Black and white seats... regrets?

[Ostrichsak]

Sawdust to go;;;;

The use of Autopilot mixed with mobile woodworking would make this a wild ride!

I will only say if you see complaints about seats and stains, the white seat posts greatly outnumber complaints from black seat owners.

For exteriors, I feel the opposite. White looks nicer than black most of the time. Nothing looks better than a CLEAN black car, but the reality is, they only stay clean for a couple days. When white caes get dirty, they just look like a different shade of white. (Had many black and white cars... now I leam towards silvers)

Some degree of confirmation bias from this anecdotal (at best) info. In my personal experience, the white shows long term wear FAR less than black or tan Tesla seats. Like, dramatically different.

Our cars that had black interior with 70-90k miles on the odo looked like they had 70-90k on the odo due to how it emphasis wear and tear. My P100D w/about 80k on the odo looks new. Like, seriously new. There is absolutely no sign of wear or tear and I happen to know that they owner before me was a doctor with a family and pets and didn't take any heroic efforts to protect his car.

I also recall seeing something when the ultra white vegan first came out that was a pretty scientific test run that favored the ultra white to the other color options for durability. To me, that seems crazy because they should bet he same other than the color. The test was done in a very scientific manner and the results were pretty conclusive though. Personally, I didn't go this route due to this or any other tests I read other than to show that they were as durable as the other color options at a minimum.

The posts I see about white seats from people who love them typically say something like:

I wanted to buy them but saw comments like these, and also knew for a fact that I was NOT going to want to look at blue jean dye transfer, or worry about whether baby wipes would get it off, or carry around baby wipes in the console, etc.

Im not saying that people are doing anything unusual or out of pocket or something, just that I know I am too lazy to do that stuff, or would get annoyed seeing blue jeans transfer and kind a stressing out if it would come out or not.

So, I got the black seats, and my black seats still look brand new after 5 years in my model 3.

I think the white seats look better, though. Not that the black looks bad, but the its very "normal" looking, while the bright white seats are pretty uniquely Tesla as @Ostrichsak said.

I think they are fairly easy to take care of, from what I read here, and most threads on stains from jeans are likely from people who wear higher end jeans, or brand new jeans just after their first couple of washes that are not pre faded.

I don't carry wipes with me, never have and never will.

I think you may be reading this denim transfer on white interior as being far worse than it is. I may take a wipe to the seats once or twice a year at most. It's not like you have to clean the seat every time you sit down in it wearing jeans. It really is a non-issue and far better than having a black seat that shows wear and tear after normal usage that you can't do anything about at all.

In fact, the YouTube videos I've seen showing how to use baby wipes to easily wipe off denim transfer use painters tape to demonstrate a before/after. Even when they're "bad" it's not super noticeable. This is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned much like range anxiety for those who have never owned an EV. Once you own one, you realize that all of those "reports" are greatly exaggerated and you'd never go back knowing what you know now.

Besides, I'd rather have something that offers a better user experience for the duration. My wife often wears short shorts in the summer months. Being able to leave the windows down for a minute or two while we get out for whatever reason and then get back in w/o melting the skin off of your legs from the scorching hot seats is priceless. Anything to keep my wife from feeling like she can't wear those short shorts that look so good on her.

Not to mention (while this is subjective) I much prefer the look of the white interior to any other color Tesla offers now. It's one of the things that people comment on the most whenever they first get in if they're never been in a Tesla too due to how unique it is.

 

[bcsteeve]

Hi everyone. I didn't mean to start a cold war. I just wondered if people who own the white seats had regretted their decision. Evidently not. Good enough for me.

Thanks.

 

[CaseyL]

My wife often wears short shorts in the summer months. Being able to leave the windows down for a minute or two while we get out for whatever reason and then get back in w/o melting the skin off of your legs from the scorching hot seats is priceless. Anything to keep my wife from feeling like she can't wear those short shorts that look so good on her.

Of all the posts I've read in favor of getting white seats, this is easily my favorite. You just can't argue with this kind of logic.

Not to mention (while this is subjective) I much prefer the look of the white interior to any other color Tesla offers now. It's one of the things that people comment on the most whenever they first get in if they're never been in a Tesla too due to how unique it is.

I've had people at drive through windows tell me how much they like the white interior.

Honesty compels me to confess that I drove a loaner Model 3 with a black interior and it was very nice looking.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Hi everyone. I didn't mean to start a cold war. I just wondered if people who own the white seats had regretted their decision. Evidently not. Good enough for me.

Thanks.

Nothin' but love here. I just know I was dead set on ONLY black interior initially. So much so that I wouldn't even consider used Teslas unless the interior was black. Our first two Model S's had black interior. Then, I got a killer deal (I drove the car for about a year and made $25k on it to give you an idea how good of a deal) on a red/beige P85D and jumped. We discovered that not melting your skin off in the summer months was a better experience. We knew our next cars would only be beige (I'm not the biggest of fans of that color, but from a functional standpoint it was far better than black, admittedly) until Ultra White became a thing. IMO that's the best combination of both function and form for interiors, I get that that like/dislike is subjective but that's my take on the topic and I'm glad I like the white because it's the easiest to live with... which I didn't think would be the case before I owned one.

 

[bcsteeve]

Off topic, but I'm surprised that in 2023 a $30k Hyundai has cooled seats and a $80k Tesla doesn't.

 

[ZenRockGarden]

Off topic, but I'm surprised that in 2023 a $30k Hyundai has cooled seats and a $80k Tesla doesn't.

order white and you don't NEED to cool the seats

 

[bcsteeve]

order white and you don't NEED to cool the seats

I'll need to experience that one before I believe it

 

[Mercimek]

One downside with white is you can’t wear jeans! Otherwise white wins.

 

[Ostrichsak]

One downside with white is you can’t wear jeans! Otherwise white wins.

Sure you can.

 

[jjrandorin]

Off topic, but I'm surprised that in 2023 a $30k Hyundai has cooled seats and a $80k Tesla doesn't.

People love to use this type of comparison, but conveniently skip that the 60-70k + BMWs, Audis, VWSs etc also dont have many of these features. Hyundai has those features because they need to have them to move the cars.

BMW didnt even have backup cameras in the US until the government mandated it, however the 17-18kk Hyundai elantra I bought for my daughter in 2015 new did have it, as well as built in navigation (which was a 2.5k to 3k add on in my BMWs.)

So, never be surprised that a brand like kia / hyundai has some feature or other you dont find in another car standard.

 

[bcsteeve]

In the same way you're saying I'm making a mistake by comparing to Hyundai... you're making a mistake by using BMW as a justification lol.

Absolutely no manufacturer should be looking at BMW as a model for how to do something right.

 

[Bouba]

I don’t understand the denim stains.....are we back in the 70’s ?...do people still wear jeans

 

[SagarPatel]

White seats FTW

 

[Jacob Vega]

Wife wanted white seats and we have 3 kids, I thought she was crazy but her car, anyway so far they are holding up great and she absolutely loves them.

 

[holmgang]

Haven't had my white seats long enough to comment on long-term effects.

One potential annoyance I see is that the dirt and crumbs stuck in the seams stand out more, as well as the just the stitching holes alone stand in contrast as black-on-white. Anything longer than a passing glance and you can notice it.

 

[Bouba]

The only problem I have heard of with the white seats is that denim can stain them blue…it doesn’t bother me because I stopped wearing jeans when the seventies ended

 

[ucmndd]

The only problem I have heard of with the white seats is that denim can stain them blue…it doesn’t bother me because I stopped wearing jeans when the seventies ended

There is a bit of color transfer sometimes but it's not permanent - any sort of interior wipe or even just a cloth and water removes it easily.

 

[vickh]

People love to use this type of comparison, but conveniently skip that the 60-70k + BMWs, Audis, VWSs etc also dont have many of these features. Hyundai has those features because they need to have them to move the cars.

BMW didnt even have backup cameras in the US until the government mandated it, however the 17-18kk Hyundai elantra I bought for my daughter in 2015 new did have it, as well as built in navigation (which was a 2.5k to 3k add on in my BMWs.)

So, never be surprised that a brand like kia / hyundai has some feature or other you dont find in another car standard.

Also, korean cars are very tech-intensive for the price. Reliability is another matter

 

[holmgang]

There is a bit of color transfer sometimes but it's not permanent - any sort of interior wipe or even just a cloth and water removes it easily.

the other thing about dye transfer is to not let them build up and get really baked in! i keep a bottle of detailing spray and microfiber in the door pocket. any time i see a hint of blue show up, i wipe up immediately

 

[BillRadio]

Nice to keep this thread going to help those trying to decide. The only reason I switched from white to black was there was a deal from inventory when I switched from 3 to Y. After 2 years I had no problems with white, the only problem with blue jeans went away after they were washed. Now, with a black interior, I realize there was always a worry about the white seats in the back of my head, which was never realized. I miss the white but not the worry.