The Tesla Model 3 Standard Range (not pictured), the long-awaited "$35,000 Tesla," is still not being delivered to buyers, although Tesla opened orders last month and claimed a two-to-four-week wait time.

The Model 3 Standard Range Plus trim is more expensive and is the car that many buyers are now claiming Tesla sales reps are pushing on them.

Tesla now says the wait for delivery is six to eight weeks, but some buyers are saying they're being told to wait longer.



It has been three years since Elon Musk announced there would be a $35,000 Model 3, and the much-ballyhooed long list of people who put down deposits are still without that actual car. While Tesla opened orders for the Standard Range trim last month, buyers have now reported Tesla reps are delaying their scheduled delivery dates and trying to upsell them on pricier trims. Which begs the question: Has Tesla built even one base Model 3?

Tricky sales tactics, which have been reported by buyers on multiple Tesla forums this week, aren't different from how traditional car dealerships operate despite Tesla's making it a point of pride that it sells directly to the public. Hey, the LX you want is out of stock, but I can put you into the HSLEX Premium Plus for just $250 more per month! We've heard that before. Oh, that lease deal we advertised on TV? Someone already claimed the one car with that price. Come on in, we've got nine other models that are $5000 above your budget. That's familiar, too. And it's essentially what some buyers say they are hearing.

"I just got a call from someone at Tesla asking me to pay more for the longer-range Model 3. Otherwise, my configuration won't be ready until the end of June," one user on the Reddit r/TeslaMotors thread posted on Monday. "This is after telling me my car would be ready by the end of March and having me cough up more cash when I ordered."

The Tesla Motors Club forum has a thread called "SR Not Plus Waiting Room," which refers to the Standard Range model without the "partial premium interior" and performance upgrades that add $2500 to the car's base price. Last month, the estimated wait time for a new Standard Range was given as two to four weeks, a claim that seemed difficult to believe considering that a significant number of the 300,000-plus deposits Tesla says it has collected since 2016 were for this very car. Tesla's website now estimates six to eight weeks for the Model 3 Standard Range and two weeks for every other trim level. But some buyers claim they have been told Tesla won't deliver their cars until June.

"Just got a call for the up sale. Sales rep stated SR+ will be available in 2 weeks. SR will be push back till June," said one member on TMC.

We've seen commenters call the tactic a "bait and switch." One suspicion we've seen on the forums is that the company is pushing the Standard Range Plus in an effort to boost quarterly profits by selling more expensive cars before its federal tax credit, already down to 50 percent of the original number at $3750, halves again to $1875 on July 1.

"That allows them to upsell the SR+ for another three months with the argument that an SR+ with the $3750 tax credit is nearly the same price as a SR with $1875 tax credit," another user wrote.

Tesla did not post a response on its website, Musk did not tweet about it, and when we contacted Tesla, its spokesperson declined comment.

For the people who view a Model 3 purchase as a novelty—and, we suspect, that's most of them—waiting and waiting some more may not affect their opinions, but we hope they're prepared for the no-frills cabin of the Standard Range car. For $36,200 with destination, we're talking manual cloth seats, a "basic audio" system, and auto-dimming power-fold mirrors. You do get the glass roof and the giant touchscreen.

C/D columnist Ezra Dyer wrote about putting down his deposit for the $35,000 Model 3 nearly a year ago. Faced with delays, he has now canceled his Model 3 reservation; instead, he is shopping for a used Model S for under $40,000. A lot of 2014s are now available at that price, he's finding.

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