New owners and early adopter owners: Do I detect a major difference?

[AmpedRealtor]

While I'm a new owner, I've been following Tesla since the early days of the Roadster. What they've accomplished is amazing, what they still haven't yet accomplished is equally amazing. What I mean is, the quarterly quality issues, the ridiculous service time waits, asking brand new owners to hand their cars right back because of issue number one, are just as unacceptable as Tesla is impressive in getting this far.

The reality is, Tesla has moved past the early adopter phase. It simply has. The people buying the cars now, whatever their reasons may be, aren't looking for the early adopter experience. Tesla MUST address this before the big boys see the light and start to move away from fossil fuel based cars\trucks.

Now for the part that'll ruffle some feathers... It is absurd to deliver a car to someone with the flaws that we see all the time here, and we all know we aren't talking about isolated events. Are all cars off the line in need of post delivery QC fixes? No, but the fact that we all know how Q end goes should be alarming but it's brushed under the rug by many members here for various reasons. You won't find many people here who have bad things to say about Tesla as a company, but it's not hard to find people here who are frustrated and disappointed with their experience. That must be addressed. Given that it hasn't yet, I think Tesla is in serious need of an upper management shake up and whatever role Elon is playing needs to change. For one whoever is in charge of the QC team needs to be fired, not tomorrow, not yesterday, but now. Whatever systemic issues exist within that team, it's staff, it's budget, it's processes, whatever, needs to be fixed along with a change in management. Tesla needs to invest serious dollars into their service department as well, some of the wait times are so far from acceptable that I have to sometimes do a double take with regards to some of the service wait time posts here. I cannot understand how some of you can continually gloss over, and push under the rug on a consistent basis just how poor Tesla's service department and QC processes are???...

Tesla has accomplished so much in such a short amount of time and they are to be commended for doing so. I love my car but the reality is people have had the wool pulled over their eyes because the car is so awesome that it's caused them to go totally brain dead when it comes to everything else. Tesla has the luxury of being able to get away with all of this now, there simply is no other competitor. That won't always be the case...

Jeff

+100!!!! Well said! I am in complete agreement. Elon Musk is a good visionary, but he's not a very good manager judging by what's happening at Tesla. Maybe it's time to bring in someone with more experience to manage Tesla's day-to-day operations.

Apple is in desperate need of a visionary and Tesla is in desperate need of a manager. I suggest a swap. Elon Musk and Tim Cook should switch places. Both companies would improve.

 

[Drucifer]

I leased a Volt for 3 years (starting before Tesla was shipping Model S except for a few founders vehicles). I then bought a CPO Model S with a low VIN number. Does that make me early or late?

I do get told that my non-AP car is "quaint" and "classic" by some of the new guys.

 

[msnow]

+100!!!! Well said! I am in complete agreement. Elon Musk is a good visionary, but he's not a very good manager judging by what's happening at Tesla. Maybe it's time to bring in someone with more experience to manage Tesla's day-to-day operations.

Agree with both you and jeffro01 except the shareholders love Elon, the analysts trust and adore him, I'm a huge admirer and stockholder too. But most of the problems are related to management and Tesla needs a professional management person to head this up and fix things. Separate the Chairman and CEO roles.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Agree with both you and jeffro01 except the shareholders love Elon, the analysts trust and adore him, I'm a huge admirer and stockholder too. But most of the problems are related to management and Tesla needs a professional management person to head this up and fix things. Separate the Chairman and CEO roles.

Tesla needs a Tim Cook while Apple needs an Elon Musk

 

[msnow]

^ yep.

 

[jeffro01]

I do get told that my non-AP car is "quaint" and "classic" by some of the new guys.

When dealing in purchases at the dollar amounts we're talking about, whether new or used, you tend to start to skew towards certain personality types... It's just the nature of buying "expensive" things... There are plenty of classy, respectful, quiet, and reserved owners who happen to not be poor... But then you get "that guy" who wants the world to know they are special and better than you...

It sort of comes with the territory and the rude, disrespectful, and condescending types stick out far more...

Jeff

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Agree with both you and jeffro01 except the shareholders love Elon, the analysts trust and adore him, I'm a huge admirer and stockholder too. But most of the problems are related to management and Tesla needs a professional management person to head this up and fix things. Separate the Chairman and CEO roles.

Agreed. It's a very fine line, but there will come a time where the Elon that built the company will be the Elon that begins to adversely affect it's future. We may already be at that tipping point, it's very hard to say.

Jeff

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Tesla needs a Tim Cook while Apple needs an Elon Musk

Exactly, spot on comment.

Jeff

 

[Pinarello]

I've had my MS for about 30 days. No quality issues at all with the vehicle. A couple years ago I purchased a Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ford Fusion. Both have been in for quality issues during the first 30 days and recalls and other quality issues almost every six months since. Thus far my Tesla has shown much higher quality than these other two vehicles.

If I have any complaints, they are not directly Tesla related but features I wish my Tesla had that some, but not all, of my other ICE vehicles have. For example, separate volume settings for each input so when you switch from my phone to the radio for example, the sound isn't blasting. The navigation system and voice commands in my other ICE vehicles have more features. It would be nice to see Tesla catch up in these areas, and they should, since they are all software related.

Otherwise, I am a very happy Tesla owner and look forward to regular software updates that will enhance my MS. BTW, AutoPilot rocks! I use it all the time!

 

[artsci]

The reponses are fascinating. This is the kind of dialogue I had hoped to start.

As for charges of me being elitist, anyone who knows me would beg to differ. But I can understand why someone might see it that way. Now and then TMC gets pretty boring and repetitive. I was just hoping to stir things up a bit

 

[msnow]

The reponses are fascinating. This is the kind of dialogue I had hoped to start.

As for charges of me being elitist, anyone who knows me would beg to differ. But I can understand why someone might see it that way. Now and then TMC gets pretty boring and repetitive. I was just hoping to stir things up a bit

Mission accomplished! [emoji3]

 

[jimmy82abn]

Agreed
Rule number one to a successful business is residual business.
Not talk of early adapter vs new owner.
Great you owned the first iPhone. I'll overnight you some cookies.

Now go forward and prove to everyone you had the first iphone.
Elitism 101

I'm an android kid personally and I prefer open source, free thinking and innovative design.

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Fact is, I don't know none of y'all yet you are going out of your way to distance yourself from us new owners when we are the ones bringing new money to a company that is in start up mode still.

So you think Verizon customers would just be "ok" with buying a new smartphone just to return it 10 days later?

No they would leave and try something else.
I respect tesla for carving out this company from thin air but after years of operating I expect show level quality.
That's it, Zero Emissions, Zero COMPROMISES!!!

 

[kmtl]

There are two types of people on the world...
1. those who divide the world into two types of people, and 2. the rest of us.

 

[FloridaGary]

This happens with basically every product. Early adopters are enthusiasts and much more forgiving. As the product gains widespread appeal (assuming it ever does) then you get more picky people. Enthusiasts still buy, but they become a smaller proportion. It's no surprise that it's happening with Tesla too. Consider it to be a sign of success.

^ This! I couldn't agree more.

Also, I don't understand why the OP has to place Tesla owners into 2 groups. As membership to this forum grows, so does the diversity of opinions. For what it's worth, I am a proud owner for 2 weeks now, but have been following Tesla ever since I read an article about them in 2010. Expressing likes and dislikes about the Model S is no different than what owners of other luxury auto brands say about their vehicles in their respective forums.

 

[David29]

I guess I'd be surprised if there weren't some difference in perspective between the earliest adopters, people who ordered on faith, and the rest of us. But whether the difference is what the OP suggests, or is less black and white than he suggests, I really can't say. And I agree with FloridaGary that it might not be too useful (or fair) to suggest a dichotomy. As in other areas, there is no doubt a wide variety of views, experiences, personalities, etc., among us.
What's that old saying? That the world would be pretty boring if we were all the same...?

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

It's tough to say because when it really comes down to it we're ALL early adopters even those buying today.

The inescapable fact is the car has caveats that come with it. It's definitely true there are way less caveats today than there was yesterday. The caveats act as a resistance to buying.

I got on board because as a combo the early adopters and Tesla lowered the resistance. The two driving factors for me was the superchargers, and the resale guarantee. There were also all kinds of issues that I saw with the car (while I was fence sitting) that early adopters talked about. From my recollection Tesla corrected every single one that was on my list of "deal-breakers". I definitely appreciate the Early-adopters because they dealt with those things, and I'm extremely thankful of them.

There is the natural progression from early-adopters who are more willing to deal with issues to people who just want something to work. I tend to be someone who is a little bit of both. I do complain a lot, but I do so out of love for something. It's that whole love/hate kind of thing.

As to motivations mine have a lot to do with Alternative Vehicles, Autonomous driving, etc. The Tesla was the perfect merging of my love of Automobiles, and my love of technology.

If I cared about status I wouldn't have gotten it. I'm not sure why anyone who wanted status would buy any car that had such a large differential in terms of price between the low end and the high end without looking any different. The only other car that I know that has that is a 911, but a 911 is a drivers car. It's meant to be driven without too much flash.

I should add that I absolutely know that a lot of you really early adopters made bank on Tesla stock. So in no shape or form do I think the Tesla "experience" has been a hardship.

 

[pedriscoll]

This has been a fascinating thread, thankfully with little true flaming or personal attacks. I think we are all in agreement with how awesome the car is. We disagree over how Tesla should improve the areas of concern. I would never have dreamed of spending this much on any other car. I sold a 2012 Camry Hybid for which I paid $30k when I bought my model S. I never really had the desire to own a MB, BMW, Audi, or other "luxury" car because I did not see what extra value those vehicles would give me to justify the cost. I have had zero regret with spending $90K+ on the Tesla because I also believe that EV's are vital to break our dependence on oil, and to slow climate change. Also it is the most fun car I have ever driven.

All that said, Tesla does need to get its act together in terms of quality control, service capacity and customer relations if it truly aspires to becoming a mass marketing success. I sincerely hope they are able to do this, because I never want to buy another ICE.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I think OP meant well, he isn't trying to divide anyone. The undercurrent to what he said is absolutely true. Most of the people who bought early were more forgiving of Tesla's failings. If I were buying today I would be much less forgiving because Tesla should be past its early teething stage. My expectations would be higher. That's not a divisive message, that's the truth.

 

[rcarpen22]

Even if it were true in spirit, your data will be polluted by would-be early adopters who haven't purchased yet or purchased only recently due to financial limitations of trying to buy a car that costs half as much as a house (yes, I know some of you west coast folks live in places where houses cost 50 billion dollars each, but back in normal land typical houses go for about $150K-$200K).

I think this is spot on and certainly true for me. I read the white paper on the battery tech before the roadster came out and have been on the mailing list since 2006. I received about 4 phone calls from the company asking if I wanted to buy a roadster. If I could have possibly found the cash, I would have. I also would have eagerly bought the first Model S off the line if I could have. After years of waiting, I could finally afford to buy one just recently. My car had rock chips all over the front from transport, but I took delivery anyway and the chips are still there. They are going to fix them, but I don't really care. They will just come back. I've had the car less than a month and it has 5,000 miles on it. I wave at every Tesla I see on the road. If something breaks, I will look forward to the better loaner car they give me. I am incredibly grateful that such a thing exists and that I have the means to own it. I wish it was time to drive home already.

 

[AWDtsla]

My complaints with Tesla mostly have to do with software that has had 4 years to improve, which appear to be moving at a glacial pace, especially compared to the silicon valley company Tesla claims to be. But expectations are that they've sorted out all the quirks about the car by now, even if the original effort was lacking. There are still a lot of quirks. A lot of common complaints, a lot of stuff that's clearly not as good as it could be.

The counter argument is they've been focused on making cars. Well the team of software devs working on the software aren't assembling cars by hand. Their software validation times for updates do exist also seem to take more than 6 months (i.e. the time Elon knows it works to the time all cars have it) I'm getting reasonably afraid that Model 3 will come out with an entirely new software architecture, which will not backport to Model S, and I'll have the same situation I had with BMW - car looks new, but software is from a different century, and will stay that way.

 

[msnow]

I think this is spot on and certainly true for me. I read the white paper on the battery tech before the roadster came out and have been on the mailing list since 2006. I received about 4 phone calls from the company asking if I wanted to buy a roadster. If I could have possibly found the cash, I would have. I also would have eagerly bought the first Model S off the line if I could have. After years of waiting, I could finally afford to buy one just recently. My car had rock chips all over the front from transport, but I took delivery anyway and the chips are still there. They are going to fix them, but I don't really care. They will just come back. I've had the car less than a month and it has 5,000 miles on it. I wave at every Tesla I see on the road. If something breaks, I will look forward to the better loaner car they give me. I am incredibly grateful that such a thing exists and that I have the means to own it. I wish it was time to drive home already.

Good positive post. Off topic; you mentioned that you wave at every Tesla on the road. As a newer owner when I got my car I waved and flashed my lights at every Tesla but quickly found that 8 out of 10 didn't reciprocate. What's up with that? As a former 911 owner I can tell you that's still a "thing" and I understood Tesla was the same way but I haven't found that to be true.

 

[rcarpen22]

I know! I came from Porsches as well and I am used to getting lots of waves. Most Tesla drivers wave back, but not all of them.