Gifts for children, gifts for you

for the uninitiated, X was supposed to ship by end of 2025 but is delayed until February 2026.

last week we posted a survey -- how can TRMNL express gratitude for your patience as we delay X model shipments?

a whopping 1,471 subscribers responded, of which 79.3% were pre-order customers.

results

• 30.3% voted for a charity donation
• 29.2% voted for a Free TRMNL+ subscription
• 15.1% voted "Other" with > 300 write-in ideas
• 9.7% voted for our team to take the ice bucket challenge
• 9.1% voted for me to shave my head, eyebrows, and armpits

to satisfy the majority of respondents we're making charity contributions and granting all X pre-orders a free TRMNL+ subscription for 6 months.

charity contribution

given myriad great causes our first predicament was to choose an audience generally. we've decided on children.

among this category are groups focused on family matters, education, and healthcare. let's make a tiny impact to all three.

donation 1 - Save the Children ($5,000)

96% score on Charity Navigator; funds go to disaster relief, education, and newborn health services.

donation 2 - Children Miracle Network ($5,000)

95% score on Charity Navigator; funds go to hospital bills and pediatrician visits.

donation 3 - Toys for Tots ($5,000)

99% score on Charity Navigator; has distributed 708 million toys to 300+ million kids in needs.

claiming your TRMNL+ subscription

next week (beginning December 1) we'll send a unique promo code to every TRMNL X pre-order using the email attached to your store checkout.

this code may be redeemed at any time, on any TRMNL account, so don't worry if you used separate inboxes to sign up versus purchase, or if you bought the TRMNL for someone else.

digging into the data

since announcing the delay on November 20th, only 47 orders have been canceled. this represents just 1.2% of all X pre-orders. thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with us.

as for the survey, over 300 people wrote in an "Other" response. here are a few:

• A job at TRMNL :)
• buy a 🍺 for each team member
• Chill out it’s only a delay 😅
• Continue the work you are doing.
• develop some of the weirdest, most off-the-wall feature ideas that were vetoed early in design.
• Do nothing, keep working hard!
• Eat a weird bug, like a cricket or a cockroach or something
• founder bungee jump
• Give yourselves a hug and then a high five
• It’s all good, delays happen. Love my TRMNL
• Just never let your republican party ever get voted in again, we're sick of the relentless news headlines over here :) Thanks, from Ireland
• Keep the honest communication. No punishment required
• Learn the lesson. Ship when ready.
• Meh, stuff happens. Admitting the fault and being transparent is enough.
• No worries, mate
• Nothing (written in 43 times)
• Start typing using capital letters at the start of your sentences!
• The apology was enough. Focus on the product.
• vote democrat
• You guys are doing great, take it easy :)

curious readers can peruse all the raw data (no PII) here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZHFUGbVUrfQKzh6C3oGBxaRzT8vN6qKusmM0AxlIekY/edit?usp=sharing

next steps

we'll update this blog post when official receipts come in from the 3x charities above. X pre-orders can stand by for TRMNL+ promo codes, redeemable any time with no expiration.

building this together has been a blast, we're forever grateful for your support, and we can't wait to show you what's next.

to staying focused,
Ryan and the TRMNL team