4 ms·

Lol, guy angling for a free car. Sorry your discount scheme didn't work out. Pay retail like the majority of the retail public.

dkokelley 11y ago
I'm sorry your comment is being buried, because I think you do bring up a good point. This was not the usual Tesla process for purchases. The author wanted an "inventory" car at a discount. Now because Tesla offers this option, they are responsible for fulfilling the process, and the author's concerns do seem valid. However, this is not the usual process for purchasing a Tesla, so it's likely that this is not the usual experience for the "full retail" customers. The CEO taking your car from the "inventory Tesla purchase program" is an edge case of an edge case, so it makes sense that nobody knew what to do. The process still needs to be fixed though.
- dangrossman 11y ago
  This isn't a special process. "Buy New Today", "Buy Pre-Owned Today" (which is where the showroom models are) and "Custom Order" are in the same top-level menu on Tesla's website, which is where you buy their cars, whether you're at home or in a showroom at their computer. Whichever you click, you choose a car, make a deposit right there, and are given an order confirmation and an account. It's the same process, and you have the same "full retail experience", no matter which of the three pages you started your order at. He even included screenshots of his account in the "My Tesla" portal, just like any other customer that ordered a car from them.
  - dkokelley 11y ago
    While the "Buy Pre-Owned Today" option is given equal weight on the website, I specifically am referring to what happens on the back end. When you buy new, a new car is configured to your liking. I have to imagine Tesla's fulfillment operations are arranged primarily around this case (take new "shell" car, install customer-selected options, deliver to customer). It's the same process only in what the customer sees. And I'll agree that the customer should get a similar experience from a similar process. Tesla seems to have failed in this case. However, it's clearly not the same process on Tesla's end. Selling an inventory car is a subset of the pre-owned car sales process, and selling a specific inventory car that was somehow (erroneously?) available for R&D is a very specific case. Has the car been made road ready? Have they removed any beta features that are not for the public? This is a special process. However, since Tesla offers the option, it is their responsibility to ensure they can deliver.
- unethical_ban 11y ago
  The parent is blaming the victim. Buying used is not special, and they clearly have mechanisms in place. No one at Tesla took responsibility (or felt empowered to) for the error and raise it to higher levels of management. Someone should have immediately said "Crap, a customer's car just got requisitioned. Let's take this up to the top so they can work on it."

dkokelley 11y ago

I'm sorry your comment is being buried, because I think you do bring up a good point. This was not the usual Tesla process for purchases. The author wanted an "inventory" car at a discount. Now because Tesla offers this option, they are responsible for fulfilling the process, and the author's concerns do seem valid. However, this is not the usual process for purchasing a Tesla, so it's likely that this is not the usual experience for the "full retail" customers. The CEO taking your car from the "inventory Tesla purchase program" is an edge case of an edge case, so it makes sense that nobody knew what to do. The process still needs to be fixed though.

dangrossman 11y ago
This isn't a special process. "Buy New Today", "Buy Pre-Owned Today" (which is where the showroom models are) and "Custom Order" are in the same top-level menu on Tesla's website, which is where you buy their cars, whether you're at home or in a showroom at their computer. Whichever you click, you choose a car, make a deposit right there, and are given an order confirmation and an account. It's the same process, and you have the same "full retail experience", no matter which of the three pages you started your order at. He even included screenshots of his account in the "My Tesla" portal, just like any other customer that ordered a car from them.
- dkokelley 11y ago
  While the "Buy Pre-Owned Today" option is given equal weight on the website, I specifically am referring to what happens on the back end. When you buy new, a new car is configured to your liking. I have to imagine Tesla's fulfillment operations are arranged primarily around this case (take new "shell" car, install customer-selected options, deliver to customer). It's the same process only in what the customer sees. And I'll agree that the customer should get a similar experience from a similar process. Tesla seems to have failed in this case. However, it's clearly not the same process on Tesla's end. Selling an inventory car is a subset of the pre-owned car sales process, and selling a specific inventory car that was somehow (erroneously?) available for R&D is a very specific case. Has the car been made road ready? Have they removed any beta features that are not for the public? This is a special process. However, since Tesla offers the option, it is their responsibility to ensure they can deliver.
unethical_ban 11y ago
The parent is blaming the victim. Buying used is not special, and they clearly have mechanisms in place. No one at Tesla took responsibility (or felt empowered to) for the error and raise it to higher levels of management. Someone should have immediately said "Crap, a customer's car just got requisitioned. Let's take this up to the top so they can work on it."