June 2016, almost three months after many of you, and had a car in late July of this year. While the wait was excruciating at times, I did get the feeling that those who got their cars earlier suffered some pain of early adoption and worked out problems that I never experienced. (Thank you guys!)

That said, I tend to be an early adopter. I’m the kind of guy who gets up at 2am to order the shiny new phones and always have the latest computers. The only reason I didn’t wait in line for the 3 was that I hadn’t joined the Tesla fan club at that point and didn’t know what I was missing.

So, my question to the early adopters is simple. Are you glad you ordered when you did and we’re able to get one of the first cars produced? Or do you wish you had waited a bit to give Tesla a little time to sort out the bugs? Of course we also have the complication that due to some crazy twist of fate many 1st-day-reservers waited for their cars longer than those of us who reserved months later. It’s hard to get excited about a day 1 reservation if experience tells us it may not make any difference.

Truthfully, I’ll probably wait in line for the Y because that’s who I am, but I’d appreciate your thoughts regardless.

 

[SoFlaModel3]

My VIN is 5950 from early February, so I’m sure that’s early enough for your inquiry. I have no regrets. I like white interior, though it’s still not available on RWD at this time and I wanted RWD.

Whether your early adopter or not, Tesla is always changing features and functionality so they’re never for the feint of heart.

I couldn’t be more happy with my car if I tried. It’s an absolute dream. The service has been fantastic. I’m treated like a million bucks when I go into the showroom. It’s been so great we ordered another for my wife and it comes in 9 days!

 

[MelindaV]

Being that I reserved in the first few hours the reservations opened, do not have a car, delivery date or VIN yet and others who did not reserve but ordered in July or August already are driving, I really do not think I would be an early reservation buyer again. What was the point?

 

[garsh]

If you already have your Model 3, then you too are an early adopter.

Seriously, anybody who is getting a Model 3 within the first two years is going to have to put up with all kinds of issues. If you're not the kind of person who can deal with that, then wait another year before ordering one.

 

[kort677]

after 3 teslas I've learned that this car builder is unlike any other when it comes to change, the technology is going to change rapidly and what are the top features today could be surpassed tomorrow (literally).
you cannot play the I got screwed game when some sort of upgrade happens, to be redundant changes to the car, it's abilities and sales packages ARE guaranteed to change with little if any notice.

 

[GDN]

It's been noted, and I guess it's about your definition of early adopter, but my VIN in the 23XXX was built on May 25 and so far the car has been great, almost 100% perfect. Again, depends on your definition, but we obviously still see cars built with VIN's 4 times mine, in the 100,000 range, and are having issues. Will Tesla ever improve that quality? We don't know. Their software and hardware components and technology will always evolve, and change on a monthly if not weekly basis. it is good and bad, but with an extreme few cases, I think most every had been taken care of by Tesla, the problems fixed, the issues resolved. These cars continually improve, just with SW updates. I have no regrets and would do it again.

 

[Tesla Newbie]

Thanks for the comments. I see now that while I wrote about “early adopters”, I was really thinking about first-day line-waiters. My relatively-early VIN is in the neighborhood of 35800 and, except for the chattering wipers, I’ve had nothing to complain about. I suspect I’ll be camping outside the building when they start taking reservations for the Y, despite the inherent risks. However, if I were to repeat Malinda’s experience, I’d go insane.

 

[jsanford]

No regrets so far...but we’ll see. Glad we pulled the trigger when our invite came in.

 

[EBMCS03]

Mine is 20,XXX May 2018 build and I’m perfectly happy with it. Will I put a deposit down again? Hell no! That was a joke.

 

[redcarmom]

My car VIN is 26,9XX, I had waited in line at the Stanford mall store and was within the first 15 min of signing up, I received my invitation on 2/28/18 but initially wanted to wait for the standard battery, changed my mind so that I could get the tax credit and ordered on June 18, picked it up July 13 in Fremont. It is LR, RWD, Red, standard wheels, I initially did not get the enhanced autopilot, regretted it, and added it last week for 5500. I absolutely love the car and don't see any obvious paint defects or anything else. The adaptive cruise control has made my commute from Redwood City to Los Gatos on 280 much better and more fun.

 

[JMZMartin]

I've never been an early adopter for anything - phones, computers, televisions or previous cars. I didn't place my online reservation the first day and I had to work so I couldn't stand in line. But it was pretty early. I also wanted to wait for the standard range battery but gave in figuring the tax credit would balance some of it out and my trade it value would only continue to drop because of miles. Then I didn't order until much later after my invitation as I weighed the decision.

If I had to do it over I would have just placed an order in late August or even right now if the paint and delivery prices hadn't increased. That way I would have avoided all the self-induced stress from reading every communication and delivery horror story. Those experiences are certainly valid for those people but I wish I had gone in without that in my head if you get my meaning because I had a great delivery.

Also I would wait because my configuration is so basic I would have gotten the car around the same time with a later order. For example I met a guy at the SC in Dallas who ordered on September 1st and received his car on September 15th. My car was physically there the same day but not ready. So my reservation didn't mean all that much. Still happy with the final results though.

 

[Nikola]

I was a line-waiter and pulled the trigger the moment I got the invitation to configure. I knew there was a significant risk of software bugs, fit & finish defects, recalls, etc., but I would do it again (be an early adopter) for a product as revolutionary as this one.

I wouldn't do it for anything else. And I doubt another consumer product will come around in the next decade that matches the impact of the Model 3.

 

[lascavarian]

Interesting question. I put money down sight unseen for this new product.

It was really a risk for Tesla more than me. I could always have cancelled my reservation but Tesla put their product on the line. They developed a new battery, mixed metal body and a new motor for the model 3 and if that had gone wrong for the early folks it would not have been good. They really put a lot of pressure on themselves and they get solid props from me.

Years ago I stood in line for DOS 5 and it was such a disappointment that I left the MSFT SW world within 3 months. With the model 3 I feel the core engineering is amazingly solid. Sure there are some issues but really it has been amazingly smooth. Tesla seems to run on passion and gosh it works for them. When EM says they are made with love I think he is on to something.

 

[JoeP]

I just got my LR/Dual Motor 894 days after depositing (first day, but i didnt wait in line for the store to open), ended up with a VIN near 88K
(mainly because of the dual motor - i switched to dual motor when they originally notified me i could configure).

So far, happy with the car! Its a blast to drive! Up here in the mountains there are virtually no Teslas of every kind so every parking lot i drive into becomes a "Tesla show car" experience...

 

[Dale Gardner]

Being that I reserved in the first few hours the reservations opened, do not have a car, delivery date or VIN yet and others who did not reserve but ordered in July or August already are driving, I really do not think I would be an early reservation buyer again. What was the point?

The point was to support Tesla and the production of the vehicle. Reading the Elon Musk book, watching the Tesla documentary, reading Tesla master plan, etc. provides context about the overall mission and what is at stake. The reservations and enthusiasm were critical to the success of the project.

Because of us early reservation holders, many more people are getting Model 3 much sooner than they would have otherwise. Things played out the way they have due to the high number of reservations.

I would absolutely do it again with no hesitation. And since I just got my car yesterday, I can confirm that it was worth the wait, it's simply astounding. I'll be placing a reservation for Model Y for sure.

 

[PNWmisty]

My wife reserved during the reveal online. I thought she was crazy to put money down on an unproven car. How wrong I was! It wasn't until I was driving it the 100 miles home from the delivery center that I knew it was a keeper. Four months and 4,700 miles later and all we have done is plug it in and drive it. The build quality and paint are fantastic! We have a VIN # in the 19,000's.

Would we do it again? It looks like we would - we have a Model 3 Performance due in November! If it's as good as our first one I'll be a very happy camper.

 

[Bibs]

The point was to support Tesla and the production of the vehicle. Reading the Elon Musk book, watching the Tesla documentary, reading Tesla master plan, etc. provides context about the overall mission and what is at stake. The reservations and enthusiasm were critical to the success of the project.

Ehhhh... My counter is that it's a business, not a charity. I placed a reservation online during the reveal. While I knew that I was giving Tesla a $1000 interest-free loan, my purpose was to get the car, not to help a crusade.

 

[Lovesword]

I can say for sure I'd do it again, yes. The issues I've had with the car are minor, in hindsight. I watched the reveal and then reserved the next day... I was wavering on doing it or not, my wife and I are usually very frugal and a car is just not something we typically value highly. That all changed though last year as my wife followed me down the rabbit hole and ended up with a Model S in September 17, and 5 months later I had my Model 3.

If I could change anything it would be to somehow have had more patience and waited for the Performance, or at least the AWD. The later is something I really wanted and I still find myself configuring on Tesla's website... if only just to stare and dream.

 

[garsh]

Ehhhh... My counter is that it's a business, not a charity. I placed a reservation online during the reveal. While I knew that I was giving Tesla a $1000 interest-free loan, my purpose was to get the car, not to help a crusade.

I readily admit, I wouldn't have just loaned Tesla $1000 if it wasn't for the car.

 

[garsh]

If I could change anything it would be to somehow have had more patience and waited for the Performance, or at least the AWD.

I've only driven my Performance for 220 miles so far, so I'm still getting used to it. But it scares me.

I'm sure I'll get used to its capabilities at some point, but I have to admit that there have been a few times when I've had the thought that the RWD had more than enough performance for me and I should have just got one of them. But then I hit a straightaway, punch the accelerator, and my car scares me back into submission.