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Disappointed with the D unveiling

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Personally there have been a car purchase or two in my past where I would have been far better off not knowing what I eventually knew.
I call this the "Trinitron Effect".

"Do you see the lines..."
"Well, I didn't before. Now I do. Thanks. Now I have to buy a new monitor. Some friend you are."

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I agree that trying to change someone you're dating (Tesla the company included) isn't going to usually work, but the only option really isn't just accepting it. The other, obvious, option is to move away if you can't accept it.

But even when you do decide that accepting the flaw is in your best interest, finding the best way to do that can be hard and have many options. Something like "accept it and move on", is not the only advice and probably not the best advice either, because it ignores a real emotional process that stands in the way of doing so.

It is like suggesting losing weight on willpower alone. It just doesn't usually work. So the discussion of how to successfully buy a car (e.g. a Tesla) and deal with the contigencies that may follow is far more complicated - just like weight-loss is.
I should have expanded a bit. "Recognize the issue, and decide to accept it and move forward... or discontinue the relationship. Don't expect that you can or should try to change the DNA."
 
I call this the "Trinitron Effect".

"Do you see the lines..."
"Well, I didn't before. Now I do. Thanks. Now I have to buy a new monitor. Some friend you are."

As I guy who once hauled a Trinitron monitor to the repair shop because of the lines, only to be told off, sympathizes. :)

I should have expanded a bit. "Recognize the issue, and decide to accept it and move forward... or discontinue the relationship. Don't expect that you can or should try to change the DNA."

That is fair. What I would add is that the decision to accept it and moving forward is a complex business and warrants further discussion.
 
Please don't paint Signature owners with the same brush as "people ... that have ... change just rattling around." Also characterizing us with "wouldn't care about any of this [Tesla advances after purchase]". It's unfair, untrue, and hurtful.

I was trying to illustrate that not every owner is able to just eat a loss like that. Sometimes I get the feeling that some people on this forum are disconnected from the idea that some people make sacrifices to afford the car. I suspect that you're taking offense to my statement because you're trying to attribute some stereotype to "people that have change just rattling around," where none was intended.

Your assertion that I'm characterizing signature owners as not caring about not having advances that have been made is quite frankly putting words in my mouth. I most certainly did not say anything like what you put in quotes. I said that I wouldn't care about missing out on these features if I was planning to replace the car in a few years. I suspect there are plenty of Signature owners that are also not planning to replace the car in just a few years. It's abundantly clear from reading various other threads that Signature owners do care about features they missed out on. It's also true that I pretty much got told to stop complaining in that thread by Signature owners. I know you're aware of this because you were active in that thread.

This is now the second time you've thought a post of mine was meant in a hurtful way. I'd ask that you'd give me a little bit more of a benefit of the doubt.

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That is fair. What I would add is that the decision to accept it and moving forward is a complex business and warrants further discussion.

It's my intention to spell things out to Tesla as I have done so in this thread. I'm not intending to throw a fit but I do intend to make them aware of how this situation has made me feel. Beyond that I haven't decided what I'm going to do.
 
I was trying to illustrate that not every owner is able to just eat a loss like that. Sometimes I get the feeling that some people on this forum are disconnected from the idea that some people make sacrifices to afford the car. I suspect that you're taking offense to my statement because you're trying to attribute some stereotype to "people that have change just rattling around," where none was intended.

Since it was in response to myself, and I know we both respect each others point of view and no disrespect was intended, I wish to clarify a bit further - for you, and for others reading as well.

I don't doubt many people can't "just eat a loss like that" when it comes to an unplanned car swap. I also understand that some may be under lease obligations, company car policies or have other circumstances that prohibit an immediate swap anyway. But since the process of planning an early swap as a remedy to buyer's remorse was mine, let me underline the fact that the idea doesn't exclude those people at all. Everyone's budget and circumstance is different, but we can all be susceptible to buyer's remorse where product improvements are concerned (others more so, others less so). We may not be able to answer to such feelings in exactly the same way, but we all can plan within our individual limits just the same. The idea isn't different, even though the limits and the timeframe may be.

So this is the idea: If you feel bad about missing out on some features of a new car (be it due to an announcement or perhaps ordering mistake), it can be helpful to know you can fix that by swapping the car. The thought puts you back in the driver's seat of things, back in the game regardings those missing features. You are no longer an outsider, you are a future insider that can watch those things with interst, because they will get there one day too. Spec such a car for fun, go ask for a quotation from a dealer or two on steady intervals, keep up with the brochures and stuff as you would have when ordering the previous car. This process alone may help with the remorse and slow down the actual swap, because you can feel the option is there more concretely, than when you thought the option wouldn't be there for, say, a decade. The process will take time and time heals, meaning you might feel like prolonging the swap anyway. It will also help you map out where exactly your limits and options are financially. Perhaps the limits are different than one expects.

This is just one idea. It may not be applicable to all financial situations, let alone be helpful emotionally to everyone, but I'm putting it out there because it has been known to help. The other suggestion of mine was moving away from the information streams related to the products causing the buyer's remorse. That is another suggestion into a completely different direction that I think is pretty universal, no matter one's situation. It is best done once the order is locked in, but it can also be helpful later on if new interests and focuses help forget about the sour experience elsewhere.
 
Of course it would be great to have the new features, and if I were as rich as Croesus I wouldn't hesitate to order and give the current one away. However, the only way for us average folks to ever be happy with a high-tech product is to purchase the best you can afford at the time and then never watch another ad, read a review, or visit a forum until the high-tech item you purchased no longer does the job. The operating phrase is "If you can purchase it, it's already obsolete".
 
Of course it would be great to have the new features, and if I were as rich as Croesus I wouldn't hesitate to order and give the current one away. However, the only way for us average folks to ever be happy with a high-tech product is to purchase the best you can afford at the time and then never watch another ad, read a review, or visit a forum until the high-tech item you purchased no longer does the job. The operating phrase is "If you can purchase it, it's already obsolete".

Never watching/visiting certainly works to a very high degree, that is true, especially if you don't have real-life friends talking about such stuff constantly. It is a good tip to consider zoning out from car news the minute you lock in your car order. In those months waiting for it and initial months or 1-2 year of ownership, a lot could happen to sour the experience, that "keeping out" can alleviate.

That said, sometimes high-tech hits you more and sometimes less with obsolescence. All circumstances, situations and tactics to cope certainly aren't equal. For example, we knew long ago Tesla was coming out with four-wheel drive vehicles, so e.g. all my purchase decisions were based on that knowledge and, I'd say, anyone paying any attention had to know and should have known. I bought a reasonably specced P85 from the lot for the in-between and will go for the Model X later. Making educated decisions is always wise. But then, what we didn't know and anticipate is that said four-wheel drive would come with such a major performance boost in tow for the "new P+" version. Someone making purchase decisions on performance (but not caring about AWD), could - and I'm sure many did - make the decision and go with, say, P85+ instead of waiting for P85D. Now, not a problem for someone who can upgrade, but certainly can be unfortunate for someone who can't.

A year or so ago, someone loosing out on red brake calipers, a carbon-fiber spoiler or tighter coils is not quite the same as someone loosing out on 250 hp and AutoPilot. Sometimes technology upgrade cycles hurt less, sometimes more.

I will have the chance to re-evaluate my views on performance when I make that AWD upgrade, which I had planned for, but that is sheer luck. Had the Model S been my only car purchase for years to come, I too might have made - for me - the wrong call (had it not been imperative that my plan includes an AWD solution).
 
Be interesting to see the of autonomy that these latest cars will get in future software updates. In Elon's presentation he mentioned that the forward facing camera not only reads speed limit sign, but can also interpret pedestrians, stop signs, and traffic lights.
 
Be interesting to see the of autonomy that these latest cars will get in future software updates. In Elon's presentation he mentioned that the forward facing camera not only reads speed limit sign, but can also interpret pedestrians, stop signs, and traffic lights.

The order page says ultimately AutoPilot will allow autonomous freeway travel from ramp to ramp. The hardware in the system itself seems pretty normal, e.g. stuff German premiums have had for years (like adaptive cruise, lane assists, sign reading), but the level of software sophistication they are planning for certainly beyond anything I know of on the market today. Of course the competition might get there soon too, but I doubt they will do it the way Tesla does, ship hardware now and upgrade functionality later...
 
Elon mentioned that you will be able to summon the car and the car will use its perimeter sonar (and I assume GPS) to work its way towards you. Does anyone have any idea of what this would mean in a real life situation? In my mind imagining it running over flower beds and the like.
 
As a non-Tesla Model S owner I am very excited with the D, especially the S85D which now goes 0.2 s faster to 60, now has a max speed of 155mph and got 30 mi extra range.... for just $4000!!!! Talk about a sweet deal. To get that by adding battery capacity would have cost at least 8,5 kWh. I ask myself now: Shouldn't all EV's have dual motors?
 
As a non-Tesla Model S owner I am very excited with the D, especially the S85D which now goes 0.2 s faster to 60, now has a max speed of 155mph and got 30 mi extra range.... for just $4000!!!! Talk about a sweet deal. To get that by adding battery capacity would have cost at least 8,5 kWh. I ask myself now: Shouldn't all EV's have dual motors?

The D is a no-brainer option. Still trying to wrap my ICE brain around the fact that AWD is more efficient.

Favourite video of the night https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WbVEkh4AMqM
 
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The D is a no-brainer option. Still trying to wrap my ICE brain around the fact that AWD is more efficient.

Imagine Tesla added a 2-speed transmission to the car. What effect would it have on efficiency?

Well, D has two gears. One on the front and one on the back, and they won't have the same ratio.

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The order page says ultimately AutoPilot will allow autonomous freeway travel from ramp to ramp. The hardware in the system itself seems pretty normal, e.g. stuff German premiums have had for years (like adaptive cruise, lane assists, sign reading), but the level of software sophistication they are planning for certainly beyond anything I know of on the market today. Of course the competition might get there soon too, but I doubt they will do it the way Tesla does, ship hardware now and upgrade functionality later...

... although, remember that if you want fully autonomous operation in 5 years time, there'll be more hardware required and you won't be able to upgrade.
 
As a non-Tesla Model S owner I am very excited with the D, especially the S85D which now goes 0.2 s faster to 60, now has a max speed of 155mph and got 30 mi extra range.... for just $4000!!!! Talk about a sweet deal. To get that by adding battery capacity would have cost at least 8,5 kWh. I ask myself now: Shouldn't all EV's have dual motors?

I can only imagine the people at Saleen kicking themselves in the basement of their office. They had the fastest Model S for a couple of months...
 
I'm not sure what your definition of 'autonomous' is but this mostly fits mine... I don't expect it to navigate a 4-way or anything... yet.

My definition of autonomous is that the car can do everything itself. In an autonomous vehicle you should be able to get in, set a destination and the car will drive itself there. Autonomous on the highway should be able to perform necessary overtaking maneuvers by itself. In order to do that safely the car would need to be able to see backwards, forwards and sideways long distances, but they only announced a strong sense a car length around itself and distance vision forwards. Press-to-change-lanes combined with lane-following will help reduce steering effort, but that's not autonomy.
 
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My definition of autonomous is that the car can do everything itself. In an autonomous vehicle you should be able to get in, set a destination and the car will drive itself there. Autonomous on the highway should be able to perform necessary overtaking maneuvers by itself. In order to do that safely the car would need to be able to see backwards, forwards and sideways long distances, but they only announced a strong sense a car length around itself and distance vision forwards.
From how i understood Elon the car is capable of all this - it's just not legal yet. He also explictly explained how this is currently just an autopilot, not an autonomous car.

Source: USA Today interview: Tesla unveils exotic features, go-fast model
 
From how i understood Elon the car is capable of all this - it's just not legal yet. He also explictly explained how this is currently just an autopilot, not an autonomous car.

Source: USA Today interview: Tesla unveils exotic features, go-fast model

I didn't get that at all. He said it could see 16' all around, and had front camera and front radar. No graphics showed rear radar or camera. He suggested they'd be able to do autonomous in the future, but didn't say it'd be with current hardware, so unless they've designed the physical set-up in anticipation of installation of the additional hardware that will be required, and they've calculated it correctly at this point, cars rolling off the line now won't be able to be autonomous at any significant speed.