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2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited September 2014 in Tesla

image2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

A few nights ago we Oldham's pushed aside our daily intake of skinless grilled chicken breasts and kale smoothies and hit the drive thru at the local Jack in the Box in our long-term 2013 Tesla Model S.

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    legacygtlegacygt Member Posts: 599
    Definitely a flaw. Wonder if the rumble seats have cupholders? But how nice is that response from the company/CEO. The rest of the industry takes the "you're not using it right" approach to customer service and refinement based on feedback. (Customers complain about MyFordTouch screen interface and the response is "you should use voice commands." Customers complain about cupholders in certain German luxury cars and the response is "you should focus on driving.") Musk could easily have said something like, "just focus on driving" or "we don't want to hurt our range lugging around Big Gulps." Instead he said, 'we hear you, we're changing the design, and we'll fix existing cars too.' Awesome.
    But anything on what must be the smallest rear head restraints I've seen in a full size family car?
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    smudge12smudge12 Member Posts: 19
    It seems like a really odd thing to miss the first time around, especially considering the model was initially made for well-to-do customers in North American markets. Oh well, at least Tesla's resolving the issue.
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    fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Hmmm...I think my GTI could use a couple more horsepower...wait, I think I'll just just tweet Ferdinand Piëch and see what he has to say about that. Whatever responses Joe Blow is getting from car makers, he's not getting it from chairman/CEO. Like your average owner is going to get a response like the editor-in-chief of Edmunds does.
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    stovt001_stovt001_ Member Posts: 799
    How very Tesla to have a component worked out but introduced later as a retrofit. That's not a complaint - with any other car company you'd have to buy a whole new car at a redesign if you wanted cupholders that were left out the first time around. Seems odd at first, but if you've grown up with smartphone apps having updates automatically available, it makes sense.
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    fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    @stovt001: On the other hand, at "any other car company" they would have had cupholders for the rear-seat passengers in the initial build. This seems like reaching for a reason to praise Tesla. Really, can you name any car, at any price point
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    dunning15dunning15 Member Posts: 0
    @fordson1: On the other hand at "any other car company" they wouldn't have a car that could do 0-60 in 3.9 seconds on the equivalent of 100mpg while releasing ZERO emmissions into our atmosphere and never need maintenance on a transmission, fuel
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    fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Breathe, dunning15. The flaw is your crappy analogy is that no one expects a 911 should haul a chest of drawers. But the demographic that wants cupholders is the entire car-buying populace (since all cars have them), so yeah - I think a luxury sedan with a giant back seat needs them back there. I work at a Fortune 100 company that designs and builds car interiors, among other things, and nobody here has any idea how such a car got all the way through design without anyone addressing that. Go to Teslamotors.com and look at the forums - they are loaded with owners bitching about no cupholders, no door pockets, no grab handles, no coat hooks, no lighted vanity mirrors - if you don't believe me.
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    dunning15dunning15 Member Posts: 0
    Bah Humbug Scrooge of the Edmunds long term review!

    It is YOU that should breathe and think about what you are saying. If you want coat hooks, lighted vanity mirrors, grab handles, cup holders and door pockets by all means please go out and by the new Mercedes S-Class. Hell, that thing can drive itself, massage the occupants and even dispense some sweet fragrance of your choice from an atomizer cleverly placed in the glovebox. Just as a Porsche 911 is ludicrous as a vehicle to haul equipment the Model S isn't about all of the creature comforts. It's a 100K luxury vehicle with emphasis on ELECTRIC POWER and PERFORMANCE. If you want all of those little creature comforts (I'll add a few for you - grid lines on the backup camera, front and rear audible sensors, a center console with more drink holders, etc.) then you are looking at the wrong car. Tesla focused on the features that make this car the game changer that it is. The creature comforts will come. It's like Edmunds reviewing the new S-class and saying "well it's got this huge hump in the middle of the backseat that doesn't allow the third person to be any larger than an infant". Uh yeah, it's the transmission.
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    quadricyclequadricycle Member Posts: 827
    @dunning15: I think you are taking a small, yet accurate, complaint a little too hard. You're right, the Tesla is all about electric power, and it does a great job, but having achieved that doesn't excuse it from complaints of an oversight. Don't tell me
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    jolinarjolinar Member Posts: 4
    It's interesting that so many people wants such a useless thing as cupholders :D I've never used it in any car so I really don't understand it...
    However there are more important things like door pockets which would be appreciated.
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    evjuiceevjuice Member Posts: 0
    Tesla's cupholders:
    http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s
    One of three aftermarket:
    http://shop.tlcentral.com/store/pc/MagnaGrip-Oversized-Cup-Holder-p1129.htm (watch video)
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