Tesla’s Production Problems Spawn a Legion of Model 3 Stalkers

Every day, Ross Gerber checks his email for a message from Tesla Inc. Then he checks it again. And again. And again. Gerber is one of the half-million people with a reservation for the Model 3, Tesla’s latest electric sedan, and he’s been waiting two years for his number to come up. His clients at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, who own more than $10 million in Tesla shares, are just as eager to have more customers get good-news emails from Tesla—soon.

This is what can happen when the head of an investment firm with a staff at his disposal is also a Tesla super-fan and impatient customer. He sends employees on visits to a Model 3 distribution center in Marina del Rey, California, to count the cars. He tracks Model 3 deliveries on Twitter and Facebook, parsing public posts for evidence of new owners. He also checks in with reservation holders he knows around the country to find out who has gotten their congratulatory email from Tesla.

“You found the crazy guy,” Gerber says, laughing about his obsession.