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'Design Studio' on Tesla website needs improvement

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Threads like 'color indecision' illustrate that the Design Studio on teslamotors.com, while well-done, is inadequate IMO. Three views of the car exterior isn't enough, and the same goes for interior. I'm thinking a fully-rendered full screen Model S that you can rotate/zoom/move around at will, then save/share screenshots of your configuration as well, maybe even on different backgrounds. Why not? Obviously they already have the 3D model of the car ready to go! I also think this is especially important given there is no lot you can go walk around to check out the different configurations (except in Norway, that is :D Tesla Motors Drammen - march 27th 7:30am - YouTube). In fact I'm surprised a tool like this isn't already on the site.
 
It would help if they separate models and options by type on different webpages. Starts by selecting model, hit continue to color, and then continue to interior color, etc.

My bigger issue during the three months of configuring and deciding my final car build, is the cost summary. I think they should remove the financing tab and list the actual car cost as it is being configured. They can add optional popup windows for financing and cost after tax savings. It would be nice to add a zip code entry window so you can get your total tax savings based on your zip code.
 
Actually doing real photography, a 360 degree capture is quite easy, only 24 photos is adequate. There are companies and systems out there that do this already. It's just a bit tedious to set up and capture each car's color. The web part is relatively low bandwidth and super simple too (streams in before you even start).

We used to shoot products for the web like this back in 2005. Not cars mind you, but we could handle items as large as a motorcycle. And we had an automated approach to uploading the images to the web engine that allowed you to control the spin.

There's a good company now with the services and hardware: 360 Degree Photography 360 Spin Photography From Snap36

Here's their car hardware: Carousel 5000 | 360 Car Turntable
 
I doubt that a better website will really cure color indecision: Tesla's colors are surprisingly subtle and their appearance depends greatly on the ambient light: My blue MS looks completely different on a clear day than it does when overcast or at night, and the paint samples in the showroom are almost worthless in the fluorescent light.

A brochure with paint, fabric/leather, and interior wood samples would be a great sales tool (but maybe Tesla doesn't yet feel the need for sales tools).
 
My biggest problem is that a lot of options aren't well enough described. For example, I know that I can opt for the Alcantara head liner, but I have no idea what that looks like, or what the car looks like without it. Same with the extended Napa leather, there needs to be "before" and "after" pictures of each so that I know whether I want it or not. The rear facing seats mention carrying 7 people in comfort, but don't mention that they only support small kids (the weight and height ranges need to be on there). You can opt for the michelin primacy tire upgrade, or stay with the... ??? no listing of what you'd get if you didn't take that option. I can have Tesla red brake callipers, is that just a colour? or is there something else special about them? if I have a green car I don't really want red brakes for the colour, but if they're also high-performance brakes, then maybe I do. The 19" cyclone wheels are $2800 more than stock... is that just for looks? or is there a range advantage? What's the difference between the "standard" and "performance" seats? etc.

It would also be nice to know which options can be added at a later date if I change my mind (and how much the change would cost) (what if I don't order tech but decide I want it? is that just a software change they can do cheaply? or is it an almost impossible physical upgrade of almost every system in the car? What about adding the dual chargers? or changing to an 85kw battery instead of a 60? etc.)

Sure there's lots of great information on this forum to find this sort of information, but that information SHOULD be on the design studio.

As for colours... I know these are hard, in general the design studio seems to do "ok" on them, but a link to a gallery of the various colours in various different lights would be useful (even if you can't integrate it in to the design studio very well)
 
Green1 and others, great points. I noticed some of those too. I guess the point is, this is a huge thing to buy online but this is the new way to buy a car - at least a Tesla. To that end, a new more sophisticated shopping experience is needed but what exists now is the old, standard experience you'd see on GM or ford sites (not that I've checked - those are dirty words now.) Maybe they're just trying to get you into the store. :) But if that were the case, they could have the big configurator software in the store only, so you can at least see exactly what you're getting.
 
My biggest problem is that a lot of options aren't well enough described.

The red brakes are just red. Nothing else different about them.

For 19", the default tire is Goodyear.

The cyclone wheels are just looks. The Aero wheels (when available) improve range by about 5%.

The performance seats have piping.

The only two items you can add later without a significant price penalty are the parcel shelf and the High Power Wall Charger. The next least expensive thing to add is the second charger which was $3600 last time I looked. Everything else is either not possible or ruinously expensive.

Unless your monitor is calibrated, the colours you see are likely to be different than the actual colour.
 
Yes, I actually already found the answers to most of those questions on this forum. My point wasn't to ask what they were, but to point out that someone relying on Tesla's website has no way of knowing.

I shouldn't have to find a forum to find those answers, they should be on the website.
 
All of the images would appear to be CG rendered. Adding extra shots wouldn't be too difficult, but it would require a fairly high internet bandwidth to give the appearance of real-time rotating.

A 360° view you can rotate in your browser is loading into memory first, surely. Anyway I'm suggesting something much more spectacular than you've seen before. Just as the car is, so should the website be. That will take more time to load sure, but anyone buying a Tesla at this point isn't on dialup. :D
 
A 360° view you can rotate in your browser is loading into memory first, surely. Anyway I'm suggesting something much more spectacular than you've seen before. Just as the car is, so should the website be.

Well, I won't disagree with that. It is a little plain-jane but I don't think even the current website would be viable on dial-up :)
What I was thinking about was those who have over-subscribed cable internet.
 
All of the images would appear to be CG rendered. Adding extra shots wouldn't be too difficult, but it would require a fairly high internet bandwidth to give the appearance of real-time rotating.

They are CG, as are most 360-degree elements on the web.

Good, accurate, hi-res photography, would be 10 times better, more true to life than any CG image is. And I have seen the shifts in the blue, green, even brown Model S' first hand. You won't be able to cure that, but it will still be far more accurate.

Also it would be handy to have close up (zoom) shots of paint detail, so you can see the metallics in those that have it, and the flat paints that don't. Same for the alacantra, etc.

Most 360-degree systems only give you 24 (maybe 36) shots, or every 15 degrees. It's enough to give a fairly smooth rotation to the human eye. Maybe not for the late Mr. jobs, or some 60 frame-rate gamers, but next time you see one, count, and you'll find this to be true. The systems merely flip out one shot for the next, depending on which way your swiping finger or mouse.

I suppose the risk to all of this, is that the more accurate you try, the more at risk you are... for fear of misrepresenting the car. Where with CG, you know it's not very close (some unwritten code of acceptance).
 
They are CG, as are most 360-degree elements on the web.

Good, accurate, hi-res photography, would be 10 times better, more true to life than any CG image is. And I have seen the shifts in the blue, green, even brown Model S' first hand. You won't be able to cure that, but it will still be far more accurate.

Metallic paint and such is one issue; maybe some better pictures are needed for that. But as far as the CG model goes I think great illustrators can work wonders. Look at this one - at normal zoom it is barely distinguishable from real:
http://www.dpreview.com/files/news/4891210858/07.jpg
 
We've ordered grey and the pic on the DS is just a horrible representation of the color. In person there is a lot of blue/green undertones but on the website it looks like cheap modeling clay. Oh well. Also there appears to be some kind of glitch on the front 3/4 view in regards to the tech package. We ordered it but the car doesn't have the chromed fins/cornering lights. When I went back to check on a non-logged in browser window I noticed the fins seem to toggle on and off a little randomly-- which is unfortunate as the brightwork down there (or absence of it) really does affect the overall visage quite a bit.
 
Hard for me to tell if the Alcantara headliner covers the entire roof if you get the solid roof and only the trim if you get the pano. I'm guessing it is only the trim in either case, since the price doesn't seem to be affected by whether you opt for the solid roof or the pano.
 
Hard for me to tell if the Alcantara headliner covers the entire roof if you get the solid roof and only the trim if you get the pano. I'm guessing it is only the trim in either case, since the price doesn't seem to be affected by whether you opt for the solid roof or the pano.

The alacantra actually does cover the entire roof and pillars. It's gorgeous. I sat and drove models that had it.


@Beckler... Nice lens rendering. Close, but still not better.
And automotive CGI is not close to real... not with color accuracy and detail.
 
The alacantra actually does cover the entire roof and pillars. It's gorgeous. I sat and drove models that had it.
Yeah, I asked that question of my product specialist yesterday before my order and he confirmed that with the solid roof the liner covers the entire roof as well as the pillars. The fail here, in my opinion, is that there isn't a discount for the alacantra if you have a pano roof - the price is the same as if you have a solid roof even though there is way less material being used. As such, I didn't go with it. But I might have if Tesla offered it for less on the pano roof option.
 
Yeah, I asked that question of my product specialist yesterday before my order and he confirmed that with the solid roof the liner covers the entire roof as well as the pillars. The fail here, in my opinion, is that there isn't a discount for the alacantra if you have a pano roof - the price is the same as if you have a solid roof even though there is way less material being used. As such, I didn't go with it. But I might have if Tesla offered it for less on the pano roof option.

Tesla still has to use the same amount of material. They have to cut a hole in a very large piece (granted they might be able to use that scrap elsewhere) so while you get less material it really takes the same amount of material.

Not to mention the extra labor tucking up edges around the pano.