My Tesla Model Y Delivery Experience
This post contains the back-story leading up to this video about my Tesla Model Y delivery. For best results, read it before watching the video.
Drawn to Electricity like a Magnet
I've always been fascinated by electricity. When I was 2 years old, my first word was “light”. Although I wanted to be an electrician when I grew up, my parents pushed me towards college where I got a degree in Computer Science. I started out my career as a programmer, then system architect, then project manager, now leading operations at a global pharmaceutical. I guess you could say I know a thing or two about transformational technology and process improvement.
Before my Tesla Model Y delivery, I purchased a new 2011 Toyota Prius and was thrilled to be getting fuel economy of 50+ MPG. The Prius was the industry leading hybrid. The best mileage, cutting edge technology, and the distinctive futuristic shape. I drove it happily for 9 years and 133,000 miles. The only maintenance I did on that car was change the oil, tires, wipers and air filters. I don't think I ever went to the dealer for any kind of service – warranty or otherwise. Thanks to regenerative braking, which makes the electric motor act like a generator to charge the batteries while slowing the car, I never needed to change the brakes.
While driving the Prius, I took notice of the all-electric vehicles on the market, like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf. I loved the thought of an EV with no engine or emissions, but these early models were slow, low range, and small. I'm a big guy, and my wife feels unsafe in small cars, so they weren't an option for us.
I took notice of Tesla when they released the Model S in 2012. Finally an EV with range, performance, and size that would work for me. The only problem was the price. I had three kids in college and there was no way I could afford a luxury car. Some day. But it went on the back burner.
The Model X was released three years later. I thought it was really cool – who didn't, with those falcon wing doors? – but again, it was far too rich for me. My oldest had graduated college and moved out, but I still had two tuition payments. The dream would have to wait.
I didn't buy a Tesla, I bought TSLA
A friend of mine bought a Tesla Model 3 in late 2018, just before the $7,500 Federal tax began to phase out. He took me for a very short test drive in early 2019 and I was hooked. I really contemplated placing an order, but held off yet again. Although two graduations were completed, I still had one child on the payroll. Plus my wife thought the Model 3 was too small to use for anything more than commuting.
I didn't buy the car that day, but I decided to invest in Tesla stock. I bought 100 shares of TSLA at $278 in my 401k and committed to hold it into retirement. I may have missed the boat on Amazon, Netflix and Starbucks, but I believed Tesla would become an industry leader that all others would chase. Either that, or it would be bankrupt and I'd need to defer my retirement a little longer.
The Road to my Tesla Model Y Delivery
At a dinner with friends in January 2020, we toasted the graduation of our third and final child! Putting three kids through college had been a long, expensive road, but we made it through without going into debt or missing a mortgage payment. It felt good. Really good. The next financial milestone would be my oldest daughter's wedding in October. But my wife had a good head start on those savings already.
To celebrate, our friends asked if we wanted to join them on a cruise in July. My wife looked at me longingly because we had really scaled back our vacations during the college years. Naturally I said yes, I would get the cruise for her, but… I was going to finally order a Tesla for me. Not only had we put off vacations to pay for college, we also drove without car payments during that time. She reminded me, yet again, that the Model 3 was too small for us. And then I enlightened her that the new Model Y would be bigger, about the size of a Honda CRV, and it wouldn't start shipping until the end of 2020. So the wedding would probably be behind us before I took delivery.
I ordered the Model Y on January 13 and decided to get the long range, all-wheel drive package to accelerate delivery. Yes, it would be $11,000 more than the rear-wheel drive, standard range plus, but it would be an investment that paid for itself with YouTube earnings. Tesla always delivers the more expensive cars first. The sooner I could get the car, the sooner I could start making videos on the car.
I went with the Dark Blue Metallic paint, which was a $1,000 upgrade. I considered getting white and getting it wrapped, but that would have been a lot more expensive. I really liked the dark gray as well, but that was the same color as my Prius and I wanted something different. I settled on blue because I never had a blue car.
At the time, the wheel options on the website looked exactly like the Model 3, so I ordered the sport wheels, a $1,500 upgrade, which were silver. I liked the look of the dark blue car with silver wheels.
I plunked down my $2,500 refundable deposit and started waiting. I expected the Tesla Model Y delivery to start around September so I knew I had plenty of time.
Tesla Model Y Delivery Accelerated
Then, just two weeks later on the Q4 2019 earning call, Elon Musk announced that Model Y was already in production, way ahead of schedule, and would start limited deliveries in the first quarter. I was thrilled with the possibility of having a new car to drive by summer!
On March 7, less than two months after placing my order, I was shocked to receive a text from Tesla stating my delivery would take place in March! You can't imagine my surprise. I was never expecting to receive the car so soon. Only a few notifications had been sent at that point, judging from chatter on Reddit and Facebook groups. I was in the first round of notifications!
As an investor, that made me pause with a little concern. Don't they usually fulfill preorders in the order they were received? Surely a lot of people ordered ahead of me; Model Y preorders opened nearly a year ago in March, 2019. Could it be possible that preorders were that low? Or worse, perhaps all those orders were being canceled because of the uncertainty of coronavirus and the fear of recession. Ugh.
I didn't care. I danced around my daughter's house that Saturday like I had won the lottery. I applied for financing directly through Tesla on my phone and was approved in an hour. On a Saturday. Isn't technology wonderful? My dream was coming true.
Pandemic Panic
That notification from Tesla on March 7 was right around the time the Coronavirus was beginning to change life as we know it. The pandemic had reached the US and my company instituted a mandatory work-from-home policy on Friday, March 13. That was before the eventual government-mandated quarantine.
My next contact from Tesla was on March 17. I received my VIN and scheduled my Tesla Model Y delivery for the first available delivery date: Monday, March 23. The pandemic was getting really bad and I was just hoping to get the car before hell broke loose. Quarantine would be the perfect opportunity to make videos, right?
On March 20, the governor of New Jersey ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses. The next day, I received a text from Tesla of Princeton saying they were unable to deliver vehicles indefinitely.
UGH! The thought of my new Model Y sitting in a Tesla parking lot just 30 miles from my home!
Touchless Tesla Model Y Delivery
Technically, car dealerships were considered non-essential businesses except for service and repairs. Tesla of Princeton is really a service location, they don't have dealerships, so it was a gray area whether they could be in the office at all, let alone deliver cars.
Putting on my shareholder hat again, I knew Tesla needed to deliver as many cars as possible by March 31 to hit their Q1 numbers and avoid having inventory on their books. The Fremont factory operations were halted, which would affect 2Q production, but it would be a waste for cars to sit undelivered.
I continued to text that Tesla associate for the following week to see if we could arrange a touchless delivery. She said corporate was talking about it, but she had no information yet. I read between the lines: Tesla lawyers were analyzing the governor's orders to determine if there would be ramifications to touchless deliveries.
I guess the lawyers figured it out because on March 30, I received a call to see if I could do my Tesla Model Y delivery the next day, March 31 – the last day of the quarter. They had very limited times available and they were 2 hours apart so customers wouldn't come in contact with each other.
I took the first time available, 9AM Tuesday 31 March 2020.
Now you can watch the video. 🙂
