At my test drive today in LA I specifically requested a car with the cup holder prototype option #3. Unfortunately they could not oblige. They were on a time line and there was only limited flexibility in which car you got. My car did have option #1, shelf under the display, however, and I was nonetheless able to determine something quite significant about the proposed cup holder option#3:
It is not sensible to install both option #1 (shelf) and option #3 (cup holders) concurrently. There is not enough space under the shelf for a standard 10" water bottle to sit in the cup holders. You could squeeze a a smaller 8 1/2" water bottle under there but it would be tight. A coffee cup or soda can would fit but the space restricts your beverage container height to only such smaller containers. But as long as you don't also include the shelf, option #3 cup holders do indeed seem to be in a viable location. They do not seem too far to reach and they retain the open space for purse, briefcase, etc. Here are pictures of a standard 10" water bottle showing why you wouldn't want to install both options #1 (shelf) and #3 (cup holders) together:
It was also extremely clear that the current cup holders have a number of limitations. (That is kinder than saying they are useless.) The size of those cup holders will only accommodate cups with limited diameter. The 10" water bottle in the pictures did not come close to fitting. And, as is well known, you cannot use the current cup holders and the arm rests concurrently which is a major limitation.
My impression remains that there should be an option in which the current cup holders are moved so people can simultaneously use both the armrests and cup holders (wherever they are placed) and in which the current cup holder area is converted to a rectangular storage compartment (with or without USB plug). In fact in the car I drove they were using the cup holders as storage already--there was loose change in them!
In an ideal world Tesla would reconfigure the electronics and ducts under the arm rests and create ample storage there where everyone expects it. My guest kept trying to pull the arm rests up to see the storage underneath. I had to point out that there wasn't any. But assuming Tesla cannot get to a full revamp under the arm rests till version 2.0 the current cup holder area is still available to them for a small storage bin.
If Tesla makes it an option, where should the cup holders be relocated? Option #3 is very viable, easy and inexpensive, but you should avoid concurrently installing option #1 shelf unless you only plan to use short, small beverage containers. Option #1 shelf could be used concurrently with flip downs or pop outs on the front of the arm rest module as others have proposed. These would need to jut out far enough for beverage containers to get past the slope of the front of the arm rest module and we don't know how much space Tesla has within that module for pop outs to recess which may be constraints. Pop outs under option #1 shelf could also be an inexpensive and easy solution but the problem of taller containers obstructing the lower portion of the display would need to be addressed.
After my impressions today here are two revised minimalist, open space option proposals at the opposite end of the spectrum to Soflauthor's fabulous larger console option for consideration:
Minimalist #1
a) Add option #3 cup holders, but make sure they accommodate multiple diameter beverage containers
b) Remold current cup holder area as a rectangular storage bin with a USB port or phone dock
Minimalist #2
1) Add option #1 shelf, but with door, lid or cover to create closed storage
2) Add pop out or flip down cup holders at the front of the arm rests or pop outs under the shelf if display not obstructed
3) Remold current cup holder area as a rectangular storage bin with a USB port or phone dock