My daughter synched that base down very tight and no damage was done to my seat. Also she called Tesla and they told her not to put the seat in the middle.
Probably misunderstood the question. Car seats can go in any position, but only the two outboard locations have LATCH connectors on vehicles newer than about 11/2013. In other words, you can center install, but you have to use the seat belt. Center is generally considered safest (further away from doors for side impacts), then behind the driver (self-preservation instinct), then the passenger side.
OP:
Beware. You're about to enter murky waters.
Lots of mats are available to protect your seats, but you have to be careful: many make it difficult to install the carseat safely. Lots of people will tell you it's
impossible to install a seat safely with a mat, but as long as the manufacturer guidelines for installation can be met you will be fine. Typically, the seat can move no more than 1" in any direction. That's seriously tight, and even
with a mat your seats are pretty unlikely to bounce back to "like-new status."
Some seat manufacturers make and crash test with their own branded mat. Clek does, and I think Diono and a few others do as well. Presumably you already have the seat, so check if your brand makes one. Also, be aware that some people have reported mats like the Prince Lionheart actually
causing damage (printing transferring from mat to seat, etc.), so be careful about that.
Regarding the mirror, we decided against it. In some vehicles they're fine because you can anchor them to the headrest posts to ensure they don't become missiles in an accident, but we don't have anything like that with our fixed headrests in the S. Maybe you could construct something to utilize the rear seat anchor somehow? I will say I drove our little one around for 15 months and never really felt I needed to see him back there. Hearing turned out to be plenty to convey mood. :smile:
Good luck!