[looney]

man, i cant wait for the day they bring out a small city car/hot hatch

[mtarone]

[mtarone]

Has anyone here had any seat time in one of these yet? I tried when I was in LA last week to no avail.

Thinking of pulling the trigger ...

[mhh]

Has anyone here had any seat time in one of these yet? I tried when I was in LA last week to no avail.

Thinking of pulling the trigger ...

Do it. What a car!

(no seat time, sadly)

[jamesatfish]

I spent a bit of time checking out the Model S at the dealership in Palo Alto a couple of weeks ago.  Incredibly impressive car in the flesh - the way the interior is designed with the large LCD touch screen for the main controls and the fully digital dash is top notch.

The extra interior and storage room as a result of not having a petrol drivetrain is surprising - no transmission tunnel means there's room for 3 adults in the back, the boot gives the option of 2 rear-facing kids' seats and the front boot alone is roughly the same size as an E-Class sedan's boot.

As an IT geek the most interesting aspect was the way this car will change how auto manufacturers deliver options in the future.  Case in point, at $125K USD for the fully specced 85+ model you don't get memory seats in the front.  No problem though - they're working on adding that feature and when it's done the car will just update itself over the internet using its built-in 3G connection and voila - memory seats.

Opens a whole world of possibilities - it won't be long until you no longer need to specify these type of options when you order the car, but rather you can just add them via a software update at a later time.  It's not a stretch to see those things added on a rental basis either - seat memory buttons becoming available at $9.99 each and every month for the life of the car rather than just a one-off expense when you spec the vehicle.

I tried to organise a drive but couldn't swing an appointment at the last minute.  Hertz now have the Model S available at LAX and SFO airports so I'm going to book one as a rental next time I'm in the US.

[dkabab]

the car looks impressive, but i really dislike the 42" plasma tv in the dash... it looks a bit naff

[mtarone]

Thanks for the pics James, its a great looking car with a huge amount of space.  At some point I hope to head over to get the factory tour and see mine getting built.

[mtarone]

the car looks impressive, but i really dislike the 42" plasma tv in the dash... it looks a bit naff

Nar, that's the best bit of it

[app]

the car looks impressive, but i really dislike the 42" plasma tv in the dash... it looks a bit naff

I would've thought it would be a major distraction at night.

[mhh]

The thread title is 2011 Tesla Model S.  Will there be an update before the Australian cars get here?