I was surprised as well in all honesty. Since he's at the factory I'm hoping he knows something. Of course until they show up in the order page, it's all just fun speculation.
Speculation aside, I have more than a few contacts within Tesla all the way up the food chain. We're all connected through our various SV entrepreneur circles. Current company I work with was cofounded by one of the PayPal Mafia. I've had the pleasure of meeting Elon on many occasions.
While I'm relatively new to the MS owner's circle I'm not new to Tesla. I've consulted for them in the past. As for my history, I had 2 Signature reservations I sold last year before we relocated from DC to the Bay Area. This was partly due to me being told that the Performance Plus package was coming.
When it came time to add Model S to our personal fleet I was severely time-limited. We bought a condo in SF and it has a limited number of parking stalls equipped with charging stations. To guarantee a spot before the Leafs and Volts took over I moved on the car and had my colleagues get it for me in under 2 weeks. They all recommended waiting to get the options I wanted, but knew I couldn't. Depending on what 2014 brings and what is retrofittable, this car may or may not be in the family long.
Back on topic... In short, they know people want this. I've even been asked as to *how* they should offer it as a retrofit.
The beauty of this car (and most other modern automobiles) is that they're completely modular. Everything sits on a data bus. The parking sensors would require a control module, harnesses, the sensors, and switching a bit in the software. The bumpers are pre-scored with markings for the sensor locations. Cars built after a certain date (not sure when) have the wiring in place already. I've confirmed this with people on the line.
Tesla is smart in this regard. Rather than manufacturing multiple versions of a wiring harness, there's just one. This reduces inventory complexity and cost.
I only wish other manufacturers did this. I retrofitted a number of European-only options to the BMW, VW, and Audi cars I've owned over the years. It was extremely expensive, partly due to the wiring involved and the fact that I needed Euro-specific parts that could only be obtained in Europe.
If what I'm told is true (and having seen it with my own eyes, it is) the retrofit should be relatively straightforward and simple. Just like the twin charger retrofit, you'll buy a kit and have service install it. You'll get sensors that have been factory painted and guaranteed to fully match 100%.
I can't say when it will happen though. They're preoccupied with other things right now, but have been told it should be here before the end of the year.
