What's with the tabs on the roof above the doors?

[Robecology]

Just got my new Tesla Sat June 15th. Great ride, great everything. Got out of car, noticed tabs above doors, on roof. Curious as to what they're used for? They seem a bit flimsy; any problems with them? Any suggestions for covering them? Thanks,

Robecology

 

[Kaivball]

Roof rack.

 

[mknox]

Just got my new Tesla Sat June 15th. Great ride, great everything. Got out of car, noticed tabs above doors, on roof. Curious as to what they're used for? They seem a bit flimsy; any problems with them? Any suggestions for covering them? Thanks,

They are for some as yet to be developed roof racks. (I find the little flaps are almost always up after going through a car wash blow dryer).

 

[aaronw]

They are for a roof rack and yes, they are delicate. I broke one of them and it ended up costing me $275 to fix. They had to replace the entire roof panel ($100 for the panel, $175 labor).

 

[hans]

I had one roof rack cover break off after a car wash. Tesla popped out the plastic piece and replaced it with a new one under warranty.

 

[Teriyaki88]

I broke mine too. It flips opposite way from my old mercedes. Argh. I decided to superglue the broken piece since I'm not going to use a roof rack.

 

[jerry33]

I had thought that someone would make a tab that screws into the rack mounting threads and then pushes down flat. That would save replacing the entire strip and if you lost one, it wouldn't cost much to replace. It would also keep crud off the threads.

 

[Robecology]

Delicate "rack flaps" on roof.

Just got my new Tesla Sat June 15th. Great ride, great everything. Got out of car, noticed tabs above doors, on roof. Curious as to what they're used for? They seem a bit flimsy; any problems with them? Any suggestions for covering them? Thanks,

Robecology

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. Tesla, take note; this is NOT one of your smarter designs. Any suggestions for taping them down? Haven't hit the car wash yet; and care for the car myself; but now see the value of perhaps a clear, smartly cut (curved edges, equal sized) clear tape. Anyone try this yet?

 

[huntjo]

Been through automatic car warsh innumerable times and never had a problem.

 

[mknox]

Been through automatic car warsh innumerable times and never had a problem.

Went through an automatic car wash just this morning. Two of the four flaps were up after going through the blower. No problem other than I had to flip them back down to the closed position again.

 

[Ven Rala]

Been thru auto car wash couple of times, no problem, did not flip open