Here are my initial impressions, having only driven 33 miles!
First off, the delivery experience was very good. (Everything is relative, so some may think this does not equate to very good. Coming from a Honda Accord, this was a very good experience for me.) I arrived at 3:40 for my 4:00 appointment. The vehicle was still in detailing and was not ready until 4:30. Mid day today, my SA moved the appointment from 5:00 to 4:00, but hadn't closed the loop with the delivery team. Not a big deal to me. While I waited, one of the delivery reps walked me through some of the controls on a Plaid that was on the lot.
I spent quite a bit of time inspecting the vehicle. I have to admit, though, as a first time Tesla buyer and with this being my first nice car, I did not know what half of the items on
@MarcG checklist meant! For example, I wouldn't recognize a panel gap if I saw one! I had decided before arriving that there would have to be something really major wrong for me not to accept delivery. Plus, I figured that if I discovered something after I left, Tesla would make it right. I did notice that some of the gasketing around the doors was not exactly perfect. Delivery rep fixed one small gasket misalignment on the back door.
I do have the yoke vein/worm, but to me it's pretty subtle and does not bother me. The rear window distortion is not noticeable when sitting in the parking lot, but I did notice it on the ride home. I didn't notice any other glass distortion.
I received two key cards and two key fobs. The privacy shelf in trunk was missing, and delivery rep disclosed it before I had to ask. It will be shipped to my house.
I thought the paint looked flawless, but again, I don't have a very extensive frame of reference! The black is just stunning to me. (I even copied
@SarahsDad for my new profile pic. Thanks for the idea!)
Spent a lot of time on the tires. The delivery reps did not really know the difference between the Summer ("Y", per the online owner's manual) and the All Season ("W") tires. When I pressed on the issue for the third time, the delivery rep said that I could refuse delivery, but that Tesla would not replace the tires once I took delivery (summer to AS). He went to talk to his manager. The manager went to research it and came back to tell me that the Pirelli tires on my car were indeed All Season tires. He said the owner's manual that shows the Y vs. W must be outdated/related to the pre-refresh MS. He showed me a print out from Pirelli website that verified that. I should have asked for a copy of it but I didn't think to do so. So...not sure what the real answer is, but that's my story!
The delivery team was awesome. There was a small amount of residue when I opened the frunk, and I asked for a rag so that I could wipe it off. The rep said "I'll take care of it, you're not wiping anything!" They also were able to accomodate my request to move up my scheduled delivery by one day. After almost 8 months, that might not seem like much, but it really alleviated a difficult situation I was in from a schedule standpoint.
At the end, one of the post-delivery reps asked me if I'd mind sharing my order to delivery experience. He was very appreciative as I related my entire story, including lack of communication (from factory not SAs). He thanked me several times for choosing Tesla and for sticking with my order through the process and not going "to buy a Maserati or something else". He relayed how he's been with the company since they were selling 60,000 vehicles annually, through now where the Devon location itself processes 1,000 vehicles per month. He attributed the current situation to growing pains, and admitted that the local teams suffer from lack of info from Fremont. He was not making excuses, and it felt really good to be asked for my feedback. We agreed that the process must be improved when competition catches up.
Now for the limited driving experience. I felt comfortable with the yoke, especially on the highway. A little clumsy with slow turns, where hand over hand is normally used, but I have no doubt that will improve with more time behind the yoke. I didn't find the turn signals all that difficult to use, but admit that I reached for stalk a couple of times. As others have mentioned, the full press works well, but will take getting used to the one to three blink process.
Regenerative braking/one foot driving is awesome! I don't think I had to use the brakes the whole way home! What a fun way to drive! (Do the brake lights come on when you are slowing down? Don't remember seeing that in the manual.)
I had a smile the whole drive home, and actually laughed out loud to myself when I passed a gas station that I (used to) frequent. Quite the rush!
I did not push it too hard with this first drive. Part of it was nerves, like I didn't want to break my new toy (which I know would not happen!). The other part was I did not want to be the first TMC member to get a ticket. This car will be a cop magnet, I can feel it. If I were a cop, I'd pull me over, just so I could check it out! When I did push it, the response was awesome. I know others have said it before, but I echo...this thing is a beast, and I don't know what I'd do with a Plaid! This is more than enough for me.
The screen will take some getting used to for me. I tried to open the owner's manual to double check how to close the frunk, and the screen went black on me...twice. Reset it by pushing both scroll wheels.
Last thing...I really liked the front collision system that shows how close you are when pulling in the garage...until I got out and saw that i was just barely touching the object in front of the car. I think the 12" distance from object estimate that was shown was for the garage wall and not the object in front of it! It's not a problem, just a note to self!
Apologies for the long ramble, but it's been quite a day. Thrilled to have the vehicle finally. It's (real and it's) spectacular! I really didn't want any other vehicle, so I'm happy I stuck it out. I really couldn't have done it without TMC and it's supportive members. I still remember searching the web for any information on Model S deliveries back in early April, and I found this forum. I don't think I'd have waited until now for delivery without your encouragement, witty banter, and comaraderie. For those who have made it this far, thank you!
. Long wait is over! Stopped to post a couple pics before getting home. Will write first impressions later.
