Tesla Model 3 customers canceling their orders

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Some Tesla customers who file a deposit for a Model 3 are agitated and ask for their refund.

In 2016, when Tesla unveiled Model 3, CEO Elon Musk said that shipments of the $ 35,000 vehicle would begin at the end of 2017. Up to now, more than 450,000 bookings have been made for the model 3.

Tesla 1,764 Model 3 in 2017, and after the first quarter of 2018, Tesla had delivered a total of 9,946, which indicates that many reservation holders could be faced with a significant expectation for the vehicle .

And the most affordable version of the car will only be available between September and December, according to a timeline given by Musk in May. Rebecca Lindland, executive badyst at Kelley Blue Book, said she did not think Tesla would meet that deadline.

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"I do not believe it for a second," she told Business Insider.

Lindland said that she reserved a model 3 in part because she admired Musk and his ambitions to improve the automotive, energy and energy industries. from the space-trip.

However, as production delays reduced vehicle delivery estimates, Lindland canceled the reservation nearly two years after making the deposit. She said that she was not sure when less expensive versions of the vehicle would be available with a four-wheel drive configuration.

"I like the idea of ​​having a hybrid or electric, but I'm not going to break the bank on one," she said.

A Tesla representative told Business Insider that all Model 3 reservation holders in the United States and Canada could order Model 3 rear-wheel and all-wheel drive versions with a long-range battery, as well as than the performance version. The base model of $ 35,000 is not yet available on order, said the representative.

Some customers have tired of waiting

Justin Pritchard / Associated Press

The extended waiting of the vehicle also made Tim Knight, a California-based financial journalist and stock trader, a second badumption of his reserve.

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"In my head, I was beginning to dissuade it," Knight says.

Knight owns an S model, which he described as "formidable and flawless," and he said that he believed that Model 3 would offer similar value at a fraction of the cost. He made his reservation close to the first day's orders, but he said he was worried about Model 3 while waiting was dragging on.

Knight said that he thought the delay meant that the vehicle would have problems once it was shipped, and realized that after paying for the improvements and the Optional features that he wanted, the price of the vehicle would look like he preferred when he was ready to buy another car.

After more than a year on the waiting list, Knight canceled his reservation.

"I see them quite often now, and I have never really regretted losing my place in the queue," he said.

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For some clients, such as Charles Tam, regulatory liaison for a medical device company that lives near Toronto, the expectation of Model 3 left enough time for him and his wife to have their third child they would need a bigger vehicle. Over a period of two years, Tam will book a model 3 and will retire from the list twice.

In early 2018, Tam says that he and his wife decided that a model X would be better suited to their family than model 3, but after they realized that they would not be able to get a model X in a month, they opted for Honda Pilot Touring.

"It did not question technology or design or anything – the cars are fantastic," said Tam. "We needed something more immediate."

Tesla declined to comment on the number of cancellations they received.

Waiting brought benefits for other customers

Hollis Johnson / Business Insider

For other customers, the extended wait for Model 3 made them more enthusiastic about the vehicle or gave them time to prepare for its financial impact.

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Erwin Lara, a fire safety and training consultant who lives in California, has been waiting more than two years for model 3. This has given him plenty of time to decide what features he wants and he has Finished permit to pay for his wife's car.

"For my situation, it worked perfectly," he said.

Jonathan Wei, who works in the tech industry in Texas, booked a model 3 in March 2016 and said that he had become more excited about the car after watching videos YouTube made by people who received their model 3. He received his invitation to configure his model 3 in April and, after Tesla missed the delivery time that he gave him and that he did an error on his paperwork, he should soon receive the vehicle.

Various delays left an impression on him, but he said that he thinks the car will justify his frustration.

"It's a relationship of hate and love, it's very frustrating to wait so long," he said. "I think when I'll have it, I'll be very happy, I think it's a very good car."