Having Second Thoughts

[brianman]

You have posted in several threads about your displeasure with the S. Please take what I am suggesting in the spirit of good intentions/advice: Contact Tesla (GB perhaps direct) and see if you cannot back out of your purchase without incurring the penalty of losing all of your deposit; there are many I am sure waiting to fill the vacant slot. I am suggesting "quiet diplomacy" between you and Tesla may be the best path in solving you're unhappiness with the S.

Excellent advice, Tommy. The more "non-quiet" the diplomacy, the less likely Tesla can or will be willing to accommodate.

 

[MikeK]

I, for one, would be more than happy to take your Sig slot, provided I can change to Signature Red. ;-)

 

[FlasherZ]

Not to mention that, if you insisted, you have a legal ground to stand on should you be willing to take it that far... you placed a non-refundable deposit on a product that had specific features; they changed those features, and you should have protection under various federal and state bait-and-switch laws. Tesla will likely be accommodating to avoid the negative publicity that would come from such an event.

 

[pguerra]

You have posted in several threads about your displeasure with the S. Please take what I am suggesting in the spirit of good intentions/advice: Contact Tesla (GB perhaps direct) and see if you cannot back out of your purchase without incurring the penalty of losing all of your deposit; there are many I am sure waiting to fill the vacant slot. I am suggesting "quiet diplomacy" between you and Tesla may be the best path in solving you're unhappiness with the S.

You're right. Thanks.

Also: I am very humbled and grateful that I have been blessed with the opportunity and means to make such a vehicle purchase. I'm not some sort of high maintenance celebrity demanding things; I'm just a regular guy living an everyday life for which I thought the Model S would fit my lifestyle. I'm not trying to nit-pick a complex engineering miracle vehicle and actually I'm very pro-Tesla and am rooting for their success. But, these issues are important to me, an everyday guy, and I just can't understand some of Tesla's design decisions. As I think about it, I can't help but suspect that these problems have a direct or indirect relationship to those two engineers that suddenly just "quit".

 

[AustinPowers]

Yep; if you go and measure clothing, armor, furniture, etc. from the eras when Urp's cities were built, you realize that Urpians have inherited cities and infrastructure built by dwarves. Then sugar got cheap, and bodies started to grow all the way up!

At first I laughed about this comparison, but actually it is almost too true.

 

[AustinPowers]

I'm a Model S reservation holder, and have been for more than two years (yikes). I currently drive a BMW 5 series. I'm very much looking forward to my Tesla but the size of the car seriously worries me also. I can barely get my current car into my garage (and yes, in the middle of Berlin I'm lucky to even HAVE a garage, and ditto in SF where I used to live), and I have a small child that I ferry around whose door I can barely open once we're inside. I really do NOT have 4 extra inches to spare, width-wise, if I'm to be able to actually open the door and get my kid in/out. There's no way I can first stop and get my 3 year old out and leave her out on the street while I park. I don't care much about cup holders and so on, I do not find the BMW interior to be the be-all and end-all of luxury, but the simple size of the Tesla is going to massively difficult. If I street park then I won't be able to charge the car, not to mention the scratches and so on.

I really wish it was possible to get a decent four door sedan that's both comfortable and fun to drive and isn't a big hulking beast.

I know there's the future smaller/cheaper Tesla sedan down the line, but I don't want something cheaper (and slower and of lesser quality).

+1 on that.

 

[vfx]

. As I think about it, I can't help but suspect that these problems have a direct or indirect relationship to those two engineers that suddenly just "quit".

From that time:

Peter Rawlinson, Tesla's vice president and chief engineer, and Nick Sampson, who supervised vehicle and chassis engineering,

 

[jomo25]

I could not agree more. Lack of power folding mirrors is a huge oversight, IMO.

I could be wrong, or maybe it's changed since I saw it, or maybe its just speculation, but I swore that it Power Folding Mirrors was going to be added as a feature. If not immediately, it would be available very soon, and possibly even retrofitted. Am I outdated or dreaming?

 

[dsm363]

Peter Rawlinson was in charge of chassis engineering which was done when he left according to Tesla at least. The other person sounds like they were let go. They likely had nothing to do with the interior.

It sounds like cup holders and the interior light issue are your two major complaints. While they might be annoying they can hopefully be fixed relatively easy. Tesla showed that drop in rear center arm rest so that may help. It takes up the center seat. The interior from lighting may be enough that you'll be able to at least see what you're doing. I've never owned a car that had read lighting so haven't missed it.

Good luck.

 

[jerry33]

Peter Rawlinson was in charge of chassis engineering which was done when he left according to Tesla at least. The other person sounds like they were let go.

My understanding was that Nick Sampson and Peter Rawlinson worked together for many years--long before they came to Tesla. When Mr. Rawlinson left it was almost a given that Mr. Sampson would leave as well. I don't think that too much should be read into this.

 

[dsm363]

My understanding was that Nick Sampson and Peter Rawlinson worked together for many years--long before they came to Tesla. When Mr. Rawlinson left it was almost a given that Mr. Sampson would leave as well. I don't think that too much should be read into this.

I don't think Sampson did anything wrong but thought Elon said that Tesla no longer required his services after Rawlinson left as they had moved on to a new phase in development.

 

[Arnold Panz]

Rawlinson had nothing to do with the interior. Check out these videos from YouTube:

I don't understand 99% of what he's talking about, but it's clearly not about interior design, backseat lights, cupholders, vanity mirror lights or auto-folding side view mirrors.

 

[kevincwelch]

Do the mirrors at least manually fold?

I can fold in my Accord's mirrors. I'm not really missing the auto-folding component.

 

[kevincwelch]

My understanding was that Nick Sampson and Peter Rawlinson worked together for many years--long before they came to Tesla. When Mr. Rawlinson left it was almost a given that Mr. Sampson would leave as well. I don't think that too much should be read into this.

Additionally, it seems as though this article was from January 2012? Long time ago...

 

[pguerra]

Do the mirrors at least manually fold?

I can fold in my Accord's mirrors. I'm not really missing the auto-folding component.

I'll be at the Dallas Get Amped event. I'll check unless someone else knows for sure.

 

[VolkerP]

Kevin,

yes the mirrors do manually fold. By the time your reservation number comes up, rumors have it that mirrors will fold electrically.

 

[kevincwelch]

Kevin,

yes the mirrors do manually fold. By the time your reservation number comes up, rumors have it that mirrors will fold electrically.

There are no rumors, only Zuul.

Seriously, thanks for the answer to my question. On the other note, I'd like to think that many things would change before my number comes up. Initially I was discouraged by my higher number; now I am pleased with my position in light of recent developments.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Do the mirrors at least manually fold?

I can fold in my Accord's mirrors. I'm not really missing the auto-folding component.

The spec sheet says "Manual folding side mirrors".
http://http://www.teslamotors.com/models/specs

Initially I was discouraged by my higher number; now I am pleased with my position in light of recent developments.

I think it's an extremely good thing to have a number out of at least the first 100. Judging from the Roadster's history, there will be plenty of changes that will happen during the production of those cars (they will get likely get retrofitted afterwards, but the stress level of the owners will be high during the change).

Kevin,

yes the mirrors do manually fold. By the time your reservation number comes up, rumors have it that mirrors will fold electrically.

I though that rumor only applied to the Euro spec Model S.

 

[vfx]

Kevin,

yes the mirrors do manually fold. By the time your reservation number comes up, rumors have it that mirrors will fold electrically.

The S can't fit inside the LA showroom without the mirrors folding.

 

[digitaltim]

There are no rumors, only Zuul.

Totally off topic, but the Zuul comment made me think that Zombo may also be able to help: ZOMBO

I think that is the real answer to getting all of the features/functions we want in v1.0.

Showing my Internet age... ;-)