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I may move from sig to general prod, but keep a spot in the delivery line for sure, until the next news release.

I made my reservation for a general production 'P' model S in August of 2009 and have anxiously awaiting delivery for more than 2 years. My mandatory options from the beginning were the 60Kwh battery and the Pano roof. I have several 'maybe' options but since the 60Kwh battery cars won't be manufactured until autumn of next year, I will have plenty of time to think about which 'maybe' options I will settle on. There was nothing in their pricing of options that would make me cancel my reservation. I remain committed to the purchase of a vehicle which will change the automotive industry forever.

For the Sig reservation holders, I feel that Tesla can do a lot of things to make the $3.5K premium you paid worth it. Think of 'first class' on a plane flight. Or gold members at your favorite hotel. There are many ways that Tesla can make you feel special. What if Sig Owners get a higher level of customer service whenever you call or bring your car in? Or being eligible for a longer bumper-to-bumper warranty than the 'P' owners can get? I think there are countless ways Tesla can make you feel that premium was well spent. Give them a chance.

@TonyF, well said, a coworker stood in line for over 6 hours to get the first iPhone, he dropped it and broke it a week later, took it in and they replaced it for free. When he couldn't get great reception on AT&T's Edge network he got discounts from ma bell herself just to keep the early adopters happy. I believe TM will do right by the Sig holders.

TM should realize that if Sig holder put the difference ($35K into TSLA stock) it would be worth quite a bit more (about ~20% depending on when they bought or if they sold since).

I am concerned with the likelyt international pricing and probably will not get the sig. Still want the85 battery, but only because it will decrease in capacity over time and I mean to keep the car for a long time. I dont need a lot of the options and can probably save myself $10000 . I did want the red but not the white upholstery, so am happy to sacrifice the badges. Makes no sense for performance tires. In Australia they can run to $300 each over and above regular hard compound tires. Love electric cars and the ability to tell the camel jockeys what to do with themselves and their oil. I will be doing minimal freeway driving as I am retired and hope this is my last car.

I was planning on a 160 with 10 to 20K in options so my reaction to the pricing was about in line. In fact, I thought the sport pricing was fair for 4.4 super car. Since the 160 has been "dumbed down" it forces me to the higher end, I expected more from Elon and TSLA. So now if I add another 20K to my original price expectation, I get to 92,190 after rebates (Fed + CA $2,500). Bottom line is: I will still buy but I am forced up the battery chain which does not make me feel good as a customer but does as a shareholder (I think the average selling price will be >80K for all models in 2012-13).

O well, I may have to get a part time job to raise the extra money ... looking pretty cool to roll up to my Walmart greeter job in a Sport M. S. !!!

What the .... I may stand corrected. The 5K in options is required to add and is NOT included in the base price of the Sport. So 10K delta to expectations .... price is not "fair."

{mscottring | DECEMBER 22, 2011 NEW
This is the official answer I just received from Tesla via email:

"You are correct, the Price of the Model S Performance comes out to $84,900 with the required packaging."}

This is starting to look like amateur hour ... Marketing is not looking near as good as the car. Elon fix this now! See

http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/tesla-you-need-fight-these-fires...

http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/model-s-performance-price-question

joe - Keep in mind that "required packaging" is referred to as "additional STANDARD equipment". What? If it's standard then why am I paying for it?

Unfortunatley I had to drop my Canada signature reservation. I'm back in the general line now. The price announcement made it clear that it was beyond what I could afford. As opposed to waiting and dropping later I thought it was best to do it now and give Tesla the most time to offer to someone else.

Tim10 - You're still going to get a great car though.

For me personally, I am banking on my state (CA) new zero emission single occupancy HOV lane law, as a HUGE factor of the price point. I need a fully electric vehicle with at least a good 200+ mile range, to get back years of my life wasted sitting in gridlock traffic. While some spend thousands on gym memberships, and others for special diets, vitamins, etc, for their health, I am of the FIRM belief that sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic takes years off your life.

So, for me personally the extra money for this vehicle is an investment in my health and longevity, never mind, pease of mind, etc and so on.

Otherwise, I will not deny, if I didn't have to commute SO far in the worlds worst traffic (Los Angeles), I might not consider spending as much as a $100k for this vehicle. I am sure we all have our reasons for buying the Model S... be it, to save the planet, snub the gas pump, have the latest thing, be the first to own it, or save your own personal sanity, we are all obviously willing to spend what we have to, to own one.

Discoducky, your comments in this thread are spot on IMO. All of us are impatiently waiting to finally get the car of our dreams, but it is much more sensible to play it cool until we actually know what we are talking about.

Unfortunately, few people see the whole picture. That's a well-known fact and therefore it's still Tesla, not the impatient customers, who's to blame for uproar that entailed the publishing of the long-awaited but obviously not entirely well-prepared "Options & Pricing" page. The public reaction really should have been foreseeable and taken care of in advance by Tesla.

Msocttring, yes still expecting to get a model s however will depend on final Canadian pricing, clarification of what standard options are included and a test drive. If the drive is anything like the roadster I'm sure a quick test drive will remove any lingering doubts when it comes time to sign. Just not willing to spend over 100k for a car at this point in my life.

I will most likely drop my P-reservation although I agree with the earlier comments and will wait and give TM a chance to set things right.

I was in for a base 40Kwh model. This is already more than I would spend on any car normally but as most of you, I think there is a good reason to spend the money on this particular car.

However, after the option pricing, my biggest concerns are the change in performance numbers, warranty and use of the charging network for the 40Kwh version.

I know there are fewer cells in the small battery pack but I still don't see why this would have to limit the performance or longevity of the battery nor the use of the charging network.
Is TM really going to build a charging network that no other electric car can use and then also exclude their own base model? That just sounds like a crazy decision to me.

I was a little shocked about the Tech package as well although I might be able to get over that. I can't afford a larger battery pack or most (any) of the options listed. The 50K car is what I was looking for but now it seems that it will become a dumbed down version with limited charging and performance capabilities.

Very disappointed...

Volker - Again you've taken the words right out of my mouth.

I'm not super happy about the size of the Signature vs. non-Sig differential (especially since the Sig package has options I wouldn't have picked which increases the differential for me). However, for now, I'll sit on my Sig reservation -- I guess I am willing to pay $8k more to not be in the 2013 delivery pile. At the very least, I'm not willing to give up my space until I've actually test driven a car. And that will be the real test!

Two things bug me about the Signature versus Production price differential, and both come down to TM not meeting expectations.

First, the Sig was originally thought of as a fully loaded car with few, if any, options. But after looking at the options and pricing page, it is clear it is merely priced fully loaded with options to downgrade. Clear incentive to keep all the options, but having the 'option' to downgrade makes you wonder about the whole point of streamlining the first 1000 cars.

Second, after putting 8x the reserve deposit down I don't think anybody expected to *pay more* than an equivalently optioned production car. The expectation may have been just a little badging and a special color (like paint shops don't exist) but paying more to get the same stuff wasn't really part of the expectations.

Correcting myself: the Sig actually has few downgrade options -- wheels and paint. Everything else appears standard, so that WILL streamline production quite a bit.

So I guess it comes down to a larger deposit wasn't the only thing getting the Sig -- it is also paying more for the same options. Bottom line: I'm sitting tight for now. Interior specifics will make or break it now, I think.

Hi Folks,

I know that a number of you are disappointed by certain issues, but before doing anything in the heat of the moment that might be difficult to reverse, please read this posting which which I believe does a good job of putting things in perspective.

Visit Putting Everything into Perspective

Larry

Read it. Changes nothing for me. The car is great, the company messed up. Before they open the system for ordering my hope is they will make some corrections.

I don't disagree about the need for more clarity. My point only is that folks should avoid knee jerk reactions that they may regret later. It wouldn't hurt to focus on the entire donut not the just the hole.

Happy Holidays,

Larry

Larry - I completely agree with you on that. Some people have already cancelled, and I don't understand that at all. I'm not happy with the company right now, but this is still a great car, nothing has changed that.

I am actually pretty pleased by the options. My first post in this forum was a request for an air suspension that lowered the vehicle at high speeds while (essential for me) allowed one to raise that precious battery pack higher from harms way when the roads became challenging. Getting a reservation was a long shot hope that they would do this without breaking the bank for me and it has paid off. Another key option for me was the inclusion of the 2 rear boosters which they were clear all along would cost extra but be an option. The last hurdles for me will be the test drive, guessing at reliability of things like the air suspension, and maintenance options for one of the few reservation holders living in vermont on and surrounded by very curvy dirt roads. Oh yeah and convincing the wife we can own the only sports looking car in the area. I believe I also in the minority here who are not looking for a beautiful looking sports car. I am more interested in its utility and performance and wish it could do that in a less showy way. Oh well can't have everything.

mvbf;
I predict you'll be considering switching to an X when they're revealed.

MVBF,

As a VT Roadster owner and someone with a Model S reserved, you can tell your wife you won't be the only one driving a sporty car on dirt roads!

DJ in Jericho

mvbf, make sure you have a clearbra installed immediately to protect the paint job from those thrown rocks!

@Larry,
Thanks for the link to Todd's post. That's good stuff. It's all accurate, except for maybe the 1/10th the cost of fuel. That's a little generous. For most people, 1/6th the cost of fuel is closer to reality, but that's still significant.

In 8 days, I will be telling folks that my Tesla sedan will be delivered "THIS YEAR".

Happy Holidays to all!!!!!!!!

It really depends on where you live. I've calculated it out and electricity here, near Tacoma, is about 10% of the cost of gas. So I would consider 10% a best-case scenario.

I AM IN.

The “S” is as beautiful as a Jaguar or Aston Martin Rapide, Porsche fast, SUV spacious, and Rolls quiet. The price is competitive, the technology is... years ahead of everything else.

Signature holders, I think TM will soothe your pain on the price differential. Afterall, you will have the “S” first, and will be Tesla’s goodwill ambassadors. It would be hard to share the love if you feel taken advantage of.

@petero: "The “S” is as beautiful as a Jaguar or Aston Martin Rapide, Porsche fast, SUV spacious, and Rolls quiet. The price is competitive, the technology is... years ahead of everything else."

+1 petero! Agree 100%!

The Sport Model S compares very favorably to the Panamera 4S in both price and performance. But the Porsche only seats 4 and it's definitely not an EV. I don't know what the total storage is in the Porsche, but it's definitely nowhere close to the Model S and it doesn't have that glass roof!

In Oregon, nighttime rates are really cheap. it'll cost me about 1/20th of gas costs per mile.