Hi all, I am a three-time Tesla owner -- 3, Y and now Model S Plaid which I picked up yesterday in Mt. Kisco, NY and drove back home to Albany (note all the bugs on the front of the car). 
My impressions:
1) Tesla is a great technology company...and a terrible car company. The staff at Mt. Kisco are very nice but in way, WAY over their heads. The entire delivery experience gives you the uneasy impression that the kids are running the daycare. Maybe it was the fact that it was a Sunday, but we waited over THREE HOURS before being helped and then *another* hour to actually take delivery. Even then, the interior of the car was filthy, most of the interior protective plastics hadn't even been removed and the outside still had adhesive left on it from the exterior plastics. Not at all the experience one would expect when spending that kind of coin on an automobile. Bottom line: if you're buying a Tesla, don't expect an Audi delivery experience. Plan on a frustrating extended pick-up and adding a few hundred bucks to the cost of the car for a full detail once you take delivery.
2) The yoke steering thing is utterly stupid at best and really, really dangerous at worst. It is awkward in general and downright difficult to use in any position past 90 degrees in either direction. That clumsiness translates to driver inattention and hesitancy which could easily result in an accident. It did not get any better for the rest of the 3-hour drive home or my spirited drive in the twisties this morning. Elon Musk romanticizing Michael Knight is dangerous for everyone. Someone really should have told the emperor he wasn't wearing any clothes on this one. Hopefully, NHTSA will do so and Tesla will be forced to replace this abomination with a real steering wheel. It will make everyone on the road safer.
3) The elimination of stalks is equally stupid/dangerous. Buttons for everything are clumsy and having to take your eyes off the road to find and use them is absurd. The directionals are annoying but I think I can get used to them over time. Lesser-used buttons will be more problematic. Imagine seeing a deer about to jump into the road and then having to look down at the stupid-ass steering yoke to find the tiny little horn button (which isn't actually a button but more of a "spot" on the yoke that gives no feedback when you press it). Moronic. Both the yoke and the removal of the stalks are solutions in search of problems.
3) The power is overwhelming. The standard Model S/X and 3/Y are powerful. Putting friends in the passenger seat and flooring it is a fun party trick. This car is beyond next level. It doesn't have a party trick, it warps space and time. Seriously. It's not just the massive amount of power, it is how it's delivered. The torque delivery is so flat and so constant that it feels like you're going to slingshot off the curve of the earth if you don't take your foot off the accelerator...NOW. I have driven some very powerful and very fast cars in my life and I'm not sure *anyone* needs a car this powerful and fast -- least of all the kind of people who are generally buying a 4-door sport sedan. My wife actually screamed out loud and made me slow down immediately. By the time I released the accelerator, we going over 130 MPH. She didn't let me try again. It isn't just fast, it's scary.
4) The audio system is breathtaking. I've never heard anything quite like it. Most car audio involves some sacrifice -- either in power or clarity. This system is extremely clear and defined at every frequency. They 3/Y have great stereos. This one is magnificent. And it still goes to eleven.
5) The fit and finish is excellent so far. The materials are a bit utilitarian, but the refreshed interior is great. Lack of a sunglasses holder still bums me out.
Overall, the car is excellent and delivers on its promise of innovative features and mind-blowing power. That said, unless you want bragging rights as the baddest mofo lowdown around this town (who can name the movie?), you should probably stick with the regular Model S. My wife is going to be the main driver of this car, and I know for certain that the money we spent on the Plaid upgrade is going to be totally, completely, 100% wasted on her. An expensive lesson, but bragging rights are not nothing and I'll have fun with it once in a while when she lets me drive it...
My impressions:1) Tesla is a great technology company...and a terrible car company. The staff at Mt. Kisco are very nice but in way, WAY over their heads. The entire delivery experience gives you the uneasy impression that the kids are running the daycare. Maybe it was the fact that it was a Sunday, but we waited over THREE HOURS before being helped and then *another* hour to actually take delivery. Even then, the interior of the car was filthy, most of the interior protective plastics hadn't even been removed and the outside still had adhesive left on it from the exterior plastics. Not at all the experience one would expect when spending that kind of coin on an automobile. Bottom line: if you're buying a Tesla, don't expect an Audi delivery experience. Plan on a frustrating extended pick-up and adding a few hundred bucks to the cost of the car for a full detail once you take delivery.
2) The yoke steering thing is utterly stupid at best and really, really dangerous at worst. It is awkward in general and downright difficult to use in any position past 90 degrees in either direction. That clumsiness translates to driver inattention and hesitancy which could easily result in an accident. It did not get any better for the rest of the 3-hour drive home or my spirited drive in the twisties this morning. Elon Musk romanticizing Michael Knight is dangerous for everyone. Someone really should have told the emperor he wasn't wearing any clothes on this one. Hopefully, NHTSA will do so and Tesla will be forced to replace this abomination with a real steering wheel. It will make everyone on the road safer.
3) The elimination of stalks is equally stupid/dangerous. Buttons for everything are clumsy and having to take your eyes off the road to find and use them is absurd. The directionals are annoying but I think I can get used to them over time. Lesser-used buttons will be more problematic. Imagine seeing a deer about to jump into the road and then having to look down at the stupid-ass steering yoke to find the tiny little horn button (which isn't actually a button but more of a "spot" on the yoke that gives no feedback when you press it). Moronic. Both the yoke and the removal of the stalks are solutions in search of problems.
3) The power is overwhelming. The standard Model S/X and 3/Y are powerful. Putting friends in the passenger seat and flooring it is a fun party trick. This car is beyond next level. It doesn't have a party trick, it warps space and time. Seriously. It's not just the massive amount of power, it is how it's delivered. The torque delivery is so flat and so constant that it feels like you're going to slingshot off the curve of the earth if you don't take your foot off the accelerator...NOW. I have driven some very powerful and very fast cars in my life and I'm not sure *anyone* needs a car this powerful and fast -- least of all the kind of people who are generally buying a 4-door sport sedan. My wife actually screamed out loud and made me slow down immediately. By the time I released the accelerator, we going over 130 MPH. She didn't let me try again. It isn't just fast, it's scary.
4) The audio system is breathtaking. I've never heard anything quite like it. Most car audio involves some sacrifice -- either in power or clarity. This system is extremely clear and defined at every frequency. They 3/Y have great stereos. This one is magnificent. And it still goes to eleven.
5) The fit and finish is excellent so far. The materials are a bit utilitarian, but the refreshed interior is great. Lack of a sunglasses holder still bums me out.
Overall, the car is excellent and delivers on its promise of innovative features and mind-blowing power. That said, unless you want bragging rights as the baddest mofo lowdown around this town (who can name the movie?), you should probably stick with the regular Model S. My wife is going to be the main driver of this car, and I know for certain that the money we spent on the Plaid upgrade is going to be totally, completely, 100% wasted on her. An expensive lesson, but bragging rights are not nothing and I'll have fun with it once in a while when she lets me drive it...
