More than 1,000 U.S. Signatures (confirmed)

[AnOutsider]

That goes without saying :wink: But it would be interesting to find out why you have such a high vin. Plus you're practically TMC OG so WTF?

heh, you've got me by 2 years yourself

 

[JRP3]

I'm just part of the woodwork at this point.

 

[Beavis]

I am guessing it was the color change that put you back.

I did not change anything in my configuration, though. Along the lines of some of the thoughts here, I asked if I was one of the dreaded 28 and that question was not answered. I have asked repeatedly why my car was put into production late last week and I received several responses to my inquiry but the responses never answered the question. I thought the political season was over but they never seem to directly answer. They also committed to let me know when there was any change in my status, which led me to believe that they were monitoring my car's progress with a sense of urgency. I don't think that is going on since it is supposedly in the same place it was on Thursday, End of Line Inspection. Meanwhile, VINs behind mine have delivery dates.

VIN 991

 

[brianman]

I expect the U.S. Sig tally will likely be around 1070-1080 by the time Canadian Sig cancellations are noticed.

I was just assigned VIN 1084 - Sig 532.

I hate being right in this case, but it's nice to be vindicated.

"And they thought I was crazy...and I am, but not about this."
- brianman, about 40 seconds ago

@AnOutsider: Here's hoping you get a more finished vehicle for your longer wait, and that it meets and beats your expectations.

 

[Norbert]

My car was already delayed (today is actually the beginning of my old window), and the change pushed it back a week, but we (my wife and I) figured it was worth it to get a color we could be happy with.

If today is just the beginning of your old window, then maybe it has to do with the window you were given. Perhaps you got an unusually late window, for example because at that time there were production delays due to supplier parts missing, so they got pessimistic. Then, later, they tried to serve people according to their windows, since they would get upset otherwise. And you now got a VIN along with a production start which is targeted for your new window (plus potentially delays in common with others). Or so.

 

[FlasherZ]

I hate being right in this case, but it's nice to be vindicated.

You're not out of the woods yet, much less vindicated. You don't know that the "US Sig Tally" is 1000, 1100, 1040, 1070, or any other number looking at the VINs. There may have been 30-50 of them scrapped due to bad stamping that wasn't discovered until assembly started; they may have inserted numbers in there--perhaps they started anyone who came off the waitlist at a later number. You just don't know, and you likely will not know.

But if it somehow gives you the feeling of awesomeness, then more power to you I suppose.

 

[AnOutsider]

You're not out of the woods yet, much less vindicated. You don't know that the "US Sig Tally" is 1000, 1100, 1040, 1070, or any other number looking at the VINs. There may have been 30-50 of them scrapped due to bad stamping that wasn't discovered until assembly started; they may have inserted numbers in there--perhaps they started anyone who came off the waitlist at a later number. You just don't know, and you likely will not know.

But if it somehow gives you the feeling of awesomeness, then more power to you I suppose.

I'm confused why people keep saying this? I thought the email from George B posted up thread already confirmed there will be more us sigs due to Canadians either canceling or not filling their 200 to begin with?

It's not a huge deal to me, but I don't get why everyone is acting like its still a fabrication?

 

[FlasherZ]

That's been accepted, now it's a matter of scale - Brian is assuming that, based on the highest US signature VIN number being 1080ish, that it means 80 cars have been moved. Others have suggested it was closer to 20-30. Brian was saying that we've confirmed his suspicions that near 100 cars were moved from Canada to US -- and I was responding to say that the VIN is not necessarily an indication as to how many Sigs were produced in the US.

 

[AnOutsider]

Ah, I missed that. Gotcha.

 

[brianman]

But if it somehow gives you the feeling of awesomeness, then more power to you I suppose.

These are not the same thing.

On a scale of one to ten, average is 5.5. Awesomeness would be 10 or 11. Early in this thread people made me feel like a 1.2 but it's rebounded to around 5.3 so far.

No, I'm not fishing. Just clarifying what I think Flasher misinterpreted.

 

[walla2]

Not really important, but I ran my Signature VIN of 1045 through a quote a State Farm. It classified my VIN as a non-signature car performance model S. Actually, I put in Sig Performance and it said my VIN didn't match with this configuration. It matched with the non-Sig. More salt for the wound.

 

[Doug_G]

I spoke with George Blankenship about this issue today, at the Toronto Store opening.

He says that they did indeed open up the remaining Canadian slots to the waiting list, but that they waited until the last minute to do so. When they did, a number of the opened slots actually went to Canadians who were on the waiting list. The net result is that approximately 50 remaining slots went to Americans. (He didn't have an exact number at hand.)

He also confirmed that the higher-than-1050 VIN numbers we're seeing are due to scrapped units. Sometimes they would only discover that the units were flawed after they reached a point on the line where they had a VIN assigned.

I hope this helps clarify the situation

 

[brianman]

Thanks for the info, Doug_G. Now begins the fun challenge of finding the scrapped VIN numbers for posterity. It's like a scavenger hunt...

 

[Brian H]

Yeah, I've been thinking that some VINs had to have disappeared, never to be seen again. That doesn't explain all the jumbling, of course. Suppose some could have been recycled.

The secondary implication is that a lot of bodies got scrapped during the early-middle part of the ramp. QC with teeth. There was a period there where reports were coming in of very busy line and workers, but not much happening on the output end. I suspect a very high rejection rate for a while there.

 

[Shorty]

I spoke with George Blankenship about this issue today, at the Toronto Store opening.

He says that they did indeed open up the remaining Canadian slots to the waiting list, but that they waited until the last minute to do so. When they did, a number of the opened slots actually went to Canadians who were on the waiting list. The net result is that approximately 50 remaining slots went to Americans. (He didn't have an exact number at hand.)

He also confirmed that the higher-than-1050 VIN numbers we're seeing are due to scrapped units. Sometimes they would only discover that the units were flawed after they reached a point on the line where they had a VIN assigned.

I hope this helps clarify the situation

Appreciate this info Doug. Far too many people speculate and jump to negative conclusions.

 

[AnOutsider]

Posts re: the insurance rates have gone here

 

[Jkam]

Has anyone ever bothered to archive or copy all the Tesla web pages, press releases and blogs over the years? I think it would be interesting to be able to fact check all the statements that have been made by Tesla this year.
I seem to recall that Tesla did in fact originally state that their would be only 1000 US Sigs built. George B. says that they have always said only that there would be 1200 NA Sigs (I think). I honestly can't be certain on stuff like this from my memory, but it would be interesting to know for sure. However, the issue is why does it matter. If Tesla has in fact changed positions while denying previous statements then I can easily see where some folks consider this a fundamental breech of trust and thus it is a very major deal to them. Others may well consider this typical corporate puffery and standard "marketing" techniques and don't consider it a big deal (caveat emptor). But it seems to me that we need to carefully distinguish between feelings and facts. Each person is entitled to their own feelings around the facts. However, we are not each entitled to our own facts. I just wish the facts were more easily discernable.

Here are a couple of tidbits I found in reviewing correspondence I've had with Tesla over the years. I'm not sure how to post a .pdf or an actual email, so I will just do some cut and paste. The highlights (bold face) are mine.

This one is from an official Tesla email sent to me on 1/14/10.

For a limited time, you may choose to reserve a Special Edition Signature Model S. This is a uniquely-optioned collector version for delivery in late 2011. This car will be handcrafted with exclusive interior appointments, unavailable with the general production Model S. Only 1,000 Signature cars will be made in the United States. The reservation fee is $40,000. Both fees are fully refundable less a 1% cancellation fee.

This next quote is from the Signature Series Reservation Agreement that was attached in the same email (1/14/10):

Priority Tesla will establish your Signature Series production sequence according to the order in which payment and signed reservation agreements are received. Please note that there is also a small Founder Series that precedes the Signature Series, which is limited to Tesla investors and customers that have made a substantial contribution to the success of Tesla.

 

[Shorty]

^ And 200 were made for Canada for a total of 1200 in North America which is exactly what Tesla said in 2010.

 

[brianman]

^ And 200 were made for Canada for a total of 1200 in North America which is exactly what Tesla said in 2010.

Incorrect. To the best of our knowledge, the full Signature set of Canadian cars have not been produced yet.

Slight rephrasing...

^ And 200 will be made for Canada for a total of 1200 in North America which is exactly what Tesla said in 2010.

Also incorrect. See the quotings of Walter and George.

 

[Brian H]

Slight rephrasing...

Quote Originally Posted by rephrased
^ And 200 will be made for Canada for a total of 1200 in North America which is exactly what Tesla said in 2010.

Also incorrect. See the quotings of Walter and George.

Slight rerephrasing...

Quote Originally Posted by rephrased
^ And 200 will be allocated to Canada for a total of 1200 in North America which is exactly what Tesla said in 2010.