Hello Eric,
As we continue to increase production of Model 3 and produce more high quality cars for customers, all Model 3 vehicles are being made with the same premium textile headliner found in our flagship Model S and Model X vehicles, which has always been planned at this stage of production. The Model 3 is a great car, and the premium package (PUP) retains premium finishes throughout the cabin, and benefits from a variety of other functional enhancements including premium audio, upgraded side mirrors, and heated front and rear seats.
This is the product that we are making going forward, and we did not communicate that customers would receive a specific material. We made this transition in S/X some time ago, and have been referring to this material as a Premium Headliner in those vehicles.The current material is also a premium headliner, but with a different texture, where durability has remain unchanged, and this is our product that we stand behind.
I hope this helps clear things up for you, and my apologies if it was not the exact response you desired. Thank you for being part of our growing Tesla family!
This arrogant statement pissed me off even more. Is there no communications team at Tesla?
Tesla's excuse for getting rid of the alcantara-like/ultra-suede material is a ridiculous lie that really stabs the heart of the tens of thousands of followers that have been defending and promoting Tesla.
The more I think about how Tesla communicates these changes and how they sell their cars, it isn't the changes that are the problem, it is how those changes are communicated. And namely the policies and culture that cause the comms be like that. (We were just discussing similar things in the
SpaceX forum.)
Sure, Alcantara headliner is more premium and nicer than the old base weaved cloth is. Sure. AP2's AP1 parity being delayed by year+ is too bad, better if no delay had existed etc. BUT what if Tesla had gone to lengths to make sure we know of the honest situation beforehand? Instead of springing on it as a surprise and/or spinning some velvety yarn (no pun intended) that most intelligent people have a hard time believing, let alone appreciating. That would have made a huge difference.
A quick blog post to this effect the day first non-Alcantara headliners were delivered (and similar message from specialists) would have been a completely different story IMO:
"A note on Alcantara
Hello Tesla customers, just letting you know that starting with deliveries today, we are discontinuing Alcantara fabric in our cars (in headliners [and elsewhere?]). Some may still be delivered with Alcantara, but we are transitioning away from it due to supplier issues. We know some love Alcantara, and this is why we are letting you know - we apologize for any incovenience to customers affected. That said, we do think the replacement cloth headliner we are using is very nice too and our store personnel and delivery specialists are happy to demonstrate it to you. All new orders will ship with this new cloth. Please contact us at xxx for questions."
Instead of the silence, followed by unbelievable spin when "caught"... a note like that would have been a completely different story IMO.
But then, just like with AP2, P85D HP, P90DL counters, etc. Tesla seems to have a very different communications policy. Perhaps they think there are more people making positive decisions regarding Tesla than there are negative, when spinning this yarn, as opposed to being more open and proactive... Still, too bad.