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Interior Options - Model S

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The 2 wood panel options are they actual wood or just wood pattern plastic? I like wood but I always felt plastic with a wood look was silly, and I'm not sure I want the piano black :)

Cobos

A veneer created from banana plant trunk fibers.

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http://www.teslamotors.com/models/features#/environment


INNOVATIVE MATERIALS
Model S comes standard with 60% recycled seating surfaces. The “Select’ interior trim package offers leather-look seating surfaces free of PVC. The Banana Leaf option adds a rich look to the interior without the impact of deforestation. This material is the first 100% natural veneer to be made of banana plant trunk fibers.
 
This photo shows that the center console needs an antiglare screen!

No joke! Every photo I've seen at an angle draws attention to this matter. I hope Tesla realizes this and will use a matte surface for both the entertainment screen and the driver's gauges.

A couple years back, I picked up a cheap netbook for $300 without thinking too carefully about the screen. It turns out that like so many portable computers manufactured these days, it has a glossy screen. As a result, it has proven nearly unusable in an office environment where the screen reflects either the fluorescent lights or the sky if my back is to a window. I've vowed to never buy a portable PC with a glossy screen again.

I marvel at how we ended up here. I started using computers in the 1980s and we quickly learned back then that a display should have a matte surface so it doesn't reflect the environment. Why have we lost that knowledge?

Tablet PCs made in the early 2000s had matte screens and were relatively immune to fingerprints. And yet, the modern tablets popularized by the iPad have eschewed that in favor of glossy glass, making the devices all but unusable outdoors despite advances in screen brightness.
 
They are certainly aware of that concern. Not like we have to tell them about it. People I spoke with said they are using advanced coatings to make it anti-glare.
Personally I think it would need some physical border that sticks out to completely block the side sun, like they do with the speedometer dash, but unfortunately it would make the dash look more cluttered to do that. For those that aren't restricted by regulations, the best alternative may be a lot of tint on the windows to keep the sun out of the car.
 
Car & Driver Article Sheds New Light

The Model S has the dashboard Apple would have designed, with just two visible physical buttons, for the hazard lights and to release the glove-box door. Every other function that isn’t handled by steering-column stalks, from climate to radio to navigation to cell-phone and internet connectivity, is concentrated in a huge touch-sensitive flat-panel display in the center of the dash. It’s as if the whole car is run off an iPad glued to the dash. A bank of four USB ports along the bottom allows you to plug in various devices for file sharing and recharging.

2012 Tesla Model S First Ride – Reviews – Car and Driver
 
They were surprisingly negative about the interior space, saying tall rear passengers scrape their head and front seat passengers are too close to the dash when making room for the back seat folks. Yet, I know I've seen comments from folks that went to the event along the lines of "I'm 6'4" and fit just fine."

I'm just 5'10" so it doesn't affect me really, but such contradictory impressions on something moderately objective like internal space leaves me confused...

They also hit, several times, on how wide the Model S is. I wonder why Tesla chose to go so wide, not that it's bad, just that I'm curious.