I think leather is naturally softer to begin with and wears out by softening and creasing but the vegan / synthetic stuff Tesla now uses does not wear out in the same manner. Stain resistance is also better I believe (according to YouTube reviewers). We have the white seats in our Model X and we’ve had it 4 months and it’s relatively stain free. I regularly wipe them down with Vinyl Care. It may have the tiniest amount of denim staining where I slide in and out of the seat but you’d have to be looking really hard to see it ever so faintly on the stitching. The white really brightens the whole cabin! Love it!!!
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White Interior on the Model 3 in Oz
- Thread starter Aussie Yank
- Start date
push2eject
Member
Well, I'm happy. White interior now available in AU, and the Pearl White paint which previously cost extra is now the default option. Just turned my 3+ year reservation into an order. P3D White/White + "FSD" (ahem). Will be a bit of a change up from my current ~$3k '04 Honda Civic... 
I'm not sold on the white dash though (reflections). An aftermarket carbon fibre replacement seems like the go. Anyone else in AU looking into this?
I'm not sold on the white dash though (reflections). An aftermarket carbon fibre replacement seems like the go. Anyone else in AU looking into this?
Well, I'm happy. White interior now available in AU, and the Pearl White paint which previously cost extra is now the default option. Just turned my 3+ year reservation into an order. P3D White/White + "FSD" (ahem). Will be a bit of a change up from my current ~$3k '04 Honda Civic...
I'm not sold on the white dash though (reflections). An aftermarket carbon fibre replacement seems like the go. Anyone else in AU looking into this?
You might consider buying FSD after, yeah I know elon says the price will go up, but if you buy it with the car you will get taxed doubly so via stamp duty and LCT on that price.
push2eject
Member
Given elon is driving around in a car with a FSD development computer, you might also question how well the computer in your model 3 will handle FSD if tesla already have another computer under development
push2eject
Member
I imagine they would almost always have a new revision of the computer in development. At the same time, the development computer he refers to may just be a prototype version of the current computer. I work with embedded systems, and almost everything on my desk is engineering test hardware and older than the current release. In any case, I'm not too worried, and I take Elon's FSD timelines with significant salt - definitely tastes better that way! But as meowsers pointed out, I don't want to pay more than I have to for it. $8,500 * 33%LCT ~= $2,800 !!
Well, I'm happy. White interior now available in AU, and the Pearl White paint which previously cost extra is now the default option. Just turned my 3+ year reservation into an order. P3D White/White + "FSD" (ahem). Will be a bit of a change up from my current ~$3k '04 Honda Civic...
I'm not sold on the white dash though (reflections). An aftermarket carbon fibre replacement seems like the go. Anyone else in AU looking into this?
If you find an aftermarket cf dashboard replacement - let us know. I have similar concerns with the white interior and was thinking of doing a cf wrap on the dashboard.
Model 3 Dashboards - Carbon Fiber, Alcantara, Piano Black, White - From $295
They do a very good job and it's not a wrap. Sadly you'll have to go through a freight forwarder and it would be more expensive. Could do it if you check it as luggage.
push2eject
Member
This one is pretty expensive, but they will ship to AU, and I like the matt finish (less reflective).
Tesla Model 3 Carbon Fiber Dash Panel
This looks better than RPM because the other one has a notch and i think you'd have to swap it out yourself. Maybe I should order one, just wondering if LHD and RHD are the same. It sure looks like it because it doesnt include the silver trim.
Well, I'm happy. White interior now available in AU, and the Pearl White paint which previously cost extra is now the default option. Just turned my 3+ year reservation into an order. P3D White/White + "FSD" (ahem). Will be a bit of a change up from my current ~$3k '04 Honda Civic...
I'm not sold on the white dash though (reflections). An aftermarket carbon fibre replacement seems like the go. Anyone else in AU looking into this?
All the posts that I have read mention that reflections are really possible with the angle of the dash and the windscreen, I think it might be best to wait until the car arrives and then go from there.
I must say I was surprised when I ordered my TM3 SR+ that I could not order the white interior. Seriously, full glass roof in Australia, I think they are mad! Or else they are trying to upsell to the AWD models, which is just not feasible for a lot of people. Personally I know three people who really stretched to buy their TM3 SR+, no way would they go the AWD for over $20k more. Plus add the cost of white, plus add the cost of a colour (red just went up from AUD$2,500 to AUD$2,900 in the week I ordered mine). It all adds up and it gets pretty expensive (and they don't even put a Frunk liner in, and they don't provide the wall charger, so there are added costs most people will fork over because they are pretty essential).
Tesla even promotes the TM3 as this light an airy space to be, but then dulls it down with black seats. After having a light interior vehicle for several years it will be very hard to go back to black. I've looked at white seat covers, and that will probably be what I do, but the rear seats are just not done very well when you consider Tesla could have offered white in the first place. The other option will be to see if there is any way to order spare parts, eg: from a wrecking yard, and get white seats that way. More a long term upgrade and no doubt would cost more than the $1,500 it would have cost to just be able to order them in the first place.
As to the order process, it is all on-line. I've worked in manufacturing and this order would be sequenced into a batch with all the others of the same type, in fact seats would be the easiest one as they are just a picking item that gets slotted into the production sequence at the right time. It's all robotics and computer scheduling (if it's not then I would be incredibly amazed). On the Tesla website, when you order, it just tells you it could be 12 weeks for delivery. The order goes straight to Freemont and your car arrives whenever it gets here. Sure, you can buy the standard model that is on a ship today, and get it really quickly, or you can buy a custom model that really takes no more effort from Tesla, and get it in a few months. I bet many would be willing to wait.
Tesla even promotes the TM3 as this light an airy space to be, but then dulls it down with black seats. After having a light interior vehicle for several years it will be very hard to go back to black. I've looked at white seat covers, and that will probably be what I do, but the rear seats are just not done very well when you consider Tesla could have offered white in the first place. The other option will be to see if there is any way to order spare parts, eg: from a wrecking yard, and get white seats that way. More a long term upgrade and no doubt would cost more than the $1,500 it would have cost to just be able to order them in the first place.
As to the order process, it is all on-line. I've worked in manufacturing and this order would be sequenced into a batch with all the others of the same type, in fact seats would be the easiest one as they are just a picking item that gets slotted into the production sequence at the right time. It's all robotics and computer scheduling (if it's not then I would be incredibly amazed). On the Tesla website, when you order, it just tells you it could be 12 weeks for delivery. The order goes straight to Freemont and your car arrives whenever it gets here. Sure, you can buy the standard model that is on a ship today, and get it really quickly, or you can buy a custom model that really takes no more effort from Tesla, and get it in a few months. I bet many would be willing to wait.
Once you recieve your model 3 it will all be forgotten. Congrats on ordering from the future.
I was pining for white interior LR, and was going to wait as long as it took before Tesla made it available... but succumbed after 3 months. And good thing I didn’t wait, because I would still be waiting. UK was the only RHD market that initially offered white interior on all Model 3 variants, but that stopped early last year. The USA and Canada are now the only markets that offer white interior on all Model 3 variants.
Having had black interior now for a year, it’s fine, and I have no regrets. The faux-leather doesn’t get too hot. The glass roof gets very hot in full sun but with AC on “Auto” I don’t notice it (luckily I’m not too tall so my head is not too close to the glass).
Don't worry, I've been driving EV for years, been waiting to get a Tesla and now the opportunity has arrived, I'm not missing out because of the seats
The Glass roof in our hot Aussie Summer does have me a bit concerned, but I'll just have to hope all the reviews are correct and it's not going to be too bad.
But I do think white interior would be better. I like the wood grain dash, not a fan of that white dash, so really I think seat covers will be the solution.
I think it might be worse in the back seats, but I'm guessing if you were even considering white seats then your back seats are probably going to be seldom occupied! I picked up the sunshades from the Tesla shop for the roof glass and that seems to have made the difference in the back.
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