I wasn't happy with the cupholders in the armrest, so I thought I would try something else. I ordered a couple of these from ebay. They cost about $25 each. I also ordered some industrial velcro. Ok, not the velcro brand, but you get the idea. This stuff is neat in that it doesn't have two different parts. Both sides are the same and they snap together. It is sort of like a 1-inch wide zipper. I applied it to the top of the cupholders like this. I attached the mating pieces as well, and peeled off the backing, exposing the sticky side. I had originally planned on mounting them underneath the storage bin, but they would have to stick out too far, to avoid interference when a cup was inserted. I ended up putting them inside the storage bin. Not a perfect solution, but not unsightly. I may search for another solution, but this has been working well.
Let us know how they work in the real world with drinks, etc. I would hate to lose that storage area, but adding one might be a good idea. Thanks for pics!
I always thought that the reason Tesla didn't put the cup holders there is because they wanted to keep liquid far away from the touch screen.
Well, it didn't work. I made a sudden stop a while back and splashed the screen with coffee from the current location. No apparent ill effects... cleaned it up and all is well. Fortunately I had a cheap basket in the floor cubby that caught most of it.
Not only the spills issue... That cubby only snaps in and would be prone to falling if sufficiently weighted.
For those looking to splurge (there seems to be some probability it might be a little pricey…). Isn’t the Premium Center Console due soon? Doesn’t that one offer front cup holders galore? (Shop Tesla Gear Premium Center Console)
I applaud the effort, but I value the cubby more for its storage than as a hole for cup holders. Also having owned a VW Jetta with totally useless front cupholders that popped out of the upper dash, I'm familiar with the spillage issue. One other problem is that when you go over a speed bump, the coffee will end up on your headliner.
I was just about to say 'yeah that'll work great until you break real hard and get drink all over your touchscreen' but it looks like you beat me to it already :/
Just for the sake of clarity; do most people drive around with uncovered beverages? My policy is "no lid, no service" as far as drinks in my car.
Yup, we've had an Audi for 10 years with this cupholder in the upper dash position and never had a spill, even with quick stops ... of course all beverages had lids on them. There's another thread from the beginning of the year where the same thing was done along with some other ideas. Project: Additonal Cup Holder For Driver
While, when my car first arrived ten months ago, I used to wrap my kids in cellophane and place a nasogastric tube in each child to prevent any potential beverage spill or vomitus prior to inserting the children into the frunk, over time I have lightened up a bit and am more liberal about drinks in the car. So just the cellophane, no nasogastric tube.
You know when you get a coffee at Starbucks, the lid has two little holes in it? One is slightly larger, where you sip from, the other is a pinhole for air displacement. An unbelievable amount of coffee can come spurting out of the sippy hole using those in-dash cup holders. That happened to me regularly in my VW Jetta. I had to throw a small napkin or towel onto the coffee lid in order to keep it contained.
Achaar, That looks great. My only worry is (as some others note), the storage bin is designed to easily pull downwards to let service access a diagnostic cable. Those clips won't hold a lot of weight cantilevered out, especially over bumps. Perhaps there is a way to reinforce them while still allowing access to the cable for service? Peter
I didn't know the bin was easily removed. I haven't had any spillage so far, and the velcro (and bin connectors) have held well. I almost always use a no-spill cup (contigo's are great), but if I have a soda from a drive-thru, I use the cupholders in the armrests. I do use the bin for storage, but mostly for little things, so I don't miss the shrunken space.
Perhaps this is where the disconnect lies; I don't drink coffee so I've never had to deal with a Starbucks cup or any like them.