PANO ROOF: MORE DIFFICULT THAN LANDING ROCKETS?

[KOL2000]

I would love to upgrade my beloved S or even order a plaid but there is no sunroof option so I will keep enjoying my 2013 P+.

Is there any rational explanation for why they don't offer this? Sales of S are dwindling and people in sunny locations would gladly pay for it. I'd put $10k into that option before I spend it on FSD. If they are worried about repairs during warranty why don't they just charge double or triple? Elon teased that the plaid would bring back the pano and larger 3rd row seating option but neither has materialized.

I think there's a silent majority living in good climates that are refusing to upgrade because of this. But maybe I'm wrong here and the only one that opens the roof every day.

 

[Cleo-n-Company]

I dunno... my formerly beloved 2013 P85+ had chronic pano roof leaking issues. The service center spent countless hours (so they said) disassembling and troubleshooting. While it's great having an open roof, sometimes all of the attending issues just aren't worth the hassle.

Elon has plenty of my money. He doesn't need more so I can have the same troublesome option. Just my .02

 

[2101Guy]

cheaper to produce. The more cars are alike on an assembly line, the cheaper it is to produce. More options/variables, the more expensive it is. And oftentimes, the added price to get the option thats passed to the customer, isnt enough to recoup the mfring costs.

add to that, no sunroof means zero warranty issues for sunroof related issues. and lack of sunroof option hasnt hindered demand one bit.

 

[Crutonius]

My guess would be that their first generation sunroofs were seriously unreliable and they'd have to engineer a completely new sunroof to replace it.

I will gladly trade you my broken sunroof for your solid glass roof.

 

[AudubonB]

I agree with the OP that a well-functioning sliding pano was a wonderful attribute and, as I’ve never had a problem with it in my low-VIN 2013, I love it (when were not in brrrrrr! Alaska with it).

So I’ve tried to kid myself into thinking that

(1) Tesla not maintaining that as an offer has saved me oodles of money by persuading me not to update the now ancient P85;

(2) And surely it must be providing me with a fine premium over these lackluster lackpano Model S’s that are pushed out today, ¿no?

What sayeth thou?

 

[chronoreverse]

My guess would be that their first generation sunroofs were seriously unreliable and they'd have to engineer a completely new sunroof to replace it.

I will gladly trade you my broken sunroof for your solid glass roof.

My experience is that every single manufacturer's sunroof's are unreliable. I owned a Lexus before the Model S and I've owned some German vehicles too. The forums are full of complaints about leaks, wind-noise, closing issues, etc. Just like Tesla's sunroofs.

 

[David29]

I've never had a leak or any other serious issue with the sunroof on my 2015 Model S. I recall (and have verified in the Wiki) that the sunroof design was changed in 2015, so it may well be that the problems of the earlier cars' sunroofs were reduced with the redesign.
I also had sunroofs on most of the Mercedes cars I had for 35+ years before I came to Tesla, and never had leaks with them, so the knowledge of how to build and install them is certainly out there and can't be all that hard to obtain. (Full disclosure: The MB sunroofs could get balky over time if not cleaned and lubricated properly. But the ones I owned were always used, often many years old, and bogged down only in cooler weather.)
I have made it a point to be sure that Tesla service people clean and lube the sunroof at my annual service, and check the drains. So far, so good.
Having said that, I would not go as far as the OP and pay as much as $10K for a sunroof! But whatever I paid in 2015 has been worth it. And surely, all the other manufacturers that offer sunroofs have figured out a price point that makes sense -- they are not taking losses on them, so there is no need for Tesla to do so. As one example, the current price for a sunroof on a new Mercedes E-class is $1000, in the US, considerably less than even what I paid Tesla in 2015. I am sure Daimler makes money on that.

 

[Big Toys]

One less thing they have to fix.

 

[Cleo-n-Company]

My experience is that every single manufacturer's sunroof's are unreliable. I owned a Lexus before the Model S and I've owned some German vehicles too. The forums are full of complaints about leaks, wind-noise, closing issues, etc. Just like Tesla's sunroofs.

There's a 2005 Lexus RX in the family. So the Tesla in the family always has the challenge of not living up to the reliability of our 15 year old Lexus. Which has a perfectly operating sunroof. Perfectly operating everything. It would be nice to see Tesla come close at some point.

 

[JoeCW]

Recently got my 2017 MS 100D and one of the main reasons I went used was the sunroof availability. I did not realize how much I love having it. It is bigger/wider than any of my other cars with sunroofs. I am sure my wife got sick of me debating about a 2020 vs 2017 where the sunroof item kept coming up. I even told myself to try and wait for battery day/plaid announcement to see if they would bring back a sunroof.

Happy with my 2017 MS and hoping that sunroofs come back when I decide to upgrade my MS.

 

[Tam]

...rational explanation for why they don't offer this?...

Even the upcoming $250,000 2020 Roadster won't come with an automatic sunroof. It comes with a manually removable roof.

 

[Crutonius]

Details about the Tesla panoramic sunroof

Here's some interesting information. Apparently the sunroof was sourced from Mercedes Benz.

They probably should have collaborated with Toyota.

 

[whitex]

Making pano work flawlessly on 100's of thousands of cars is a different skill than landing a rocket of which you build less than 100 units total. Tesla continuous design improvement, "ship it first and fix it later" model works well then you only have to retrofit the fix onto a dozen rockets at most, not so much to have to retrofit hundreds of thousands of cars. Retrofitting an actuator on a handful of Falcon rockets may seem expensive at $50,000 a piece, but retrofitting a $1,000 part on 200,000 cars is WAY more expensive.

So while it may be debatable whether pano roof is more difficult than rocket landing, it is definitely more expensive.

 

[Destiny1701]

My previous 2016 90D and now 2018 100D. Both had/have this option. I’ve never had a single issue with either.
No leaks, no issues whatsoever and feels great to have actual sunshine and fresh air when required

We were the last of the 2018 100D to have the pano roof and it’s used almost daily. I would trade into another MS without one. Sadly we cannot upgrade.

 

[domodan]

I love mine. In the spring and fall evenings when the sun is low in the sky and the temps are high 60’s/low 70’s they’re PERFECT.

 

[KOL2000]

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. Hear you loud and clear about repair costs. Mine has been pretty reliable over almost 8 years of constant use. I do think there would be lots of customers that would prefer spending $$ on this than on FSD. I just hope someone from Tesla still reads these forums and realizes there is a strong desire from certain customers to be able to enjoy the amazing open roof they used to offer - even if its more $$ (so they can recoup their costs on expected future warranty repairs)...

 

[Jjdsyd]

Just adding my voice to KOL2000. I have had my fixed roof P100D for three years. The car has been great and I would trade into a new one but have been waiting for some kind of facelift/ refresh and in particular the return of the pano roof. I had a loaner car for a while a couple of years back - it had the sunroof and I really didn't want to give it back.

I understand the point about reducing SKUs and repair costs - but Tesla is no longer a start up and they should be able to offer a sunroof. Oh, and silver paint!

 

[AustinP]

Silver grey with pano roof here.
Our car was built with the first generation pano and did have many issues. Quickly after the delivery, end of June, I had appointments to fix water ingress. And indeed noticed the new second generation of pano roof on the showroom cars.
Anyway, it was part of the deal: getting the best at the time you order, and accept their continuous improvement
So issues went on until the SeC agreed to replace the roof with a second generation one.
Has been great since that.

As others mentioned above, those brief moments I really enjoy are slowly cruising in the forest, enjoying the nature’s singing birds and wind noise in the trees, and feeling the sun rays thru the canope as if it was a convertible.

Off topic, but the removed open yacht floor is also on my “con’s” list. Love the yacht floor.

 

[COS Blue]

Count me among those who would like a sunroof. If it had been an option, I would have paid for it.

Like JoeCW, I seriously considered buying used just so I could get the sunroof. For me, with the low price difference, it made more sense to buy new. It is probably the only thing I consider to be a downgrade from my BMW.

In my family we've had Nissan, BMW, Acura, and Honda with sunroofs. Zero problems with them. Pretty sure it can be done .

 

[Merrill]

Love my pano sunroof never had a problem and it’s going on 8 years.