Originally published on CleanTechnica.
We knew it was likely to happen but now it exists for real. The masses are converging on Tesla stores around the world with campers planning to stakeout the stores hours ahead of the opening time. With demand for an “affordable luxury car,” Tesla fanaticism is peaking.
One organized user has put together a Google Doc list to see who is going to be heading to each store and at what time. This is a fun way for folks to find out who they might be in line next to before they’re actually in line. It’s about community, commiseration, and, ultimately, about getting into a Tesla and driving electric. 🙂
What’s neat about this list is that it will also help users to “load balance” if they are near several stores (as is the case in Los Angeles and several other metro areas) and switch stores to line up at a store that might have a shorter line than others. Another tactic that seems to have cropped up is to show up a bit earlier, with many users noting that they’ll come by the night before or the morning of to see how things are looking, with an option to jump into line then if it looks like things are going to get crazy.
Is this a sign of the end times? Or maybe just a sign that Tesla has finally arrived as one of the latest tech companies to build fanatically perfect products… with a purpose to boot? They may not have achieved the mainstream adoption of Apple and Google, but to those of us who love cleantech, saving the planet, and Tesla, it is already much larger and, more importantly, hitting its stride in mainstream society.
These next 2 weeks are sure to be exciting with such massive news being spilled. Share in the comments if you’re planning to head over to snag a Model 3 reservation in person and, if you’re so inclined, add your name to the list. 🙂
The perfect EV Obsession article!
I don’t see the point of this. You can order on-line, why waste time waiting? It’s not like iphone where you get the car with physical presence.
@SparkEV So I know what you’re saying. However, it is different in that every minute you wait to put in your reservation could mean weeks/months longer that you’ll have to wait to get your Model3. For me this is a big deal. I have been waiting since the Roadster came out for this time of a more affordable Tesla. I have a 1998 Saturn SL that I have had now for 16 years. It defines the term “beater car” no AC, no power steering, no power windows. So for me I’ll be standing in line the night before to get my reservation in because I don’t know how much more of this “beater car” I can handle. Anyways not disagreeing with you I know your point is valid for some, but for me it can’t happen fast enough. That’s just my 3 cents.
Does Tesla offer different faster time to get the car from standing in line? Data would have to be entered into the computer with physical presence, so it would seem no different than doing it on-line. In fact, on-line might be quicker as you can prep all the data beforehand and quickly enter them.
For the ultimate, you might get in line and have your computer with wireless (LTE?) ready with all data filled in. If you manage to sign up on-line before getting in the store, great. But if not, you’d be first (or early) to get in the store.
As for your beater, wow, I haven’t seen crank windows in decades. If you ask some kids today, they wouldn’t know how to “roll down” the windows!
I hope your beater will run for 2 years. Tesla is known to be late with all their models.
SparkEV howdy. I totally agree I would prefer to reserve online. However, here is the deal: Stores open at 10:00am at which time you can reserve in stores, online reservations do NOT start until 8:30pm that same day. So you have a good 10 hours of in store reservations before online reservations even start. 🙂
Aha! I didn’t know that. Well, good luck. I hope you get the early one. This is going to be interesting media circus. You might become famous! 🙂