Luxury vs sport:
I read many of these posts and I feel there is a major aspect to this issue many are missing. Because this car is so amazing and it is engineered so well to perform better than any sedan on the market, it clouds the major question of: Is this supposed to be a sports car, or a luxury sedan. I feel, the Model S is being marketed as a luxury sedan with amazing performance. If this is the case, then it is still a luxury sedan and thus the car should have the standard interior comforts described in previous posts. This car can't just work for the east coast or west coast. It has to work worldwide. Let's not forget that it is a symbol of an emerging industry and it cannot be anything but spectacular, for the industry's sake.
I spoke to a tesla rep on the phone and he said Elon is not reving up production quickly because he wants them to get the quality right, before mass producing. Obviously he understands what this car means to the future of EVs. If there's anything that goes wrong with quality from the begginning, it could mean very bad news.
With that in mind, for someone like myself, some of the interior just won't work. I live in Texas, and the distance from one place to the other is something no one understands until they live here. When I travel to the east coast, I will drive from one state to the other. One major city to the next and it's a complete joke. I barely have time to get bored. In Texas, different story. My daily commute to work is 1-1:30 hours each way and YES, I like my coffee in the morning like most Americans. Sure it's not important for people that want peel out all day every day in their Model S and don't "need" it or see the functionality, but for most everyday people these things are not "options." If this car is going to be marketed to the luxury buyer (which is the only one who can afford it), then the interior design MUST step up. When I go out with my wife at night, she may check her make-up/lipstick in the vanity mirror before getting out. Wow! What a concept! If my kid drops something in the back seat at night. Guess what? I'm gonna turn on the light and look for it. No, I'm not gonna use my cell phone (I can't believe someone actually wrote that as a solution) and search in the dark with a little light and feel around. I'm supposed to be inside a LUXURY car!
These are not revolutionary things. What these people are asking for is every things that already come standard in most cars because just about EVERYONE needs them. Maybe not ALL the time, but when they do, those things should be there and comfortably! You can't just stick a cup holder by someone's elbow (and at the expense of their arm rest might I add) and say "there's your cup holder! See, we're luxurious!"
If this car is going to be marketed to anyone other than the enthusiasts, then this must change. The enthusiasts don't care. That's fine. To survive however, this company will need to cater to more than 12,000 people (some of which are on this forum and are already seeing the glaring faults in interior design).
