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Upset at Major Headliner Issue - Anyone notice this? (resolved)

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Hello all! I've posted this on the Tesla website forums but was recommended to try this site as well. So here is my post:
I wanted to know if anyone else is familiar with a major change that took place and went unannounced by Tesla. I took delivery of a loaded P85 3/22 and have been very happy with Tesla and the car. I want this company to succeed! I've expected a few problems here and there though I am very detail oriented and a perfectionist. I'm ok not having the spoiler, HPWC, and parcel shelf available at the time of pickup.

However, the entire headliner is fabric instead of the promised Alcantara as has been the case up until the 2nd week of March. This is unacceptable to me. It appears that recently the factory made a change and all cars come with the same fabric. Mine was one of the first to have had this. I was never informed. Cost savings? Im not happy about it at all and to me it completely changes the feel of the interior. I was promised a car as configured, and changes have been made without my knowledge or even approval. I'm working to see what Tesla can offer and will keep you updated. Anyone else in a similar boat?

Thanks

BTW, P85 cars up until the 2nd week of March all had alcantara and that is what I understood when I took the test drive. In fact, most of the cars on the lot had this so it is not something limited to the Signature edition.
 
I hate ninja updates like this. This happened with the paint armor as well. They initially published an image of all the areas that would be covered by the paint armor. They ninja updated the paint armor and removed a huge portion of the smaller areas they were covering.
 
Yep, the tan headliner made out of cheap fabric. You order a black interior yet half of it is tan, WTF? $100k cars with kia headliners. This is about my only gripe with the car.
 
Have you confirmed it was a change in specification and not just a mix-up?

The web site still says "Model S Performance features an interior replete with Alcantara and carbon fiber accents."

I can't imagine that you'd end up only with alcantara bolsters and pillar covers... that's not "replete". :)
 
Hi guys - thanks for replies. Nope, not just my car. That is what I initially thought. Apparently mine was one of the first to have it. So the alcantara is only on the seats!
And yes, it is a "ninja" update and it is just not right. The car was promised as shown during the test drive. The alcantara is much more rich appearing and I'm familiar with it on my previous cars.
Qwk - Exactly. I was ok dealing with the fact that it is tan with an all black interior, but this is completely ridiculous spending 100k+ and having the cheap fabric.
Confirmed by service advisor and delivery specialist that the received an internal memo couple weeks ago stating all cars would be fabric. Why not inform us? They informed us about the 3rd row seats which I still passed on (stating they could not be retrofitted). Not happy and I've taken this up with ownership experience. Let's hope they rectify this.
Tesla really needs to communicate better. I want them to excel. But this is one of the things that can ruin their reputation.
 
That's definitely disturbing. I like my alcantra headliner. I think you may have a case if you wanted to push it as what you signed up and paid for isn't what you received. That alcantra throughout is one of the selling points of the perf model.
 
Ok glad you all agree. They need to be on the same page. My buddies P85 delivered 1 week before mine has the alcantara and looks great though it is tan with black interior. The fabric version appears so cheap it changes the entire feel of the interior for me. I've contacted ownership 2 days ago and am waiting to see what they say. To me, the alcantara was a HUGE selling point for the P85.
To those expecting delivery, just be aware of it. Mine is vin 8027.
I don't jump at Tesla for all the other minor issues, but this is a big deal and was kept internal. Almost as if they didn't want us to know. These small details can make or break a company in my opinion. It's the principle of the matter whether the car is 5k or 200k.
I hope they realize this because I don't think anyone would put up with this if this were a BMW or MB (speaking in terms of their reputation).

Will keep you updated on what TM says...hopefully sooner rather than later.
 
Oy this is disappointing. Seriously the suede headliner was one reason why I upgraded to a P85, more worthy of how expensive the car was. I feel duped, especially since I am waiting for a red car. Had I ordered a different color, maybe I would have made it before the cutoff. Bait and switch.
 
Just checked my car, P85 VIN 6040, basically everything in mine above eye level is alcantara -- roof, sun visors, all pillars, side pillars, rear pillars, etc. Anything that isnt black, is alcantara. Maybe Tesla pushed these out with the cloth to get them delivered and the switch to Alcantara is on your punch list? Or should be...!
 
I guess all those "high-end" Lexuses and Mercedes that come with fabric headliners are now cheap cars too. Acutally, does anyone know of any cars that do include Alcantara headliners as standard equipment, or if an option, how much is the option?
 
Oh i'm at work at the moment and can't post pics from here. However, the fabric is the same as the 60kw and non performance cars.

And yes, bait and switch is how I feel. And no, at this point service advisor can't do anything and I've got an exchange going with TM ownership experience though they didn't give me a timeline. I'm sure they will be hearing from many many P85 owners and I don't know what they will end up doing about it. My service center in san diego told me they dont have the ability to change it. So, I'm waiting to see what happens. Not happy at all...and yes it feels "sneaky" though I don't think Tesla is about that...
 
Guh. Not good customer service. Tesla does warn that specifications may change between reservation and delivery, but it's really rather unprofessional to change specifications between *finalization* and delivery. And they didn't even update their website!

Now, I can guess why Tesla made this change. Attaching the headliner is a labor-intensive operation which is done on the assembled body, and having two different headliners means the people on the assembly line have to keep track of which sort of headliner goes with which car *while* doing a complicated gluing operation. (The seats are prepared in advance and basically inserted as a block, creating much less of an assembly line process issue, since the people inserting them aren't doing anything complicated and can devote their entire brains to checking that they've got the right seats.)

But it's unprofessional to do the change without warning. First they should have changed the website, then they should have emailed everyone with reservations who hadn't finalized, then they should have waited to make the change until the finalized reservations had been manufactured.
 
Here's pics of mine with alcantara. Of course with the sunroof I don't have as much Alcantara as some of you. But this is certainly how all P85's *should* look...

IMG_0554.jpg
IMG_0555.jpg
IMG_0550.jpg
IMG_0551.jpg
IMG_0552.jpg
IMG_0553.jpg
 
I have a P85 on order and one of the reasons I ordered a perf was for the Alcantara interior. I will be very disappointed if Tesla doesn't switch back and offer compensation or a fix to those impacted.They can't change options for the worse after a customer has put down a deposit and finalized. It's bad business and it will come back to bite them.


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