Exactly. It's a freaking console for gosh sakes.
That said, I suspect there are a very small number of people who are really upset by this and very vocal. And then there are whole bunch more (like me) going "Meh... oh well".
I think that's probably understating things, though I accept your general premise. In my opinion, there are probably a small and vocal group that are very upset, another pretty decent sized group that is pretty upset, and just not saying anything about it, and a group of similar size that may be saying, "Meh...oh well." I definitely don't think the "Meh...oh wells" are the majority. I could be wrong.
Agree. I'm among those who have been waiting for a year and a half. The delay is no big deal. Tesla has much bigger fish to fry. For me the criticism that's heaped on them for failing to satisfy or Veblen-esc consumer habits is astounding.
It's not the delay for me, but rather the fact that Tesla is basically saying (if you're not trying to read between the lines) that it's this or nothing, at least for a while, and by "this" they mean a console that doesn't match our interiors.
I get why some are pissed off, if I had waited two years Id be mad too. However the console is a an accessory the car was not designed to have it from the start.
Whether it was designed to have it from the start or not is irrelevant to people like me, who ordered the car long after the console was announced and shown as an option. It was, in my mind, part of my purchase, and were it possible, I would have ordered it at the time I ordered the car. The all-weather floor mats and trunk liner had to be ordered from the Tesla Online Store, and couldn't be ordered with the car, in the same way the console had to be ordered. The only difference was that the console was showing as not yet available. As someone brand new to Tesla at the time, I had no reason to believe at that point that Tesla would show an item in their online store that they actually would not produce.
I knew when I ordered the car that I wanted the console, and I knew that I wanted it to match. The choices Tesla is leaving me with now are to either not have a console, to go with a third-party console (none of which I like nearly as much as the Tesla console) or to go with a console that doesn't match my interior and will look out of place in my car. This is what I am upset about. I did order the Piano Black console because I've driven without a console long enough, but I am hoping for some sort of retrofit option of the mismatched piece. That brings me to your other point:
Not knowing exactly how many you need for the various color combos and changes over the past two years obviously turned into a nightmare. Offering one and only model is much easier than trying to accommodate every car.
There is a simple solution for that. All Tesla needed to do was offer that one folding piece in the same leather material as the rest of the console. Problem solved. Or at least the problem would have been solved in a better way than what they are currently doing. Sure, there would still be some who wanted that piece the way they expected it originally, but at least the console would not actually clash with the rest of their interior, the way it does now.
Tesla should have that one piece made, and provide it for free to anyone who was on the waiting list for a finish other than Piano Black, but then wound up buying a Piano Black console. If they really can't or don't want to offer it for free, that's fine. Make it, and we'll pay for it. How much could it cost? $50, at the most? I'd pay that happily.
