Got an interesting call from Tesla regarding 85D to 90D upgrade

cryptyk · Jul 21, 2015

My 85D is in production now. I asked after the announcement if I could upgrade to the 90D. The sales guy said yes, but with the $500 penalty. I thought it would be cool to have the new tech, so told them to go ahead.

Today I got a call from the sales manager at the Tesla store. She basically said that the $3k plus the $500 penalty probably isn't worth it because they anticipate that the post-delivery upgrade from 85D to 90D is going to be right around $3k anyway. She encouraged me to try out the 85D and decide later if the 90D is needed. If so, I can always upgrade the pack later.

She was clear that she didn't know the exact pricing on the post-delivery upgrade, but sounded confident it would be pretty close to, if not exactly, $3k.

She also mentioned my car was being painted, and should be done at the end of the week!!!

Thought I'd share,
Ryan

liuping · Jul 21, 2015

cryptyk said:
My 85D is in production now. I asked after the announcement if I could upgrade to the 90D. The sales guy said yes, but with the $500 penalty. I thought it would be cool to have the new tech, so told them to go ahead.

Today I got a call from the sales manager at the Tesla store. She basically said that the $3k plus the $500 penalty probably isn't worth it because they anticipate that the post-delivery upgrade from 85D to 90D is going to be right around $3k anyway. She encouraged me to try out the 85D and decide later if the 90D is needed. If so, I can always upgrade the pack later.

She was clear that she didn't know the exact pricing on the post-delivery upgrade, but sounded confident it would be pretty close to, if not exactly, $3k.

She also mentioned my car was being painted, and should be done at the end of the week!!!

Thought I'd share,
Ryan

I think she is speculating on the $3000 post production upgrade. I would have he get something in writing from someone higher up. In my experience, the sales people know virtually nothing from HQ that we don't hear on TMC first.

Personally, I don't think we will see anything near a $3k battery upgrade for 85 owners, unless the newer 85 packs are really already 90s but software limited.

(Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE a $3k upgrade pack for current owners, I just don't believe it will happen)

gene · Jul 21, 2015

I've had my S85 for 30 months and have put 50K miles on it. I do a lot of long trips where I rely on Superchargers, througout CA, AZ, OR, Ut, and Washington. I never use up any more than what an S60 would have provided. $3500 for an extra 5KW that you'll never use is kinda' expensive.

Matias · Jul 21, 2015

cryptyk said:
My 85D is in production now. I asked after the announcement if I could upgrade to the 90D. The sales guy said yes, but with the $500 penalty. I thought it would be cool to have the new tech, so told them to go ahead.

Today I got a call from the sales manager at the Tesla store. She basically said that the $3k plus the $500 penalty probably isn't worth it because they anticipate that the post-delivery upgrade from 85D to 90D is going to be right around $3k anyway. She encouraged me to try out the 85D and decide later if the 90D is needed. If so, I can always upgrade the pack later.

She was clear that she didn't know the exact pricing on the post-delivery upgrade, but sounded confident it would be pretty close to, if not exactly, $3k.

She also mentioned my car was being painted, and should be done at the end of the week!!!

Thought I'd share,
Ryan

I recommend, that you order 90 pack now if you want it. I'm positive, that the shift from existing 85 to 90 will be way more expensive.

dsm363 · Jul 21, 2015

Agree. While it is still in the factory putting the new pack in will be trivial.

Max* · Jul 21, 2015

gene said:
I've had my S85 for 30 months and have put 50K miles on it. I do a lot of long trips where I rely on Superchargers, througout CA, AZ, OR, Ut, and Washington. I never use up any more than what an S60 would have provided. $3500 for an extra 5KW that you'll never use is kinda' expensive.

The counter-argument: Assuming that since the 85 charges faster than the 60/70, that the 90 would also charge faster than the 85 at superchargers.

Is paying $3.5k to shave off a few mins worth it? That's not my call.

apacheguy · Jul 21, 2015

Yeah, something doesn't seem right. I'd snatch it right up if it were around $3 K and I suspect many would do the same. I think there was/is a lot of confusion surrounding the upgrade (myself included) due to the way in which it was announced.

MsElectric · Jul 21, 2015

Definitely go for it while it is being built.

You will then have a 90D and when/if you sell it you will likely get some of that $3K back as your car will be a bit easier to sell/more desirable than an 85D.

Vger · Jul 21, 2015

I agree with the consensus here. Get it while you can. It is not much to pay for certainty.

Galve2000 · Jul 21, 2015

get it now while you know what the pricing is and it seems worth it to you. sure the $500 change fee may screw up the math just a bit and make it less of an incentive, but I have a sinking feeling that the retrofit if available will be more expensive than the BTO price.

2 in the hand us better than 3 in the bush, especially if there is a chance that you don't really know exactly what is in the bush to begin with...

ecarfan · Jul 21, 2015

To the OP, I would definitely order it right know, while your car is in production, if you think the extra range will be useful to you (I know that is hard to determine now, but you will have to make that decision). The person you spoke with is just guessing as to what the cost will be later.

apacheguy · Jul 21, 2015

Does anyone with an 85 have a quote from a SvC for a pack swap and upgrade?

Matteo · Jul 21, 2015

cryptyk,

I think the person who called you misunderstood how the upgrade works. You should definitely insist on upgrading your battery right now. The 85 to 90 upgrade for existing cars is unknown. It might not be available at all or it might cost over $20,000.

InsaneDriver · Jul 21, 2015

Even Musk didn't recommend existing owners upgrade to the new pack. He said he expected improvements to be made at something like 5% per year. So pay for a slight improvement now or wait a year or two and pay for a more significant one. If I were ordering right now, I would get it but probably not at the extra $500 change fee. IMO

stevej119 · Jul 21, 2015

Would anyone argue that I'm wrong if I were to suggest that eliminating the $500 change fee for options which are announced after placement of an order, but before the car goes into production, would be a good thing for Tesla to do?

gavine · Jul 21, 2015

Does the post-sale upgrade estimate include installation? I'm thinking the installation cost will be more than the $500 change fee.

TEG · Jul 21, 2015

Doing it pre-delivery means they just don't use a new 85 pack... But if you wait until after delivery, the upgrade would mean that they take back a "used" 85 pack... I would assume that the new pack is worth a lot more to them than a (even if lightly) used pack. So it seems unlikely to me that upgrading after the fact could be less expensive than upgrading before the car is built.

Could it be that they initially have a limited supply of 90 packs, and they are encouraging people to wait a while?

David99 · Jul 21, 2015

Go with the 90 now. Don't wait. It makes no sense to do it later. It makes no sense to you and it makes no sense for Tesla to have a used 85 battery later on.

cryptyk · Jul 21, 2015

TEG said:
Doing it pre-delivery means they just don't use a new 85 pack... But if you wait until after delivery, the upgrade would mean that they take back a "used" 85 pack... I would assume that the new pack is worth a lot more to them than a (even if lightly) used pack. So it seems unlikely to me that upgrading after the fact could be less expensive than upgrading before the car is built.

Could it be that they initially have a limited supply of 90 packs, and they are encouraging people to wait a while?

I had this thought, too. It seems weird that they would call to convince me to spend less money. I wonder if they're trying to save the 90 packs for the P cars?

mgboyes · Jul 21, 2015

stevej119 said:
Would anyone argue that I'm wrong if I were to suggest that eliminating the $500 change fee for options which are announced after placement of an order, but before the car goes into production, would be a good thing for Tesla to do?

Is this actually a "change fee" or is it that the price of something else has been adjusted in the design studio since you ordered?

Typically if you want to amend the spec of your car to add an option that wasn't available when you originally confirmed then they insist that the whole car be re-priced and re-specced using today's design studio options and prices.

P.S. 100% agree with everyone else. If you want a bigger pack you DEFINITELY want it added to your config before build. Cost of a pack upgrade after delivery could be eye-watering and IMO there's 0% chance it will be just $3000.

Got an interesting call from Tesla regarding 85D to 90D upgrade

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