Change from alcantara to cloth on PUP???

[TEG]

I'm not sure if it's them spinning the supplier issue of if they just got cheaper, but read this great Electrek article and Tesla's statement.
Tesla updates Model 3 interior with new headliner material
“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.”

That "which has always been planned" statement rubs me the wrong way.
It comes across like "Why would you think to question what we are doing now?... because we already debated it internally and made up our minds and are done thinking about this..." "You outsiders seem out of step and behind the times with what we already decided." "You have no say in the matter so just accept it and move on..." It just comes across as overly dismissive.

*But* Tesla is in the driver's seat here. It is a sellers market with so many backlog orders that they can afford to cause some cancellations and disappointment and still sell all the cars they can build for the foreseeable future. If they were fighting for every sale, I bet their tune would be different.

 

[Xminus6]

pillars and visors.... thanks in advance

Here's as close as I can get with my camera phone.

 

[Sunshine State]

I for one applaud Tesla for switching to the higher quality textile material. And at no extra cost to boot!

RT

I’m assuming you are joking

 

[Sunshine State]

Have you guys checked out the new poll options on Electrek?

How much more biased can you get?



Way to speak up and set up an impartial poll!

I saw that poll, it’s a shame that they don’t have it set up so you can’t vote multiple times with a private browser and a bot, the PR team is working overtime clicking "I couldn’t care less”

 

[stopcrazypp]

Hmmm,,, From where did you get this insight??

When I actually worked in manufacturing for a Fortune 500 company we provided multiple suppliers the same set of specifications to meet because we want the customer experience to be the same regardless of supplier product used. While the supplier had some choice on sub-components used, they could not diminish the standards that had to meet. When initial samples of the supplier product were delivered, they were tested against a defined COMMON set of criteria.

Otherwise, overall quality control would be very difficult to measure and maintain AND it would be difficult to give the customer a consistent experience.

I should clarify my point: I'm talking about specifications from manufacturer to the consumer, not the manufacturer to a specific supplier. Namely I'm talking about Tesla not specifying that the headliner in the Model 3 is alcantara.

For screens, it's typically the color gamut, TN vs IPS, brightness (nits). If the device manufacturer specified details about that to the consumer, then that limits their flexibility in supply chain.

 

[insaneoctane]

That "which has always been planned" statement rubs me the wrong way.

Ditto.

 

[insaneoctane]

...I thought I would love the blue color but I'm left just sort of meh on it. I think I might wind up with the dark silver color instead at this point even though I've had multiple cars that color over the past 20 years...

Coincidentally, that is exactly what I went through. Blue was going to be the color. Then, I spent some time for the course of a few days looking a a blue MS in my parking lot. After a few days of analysis, I too, could not muster more than meh. So my current plan is midnight silver.

 

[insaneoctane]

Here's as close as I can get with my camera phone.

Nice photo, thanks. This image doesn't look too shabby. Alcantara it aint( ), but that photo helps...Thanks!

 

[insaneoctane]

Wow, due to Alcantara-gate, I just might break 1,000 posts this weekend

 

[phil0909]

I for one applaud Tesla for switching to the higher quality textile material. And at no extra cost to boot!

 

[voip-ninja]

Thanks for the perspective

Would you accept your car and give Tesla final payment based panel on the gaps and alignment issues you saw?

Not sure. Orange peel bothered me more than panel figment. Orange peel is pretty hard to fix, requires careful wet sanding.

Would ultimately come down to Tesla’s written guarantees at time of delivery to make it right.

 

[chibi_kurochan]

Here is one video to end this discussion:

 

[MP3Mike]

Here is one video to end this discussion:

Considering it has already been posted to this thread ~6 times, I don't think it is going to end this discussion.

 

[chibi_kurochan]

Considering it has already been posted to this thread ~6 times, I don't think it is going to end this discussion.

I have not been following, the fact we have 41 pages on this. It’s insane. I’ll keep posting this video every two or three pages.

 

[HumanGenome]

Did a short video showing the textile interior:

20180112_142052 - Streamable

 

[dhanson865]

The question is rhetorical. It answers itself.

Not only does it not answer itself, to quote the princess bride "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

rhe·tor·i·cal
adjective: rhetorical

1. relating to or concerned with the art of rhetoric.
   * expressed in terms intended to persuade or impress.
   • synonyms: extravagant, grandiloquent, magniloquent, high-flown, orotund, bombastic, grandiose, pompous, pretentious, overblown, oratorical, turgid, flowery
     "rhetorical hyperbole"
   • (of a question) asked in order to produce an effect or to make a statement rather than to elicit information

If it answered itself we wouldn't wonder why you said it.

 

[MotoEvCA]

Not sure. Orange peel bothered me more than panel figment. Orange peel is pretty hard to fix, requires careful wet sanding.

Would ultimately come down to Tesla’s written guarantees at time of delivery to make it right.

I'm not inclined to accept the vehicle if what you describe would be present and I am having my atty produce addendums to the purchase contract. I don't have the time or inclination to do post repair work on a brand new $56k+ car. We will see if Tesla will accept those addendums before providing my non-refundable deposit.

If they reject those conditions, I will hold my Model 3 configuration and purchase a 2018 JL Wrangler.

I have come to the conclusion that Tesla has calculated that the majority of the people taking delivery of the Model 3 will not inspect the car for the flaws you described or are so desperate to get the car that they will let a third-party repair shop make the corrections post delivery.

Nothing prevents Tesla to perform the same QC at the factory and establish a corrective process at the factory BEFORE the cars are shipped.

If more people would do the same and not sign contracts unless terms of acceptance are modified,Tesla would get the message and invest more time on QC for the Model 3 production process. Tesla cannot afford to have the reservation to configuration process stall and get hung up in a lot of individual negotiations.

The investor community will be asking Tesla at the next quarterly meeting to provide numbers of:

• How many configuration emails were sent
• How many reservstions or orders were canceled
• How many placed their configurations on hold
• How many ordered were fully processed and how many failed to complete

These metrics and a few more will allow analysts to assess the probability of Tesla to meet their stated targets and reprice the value of the stock.

If Tesla can't get the Model 3 rollout right every other future rollout (Semi, Y, Roadster II) will be revalued downward

When the Federal Tax Credit starts to wind down you will see Tesla do whatever it is necessary to keep the orders flowing.

Sample Addendum for those who don't have an attorney on retainer

I think Tesla will do what is necessary provided they are given the right motivation and message from consumers.

 

[MauryDann]

I've been really enjoying reading all of the comments on here, and look forward to learning more, hopefully, in the future about what has caused "AlcantaraGate".

I am STRONGLY in the camp that feels that this change was not planned beforehand. I feel that Tesla has frayed their relationship with their Alcantara/ultrasuede supplier to the point where the supplier has decided they needed to terminate that relationship. The fact of the matter is, Tesla estimated that they would be drastically ahead of their production ramp up by this point in time. By now, they should've shipped 10's of thousands of units. Suppliers were preparing for Tesla's theoretical ramp. They bought materials, and probably had to hire on additional help in order to handle the ramp. All for the ramp to not happen, as per usual with Tesla when launching a new product.

It's my strong and educated hunch that because of the extremely slow, poorly organized, terribly communicated ramp up, the Alcantara/Ultra Suede supplier decided that they would no longer be willing and able to supply the premium materials needed for Tesla's doors, headliners, and other interior surfaces.

Of course, Tesla, as they so often do, immediately wrote a response to customer inquiries that was short sighted and IMHO, quite arrogant. If what they said in their response is true, they were simply creating the first 1500 or so units in Alcantara in order to create a false impression about the "Premium-ness" of the interior of their product. They showed it off to many publications, they created marketing materials with that interior material, and they sent cars to employees and brand ambassadors with that material, only to pull the rug out from under 99.99% of Model 3 customers by switching to "Premium Textile".(???)

This whole thing is a shame, and I think that it is a very poor sign of the future of the ramp and production of Model 3. If Tesla has more supplier issues such as this, the product could end up being severely effected and possibly even crippled to the point it couldn't be produced.

All just my thoughts based on extensive Tesla watching over the past 12 months or so.

I really enjoy the insights of others on this community, and look forward to more discussions.

 

[Cintoman]

My son and I hit the Boston MA Auto Show today. And while we visit this and other Auto Shows every single year and pay particular attention to all the minute details of the cars we see (including headliners, panel gaps, buttons, knobs, door closing sounds, etc, we paid even more attention to headliners today. My observations based on me only seeing pictures of the new textile headliner in the Model 3 and comparing those pictures to cars I actually sat in today:

Many many many cars have what appears to be the exact same woven textile headliner material that Tesla is calling "premium textile". I seen the same material in mid-level Kia's (Optima), Hyundai's (Sonata, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Sport), Nissan's (Altima, Maxima, Sentra), Honda's (Accord, CR-V), Toyota's (Camry, Avalon), VW's (Passat and Jetta), and the lower level Audi A3. Alcantara was very well represented also. Noticed this in some Infiniti's, Lexus', upper level Audi's (A6, A5, A7, A8, and all of the S or RS trim levels present), Maserati's, and even Hyundai's new Genesis brand.

So from my observations, whether or not Alcantara (or Alcantara-like material or ultra suede or whatever you want to call it) is a premium material or isn't, it was definitely present in nearly all the higher end cars I sat in. And it makes the average Joe think that it's a higher quality or more expensive material that he/she will find only on premium vehicles and likely will not find it on a Kia Rio or a Toyota Corolla.

Reading all 41 pages of this thread, I notice some welcome the new textile material, other are indifferent, and others (I'm in this camp) prefer the Alcantara-like material. My suggestion would be to offer both materials: PUP with Alcantara-like material, PUP with premium textile material. Of course that'd be wishful thinking on my part. But one can always hope.

--Cintoman

 

[Carnook]

The headliner is not a deal killer. It is about the same as what I see on entry level premium cars, but I could live with it.

There is definitely nothing wrong with the woven fabric material that Tesla has switched to. Its an extremely common fabric used in car headliners and is considered a mid-level product acceptable for price range of the Model 3. Its often the base offering in luxury cars. Thats the shame about this whole situation. There isn't anything wrong with the material, just the way Tesla handled the bait and switch.