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I ordered my Model S in March 2014 and took delivery at the end of April. I saw some posts recently about some changes to the Model S and collected the list of things that changed in the Model S in the last few months.
Color Change
I went with the “Grey Metallic Paint” color and absolutely love it. Some people call this “Dolphin Grey”. Tesla just changed the definition of “Grey Metallic Paint” for some reason and now its a darker grey. I haven’t seen one in person yet and would love to line mine up next to the new color. From what i’ve seen and heard i’m going to like the original/lighter grey better.
Grey is the new black.
Below is the best comparison picture i’ve found with the one I have on the left. The grey on the right is very dark and almost black.
Interior Changes
There’s a new option on the order page that separates the Alcantara headliner from the Alcantara upper dashboard trim. The second option is new but doesn’t change the price and requires the Alcantara headliner.
I wasn’t interested in the headliner, especially at $1,500, but I find it interesting that they thought it important enough to break this out as an option.
Another interesting change is the parcel shelf was an extra charge ($250) when I bought my car and it’s now included for free. I would have liked it for free but it wasn’t worth paying for to me.
It would be nice if Tesla offered this shelf to current owners for free when they did an annual service. Right now it remains a $250 purchase post-delivery at the Tesla accessories store which is just a silly price for it.
Feature Change
On the Tesla Motors Club forums there are reports of a new feature available on new deliveries, an Ionizer:
Ionizers reportedly clean up particles that get in through open windows and doors. They emit positive and negative ions that attach to airborne bacteria, viruses and molds, theoretically neutralizing them. Toyota and Volvo among others offer this in their higher end cars. There are those that disagree that ionizers are beneficial though.
New owners are reporting seeing this new feature available on their cars when running v5.12 of the firmware and its not something that is an option during the ordering process. According to the reports there’s extra hardware in the car to support this so I don’t think existing owners like myself will magically get the ionizer when they get updated to 5.12 and the reports on TMC seem to confirm that.
Ionizers can easily be added to cars without this feature though. You can buy one for about $15 and plug it into the 12V outlet. Amazon and many retailers have many options to choose from.
Summary
Tesla continues to quietly evolve the options and configurations of the Model S. I wish Tesla had an owners or private newsletter to keep us informed of the advancements and changes and how things may or may not affect existing owners. It will be interesting to track the features and price changes over time and see how the Model S grows up. While some of the changes above would have been nice to have, i’m a very satisfied owner without them and have zero regrets.
Elon likes “optionality”, and I think that includes not undermining TM’s options by making explicit commitments while the car is in development and flux. This will be even more important as volume surges.
I like the concept of rolling things in as they need them versus explicit model years. I don’t like his style of telling us things are coming soon, even providing timelines and then missing those dates/promises. They already deliver a lot, don’t promise/tell owners about things you can’t deliver.