I believe - and quite genuinely that the removal of so many things has only been about cost savings - or in business terms Value Engineering.
My view is that cars evolve, Its a fact cars of today are a lot heavier and fatter because of additional kit fitted. Just go back a few years - air con was never fitted, nor, auto wipers, central locking, electric windows. seat belts, ABS etc - now they are all standard equipment, and indeed people advertised their cars with these features mentioned just to emphasise the point their car had them, however, as time progressed and every car had those features people just expected them - and people listing cars for sale didn't specifically mention them anymore - but they did mention the latest gadget fitted like adaptive cruise, Sat Nav, etc.
There is an expectation that new cars get more equipment than their predecessors and retain all the previous stuff with another expectation the original stuff is also upgraded to the latest standards - its the way its always been.
It is without any doubt that without Tesla the EV revolution just wouldn't have happened - nor would the development of Hybrids or even cleaner ICE technology as there was no pressure to do so.
Tesla upset the Apple Cart - they proved a battery EV can perform, travel a long way between charges, Carry 5 people and a big boot - and do it all quietly and more reliably - and at a fraction of the running costs, plus all the features people expected were included but implemented in a way that looked futuristic with essentially a computer touch screen controlling everything.
Tesla had no legacy ICE to maintain or a platform that needed to be adapted to suit a BEV and Elon invested his last $100 million into Tesla and Space X, slept on the production line and almost went bust a few times.
The Tesla captured the hearts of people and the company had a goal to produce the very best fully equipped cars they could - and we all know there were lots of production Issues, paint and panels gaps and we forgave them because they were a tech company producing cars, but we knew they would address the issues - and they did.
I believe that focus and drive has now been diverted to cost savings per vehicle, since late 2019 when they first removed the LED lights in the door card pockets there has been a ramping up of parts they felt they could remove and people either wouldn't notice or wouldn't be too bothered about - so Tesla sort of offset the list of items removed by adding something - which diverted peoples attention.
Late 2020 - removed the passenger side lumber support, removed the chrome, replaced the centre console with an inferior item, removed the soft feel door cards on the lower section but retained the soft feel on the top part - so that wouldn't alert people to the fact they had Fiesta quality door cards and those that paid an extra £1K for a white interior they removed the white inset panel on the door cards - the diversions were the additions they sold to people as fabulous and a big upgrade - so the heated steering wheel, Satin black trim, laminated front windows.
That strategy has continued, each new really nice addition has been paid for by the loss of something else - perhaps Its just me but I want all the other stuff and the new nice to have stuff too - I want more on my new car - not a trade off with parts.
The new rear passenger screen thing - yes nice - but a screen these days are peanuts and that was more than paid for just by getting rid of the rear seats centre armrest with the adjustable head restraint - which is now just a plank of plastic, covered in fabric with a moulded in head restraint - and a compromised rear view through the internal mirror.
Elon said the passenger lumber support was removed because most people adjusted it and never used it again and whilst that might be true then why do the front seats have electric motors - most people set their driving position and that's the way it stays, Few cars are driven on a daily basis with rear seat passengers, most cars just have the driver in them, so why heat the rear seats or fit that screen?
If cars were only fitted with items that were necessary or used regularly then most stuff we are used to would be removed, I mean who ever uses the puddle lights when exiting to look at the ground to see if there is something you shouldn't step into,
Currently Tesla still produce the very best EV as a package - that includes its charging network, When I buy a car I want to feel special, I want "Wow" I want gadgets and gizmo's, I want something that pleases the little kid in me.
I really don't like the direction of travel Tesla is heading - I detest the dishonesty in relation to screwing people last Christmas and I'm not at all happy with Elon's relationship with Putin - re Starlink and Ukraine - so my Tesla will be the only Tesla I will ever have, for me its become a tarnished brand and Elon needs to resign.
