Was Told Flat White Is Coming (Replace Multicoat)

[RyanOrr]

Hey Guys -

I'm brand new here obviously. I just ordered a Model 3 Performance last night and I was stuck between the red or white color. The salesperson at the Tesla store told me that Tesla was currently giving the Pearl Multicoat as the standard while they settled on a 'flat white' color, which won't be multicoat: making this effectively a 'free' upgrade right now for those who want a white M3.

I saw on one of the price-change threads some discussion about why the white was included now, even though it's a more expensive pain job; I suspect this is the reason.

 

[boaterva]

You did see Elon’s tweet about having another white color would be too complex/added cost for the paint shop? Why would that change?

Yeah, Pearl White is more expensive but I can see adding a whole new color to the mix would also be a large change. Think he was just delaying things?

 

[OCR1]

Interesting. I wonder why he didn’t just leave black as the base color until he decided on what shade of white he wanted to go with.

 

[jebinc]

@OCR - It is rumored that the black resulted in a lot of paint defect related returns an/or warranty claims. Tesla also puts a lot of time trying to polishing these up as they leave the factory - which apparently was costly and not necessarily required on the other colors. White hides a lot of sins - hence the change to white.

 

[RyanOrr]

You did see Elon’s tweet about having another white color would be too complex/added cost for the paint shop? Why would that change?

Yeah, Pearl White is more expensive but I can see adding a whole new color to the mix would also be a large change. Think he was just delaying things?

I didn't see that. The salesman told me a flat white would replace the pearl white. It's totally possible he's misinformed, this is just one datapoint.

 

[Fred42]

I didn't see that. The salesman told me a flat white would replace the pearl white. It's totally possible he's misinformed, this is just one datapoint.

That was the expectation, now debunked. The salesman's info isn't current.

 

[dmurphy]

@OCR - It is rumored that the black resulted in a lot of paint defect related returns an/or warranty claims. Tesla also puts a lot of time trying to polishing these up as they leave the factory - which apparently was costly and not necessarily required on the other colors. White hides a lot of sins - hence the change to white.

My thoughts entirely. Even a base white would also need a bit of attention. The pearlized coating hides a lot.... This actually makes a bunch of sense to me, and frankly, is one of the reasons MY Model 3 is pearl white. I appreciate the ease of maintenance on the pearl white color - our last several cars have all been the same. I've never done the PPF or film stuff, and all of them still looked great after years of abuse. I'm one of those "I'll wash it when I get around to it" kind of people, and the tricoat white really does hold up well, whether it's our Teslas or Cadillacs or Buicks ....

When I buy a car, it's to drive it, not as a museum piece. I'll drive it, it's going to get nicks and dings and stuff - just the nature of the beast. Then, someday, I'll get another car and start the process over again. Circle of life.

 

[jebinc]

My thoughts entirely. ....

When I buy a car, it's to drive it, not as a museum piece. I'll drive it, it's going to get nicks and dings and stuff - just the nature of the beast. Then, someday, I'll get another car and start the process over again. Circle of life.

Can you hear the music? Well, can you???

 

[dmurphy]

Can you hear the music? Well, can you???

View attachment 432029

Hey, it’s an improvement ... I’ve had THIS stuck in my head for days!!

 

[jebinc]

Hey, it’s an improvement ... I’ve had THIS stuck in my head for days!!

I lived in Bergan County for the first 26 years of life... I do miss real pizza, real hard rolls, Taylor Ham, Egg and cheese sandwiches, and those NY bagels with schmear….

 

[Leafdriver333]

My thoughts entirely. Even a base white would also need a bit of attention. The pearlized coating hides a lot.... This actually makes a bunch of sense to me, and frankly, is one of the reasons MY Model 3 is pearl white. I appreciate the ease of maintenance on the pearl white color - our last several cars have all been the same. I've never done the PPF or film stuff, and all of them still looked great after years of abuse. I'm one of those "I'll wash it when I get around to it" kind of people, and the tricoat white really does hold up well, whether it's our Teslas or Cadillacs or Buicks ....

When I buy a car, it's to drive it, not as a museum piece. I'll drive it, it's going to get nicks and dings and stuff - just the nature of the beast. Then, someday, I'll get another car and start the process over again. Circle of life.

I cleaned my car exterior today and found a few rock chips on the bumper.
I would like to use touch up paint for them.
What I noticed is that on BMW's the paint just falls off when rock hits the bumper creating a black spot with flat paint edges around the chip.
But on my Tesla, the chips are like microscopic craters. The paint is almost like vinyl layer with a lot of flexibility.
A couple of larger rock chips still have vinyl dragged on the surface for about 1.5mm and have wrinkles.

 

[kchau]

Flat white?

I cleaned my car exterior today and found a few rock chips on the bumper.
I would like to use touch up paint for them.
What I noticed is that on BMW's the paint just falls off when rock hits the bumper creating a black spot with flat paint edges around the chip.
But on my Tesla, the chips are like microscopic craters. The paint is almost like vinyl layer with a lot of flexibility.
A couple of larger rock chips still have vinyl dragged on the surface for about 1.5mm and have wrinkles.

are you sure that's a rock chip and not someone lightly love tapping your car with their license plate screws?

 

[Leafdriver333]

Flat white?


are you sure that's a rock chip and not someone lightly love tapping your car with their license plate screws?

They are rock chips.
The locations are low and high on the bumper.

 

[Nocturnal]

I figured as much. It will change to the cheap white as soon as they are able to add it to the lines. Then people will whine about that.