{"id":22549,"date":"2018-07-17T17:30:05","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T21:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=22549"},"modified":"2018-07-17T17:30:05","modified_gmt":"2018-07-17T21:30:05","slug":"payne-its-been-a-wild-two-years-waiting-for-my-tesla-model-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/payne-its-been-a-wild-two-years-waiting-for-my-tesla-model-3","title":{"rendered":"Payne: It&#8217;s been a wild two years waiting for my Tesla Model 3"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/56627f5e9790c71fbe5f3c7e33c8fb66dc81124b\/c=245-0-4012-2832\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/07\/10\/DetroitNews\/DetroitNews\/636668448639766284-Payne-Tesla-03.jpg?width=534&amp;height=401&amp;fit=crop\" alt=\"636668448639766284-Payne-Tesla-03.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">More than\u00a0two years ago, I put down $1,000 to reserve my place in line with 450,000 others to order the most anticipated car of the 21st century. On June 26, I finally configured my Tesla Model 3 for delivery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">No greenie, I&#8217;m a speed-addled motorhead who ordered the Model 3 out of lust for its design and electric performance. And because, as a journalist, I wanted to be a part of the most audacious auto startup in memory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The wild ride hasn&#8217;t disappointed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Model 3\u00a0has proved to be slow to market, hell to manufacture, banned from sale in Michigan, and a stage for the\u00a0brilliant, maddening, tweeting, disruptive Donald \u2014\u00a0er, Elon\u00a0Musk. Yet the car itself has not lost its allure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Billed as Tesla Inc.&#8217;s entry-segment, $35,000 electric car to the Silicon Valley automakers&#8217; premium Model S and Model X chariots, the most-affordable Model 3 trim\u00a0won&#8217;t be available until next year. My rear-wheel drive, big-battery, 310-mile-range sedan will cost\u00a0$20,000\u00a0north of the base\u00a0220-mile-range\u00a0model. It also demands substantial\u00a0upgrades to my house\u00a0to meet its charging demands \u2014 more than $2,000 worth\u00a0\u2014 a lesson in the challenges for electric-vehicle adoption.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-62\" class=\"partner-placement partner-spike partner-placement-visible ad-gray-border ad-notice ad-paramount-inline\" data-monetization-id=\"native-article_link\" data-monetization-sizes=\"fluid,3,3\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mi-detroit-C1561-native-article_link-news-opinion-64\" class=\"ad-slot\" data-google-query-id=\"CMzSn4OLp9wCFcFDNwod8LYAxw\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/native-article_link\/news\/opinion_0__container__\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/mi-detroit-C1561\/native-article_link\/news\/opinion_0\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" src=\"https:\/\/tpc.googlesyndication.com\/safeframe\/1-0-29\/html\/container.html\" name=\"\" width=\"0\" height=\"293\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-is-safeframe=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Like all communication from Tesla, my notice\u00a0came in a simple email:\u00a0&#8220;Your Model 3 is Ready to Order,&#8221;\u00a0followed by a link to tesla.com.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The email came\u00a0in the middle of my June-August order window for a $49,000 rear-wheel drive, long-range car. That&#8217;s a delay of four months from my original February-April window\u00a0(true to Musk&#8217;s promise of\u00a0&#8220;production hell&#8221; at the Model 3&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/opinion\/columnists\/henry-payne\/2016\/04\/01\/tesla-first-look\/82523348\/\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">July 2017\u00a0unveiling<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0Want the standard-range\u00a0$35,000 car? I&#8217;d have to wait another 6-9 months. Want the $53,000\u00a0all-wheel driver? Cool my heels until late 2018.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The website added a new trim: a $64,000 all-wheel drive\u00a0performance model\u00a0to rival\u00a0gas-powered rockets\u00a0like BMW&#8217;s M3 and Cadillac&#8217;s\u00a0ATS-V. Tempting, but its sticker\u00a0would push the price into nosebleed Model S territory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I stuck to my budget.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Compared to the dizzying array of options available in most cars these days, my 3 was configured\u00a0in five easy steps.<\/p>\n<div class=\"partner-outstream\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Step 1: Car.<\/strong>\u00a0All-wheel drive for Michigan winters? I like rear-wheel drive handling for twisty country roads. The\u00a0310-mile range model I chose has a 140 mph top speed and does\u00a00-60 in 5.1 seconds \u2014 among the quickest in its class.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Step 2: Exterior.<\/strong>\u00a0Any color other than plain black costs\u00a0$1,000. I chose Obsidian Black Metallic with $1,500 19-inch Sport wheels. Gotta have 19s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Step 3: Interior.<\/strong>\u00a0To paraphrase\u00a0Henry Ford on the\u00a0Model T (which also suffered production pressures due to high demand), you can have any Model 3 interior you like &#8230; as long as it&#8217;s black leather. Wood trim\u00a0and that big, beautiful Tesla tablet screen are standard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Step 4: Autopilot.\u00a0<\/strong>&#8220;Enhanced Autopilot&#8221; adds $5,000 for self-driving features like auto-lane change, adaptive cruise-control, self-park assist and a &#8220;summon&#8221; feature that allows the car to back itself out of a tight parking space without a driver at the wheel. Another $3,000 and the car would be armed for full autonomy (when the software matures) \u2014 no thanks,\u00a0we motorheads want autonomous cars like fish need bicycles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Step 5: Payment.<\/strong>\u00a0Bottom line, my Model 3 cost $56,000,\u00a0comparable to the\u00a0BMW M2 coupe I also lust for. Subtract the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and I&#8217;m under $50,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The cost doesn&#8217;t end there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Recharging on a standard, 110-volt wall charger would take longer than the wait for my Model 3 (well, 52 hours). The best bid from two electricians to upgrade my garage to 240-volt was $1,675. Add $500 for a 60-amp Tesla wall charger and I can\u00a0recharge to 300 miles in seven hours overnight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Before paying the electrician and my required $2,500 Tesla deposit\u00a0(the rest due on delivery), I took a long pause. Fifty grand is a lot of money, and the headlines out of\u00a0Tesla had become increasingly chaotic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Some of that chaos\u00a0was to be expected. Musk and Donald Trump may vehemently disagree on the fate of the polar bear, but they are both classic disruptors on a collision course with the establishment. Musk also takes inspiration from digital disruptors\u00a0like Steve Jobs\u00a0to\u00a0upend the status quo on dealerships (Tesla stores) and manufacturing (more automation).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Never shy with a tweet, he&#8217;s unloaded on journalists, investors\u00a0and industry leaders. As I ordered, he even attacked his role model, Ford Motor Co., to deflect criticism about a\u00a0makeshift tent he had erected outside his California factory to\u00a0meet production goals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><em>&#8220;Go to Ford, it looks like a morgue.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Good theater, but worrisome for a luxury-car buyer who fears the consequences of his $50,000\u00a0car being built in a tent. By sleep-deprived workers. By a company with a history of defects \u2014\u00a0and that, by law, cannot have company\u00a0dealerships in Michigan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I&#8217;m not the only customer with concerns, but\u00a0I&#8217;m philosophical. Tesla\u00a0is a startup automaker trying to achieve the\u00a0unprecedented: fill 450,000 standing orders for a single model. To put that in perspective, Mercedes only sells 375,000 units a year in the U.S. across 15 models.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Which brought me back to product.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Despite similar build issues, the Model X SUV and Model S sedan are two of the best vehicles I&#8217;ve driven. While chatting\u00a0with one of Michigan&#8217;s first Model 3 owners in Birmingham this spring,\u00a0I pointed out a sunken hood gap on her sleek red machine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">She and her husband hadn&#8217;t noticed. She went on to rave about the car.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I, too, raved about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/opinion\/columnists\/henry-payne\/2018\/02\/26\/tesla-model-three-test-drive-detroit\/110880692\/\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">the first 3 I tested<\/a>.\u00a0Its spare, iPhone-like design and nimble handling drowned\u00a0out\u00a0voices in Model 3 forums complaining of inconsistent paint jobs and electronic hiccups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Two years on, and the Model 3 is\u00a0still unique.\u00a0Which probably explains why \u2014 despite the chaos and delays \u2014\u00a0Tesla sales still dwarf other EVs. There are very good alternatives, after all \u2014\u00a0like the tidy, reliable, 238-mile-range Chevy Bolt EV. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/insideevs.com\/june-2018-plug-in-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card\/\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">Model\u00a03 is outselling it 5:1<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Mine\u00a0is ordered, but delivery is a uncertain. Tesla says it will arrive at its Cleveland dealership for pickup (Ohio allows Teslas to be sold there) between September-November.\u00a0Based on the experiences of other owners, it\u00a0could arrive in a month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">And to throw in one more blind turn on the wild ride, Tesla announced this week it is opening up orders to non-reservation holders. The company assures me that my place in line is secure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The adventure continues. I&#8217;ll let you know when it comes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than\u00a0two years ago, I put down $1,000 to reserve my place in line with 450,000 others to order the most anticipated car of the 21st century. On June 26, I finally configured my Tesla Model 3 for delivery. No greenie, I&#8217;m a speed-addled motorhead who ordered the Model 3 out of lust for its [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22549"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22549\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}