Why Recaro?

[Cosmacelf]

Anyone know why Tesla switched seat suppliers when they went with next gen seats? Was it simply that the new manufacturer could do something the one (Futuris?) could not? I'm just curious how all that went down.

 

[arijaycomet]

While at the Detroit Auto Show talking to a Tesla employee (who worked in procurement) he said though seats were not his turf, his understanding was that the existing mfg of seats they use/own was at capacity already, and it was easier/faster to upgrade by going with Recaro for the seats. I'd also imagine it was experience and cost that swayed them if I had to speculate.

 

[Cosmacelf]

If that was the reason, the irony is that Recaro couldn't/can't keep up with the volume as it is...

 

[Jean-Claude]

While most folks recognize Recaro as aftermarket/race car seat manufacturers, they also produce seats for many automotive manufacturers. Hearing Tesla will use Recaro is not a surprise as it's what Recaro does. Recaro should be able to handle Tesla's needs.

 

[Gizmotoy]

If that was the reason, the irony is that Recaro couldn't/can't keep up with the volume as it is...

Recaro can handle the volume. They produce seats for tons of manufacturers, and in much higher volumes than the Model S. The problem was that somebody screwed up and the new seats had a major deficiency that's taking time to fix.

 

[AltPowr]

What was the deficiency? I know that when I test drove a P85D a month ago at the factory, I could not use the electric controls on the side of the side with the door closed. There was no space for my hand. Not a problem that would hold be back from buying the new seats, but an interesting issue that I wonder if people really notice - especially once you setup the drivers and save their settings on the pull down list of the big screen.