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"Delivery of cars with the 40 kWh battery pack is expected to begin later this summer."

mbergman +1

I asked questions 1, 2 and 3 when I spoke to the Tesla employee last night. He had very little information to share. I'll send an E-mail to George this weekend and post it to this thread. That said, I'm not going to hold my breathe waiting for his response.

The fact that he communicated poorly in the Fall, acknowledged that, apologized and promised to do better only to repeat the same mistake 3 months later tells me everything I need to know.

We have a term for people like that in my organization. It's called 'gone'.

Fix it quick guys, and turn it around.

Redeem your goodwill.

See "40's Need a Fix"

I think that TM is trying to figure out how to get out of building the 40 kw cars. They don't want to be embarrassed but may have concluded that a 40 kw battery just isn't enough. The S turns out to be way too big and heavy to get the hoped range in normal use. It turns out the 60 is more like the original range hopes for the 40, and the 85 is behaving like they had hoped the 60 would.

We are all learning how these cars function in real life, including TM. It would be nice if TM communicated better, but they are in a tight spot with the 40 kw pre-orders. Elon Musk has made clear comments in recent interviews that he would not order a car without (1) air suspension, and (2) a battery bigger than 40 kw. He appears to believe these are inferior cars and below his high personal standards, using words like "it is really worth the upgrade.". On the one hand, this seems unfair and capricious treatment to the 40 kw reservation holders. On the other hand, TM doesn't want to disappoint or alienate anyone at this sensitive point in their public relations history.

TM and the 40 kw reservation holders need a graceful way out of this bind, and the best result is probably to offer the 60 kw upgrade at a substantial discount, and abandon the commuter car version of the S. As an alternative, TM could offer deferral to Gen III. This may seem like rough treatment to people with longstanding deposits, but isn't intentional, so mitigation is the way to go.

Pungoteague_Dave -

Could you point me to a link where Elon says this? I hadn't seen this. Thanks.


P_D +1

I'm actually not all that surprised that Tesla is having trouble with the 40 kwh battery. I mean, pulling it as an option for EU customers was a pretty clear sign that there was an issue there. I had thought it was adapting three phase charging to the smaller battery that was the issue, but I can easily see it just being the battery itself.
Given that the components in the car have to handle the larger batteries, it's probable that the same components can't perform adaquitely with the smaller battery AND meet the production requirements for the completed car (like only being able to regularly get 75 miles per charge, or the 0-60 time being 9 seconds, or something of that nature).

If you think anyone is taking you as a source of worldly wisdom, you are quite delusional.

Fight! Fight!

Tesla has vastly more credibility than a probable troll. What did you say your and your "brother's" reservation sequence numbers were? Oh, that's right, you didn't. Just a pile, heaping ever higher.

As promised, here's a copy if the E-mail I sent to George Blankenship tonight. I'll post any response I receive on this thread.


I am a 40 kWh reservation holder (P613, RN005384) with a fully executed MVPA (signed 08/08/12). Last week, I read the investor newsletter dated February 20, 2013 that indicated production of 40 kWh battery pack is expected to begin later this summer.

In a December 3, 2012 E-mail regarding production start dates, you wrote:

"We will continue to provide regular updates regarding these options as each gets closer to phasing into production. We have not done a great job at all in the past regarding communication on these items. I fully acknowledge our shortfall in this area. We now have a much better understanding of what it will take to bring each of these options into production and will do a much better job of communicating about them going forward."

And yet, less than three months later, I learn of a production delay through an investor letter. That is abhorrent, atrocious and abysmal. I suggest you re-double your efforts regarding customer communication or assign that responsibility to someone better suited to the task.

Regarding the delay in the delivery of my vehicle, I am not prepared to wait until sometime this summer - approximately one year after I signed my MVPA - to find out if it will actually enter production. I am currently driving a 2001 Honda Odyssey with 187K miles. Its entirely possible that I will encounter a life ending problem with that car in the next few months.

In light of that, I would like Tesla to offer the option to terminate my MVPA and refund my deposit so that I use that $5,000 towards the purchase of another vehicle.

As an alternative to the termination of my MVPA, I would consider upgrading to a 60 kWh vehicle provided Tesla were willing to participate in the $10K up charge. I would be willing to cover half of the up charge, leaving $5K for Tesla's account.

In both of the scenarios outlined above, Tesla is out $5K. However, in one scenario there is a early reservation holder driving a 60kWh Model S, while in the other scenario there is not.

Almost four years ago, I took a leap of faith and remitted $5,000 to a relatively unknown company that promised to deliver an attractive, functional and affordable electric car. I would very much like to see that reservation through to fruition. However, in order to do that, I'll need your help. Please help me to realize my dream; please help me to acquire the car I've been waiting to purchase since April 22, 2009.

Best regard,

Tom Shock

40kWh battery is not ready ? Maybe I am wrong but I hear that Toyota Rav4 EV uses Tesla's technology incluing battery setup. Is it correct ? If it is, why Tesla's 40kWh battery is not ready ? I am aware that Toyota Rav4 EV has 41.8 kWh battery and different range. Maybe they use the different battery set with Tesla ?

Hi all,

Thanks for the various notes I received about our comment in the recent shareholder letter regarding delivery timing of 40 kWh battery cars.

The confusion is my fault. When I reviewed the shareholder letter, I read the portions related to my area and not the final summary at the end. In the summary it said we would be delivering 40 kWh battery cars "later this summer." That is correct for those who place a reservation now, but not for those who already have a reservation.

40 kWh battery modules are on schedule to start phasing into battery production in March. They will work their way to the vehicle production line in April and will begin final assembly into cars by the end of April. Customer deliveries will begin at the end of April or the first half of May...not "later this summer."

Sorry for the confusion. This is a few weeks after previously stated, but not a 3 to 4 month delay as shown in the shareholder letter.


Thanks for the clarification George. Would be good if you had someone on 'social media triage' - a lot of folks been fretting over this one. Maybe you also got some unintended cancellations...

Would that be as opposed to intended cancellations? |8-0

Dear George Blankenship, If the delay is 3-4 weeks not 3-4 months, that means the shareholder letter may be full of misleading information. As a share holder I feel misinformed about Tesla's real position. I also didn't get or see an apology by Tesla for yet - another delay. Has Tesla ever heard of communication with their customers to make sure they could feel good about their long term, interest free, high risk deposit? Lessons in leadership and honesty may be in order. We are people with feelings just like you. Treat us like it! David Slagle

In any business, people in charge of every department of that company make an everlasting impression on people. If Tesla moves forward with staff displaying poor performance, Tesla could acquire a poor reputation and company failure could result. Just a thought.

Your pugnacious tone is uncalled-for. It was an inadvertent ambiguous phrasing. "Staff displaying poor performance" is OTT and insulting for the fun of it.

Wishing that there was an ignore function!

George has never improved in the area of customer communication just continues to take the blame. He doesn't even share with other staff members that are taking incoming phone calls with updated information before the public has it. That's as cruel as the way he is treating eagerly awaiting and invested customers. There is no excuse for this type behavior in his position. Sucking up a poor performance rating would be better than losing your job. Change is imminent.

I'd like to see a monthly newsletter from Tesla with a page dedicated to progress on deliveries and production forecasts. Maybe instead if blogging, one of us can create an "independent" newsletter.

They just pulled the '40kwh' thread from the Bulletin Board. Hopefully they are updating it.

GeorgeB: thank you for letting us know.


I was also looking for that thread, but could not find it.

I can't stress enough how canceling the Tesla S 40kWh will get me back to normal health and well being in my life. Cancellation initiated 2/26/13 11am ET with Raza in ownership experience. This eliminate anymore speculation. Now I'm positive what's in the future. I'm not getting a Tesla S 40kWh due to poor management.

@davidslagle: As one who shares your frustration with the continued lack of communication throughout the process (only 16 months of frustration for me so far vs. over 3.5 years for you), I have come incredibly close to cancelling three times in the past six months or so. I completely respect your decision, wish you well, and hope your decision is part of the wake-up call for Tesla to improve their customer service. I do think that, after they deliver cars to all the fanatics, they could have problems with future customers if they don't improve their customer service model.

That being said, I am currently sticking with my reservation simply because I cannot find a car (ICE or EV) that I would rather have. Simple as that. In fact, if I did cancel prior to production, I would probably just try to squeeze many more years out of my existing car (currently going on 10 years) given what is currently available at a gas-equivalent price range. I very much look forward to my 40 kWh Model S and very much hope the frustration level is less between now and production.

@davidslagle -

Congratulations. I would absolutely do the same if there were a suitable ev alternative.

My financial well being is also being restored. Thanks for your comments and I wish you well in your pursuit of a really cool car. It was hard but I got it right.

We selected the 40 kwh and already commited. I know this is going to sound odd, but I for one am glad that our car is delayed. We had some unplanned expenses to handle first and this delay gives us enough time to get our finances in order. I do feel like Tesla should give us the interest on our $5k loans though....

Maybe they should give us free 4 (or 8) year service plan packs.

At current bank rates, why bother?

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