Photo: Ellen Fader Photo: Ellen Fader Photo: Ellen Fader Photo: Ellen Fader Photo: Photos By Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

Instead of partying on New Year’s Eve, hundreds of people who had ordered Teslas for delivery before a federal tax credit expired after Dec. 31 lined up at the company’s Fremont plant to pick up their cars.

The atmosphere was festive: People were handing out water, snacks, toy Teslas and tickets to a food truck. The day before, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he was “headed to Tesla Fremont factory tomorrow to help with vehicle deliveries,” which earned him accolades from followers.

But the event was not so rewarding for people who went home after midnight without a car or a tax credit after waiting in line for hours in the cold. Ellen Fader of Oakland was one of them.

When Fader put a deposit down on a Tesla Model 3 at the Walnut Creek store on Nov. 27, she told the salesman she needed to pick up the vehicle before a $1,875 federal tax credit expired after Dec. 31.

The federal tax credit for an electric vehicle starts phasing out after its manufacturer has sold 200,000 electric vehicles in the United States. The credit for Teslas, originally $7,500, started shrinking on Jan. 1, 2019, and went to zero after 2019.

The last week of November, Tesla reportedly sent emails to potential customers that said, “Place your order and take delivery by December 31, 2019 to be eligible for the federal tax credit. Orders placed near the end of the year are not guaranteed to be delivered by December 31.”

During her test drive, Fader told the salesman she was flying back East on Dec. 17 and was concerned about getting the credit. The next day, she received an email from the salesman that said, “Once the financing is complete, it is my job to track a car for you by the 17th before you leave for the East Coast.”

When she didn’t hear back, she emailed the salesman on Dec. 13, asking for an estimated delivery date. He responded, “ETA is about the 20th.”

Fader decided to fly to New Jersey as planned on the 17th, but come home early to get the tax credit.

On Dec. 18, she got a text saying she could pick up her car on Dec. 19 and should either confirm the appointment or request a call back. When she got a call back, “I asked about a Dec. 30 or 31 pickup date. They told me not to worry and that I should contact them when I got back,” Fader said.

She paid about $300 to change her return ticket to Saturday, Dec. 28.

On the morning of Dec. 30, she started calling “any Tesla number I could find.” She finally reached a person who said she had an appointment to pick up her car on New Year’s Eve at 8 p.m. at the Tesla factory in Fremont.

She called a friend she was supposed to meet for New Year’s Eve dinner. The friend, Ann-Marie Hogan, agreed to accompany Fader to the factory.

When they got to the plant a little before 8, they were stunned to see hundreds of people waiting in line. “Everyone I asked had an 8 p.m. appointment,” Fader said.

After checking in, the pair waited outdoors for almost four hours, Fader in a dress and light jacket. “I got dressed up for the Tesla,” she said.

While Fader stood in line, Hogan tried to find out what was happening. “There were plenty of young interns or volunteers, as they called themselves, to give us drinks, little snacks, but basically no communication or completely contradictory information from anyone who had any actual knowledge,” Hogan said.

Neither woman saw Musk. They did see people driving away in new Teslas.

“When I got to the door of the warehouse, it was quarter to 12,” Fader said. “They directed me to a person who was looking up registration numbers that we got when we put our deposit down.” But they couldn’t find her paperwork.

“We were told that they couldn’t print the paperwork, that there weren’t enough printers, that there weren’t enough people who understood how to use the printer,” Hogan said.

Fader was directed to wait in a room until her paperwork was found. But when she got there, she saw at least 100 people ahead of her waiting for paperwork.

Saving on an electric vehicle Although Teslas no longer qualify for a federal tax credit, other electric vehicles still do. People who buy a new all-electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid can get a tax credit of up to $7,500, depending on its size and battery capacity. It’s not available if you lease a car, but “it is typically factored into the price of the lease itself,” said Ronald Montoya, senior consumer advice editor with Edmunds.com. After a carmaker has sold 200,000 electric vehicles, the credit for all its models is cut in half, then in half again, then to zero over 12 months. General Motors is the only other maker to hit 200,000; its reduced credits expire after March 31. For federal credits: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml Many states, local agencies and utilities also have electric-vehicle incentives, some for people who lease. A California Air Resources Board program provides rebates for the purchase or lease of new eligible zero-emission vehicles. The standard rebate is $1,000 for a plug-in hybrid, $2,000 for a battery electric and $4,500 for a fuel-cell vehicle. Low- and middle-income consumers can get a higher rebate. No rebate is available (except on fuel-cell vehicles) if your gross income, including tax-exempt income, is above $150,000 (single), $204,000 (head of household) or $300,000 (married filing jointly). The state made some changes to the program effective Dec. 2. It stopped rebates for plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars that cost more than $60,000, including high-end Teslas. The Tesla Model 3 is still eligible for a $2,000 rebate. For more information on the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project: https://cleanvehiclerebate.org For information on other incentives in California, including from utilities: https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/ev/incentives For state incentives nationwide: https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/state

The pair waited at the plant until 12:30 a.m, then left without a car, except a toy Tesla.

“My wild guess is that it was so important to Tesla to make the fourth quarter numbers, that they gave 8 p.m. appointments to a wildly unrealistic number of people, and then didn’t provide the staffing to make it happen,” Hogan said in an email.

Neither Tesla nor Fader’s salesman responded to requests for comment.

Despite losing the tax credit, Fader still wanted a Tesla because of the safety and self-driving features. And she may qualify for a $2,000 electric-vehicle rebate from the state.

Fader finally got the car delivered on Tuesday. The man who delivered it said he had just delivered another Tesla to someone who waited in line on New Year’s Eve.

Fader said she was offered no apology or accommodation for her long, cold wait and losing the tax credit. The delivery man suggested she ask for rubber floor mats.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender