New 2021 Model S Unveiled January 27, 2021

[tes_ev_123]

This sounds just like the gnashing of teeth that people had when they saw the Model 3 with it's single screen for the first time.

Well... not exactly. The removal of a gauge cluster resulted in improved visibility and had little negative effect. It certainly didn't impact safety or ease of driving. Meanwhile, the yoke doesn't have any practical benefits, it doesn't look better than a regular wheel (imho), it makes it more difficult to steer on city roads and could result in safety issues if they implement highly variable steering. I don't want to worry about how my car will react when I slightly turn the yoke on a mountain road next to a cliff.

 

[FutureShock]

Cool... the new S gets rid of the lead-acid 12V battery in favor of a Li-ion one.

Should need replacing a LOT less often.

Tesla's new Model S and Model X get rid of lead-acid 12v battery, move to Li-ion - Electrek
.

 

[MP3Mike]

From the interview of Elon by Sandy Munro: another new feature of the new Model S/X is that they will come with a Lion 12v battery that has a rated life that matches the HV battery pack. So they are continuing to make improvements to reduce the number of necessary future service visits/maintenance. (And even Elon said that they should have done it much sooner.)

 

[Cleo-n-Company]

Well... not exactly. The removal of a gauge cluster resulted in improved visibility and had little negative effect. It certainly didn't impact safety or ease of driving. Meanwhile, the yoke doesn't have any practical benefits, it doesn't look better than a regular wheel (imho), it makes it more difficult to steer on city roads and could result in safety issues if they implement highly variable steering. I don't want to worry about how my car will react when I slightly turn the yoke on a mountain road next to a cliff.

Decisions like the yoke are merely Elon's tactics to secure free marketing. Look at all the hub-bub for turning this (former) automotive beauty into a rolling video game.

In addition, I'm not saying that this yoke-style wheel should cause some huge uproar with the NHTSA.

But any practical and seasoned auto manufacturer would have certainly reached out to the NHTSA prior with its design changes.

 

[CapeOne]

The only harm would be if Tesla kept the money, which they did not. $100, refunded, on an $80,000 car is something that would be laughed out of court.

Many bait and switch lawsuits are state level cases and aren't necessarily about actual damages to all impacted consumers. They are often designed to expose and punish (penalties, fines) a company for utilizing illegal practices in the operation of the business as well as discourage them from attempting to do so again.

The problem can be about proving intent. In this situation, did Tesla continue to advertise/promote and take orders for lower priced products knowing that they would not be able to fill those orders at the stated prices and did so, at least in part, to try to move or switch those customers into a higher priced product?

 

[SO16]

So, what's your excuse as to why they didn't stop promoting and taking orders for the lower priced pre-update MS and MX after December 31st?

If Tesla still can't adequately gauge availability of product by their inventory on hand then an order cut-off date should have been based on when they stopped building the new cars at the factory. At that time, they should have stopped taking custom orders and instead allowed people to place deposits for the upcoming models (similar to what they've done with the Cybertruck) and/or direct people to their online inventory section. Continuing to promote and take custom orders for the lower priced MS and MX for weeks after production had already ended was inappropriate. They could have and should have easily handled this a lot better.

Probably many of those Jan orders were matched to existing inventory. Obviously not everyone was able to get a match.

 

[MP3Mike]

Decisions like the yoke are merely Elon's tactics to secure free marketing.

Or it could just be the way Franz wants to design the vehicles.

 

[Cleo-n-Company]

Or it could just be the way Franz wants to design the vehicles.

If he does - please keep him far away from my kitchen remodel.

 

[David_Cary]

Can it be bait and switch when Tesla doesn't advertise in the typical way?
I mean it isn't like they have full page ads in a newspaper or on TV or anything else a court would understand saying - "Order your new Model S for $69,420!"
They advertise by email and by doing crazy things and generating press. Doesn't make for a conventional Bait and Switch court case. There is probably not a state court in the nation who will go with that case.
Has there ever been a federal Bait and Switch case that occurred and was successful?

 

[SO16]

From the interview of Elon by Sandy Munro: another new feature of the new Model S/X is that they will come with a Lion 12v battery that has a rated life that matches the HV battery pack. So they are continuing to make improvements to reduce the number of necessary future service visits/maintenance. (And even Elon said that they should have done it much sooner.)

I was hoping the new S/X would eliminate the need for the separate battery altogether. Ah well. This is still better than the old way. If/when my 12v dies, I’d like to go the lithium route if possible.

 

[Kuzco]

I'm curious about experiences from others who had an existing reservation pre-refresh. We submitted our order Jan 23.

Since the refresh announcement, all I've heard from our SA is a generic text blast.

1. Text didn't mention anything about the $2,000 discount. Has anyone been told by a rep that they won't even get the that $2,000 discount?
2. The text message indicated we need to edit our design to reflect latest pricing and configuration options. It mentions an "edit design" button Under Tesla Account > Manage Reservations, but that button doesn't display for me.

I'm in no rush to call them right now. I want to see/hear more info around the yoke & the gear selection (main touchscreen vs physical buttons where the hazard lights are shown in current renders). Plus, I feel like I get better info hearing from others on the forum than talking to the rep.

Am I missing anything where I need to reach out to them sooner rather than later? I haven't seen anything directly from Tesla or my rep matching the end-of-February deadline I'm seeing others post online.

 

[4SUPER9]

... Meanwhile, the yoke doesn't have any practical benefits, it doesn't look better than a regular wheel (imho).

Practicality aside, I think the yoke looks totally awesome. If proven reliable and functional, I would choose the yoke over a wheel.

 

[MarcG]

From the interview of Elon by Sandy Munro: another new feature of the new Model S/X is that they will come with a Lion 12v battery that has a rated life that matches the HV battery pack. So they are continuing to make improvements to reduce the number of necessary future service visits/maintenance. (And even Elon said that they should have done it much sooner.)

Thanks for the link. It sounds like this interview was recorded after the earnings call, as Elon mentioned “the new S & X” a couple of times.

Opportunity really missed on Munro's part here to ask more questions about how the new battery pack is different and other innovations..

Anyway, do we know exactly when Elon plans to have his separate follow-up call/presentation on the new S & X features, which he mentioned during the earnings call he would do within a couple of weeks?

 

[FutureShock]

I want more range. 450+. You will only actually get @360 miles and you have to recharge before you get below 50, so that gives you 310 miles. And it will really slow down the charging after you are @70% so that's 50 to @315 or + 265 miles.

So you can go 575 miles on a 1 charge trip - of course cold weather - mountainous driving could bring it down to @500 miles. I could live with a 0-60 of "only" 3.1 seconds.

450+ mile range? That could be problematic.

The new S LR has the longest range of any EV currently in production, AFAIK. And you won’t get longer until the Plaid+, Lucid Air GT, and Air Dream Edition show up later this year... and all of those are $140K cars. Or more.

So for me, 412 miles is just fine. And the new heat pump means the range falls off a lot less in cold weather, too.
.

 

[serendipitous]

I was hoping the new S/X would eliminate the need for the separate battery altogether. Ah well. This is still better than the old way. If/when my 12v dies, I’d like to go the lithium route if possible.

It's not really possible to get rid of the 12V system. The primary goals of the 12V are 1) to power the other automotive electronics (most of which are 12V), which is solvable by keeping a DC/DC converter running all the time, but also, 2) to provide a failsafe that disconnects the 400V (or more!) HV battery. You need a lower voltage battery sitting there to power whatever system decides to close your HV contactors to energize the system. Without that, the car is "hot" all the time and a huge safety risk. Also imposes a new burden on the BMS because it can never measure cells at rest. You want to be able to disconnect and isolate your HV battery.

 

[JustSaying]

I wonder if people like this guy can get a lawyer and sue
Model S Delivery Update

I actually have the 1/24 text that urged me to update my profile and trade in info I did and I also printed out the deal with a delivery date March 3-31st. The only deal point left open which was I needed to bring a check for $65K.

 

[ICUDoc]

If he does - please keep him far away from my kitchen remodel.

Imagine what your taps would look like!!

 

[46&2]

You need a lower voltage battery sitting there to power whatever system decides to close your HV contactors to energize the system.

"Blah, pfff... - Never heard of cranking a car to start..?"

 

[CapeOne]

Can it be bait and switch when Tesla doesn't advertise in the typical way?
I mean it isn't like they have full page ads in a newspaper or on TV or anything else a court would understand saying - "Order your new Model S for $69,420!"
They advertise by email and by doing crazy things and generating press. Doesn't make for a conventional Bait and Switch court case. There is probably not a state court in the nation who will go with that case.
Has there ever been a federal Bait and Switch case that occurred and was successful?

It doesn't matter where the low price was being promoted or advertised (newspaper, magazine, radio, television, website, email, social media, etc.), just that it was being promoted/advertised with the intent to attract interest and potential purchases/orders which they'd try to switch to a more expensive product.

There have been a number of bait and switch lawsuits, I'm not sure what portion have been "successful".

 

[Uncle Paul]

During Monro interview, Elon mentioned that they are also intending to up spec 12v battery to 48-50 Volts. Will allow them to duplex data with power to accessories. Will be much more efficient and will shrink drasticly the wiring loom.

Elon spoke with distain about desiring to get rid of 12v asap.