Menlo Park Model S Premier

[doug]

Ok.. I only took a few photos and they are here: Model S - Menlo Park unveiling - a set on Flickr


People getting test rides.


You might recognize some of these people.


charging at the end of the evening.

[dpeilow]

I'd love to know what EM is explaining there...

[doug]

I'd love to know what EM is explaining there...

Yeah, it's a great capture. I didn't even notice till I uploaded it. Here's another that's less interesting.

[Rheazombi]

HOLY CRAP! I just spotted my dad

[green01]

For you veterans of these showings, this one was probably typical. But for someone like me whose never been to one, it was an experience.

On driving in, Tesla Roadsters were guided to parking near the entrance, the rest of us farther away.

On entry, "Are you on the invitation list?, Ah Yes, welcome"

Lots of people were standing around the Tesla Roadsters in the showroom
It was a much more family oriented crowd than I expected. These $5,000 depositors brought the wife and kids. Lots of catered snacks and a bar.

After half an hour snacking and viewing the Roadsters in the showroom, the fairly large crowd of perhaps one or two hundred people were guided to the car repair area where the the same Model S Sedans seen at SpaceX were on display.

Elon gave a welcoming speech, answered a few basic questions, then let the party begin.

Elon spent the next few hours talking to individuals. But only if you managed to be the "fly on the wall" next to Elon, would you have discovered
anything new.

A long line of people took one or two minutes test rides. They even brought
in an electric Smart car for test rides.

I've decided these showings may be fun, but are not the place to learn anything. A more press conference/town hall oriented venue is needed.

To be fair, the Tesla staff was actively engaging with the people. Rachel Konrad, Megan Cid, and others wandered through the crowd getting the people's reaction. But I bet visiting the showroom this Saturday with a much smaller group of people around, will be a much better way to view the car, and ask questions.

[flabby]

When I asked about options, I was told that they aren't set yet. The person I asked didn't know about Eropean pricing. I forgot to ask about the loan status.

For our test ride, we got Zak to show some of the interface features. It is very much like an iphone interface. For example, for the volume control of the radio, you touch the volume icon in the center left of the screen and can then slide your finger up or down the entire length of the screen to change the volume (There's your slider TEG). The final format of the interface is not set., in fact, Elon stated in his intro that this part of the car (the screen and the interface) were the least developed part of the entire car at this point.

I actually didn't take many photos because I saw TEG there taking video of the event. But the few I took I'll try to post later today.

[AnOutsider]

I wonder how customizable the interface will be? I get giddy thinking of hooking that baby up to a laptop and tweaking the UI and options

[SByer]

It was definitely a fun evening. More crowded than the store opening event last year. The Model S is just a knockout in person. Susan found the back seat a little cramped - I know we know that the interior width should expand a bit as things get refined, but I don't know about rear seat leg room.

The touch screen is brilliant - a 17" display turned sideways just looks so much bigger in that context than on a laptop. The button areas on the display were much bigger than you'd ever get with most physical button layouts. As for customizability, I'd imagine it would necessarily be limited to a certain level of skinning but not much more. We'll see. Tesla is aware of the glare, brightness, and polarized sunglasses issues.

Susan pointed out that the magic door handles (they are really cool, btw) may need a thought added to safety - most sedans only unlock the driver door on the first unlock pass.

The blue lighting effects up front probably have to go - not street legal. Sigh. I think they should fix the law instead . Heck, it's not like you don't see illigally tinted windows or underlit cars here in the south bay!

The Smart EV is cute. It apparently had a not-for-production powertrain in it, it was definitely zipping around. The Smart only really made sense to me as an electric anyway - the gas version is just not very well behaved, IMO.

And, to top it off, Stephen was kind enough to look up my car for me - it's just made it's flight over, so is on track for delivery in a few weeks.

There were a number of Roadsters outside with the black wheels. I'm glad I chose them, but it's definitely more of a gunmetal color than really black. I didn't see any of the "upgraded" wheels that weren't in the black color.

[doug]

The event was fun. Saw graham, TEG, and MDR from the forum. I didn't run into flabby or SByer, though I heard they were there. At one point a nice guy with a British accent approached me and said, "I recognize you from the Internet." Now that's a scary phrase if I've ever heard one. It was no96.

The car was a lot more accessible here than it was in the LA event I got to ride in it 2 or 3 times, though the rides were extremely short. The right gauge charge/power indicator is currently just for show, as is a lot of what was on the 17" center console screen. But it really is exciting thinking about all the possibilities that kind of interface could afford.

It was cool to get a couple rides in the Smart EV as well.

For those interested, here is video of what Elon and Franz had to say at the introduction. The video/audio quality is so so.

[youtube]HyWQYu_z2iY[/youtube]

[youtube]EWoqyUjINbs[/youtube]

[vfx]

Question:

Is the battery hot-swappable? Not while driving.