Tesla Model 3 Reservations: Employees, Owners To Get Priority

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Tesla owners received an email from the company in which a few more details about the upcoming Model 3 unveiling event have been revealed. It also contains details about the reservation process for the highly anticipated mass-market electric car. Apart from the logistic details, the email stated that Model 3 reservations for current Tesla owners will be prioritized over those for non-owners.

Tesla to give priority to employees and owners

In the email, Tesla stated: “As a current owner who has supported Tesla and our mission, your reservation will take priority and be placed ahead of non-owners.”

Electrek claimed that Tesla also plans to prioritize Model 3 reservations for employees. This means that now there are at least two groups of people who will have priority in the Model 3 reservation queue.

It somewhat seems fair because if there are two groups of people that deserve preferential treatment, they are the people making the cars and early adopters who kept Tesla afloat long enough to be able to make its third-generation vehicle. However, this might result in a significant backlog. Currently there are 15,000 people employed worldwide with Tesla, and it has a loyal base of over 10,000 owners. So it will result in a backlog even before the public can get to order the car.

More interesting implication of this reservation process

More interestingly, it will create a complex situation in the U.S. where a cap of 200,000 units sold per manufacturer is imposed on the $7,500 Federal tax credit for electric vehicles. It is expected that in 2018, the EV firm will hit its limit, and this means only early reservations can ensure the availability of the full tax credit for the vehicle.

So it is much possible that the rest of the public will not have access to the credit or at least not the full credit even with a reservation. The current law grants customers the full credit for the full quarter with no apparent limit on units once the 200,000 cap is reached. After that they will receive $3,750 for the following six months, and then the amount goes down to $1,875 for the next six months.

“That means that for most of 2019 Tesla buyers won’t likely have much federal incentive to buy cars. By 2020, the Federal Subsidy will have likely run out,” says Electrek.

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