Am I the only one who couldn't care less if my Model 3 headliner is cloth instead of fake suede?

[daniel]

There is a global squeeze on Alcantara. Their supplier (who probably already disliked them, based on the common knowledge of how Tesla treat suppliers) decided to tell them to take a hike with their relatively small orders (with a delayed volume ramp up as a further annoyance) and instead decided to focus on their larger clients like BMW, VW, etc...... AKA they decided Tesla wasn't worth the headache.

How does Tesla treat suppliers? And how is that different from other manufacturers?

Not that many people.

The problem is, it is a sign of things to come: ordered and paid for cars that get delivered with different options than ordered, for things that matter. It happened before with seats on the Model S. A lot of that was fixed, but it seemed like it took forever to fix for a lot of people, and a lot of people seemed like they couldn't get it fixed. It could happen again with the Model 3. All of the currently configuring Model 3 customers are previous or current Tesla owners, so they're mostly familiar with this issue, and know what it means. Very few of them care hugely about the cloth vs. suede, but it is just one of those things that is a sign of trouble to come. However, I hope that this is just a little hiccup along the way, rather than a sign of future problems. I think Tesla tried to learn its lesson with this and not make this mistake on the Model X, and from what I can tell, it did pretty well on that.

Assuming they could not get the Alcantara, as others have posted, then what was Tesla's alternative? Delay the car yet again, making a lot more people a lot more upset?

A lot has been said about Alcantara being the stuff used in luxury cars. I've never regarded the Model 3 as a luxury car. The Model 3 is a long-range, zippy electric car for people who don't want or need the luxury and/or size of the Model S. Tesla makes a luxury car: The S. Now they're starting to make a car that, when the base model becomes available, will deliver peppy performance and over 200 miles of range for $35,000, which puts it into the price range of a lot of ordinary people who want to join the electric revolution but could not afford Tesla's offerings up until now, and don't want to accept the compromises of the other manufacturers.

The Model 3 is not a luxury car and is not intended to be a luxury car, and people are making a mountain out of a mole hill with Alcantara in the headliner of a car that has a glass roof and hardly any headliner to begin with. They made a call to go ahead and build cars with the material available rather than delay them even further. And they're providing more and better service than any other U.S.-based car company and most world-wide.

If you really need to have Alcantara, there are cars you can buy that have it. And if that's your deal-breaker on the 3 then please cancel your reservation. And if you already have your 3, and you were expecting Alcantara and you got cloth, I'm sure Tesla will take care of you. Or you can still sell it for a big profit and buy something else or wait for Alcantara to be available. Sheesh, people, this is really a tempest in a teapot.

 

[PhatCat]

After my earlier post in which I said i have alcantara in my S and don't like it, i have now been noticing it every time I drive. I realize that I *really* don't like it. It looks....tacky ... compared to the leather dash in my previous Jag XJ. In fact, I prefer the interior of the ELR to the S. The steering wheel on the ELR has Ultrasuede that also looks sloppy but at least it offers good grip and isn't as cold to the touch in winter.

Elon, save the alcantaras!

 

[evster]

Black textile would be perfect. I really hate light headliners and it just does not look good when the rest of the interior is dark grey/black. And if the headliner is black, there are no issues with stain independent of material.

And oh... REFLECTIONS! The reflection that the A-pillar gives in the windscreen having a light headliner is annoying. Same reason for not having a light dashboard to eliminate the reflections and aid safety.

 

[DennisLevitt]

Me too. Until reading all the complaints, I hadn't noticed anything about the headliner. There are so many differences between the S and the 3, I guess headliner never even entered our thoughts.

 

[sperkin]

I went to the Tesla store again last night to check out the Model S with Alcantara. The hundreds of time I sat in one I never touched the headliners, but this time I ran my hand over it. It felt oily and dirty probably because of all the people touching it. I also seems like it's something that'll be hard to clean.

After touching it, I now prefer cloth in the Model 3. The fibers doesn't trap dirt, oil, and moisture like Alcantara.

 

[derekmw]

I went to the Tesla store again last night to check out the Model S with Alcantara. The hundreds of time I sat in one I never touched the headliners, but this time I ran my hand over it. It felt oily and dirty probably because of all the people touching it. I also seems like it's something that'll be hard to clean.

After touching it, I now prefer cloth in the Model 3. The fibers doesn't trap dirt, oil, and moisture like Alcantara.

I have the 'alcantara' headliner and it does not feel oily/dirty nor do I have hundreds of people touching it everyday. If I had a choice, I will still pick the same headliner I have in my MS. I like this material over the textile material they changed to. I should also add, my wife's blender bottle shot up bits of her juice on the headliner. I was afraid it would get embedded in the fabric but instead, it just wipes right off. If it was this mesh textile material, I can see it being hard to get it our of the small weaves in the material.

My brother has a 2012 BMW with this 'textile' material and even though it's black (so I could live with black textile if I had to), it doesn't feel/look nearly as nice as mine.

But of course, this is just my opinion...and what is that really worth...

 

[gregincal]

Let’s see if we can educate that lack of understanding a bit:

Actually, most of the smudges came from service visits.

The wear is most obviously seen at the B-Pillars. Those being the ones George Blankenship said would be replaced as needed. Search this very site for those threads and his post.

The Alcantera tends to wear better and it for sure fits/is held by the molding better.

I’m willing to bet the new grey waffle weave holds up better than the old tan textile. Because nothing could be worse.

Except perhaps for whatever will serve as the new base textile product. Half expect that the “premium” headliner material will be base as well. Then they’ll just configure the PUP differently which would be an easy out.

I still don't really get why you would have a lot of wear on the B pillar. Here's the drivers' side B pillar on my S after 5 years and 50,000 miles. I've certainly never cleaned it in any way, and it looks fine to me for a 5 year old car.

 

[gregincal]

I still don't really get why you would have a lot of wear on the B pillar. Here's the drivers' side B pillar on my S after 5 years and 50,000 miles. I've certainly never cleaned it in any way, and it looks fine to me for a 5 year old car.

OK, funny. After all that, the car I picked up today has an Alcantara headliner (VIN 30xx). However, I went through the whole orientation and drove halfway home before I noticed.

 

[Moderatefan]

the car I picked up today has an Alcantara headliner (VIN 30xx)

Wow, this is an incredible luck, do you realize that? A lot of people would kill to get what you have.

 

[kavyboy]

It’s because of the global movement against killing those poor Alcantras.

At least they're not harvesting naugas for their hides as much anymore.

On topic: I do have B-pillar wear. After wearing a new red shirt, that the Alcantara is now stained red. I'm kind of scared to try to clean it for fear of making it worse.

 

[Stoneymonster]

At least they're not harvesting naugas for their hides as much anymore.

On topic: I do have B-pillar wear. After wearing a new red shirt, that the Alcantara is now stained red. I'm kind of scared to try to clean it for fear of making it worse.

Licking it is the recommended cleaning method.

 

[daniel]

Licking it is the recommended cleaning method.

No, that's for cleaning your cat.

 

[EVNow]

This alcantara stuff, does it feel cold like leather? That's why I prefer cloth to leather in usually cold Seattle.

 

[Sportstick]

This alcantara stuff, does it feel cold like leather? That's why I prefer cloth to leather in usually cold Seattle.

Alcantara is cloth.

 

[Sunshine State]

Alcantara is cloth.

Actually by definition the cheesy new headliner is cloth. While the new stuff isn’t bad because it is comparable to what is used in most econoboxes on the road. The irony is that they removed the premium material and attached the word premium to cloth. Alcantara is man made, by definition it can be called a fabric but most people think it is real Suede. Cloth is a woven fabric. Alcantara has a much more complicated manufacturing process.

 

[Sportstick]

Actually by definition the cheesy new headliner is cloth. While the new stuff isn’t bad because it is comparable to what is used in most econoboxes on the road. The irony is that they removed the premium material and attached the word premium to cloth. Alcantara is man made, by definition it can be called a fabric but most people think it is real Suede. Cloth is a woven fabric. Alcantara has a much more complicated manufacturing process.

It has a woven fabric surface, but resists pilling or fraying because it is combined with a polyurethane foam in a non-woven structure. ... Jul 14, 2014
What The Hell Is Alcantara, Anyway? - Jalopnik
https://jalopnik.com/what-the-hell-is-alacantara-anyway-1604799947

The surface that you see and touch is cloth, with a substrate.

 

[Sunshine State]

It has a woven fabric surface, but resists pilling or fraying because it is combined with a polyurethane foam in a non-woven structure. ... Jul 14, 2014
What The Hell Is Alcantara, Anyway? - Jalopnik
https://jalopnik.com/what-the-hell-is-alacantara-anyway-1604799947

The surface that you see and touch is cloth, with a substrate.

By definition cloth is woven. The surface of Alcantara a is made through a punching process. I not sure why I even bothered but I did quite a bit of reading on the subject due to the Tesla interior downgrading. Jalopnik isn’t a scientific website, I don’t blame them for the mistake if that is what they wrote, it’s more of a comical auto news site.

 

[Sportstick]

By definition cloth is woven. The surface of Alcantara a is made through a punching process. I not sure why I even bothered but I did quite a bit of reading on the subject due to the Tesla interior downgrading. Jalopnik isn’t a scientific website, I don’t blame them for the mistake if that is what they wrote, it’s more of a comical auto news site.

How's Wikipedia? Section on "Composition"

Ultrasuede - Wikipedia



From Autoweek, perhaps where you read about the "punching":

Alcantara goes from a proprietary blend of polyurethane and polyester to a finished fabric after it's subjected to various needle punching, buffing, glue-impregnating, extraction and dyeing processes. There are, of course, some other steps to the protected process, but those are tightly guarded by Alcantara. Ultrasuede is made in basically the same way, except by different people -- true Alcantara is only made in Italy, whereas Ultrasuede is made around the world.

The polyurethane and polyester fibers are woven to form the cloth surface, as noted above, then goes into those other processes.

I'm not trying to talk anyone into/out of liking Alcantara, but it doesn't deserve the mystique generated by marketing.

 

[tpoltron]

We had a textile headliner in our 2014 Model S and when they damaged it fixing a sunroof leak they thew in an Alcantara. We did find it a bit more 'luxurious' to the touch and if you looked at it. But once you've done that a couple times you never pay attention again. Though it would be nice to have, it would not affect my decision to buy a particular vehicle over another.

 

[Sunshine State]

We had a textile headliner in our 2014 Model S and when they damaged it fixing a sunroof leak they thew in an Alcantara. We did find it a bit more 'luxurious' to the touch and if you looked at it. But once you've done that a couple times you never pay attention again. Though it would be nice to have, it would not affect my decision to buy a particular vehicle over another.

I really like the alcantara dash in our S and X plus the front pillars are in line of sight so when sitting in traffic with the autopilot on I have the time to enjoy a nice relaxing view.