Production quality is improving

lolachampcar said:

I just got back from looking at my P85D as it rolled off the delivery truck. One thing that struck me is a dramatic improvement in panel gap and fit. Whatever Tesla did on their latest line upgrade they definitely improved build quality. It was good before with a few issues (Frunk lid alignment, consistent gaps) and is great now.

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Time for a lolachampcar review of the D!

Glad they're improving the fundamentals.

lolachampcar said:

I just got back from looking at my P85D as it rolled off the delivery truck. One thing that struck me is a dramatic improvement in panel gap and fit. Whatever Tesla did on their latest line upgrade they definitely improved build quality. It was good before with a few issues (Frunk lid alignment, consistent gaps) and is great now.

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The body-in-white (BIW) quality is supposed to take another step up once the new BIW line is installed some time this quarter. According to Elon during the Q3 ER call, the new BIW will not have equals:

The big thing in the first half of next year is going to be the new body line creating sort of the skeleton of the car and the exterior body panels and all that which is intended to be a step change technology improvement from our current body line and allow for a much greater volume as well as exceptional precision in the way the car is made.
We're aiming with the new body line for a level of precision that no car in the world has. You should be able to practically use our car as a yardstick with the new body line that's getting made.

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vgrinshpun said:

The body-in-white (BIW) quality is supposed to take another step up once the new BIW line is installed some time this quarter. According to Elon during the Q3 ER call, the new BIW will not have equals:

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Hmmm .... I wonder when that is occurring. Worth an order delay?

lolachampcar said:

I just got back from looking at my P85D as it rolled off the delivery truck. One thing that struck me is a dramatic improvement in panel gap and fit. Whatever Tesla did on their latest line upgrade they definitely improved build quality. It was good before with a few issues (Frunk lid alignment, consistent gaps) and is great now.

Click to expand...

Interesting, because my D has panel fit issues that my early Sig does not. While I was taking delivery at my local SC, I walked around the bay and compared panel fit among the various Model S they happened to have in the shop. All four P85D's I saw had a couple of the same issues; none of the 'early' cars had them. Specifically, have a look at the panel joint along the left roofline above the passenger door (this applies to pano roof models, at any rate): both panels have subtle distortions at the place where they butt up together, almost as if they were 'force fit'. Similarly, look at the way the chrome trim is aligned at the rear of the left passenger door: all the P85D's I saw that day have a significant misalignment across the door gap. Somewhere I have photos, if you'd like to see what I'm talking about.

My D has other panel fit issues that my Sig does not, but I didn't notice them when I was around all those other cars to compare.

Seems to me Tesla still has a few issues with fit and finish. I was just at a Tesla store today and looked at a P85+ with the auto pilot hardware and the inner rubber door seal on the passenger side was bunching up in the corner. To me that would be one of the most basic things to sort out for fit and finish. Especially if the car was going into a showroom!!

That was my observation as well.

P85D is a significantly better put together car than our old P85+ (# 13,300). Interior fit and finish is flawless and the car is much, much quieter. It handles better and is obviously quicker as well.
I am impressed by what they pulled off in just over a year. If they keep improving at this pace, nobody will ever catch them. The only thing AMGs and Panameras have on the new P85D is the abundance of leather.
When we had our P85+, I used to say that our car had a $60k car interior in a $120k car. The new P85D is sporting a $80k car interior in a $130k car. We are closing the gap!!!

I wonder if my Sig is better from a fit-and-finish standpoint than the early production cars? I remember reading that Elon personally inspected every one of the early cars; and they clearly did more testing of each car in the early days: my Sig had 133 miles on the odometer at delivery. In any event, it has no creaks to this day, and none of the bothersome panel fit issues other early owners have endured, and that I see on my D.

stevezzzz said:

I wonder if my Sig is better from a fit-and-finish standpoint than the early production cars? I remember reading that Elon personally inspected every one of the early cars; and they clearly did more testing of each car in the early days: my Sig had 133 miles on the odometer at delivery. In any event, it has no creaks to this day, and none of the bothersome panel fit issues other early owners have endured, and that I see on my D.

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Sounds like it. My #25k squeaks and rattles more than a Honda. They fix 3 or 4, and two weeks later there are a couple new ones. Repeat three times, so far.

AMN said:

That was my observation as well.

P85D is a significantly better put together car than our old P85+ (# 13,300). Interior fit and finish is flawless and the car is much, much quieter. It handles better and is obviously quicker as well.
I am impressed by what they pulled off in just over a year. If they keep improving at this pace, nobody will ever catch them. The only thing AMGs and Panameras have on the new P85D is the abundance of leather.
When we had our P85+, I used to say that our car had a $60k car interior in a $120k car. The new P85D is sporting a $80k car interior in a $130k car. We are closing the gap!!!

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The P85D interior is the same as the P85+, unless you got the next-gen seats. Everything else is the same. How could the interior value be higher?

AmpedRealtor said:

The P85D interior is the same as the P85+, unless you got the next-gen seats. Everything else is the same. How could the interior value be higher?

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Not sure of AMN's comparison point, but for me the combination of brushed aluminum door sill plate + yacht floor + alcantara dash insert + black alcantara headliner + next gen sports seats (these _really_ dress up the interior) on the P85D makes a significant improvement on aesthetics and high-end feel vs. my P85.

Just a follow up on what exactly I meant...

In our old P85+, if I put my left elbow on the door sill it would squeak slightly - not anymore; lower leather panels (under wood/piano trim) would squeak as well if you pressed them on our old car - not on P85D; A-pillar trim had a little bit of play if you pushed it - it's tight on P85D. That's just on the interior side...

P85D's suspension feels different - tighter yet inspiring confidence, handling is better, noise insulation is better, leather quality is better, LCD is sharper, speakers are better, new seats are better, charge port door operation algorithm is better, ACC implementation is better than on ML63, dual motor power plant is great for both inclement weather and performance, etc. This is all in one year!!!

It's really fascinating to watch how rapidly thing progress at Tesla.

EarlyAdopter said:

Not sure of AMN's comparison point, but for me the combination of brushed aluminum door sill plate + yacht floor + alcantara dash insert + black alcantara headliner + next gen sports seats (these _really_ dress up the interior) on the P85D makes a significant improvement on aesthetics and high-end feel vs. my P85.

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Makes sense. Elon recently said that they've made over 100 little improvements to the car which all add up.

I have only had my P85+ for slightly under three months and I have no rattles and no obvious panel gap flaws. However, the chrome trim on the rear passenger quarter window was misaligned. But it only took a quick press with my thumb to seat it properly. So I wonder if they improved fit after this past summer's production line upgrade.

TDial said:

I have only had my P85+ for slightly under three months and I have no rattles and no obvious panel gap flaws. However, the chrome trim on the rear passenger quarter window was misaligned. But it only took a quick press with my thumb to seat it properly. So I wonder if they improved fit after this past summer's production line upgrade.

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I've had my S85 for almost two years. No rattles, no obvious panel gaps, no chrome misalignment, no pano roof problems. They did adjust the small triangular window on the driver's side.

I'm driving a brand new S85 loaner right now. Very nice improvement in everything over the last two years.

20 HW changes per week must show up somewhere.