Wow, lucky is right!
You have no idea.
Over on the Tesla forum I read of many delivery horror stories AS WELL as customers that were very pleased with their delivery experience. I guess it is sort of a crap shoot depending upon the location and personnel involved. I can't wait for Tesla to get past this "deliver Hell" such that everyone can be a "happy camper"!!You have no idea.
I got to experience first hand much of the organizing and thru-put on Friday. I went to the Westmont delivery and service center on Friday. Behind the building was rows of Tesla organized A-F and number 1-25 ish (so A1, A2 ... F24, F25) where the location of each car was tracked as the JIT (just-in-time) flow of customers completing paperwork, then customer being taken to their cars for walk-around inspections, then a walk-thru inside the car and interface.
It was outstanding.
I also got to go to and see the nearby lot that they took trade-ins to and where they were prepping 100s of cars. They had a system based on scheduled delivery times. Each windshield was marked and as cars were cleaned and prepped they were marked to be taken to the delivery center. Several hired valets were making these runs.
It was very well organized.
Trucks of cas were also being delivered for the JIT next day (or next few days) deliveries (queued).
My son picked up his blue Model 3 that afternoon. His paperwork was smooth and quick even tho he was from out-of-state.
Back of Westmont delivery and service center.
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Parking next to the nearby 'warehouse' where dozens of cars were inside being prepped (I was in there but didn't take pictures)
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Another parking lot next to the nearby 'warehouse' where dozens of cars were inside being prepped (I was in there but didn't take pictures). In the background were few trade-in cars.
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Tesla does not have any stores, only showrooms except maybe in California. You can sit in a Tesla vehicle in a Tesla Showroom and schedule a test drive but you have to place your Tesla order online.
Houston isn't that far. One Supercharger stop in St Charles and you're home.
You mean Lake Charles? The map I saw showed that it is illegal to sell Teslas in the state of Texas (and Arkansas) just like in Louisiana.
Tesla does not sell cars in Texas, it sells cars in California to people who live in Texas and then delivers the cars to them. The way it works is that a Texan goes online to order (just like everywhere else). Even if you go to one of the 8 Tesla stores or 6 Tesla service centers Houston, Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio to look at the vehicles, you still order online from one of the iPads in the store. You pay a $2,500 deposit. When the car is ready to ship from California, you pay the balance (while the vehicle is still in CA) and then Tesla puts it on a truck to the delivery center closest to you (or schedules to deliver it to your home). After you pick it up, they register it for you and send you Texas tags and title in the mail. It is pretty straightforward. From the consumer perspective the only difference is that you have to pay five days or so before delivery. (Though there have been some nightmare stories about shipping delays, especially in Dallas.)
I am not clear on how this is materially different from "When you order a Bolt, you're ordering it in Detroit and it only gets delivered to California."
In this case you are buying the vehicle from the dealer, not from the manufacturer directly. The auto dealer franchise rules vary by state, date back more than 100 years. These state commerce regulations protect dealer territories. Sears Roebuck sold an automobile named the Allstate, for just two years, via the Sears catalog. It is stated that Sears stopped selling its automobiles because of the complicated business of vehicle trade ins. http://www.searshomes.org/index.php/tag/did-sears-sell-cars/
