It's Model S Weekend at Tesla Santana Row 3/17 & 18 and new Model S Design Studio

[strider]

@Aviators99: I asked the production manager today when I could expect my deliveries. He said I could expect my Sig #731 in September and my Prod #2830 "a couple of months after that" i.e. November-ish. He also said the first Signature reservations would be contacted next week to confirm and finalize their orders.

Wow. Sounds like they're being really conservative about their ability to ramp production. I had hoped that all the sigs would be done by August and the R list would be started in September.

I heard that option order lockdown for founders cars are in a week or 2. They also said that they follow TMC closely (EVERYONE at Tesla I talked to said this) and they heard us about test drives and are working hard to figure out how to get it done.

Also, they will have delivery specialists that will do orientation on every delivery whether it's at a service center, store, factory, or home.

Interior thoughts... I love the new steering wheel and the new seats are much more supportive. I'm not a fan of the cupholder arrangement but the center armrest is very comfortable if you don't need to use the cupholder (padded leather slides over cupholder). I like both the light and dark performance interiors and the interior CF is matte finish and I like it a lot. If it were me I'd go with black leather and CF trim. Have to see what the wife likes. Touchscreen was responsive - very useable. There's an "auto" setting for lights so may not need to mess with those very often.

Exterior thoughts... I like the new light pipe effects around the headlights and the fog lamps. Taillights seem unchanged from earlier betas. I like the Performance CF accents although I think I have to see the spoiler in person. In the Design Studio it looks a little "stuck on" but it could easily be an artifact of the rendering.

 

[Trnsl8r]

For reference, all the employees I talked to, Mr. GB included, said that I would definitely have my car "this year".

 

[Andrew Wolfe]

BTW the configurations on display are:

1 Pearl White with White leather, banana leaf trim
2 Sig Red with Black leather and lacewood
3 Silver with black leather and lacewood
4 Black with black leather and piano black

While it was great to see all the exterior colors, I wish a broader range of interiors were represented. Would have been very nice to see a Performance vehicle. And I would have liked to have seen the tan leather. Two of the cars had the Pano Roof (which was very cool) but neither had the manual shade, so can't tell how it effects headroom.

Quick impressions:
- Lacewood was much better than I expected based on the small samples. It looks very nice on the car.
- The banana leaf is pretty unattractive IMO. Very shiny and just odd color tones and appearance.
- I'm not a big fan of the two-toned look, which is only avoided by getting black leather. For example, the back of the front seats is black no matter what main leather color you get, so two toned seats. But the black leather makes for a very dark interior. I'll be deciding between tan leather and black leather.
- The silver exterior looks very attractive. Considerably better looking than it appears on the website.

The online design studio is great (on flat screens in the store) and I can't understand why it's not online on their site now. The design studio materials on the walls of the store are very helpful. When it rolls out to your area, you'll be happy! From those materials and from the online "studio" you can finally see how the Performance design really differs from the non-Perf version. The Perfomance seats have piping that is pretty prominent, especially the Black interior - big thick cords of red around the black seats - quite a statement and not my taste at all!!

Interesting - I was set on the white leather - but have decided on the black with red piping. Once I saw them both together, it was no contest.

The white is not as white as one would think - more cream colored. The samples were getting pretty grimy - especially the Alcantra.

The Pano roof is very dark - probably blocks a lot of light and heat.

Also - the silver car has a console - but it was a little wobbly. Probably an accessory. No aero wheels or performance wheels on display.

The leather on the dash on VIN 44 was very uneven around the edges (when the door was open). Looked very amateur. But the rest of the interior looked production.

 

[AnOutsider]

Exterior thoughts... I like the new light pipe effects around the headlights and the fog lamps.

Hi Strider, didn't realize the headlights got changed. Any pics of the new effects?

 

[onlinespending]

For reference, all the employees I talked to, Mr. GB included, said that I would definitely have my car "this year".

regardless of your desired battery pack size, and only taking into consideration your reservation number? Or is that largely based on the fact that you want an 85kWh pack (I'm only assuming)?

 

[smoothoperator]

Interesting - I was set on the white leather - but have decided on the black with red piping. Once I saw them both together, it was no contest.

Agreed would not get the white upholstery, your interior may end looking like this:

 

[Larry Chanin]

Also - the silver car has a console - but it was a little wobbly. Probably an accessory.

Interesting. Can someone provide a photo?

Thanks.

Larry

 

[Trnsl8r]

regardless of your desired battery pack size, and only taking into consideration your reservation number? Or is that largely based on the fact that you want an 85kWh pack (I'm only assuming)?

Funnily enough, none of them asked. It's possible that they made assumptions, or meant that I would at least "be offered" the car this year, with bigger battery as the caveat. Since I'm gunning for the 85 anyway I didn't bother clarifying.

 

[Andrew Wolfe]

Agreed would not get the white upholstery, your interior may end looking like this:

View attachment 4752

I would go with a panda-fur interior - but it would probably trash my eco-cred.

 

[Norbert]

For me the highlight was the adjustability of the front seat. It offered a wide range of very comfortable positions with very good sight ahead, as well as on the instrument panel (through the steering wheel). That was the one thing I needed to know. For those who need head room, the seat can be lowered enormously. The head rests are just about high enough for me, but I think they should be adjustable.

The center space is much easier to reach than I would have thought, based on the photos from the October event, and had a "carpet" with a nice feel to it (and a 12V outlet). At the time I didn't think of checking the size and usability of the glove compartment. While waiting for my turn to have a seat, I was pointed to the new material under the roof, and it did feel very smooth/silky.

The Model S, to me, looks much better in real than on photos. I wish I could capture on photo how it looks to me. Not sensational but subtly beautiful, difficult to define.

The 17" screen has an extraordinary brightness and clarity, and responded perfectly to touch. Only once did I have to touch an image button twice, perhaps I had missed it the first time.

With a few exceptions, quality appeared *very* good, however those exceptions appeared to tell me that it isn't ready yet.

The Model X is very impressive. If I wanted an SUV, I would want the X.

Oh, and I asked about the Supercharger announcement. They didn't have a date yet, and he could only say that he expects we'll be very happy about it, as for him it would be very significant.

 

[dsm363]

Agreed would not get the white upholstery, your interior may end looking like this:

View attachment 4752

Pandas are cute though. Look at that guy, he screams I'm big and clash but I don't care.

 

[bonnie]

Never say no to Panda.

Never say no to Panda.

 

[Todd Burch]

So Ted says that the "negative space" in the cabin console area is actually nice in practice--it's just a paradigm shift and something that you just need to get used to. I'm open to trying that...I guess the idea is that you lay things on the floor in that open space. If you need to store something larger there, there's an obvious benefit.

 

[tomanik]

So Ted says that the "negative space" in the cabin console area is actually nice in practice--it's just a paradigm shift and something that you just need to get used to. I'm open to trying that...I guess the idea is that you lay things on the floor in that open space. If you need to store something larger there, there's an obvious benefit.

Well negative space is at least an appropriate name. If someone could post a picture of the center console that is supposed in one of the models, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[onlinespending]

I would go with a panda-fur interior - but it would probably trash my eco-cred.

haha...and here's hoping they offer bamboo trim (in addition to banana leaf) to compliment the panda theme!

 

[rabar10]

It's interesting that we're 4 months or so from the car shipping, and it seems the only things open to nit-picking are interior color patterns and the lack of pockets or cubby-holes to stash phones etc.

I try not to be an unabashed fanboy, but what seems unsaid here is how many things Tesla is doing right. 3x the range of any other BEV on the market (largest pack), massive storage space where the engine (or electronics in all other BEVs) usually goes, performance and handling that looks to be on par with, if not better than, other cars in its price range (ignoring the TCO differences in gas/electric), etc. etc...

Striving for perfection is a never-ending goal, and pointing out any perceived shortcomings now is probably doing Tesla a favor. That said, it will be refreshing to see some "outside opinions" on this car once the major car testers/reviewers get their hands on it.

 

[bonnie]

Rabario - I was just typing a similar message. What's amazing though, is that we have an EV that people are comparing to other cars, not just electric vehicles. That's HUGE.

I literally had a visceral reaction when I first saw the Model S. It's an amazingly beautiful, sleek vehicle that just happens to be electric. Even though I've switched to the Model X (better combination with the Roadster), I love LOVE the Model S. I will envy each one of you as you take delivery and post pictures.

 

[EVNow]

Since S is a V1 product, there will be some missing features. As we say, "shipping" is a feature, infact, the most important one.

Atleast for me with Leaf, leasing the car looked like a good compromise. I'd have to live with the car for just 3 years and then buy a much newer model with far less compromises.

 

[ckessel]

I can tell that no matter how many pictures I see, I'm going to have to see the interior in person, sit in the car and see what it's like. Is there enough leg support without a true console when I'm in my "slouched" distance driving position? Is there enough space in a concealed spot for my wife to stuff her purse when we get out and walk along a beach (our current center console has space and locks with the key)?

I'll have to think of some scenarios like that and see how it feels.

 

[Zorba]

Site is down for maintenance updating the design studio?