Tesla Model Y

Date Slippage in the Tesla Model Y Order Process

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

I ordered a Tesla Model Y in May 2021. I wrote about the decision a bit, and as of this date, I haven’t gotten the car yet. When I took the test drive, the salesman noted that cars would likely be delivered in August then. Maybe July, but likely August to September. I ordered that night, May 21.

I didn’t track this explicitly, but the first time I checked on Jun 1, I had a month range. Here is the summary of what I’d seen as the possible delivery dates. The first date is the day I checked.

• May 22 – July-Sept
• Jun 1 – Aug-Sept
• Jul 6 – Aug 14-Sep 3
• Jul 18 – Aug 15 – Sep 4
• Jul 23 – Aug 18 – Sep 10
• Jul 30- Aug 21 – Sep 10
• Aug 4 – Aug 26 – Sep 15
• Aug 10 – Aug 27 – Sep 16
• Aug 16 – Aug 26 – Sep 15
• Aug 18 – Aug 27- Sep 15
• Aug 19 – Aug 28 – Sep 16

Mostly things have slipped, but last week things improved by a day. I can’t imagine how hard it is to predict these days, given a large manufacturing environment. I do like seeing the updates, and I don’t think they need to keep emailing me. It’s a few minutes to check if I want to know.

As I get closer, I keep checking daily. I’m out of town this week, so having it slip to Aug 30 at the earliest is fine.

When I checked on Jun 1, this was when I saw a story that the third quarter was sold out. When I looked at the ordering process, the estimate in the tool was October, so I was glad we’d ordered that day. Not to mention May 22 had a $500 price increase, and a few more since.

When I started this process, delivery was November, and when I checked the date for my last post, things were delivering in December. This week I saw a note that you can’t get a Model Y in the US before 2022 right now, in mid August.

Priorities and Changes

One thing I’ve seen a few people note is that the higher priced models, the performance ones, sometimes will jump in line ahead of the cheaper ones. I have the lower Model Y version, the longer range one. There is no standard range one right now.

I understand Tesla might want to get those cars out quicker, as they add more to the bottom line, but I don’t know how many they’d have to prioritize to make a material difference. I certainly do think that the Plaid Model S and Model X might get re-prioritized slightly by cost rather than order date, but I don’t really know.

Just as likely, in my mind, is a glitch in their process and their picking the dates they send to customers.

I don’t feel too upset that a couple week slippage has appeared from the first date. It gives me a little more time to get prepared and get money ready, as quite a bit is due at delivery. Plus I am doing some work getting my old car ready to sell.

Other Possibilities

I saw a Ford Mach-E recently at the gym. At first I thought it was a Model Y with a Mustang badge on the front. I walked around, and realized it was a Ford. It’s nice looking.

If you order this, with the standard range version (230mi range), it’s 16+ weeks on the Ford site. If you want extended range, 302 miles, it’s 24+ weeks. That’s longer than Tesla.

I got a mailer about the BMW Electric cars, and that caught my eye. They don’t deliver until next summer.

I considered a Polestar 2, but I was a bit concerned that it’s another 1.0 car, and not a lot of charging infrastructure, plus lower range. Those say delivery in September, which is good.

Ultimately, no one has a track record here, and as I’ve watched the Bolt, the Leaf, Tesla, and other cars, it takes time to work out bugs. I think especially with the software, which is what I’m most concerned about.

Summary

I’m camping this week, so even if the car were available Aug 26, I couldn’t get it until next week. I’m hoping I get an update sometime while I’m in South Dakota that gives me a specific date when I can go pick it up. Hopefully this is the week of Aug 30 or Sep 6.

I’m certainly excited and ready.

If you want to see a rambling video version of this post, you can see my “I ordered a Tesla” video on My Colorado Tesla Experience Channel. You can see all of these posts by following the Tesla tag.

There is also a video version of this post on My Colorado Tesla Experience Channel. You can see all of these posts by following the Tesla tag.