I can understand your trepidation, I think it's only natural to double, triple and quadruple think such a purchase. I would suggest going and taking another test drive with the list of concerns you may have if any. I did 3 test drives through Tesla and one extended drive offered by an owner of a production unit. Each test drive blew my mind more than the last. I kept going back wondering if the novelty would wear off, only to find that it had deepened, that there was yet another dimension I hadn't been able to fully take in during an earlier test drive. I have thoroughly been left with the impression that his product and this company are destined to succeed because of the level of attention paid to detail and the level of responsiveness they provide to any issues that come up, it's a winning formula.
As far as the shortened time frame for delivery, I was originally told a year but the ramp up hadn't happened yet, and it was clear that Tesla was being wise in the way they were managing expectations, aiming to impress rather than disappoint. I personally suspect the ramp up has gone better than expected, maybe not better than projected on the outside, but there are a zillion things that can go wrong when you are trying to make every widget yourself and for the most part, Tesla has made it successfully over a very difficult hump.
IMHO, the downside in being so ahead of the game is that it's catching people by surprise. I don't know about you but I was planning on making this purchase in cash by liquidating some assets, which take time. I figured I had a year or at least 9 months, and now it's turning out that the car may arrive before I've completed liquidating the funds. not the end of the world, I can short term finance no problem but I can see how the speeding up of production may have the unintended consequence of causing some to bow out because they aren't ready to take delivery so much earlier than planned.
1) I wouldn't bother waiting for Consumer reports, I don't think they can tell you more than what you can find out here in the forums. honestly, forums like this are some of the harshest of critics one can find, it's pretty easy to see through the fan boys.
2)Owners here have racked up tons of miles if you take into account the Roadster. the S is not Tesla's first car, they have a proven track record with very solid support.
3)get in the car and drive it more, any worries about the center console and it's future will be put into perspective. I'm surprised how much I like the open space and that is, IMHO, why it's been left open, because people who have spent a lot more time with this car than you or I have noticed it's value while at the same time, realizing some will still want a console... so it's in the works.
Yeah well it's still at odds with what the salesman told me.
So at what point does the deposit become non refundable.
At this point I'm still interested but would like to wait more time for:
1) Consumer reports long term testing
2) owners here to rack up more miles
3) the promised center console to become available.
