I also got a chance to do a factory pick-up and tour yesterday. The entire experience was a satisfying endeavor to say the least. In my case, my car was delivered right in the middle of my window, and other than my bank being really nitpicky of the dates, signatures, and amount shown for what I paid versus what will be financed on the MVPA, everything was awesome.
A bit of background, I've never taken a test drive, and have only been to the Santana Row store one time, and this was long ago when all they had was the frame sitting in the store. So I truly went into this blind. And like others have mentioned, I'm ecstatic about the car in every sense of the word.
My car (P05718), did not have the P85 emblem, which is perfectly ok in my book as I'm going to debadge the Model S anyway. Rear seats were installed, as well as the carbon fiber spoiler. Only due bill items are the parcel shelf and the HPWC. My car came with the Continentals, and not the Michelins as some others have gotten.
Some of my initial observations, in no particular order (and some of these are very initial as I've only spent about 45 min actually driving the car or monkeying with settings):
- Car is super smooth and quiet. I'm not used to having the radio seem "loud" at a setting of 4. I had to move my Subaru STi out of the way to get the MS in the garage, and I should have been wearing ear plugs.
- I'm happy that the sportier steering does have a heavy feel to it, so it still reminds me of driving the STi, which I'll miss once I sell it later this month.
- Mashing the pedal when you are already at highway speed is a pleasurable experience. Granted, the STi could pass cars at will as well, but there was a turbo lag that I had to account for. Now, if I want to pass somebody in a hurry, the car and I have a symbiotic relationship.
- Closing doors does take a bit more force than I'm used to. You have to slam the doors to get it to close since the cabin has such a good seal to it.
- Detailers at the factory could have spent a few extra minutes to make a better impression. Carpet on the inside had a lot of white fuzz on it, and there are obvious wax seams in some of the crevices. Also, probably would be a good idea to open the frunk and do a once-over on the seams to get the water spots out, as those are obvious when the frunk is closed. I'm also anal-retentive when it comes to cleaning my car, so maybe it's just me.
- I find that the front floormats that Tesla provided with the car are a bit thicker and plush than the premium OEM mats I already bought. So my plan is to leave these ones int he car during the winter season here in the Bay Area, and then put the nicer ones with the logo in for the summer.
- My 5.5 year old was thrilled to sit in the back. In fact, he was begging me to leave our family friend's house early just so he could sit in it. He also fell asleep back there as I couldn't see the top of his head any more, and I know that couldn't have been a comfortable experience as the rear seats are fairly upright with no side bolsters for the head like my Recaro baby-seats have.
- Regenerative braking bites hard if you completely let off the pedal. It'll take a bit of getting used to feathering the pedal a bit more. Anybody that has driven a manual car should feel right at home as the engine braking and regenerative braking feel fairly similar.
- Ironically, for a guy that generally travels at the speed of traffic, which in the Bay Area is 75-80, I found myself hugging closer to 65-70 on my way home to San Jose. Having the energy gauge staring at your face while driving tends to keep things in check. I know I'll be opening it up a lot when showing off to friends and family though.
- Bass response for the premium sound seems to be light. There might be a setting somewhere that I can pump it up a bit, but I haven't screwed around enough with the settings yet to know if that's possible.
- The chrome pieces are ridiculous finger print magnets. I normally don't like to touch the door frame or window as that leaves finger prints, but now I have nowhere to touch without leaving blatant evidence for CSI.
- Even people that know of Tesla don't know Tesla. My family friends were shocked when I opened the frunk and there was no engine. They thought the Model S was a hybrid. It took a few minutes of explaining for it to sink in that the car requires no trips to the gas station.
Anyway, this is the only pic I have. I'm going with aftermarket paint protection film, so I don't want to drive the car too much before I get that put on, so it sits in my garage for the time b With a car that sits this low, it'll be a rock chip magnet on the freeway, which accounts for 90% of my driving.
And lastly, I've had the biggest sh*t eating grin on my face since my day started at the factory yesterday at 9AM. I hadn't even driven the car yet, and was only filling out paperwork, and I was smiling away. It was definitely worth the wait.