Model S "Dealbreakers" (retrospective)

[fluxemag]

I was under the false impression that there was no sales tax on EVs. When I figured out it was state specific (duh), I thought I would have to cancel. Then when mandatory service was announced, after coming to grips with the sales tax, I again wanted to wait to finalize. The last concern I had was the financial condition of the company. I planned on finalizing the day of Q4 earnings release. Well, I didn't make it that long. Buying the stock and reserving the car that night in November around 1AM was one of the best decisions I ever made (behind selling BSC a few minutes before it cratered, dumping my crazy ex-girlfriend and marrying my wife).

 

[brianman]

I thought the lack of storage was a big issue for several folks. (I'd still prefer better storage).

The lack of a shade for the panoramic room seemed like an issue at the time. turned out it wasn't.

Did nobody mention the lack of spare tire as a deal breaker?
how about vampire load?

For me personally, what made me almost get an Audi S6 was the lack of techno-features like ACC.

Great list. Thanks!

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...oh, and the 1,001st Signature entering the US.

Now you're just attempting to revise history. It was never about vehicle location. It was about broken promises / "stretched advertising" and the erosion of the "Signature" brand. Furthermore, it was never (at least for me and anyone I've discussed it with) a "dealbreaker" on the vehicle itself (neither stated nor figuratively) -- which is the focus of this thread, hence the title. It was a potential customer killer from a company trust perspective though -- losing a customer due to trust issues is far worse than just losing the one vehicle sale.

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

I was having a discussion with a fellow forum member and we had the idea that it might be interesting to collect the "Dealbreakers" from 2011 and 2012 regarding the Model S.

Please include only seriously expressed "dealbreakers" from 2012 and prior. Preferably with reference links.

Some off the top of my head:

• cupholders
• leather
• non-leather
• nose cone (old)
• nose cone (new)
• nose cone (new new)
• CD player
• Sig premium
• no SC on 40 kWh
• 3G data plan pricing
• required annual service

No center console. I never got the whole "dealbreaker" thing, but there was a lot of drama. Oh, door handles too.

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Lack of reading lights.

 

[PeterW]

adaptive cruise control

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I remember this being a big deal for some people

 

[TI Sailor]

Current "deal breaker" I'm working on may be true for a significant percentage of potential buyers: Jumping through the politics and hoops of condo association rules & regs to get usable EVSE in parking area/garage. There's an even bigger hill to climb for renters.

 

[brianman]

Current "deal breaker" I'm working on may be true for a significant percentage of potential buyers: Jumping through the politics and hoops of condo association rules & regs to get usable EVSE in parking area/garage. There's an even bigger hill to climb for renters.

"New" and "not Model S specific" but an interesting concern for sure.

 

[StevePro]

Couple other minor things I've noticed that were deal breakers for some:

Lack of headroom in the back seat (I'm 5'8.5" and my head goes into the sunroof slot and almost touches the glass - I have a long upper body and short legs. I have to kink my head to sit in the side back seats but the center is ok).
The back headrests are not adjustable and provide no support for taller passengers.
Very large car that doesn't fit in some garages.

Really, this is just an amazing car and I'm amazed how few issues there are for the initial model years.

 

[gregincal]

Now you're just attempting to revise history. It was never about vehicle location. It was about broken promises / "stretched advertising" and the erosion of the "Signature" brand. Furthermore, it was never (at least for me and anyone I've discussed it with) a "dealbreaker" on the vehicle itself (neither stated nor figuratively) -- which is the focus of this thread, hence the title. It was a potential customer killer from a company trust perspective though -- losing a customer due to trust issues is far worse than just losing the one vehicle sale.

And we've seen just how much the extra 50 US signatures has hurt Tesla's reputation. :wink: But you're right, this was only of concern to people that had already bought signatures and thus not a deal breaker. New customers couldn't have cared less.

 

[Liz G]

Lighted vanity mirrors on the visors, lack there of.

And of course the visors themselves being to narrow.

 

[gregincal]

3G data plan pricing

For all the angst about 3G data plan pricing, who would have ever guessed that we would have gotten to June 2013 with still no idea what's going to happen. Many with non-sig cars are well beyond the supposed free 3 months and soon we might even get sig owners running over their free year with no announcement.

 

[dhrivnak]

To me the only real deal breaker is lack of a CHADeMO adapter. Without one road trips are not possible for us. We pass many CHADeMO stations but are more than a year away from any SuperChargers.

 

[FlasherZ]

Now you're just attempting to revise history. It was never about vehicle location. It was about broken promises / "stretched advertising" and the erosion of the "Signature" brand. Furthermore, it was never (at least for me and anyone I've discussed it with) a "dealbreaker" on the vehicle itself (neither stated nor figuratively) -- which is the focus of this thread, hence the title. It was a potential customer killer from a company trust perspective though -- losing a customer due to trust issues is far worse than just losing the one vehicle sale.

I'm just having a bit of fun at your expense.

 

[brianman]

I'm just having a bit of fun at your expense.

Yup, no worries. Just get the facts straight in your jabs.

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There's an amazing concentration in Tennessee, but by the looks of this map of the U.S. you won't get far otherwise.

Are you suggesting there's only 1 CHAdeMO in Washington state? Or something else?

 

[Kaivball]

No CD player

 

[NigelM]

Mod Notes:

Chademo went here: CHAdeMO-adapter-frustration

One post on a new topic went here: Tesla-should-get-involved-in-motorsports