Tesla Model 3 customers canceling their orders

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 the $ 35,000 vehicle shipments would begin at the end of 2017. Tesla delivered 1,764 3 models in 2017 and, after the first quarter of 2018, Tesla had delivered a total of 9,946 models 3, indicating that many model 3 reservation holders (there were over 450,000 reservations) may be facing a significant wait 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 analyst at Kelley Blue Book, said she does not think Tesla will meet this deadline.

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

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Lindland stated that she was reserving a model 3, in part, because she admired Musk and his ambitions to improve the automotive, automotive and automotive industries. Energy and space.

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.

Some customers are tired of waiting

Tim Knight, a financial journalist and stock trader who lives in California, was also subject to a long wait.

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

Knight owns an S model, which he called "formidable and flawless," and says that he believed that Model 3 would provide similar value to Model S at a fraction of the cost. He made his reservation near the first day the orders opened, but he said that he had become preoccupied with Model 3 while waiting was dragging on.

Knight said that he thought that the delay meant that the vehicle would have problems once it was shipped and realized that after paying for the improvements and optional features that were made, it was not a problem. he wanted, the price of the vehicle would look like that of a Model S used. he preferred when he was ready to buy another car. After more than a year on the waiting list, Knight canceled his booking.

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

For some clients, such as Charles Tam, regulatory liaison for a medical device company who lives near Toronto, waiting for Model 3 left enough time for him and his wife to have a third child. vehicle. Over a period of two years, Tam would make a reservation for a Model 3 and retire from the list twice.

At the beginning of the year 2018, Tam stated that he and his wife decided that Model X would be better suited to their family than Model 3, but that they would realize that they could not get an X model in a month, they opted for a Honda Pilot Touring.

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

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

The wait has brought benefits for other customers

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, waited over two years for model 3, which gave him plenty of time to decide what features he wants and he 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 says that he became more excited about the car after watching YouTube videos made by customers 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 it and that he made a mistake 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."