Saki GT

Time for a philosophical thread...

The Tesla 3 has garnered a lot of attention and an astounding +300k preorders in a few weeks time, and Tesla itself is nearing 100k units sold in its lifetime.

Meanwhile, the Nissan Leaf has been on the market for five years and just recently surpassed 200k sales.

In your opinion, why such "low" sales for the Leaf and high interest in the 3?

white98ls

Leaf max range is 107 miles. The base Tesla Model 3 is supposed to be twice that.

Leaf is a pretty bare-bones commuter. Even the base Model 3 has Autopilot, a huge touchscreen, the Supercharger network, etc.

But most of all, the Tesla is cool... the Leaf is not.

postwarart

1. Hype
2. Looks.
3. Range.

4. ACCESSIBILITY. This car means electric is no longer for the uber-rich or for the quirky, because it solves two major problems the leaf does have:

It doesn't LOOK like it compromises anything.
Its range rivals some sports cars and SUVs.

[Semi-off topic]

I think, and hope, that this car revolutionizes the industry like the Mustang did - car companies were catering to everyone BUT the young, and were not listening to what the younger generation were willing to spend extra on.

Mind you, please, I'm not riding on Musk like a rock star groupie. I'd like to point out, though, that kick starting this new wave of transportation will hopefully speed up the driver-less car tech. I saw not one, not two, but three people blow through a red light in Houston yesterday, while staring at their phones

[/semi-off topic]

(*edit: white98ls is a lot more concise than I am)

mosesbotbol

^^ This ^^

How much is the deposit? Is it refundable? Has anyone independently verified the count?

Soul Coughing

It's 1000 and is refundable, however, they do not owe interest etc. on the down payment. It's a pretty good injection of cash flow for a vehicle that won't be produced in relative big numbers until the beginning of 2018 (if they stick to their schedule).

I have a friend who sat in line for 5 hours at the store in the Short Hills mall in NJ to hopefully get nearer to the beginning of the line so they can get the 7500 tax rebate that expires after they (Tesla) produce 200k vehicles. Another friend put in a reservation online, but is definitely not getting in before that number is up. I don't know if its been independently verified.

Chris Stack

Do you want a sexy-looking sleek sedan, or an Urkle-wagon breadvan?

Anrosphynx

For the same reason that people that can't afford it own cars like BMW, Mercedes, ect.

People have the perception that Tesla is a high end vehicle (ala Model S and X), and this gives them an entry into the "luxury" exclusive market.

I had this exact argument with one of my employees. Essentially the Chevy Bolt will do the exact same mileage as the Tesla, will cost about the same but will never garner the same type of "hype" as the Tesla.

People are sheep.

And expect at least 50 percent that put their deposits down to drop out before the car comes even close to being released. I can't tell you how many times I have hear the "I am going to sell my place in line for a profit" statement.

billios996

Leaf is an overpriced dork-mobile with short range. MSRP for a loaded leaf is $36k for 100 mile range I'll take a stripper model 3 for $35k with double the range and 100x more panty dropping power.

waltk88

I'm not sure of the sequence in which the preorders will be fulfilled. Tesla has stated that the West Coast will get the first allocation of cars. Does this mean that all the West Coast preorders up to the initial West Coast allocation get delivered first even if there are preorders from other locations ahead in line?

Nandska

That's a good question. It would suck if they did all of the allocations in the west, then central, then east.