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Rear facing kids seats and test drives.

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When I was at the DC event I happened to see a family of four getting ready for their test drive.
The hatch was up and two kids were all settled in and excited for their ride (see pic).
Just as the Tesla rep had finished getting them all buckled up and was starting to lower the hatch, another Tesla Rep came over and said no kids are allowed to ride in the rear facing seats.
Rep #1 looked puzzled and said he was told it was ok, and rep #2 said "No. Kids aren't allowed back here for rides. You have to take them out".
I asked Rep #2 why that would be and he said "These are just marketing cars". I said that my understanding was that these were fully functional production cars.
He just shrugged and said they have to come out. I then said that this could be viewed as a lack of confidence by Tesla in the safety of these seats.
At that point he just reiterated to Rep #1 to take them out and walked away.
I'm still a bit puzzled by this and curious if anyone else had the same experience at their rides?
 

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Bummer. Bet that put a damper on the whole test drive. I wouldn't worry too much about it though. We've seen videos where reps said they weren't allowed to open the pano roof, but then in other videos they did. The reason could be insurance related or some other kind of nonsense.
 
This isn't at all surprising. We've heard from the beginning, even before they banned kids under 8 from participating in the test drives (after the initial test drives in Fremont) that kids couldn't ride in the rear seats during these tests. It's possible that they didn't fully install the seats for these test drive cars, but more put them in for "show" for those who wanted to see what they looked like. I don't think it reflects on the safeness of the seats necessarily for production cars, although Tesla will probably eventually want to provide a bit more information on the safety of those seats more than Elon's word that he wanted to make sure that those seats are really, really safe.
 
Elon's car had the rear seats, and I bet those were the real deal. More likely they wanted to avoid (a) unnecessary delay in getting in/out and (b) risk of any heads smacking against the window when driver floors it.

Or maybe kids getting sick back there given how many like to TEST their drive. I know of at least 2 manufacturers who used to do the rear facing seats thing: Volvo and Audi. I am sure there are others. Has anyone as a child rode in rear facing seats or had their kids ride in them. How did you/they do?
 
Or maybe kids getting sick back there given how many like to TEST their drive. I know of at least 2 manufacturers who used to do the rear facing seats thing: Volvo and Audi. I am sure there are others. Has anyone as a child rode in rear facing seats or had their kids ride in them. How did you/they do?

Mercedes as well, I had an old 300TD wagon with those rear seats
 
All I can say is that if they want my $1500 I want to a) test drive it with my son in the back, and b) see pics of rear-ending crash tests and see how the dummies' legs look afterwards.

But on mikevbf's question, my wife grew up with a big Chevy station wagon with rear facing seats. She says that it was great for road trips. Her and her twin sister would sit back there and do their own thing, like play, gab, and making the "pull the horn" gesture to truckers so they would honk. She also says that other siblings got car sick looking through the back and that was less fun...
 
Or maybe kids getting sick back there given how many like to TEST their drive. I know of at least 2 manufacturers who used to do the rear facing seats thing: Volvo and Audi. I am sure there are others. Has anyone as a child rode in rear facing seats or had their kids ride in them. How did you/they do?
Rode as a child in a Volvo in the 80s. Reading and/or staring cross-eyed made me a little woozy, IIRC, but only rarely.

My memory is fuzzy at this point and I think the wheels and grill were different, but this is pretty close:
volvo-wagon.jpg
 
All I can say is that if they want my $1500 I want to a) test drive it with my son in the back, and b) see pics of rear-ending crash tests and see how the dummies' legs look afterwards.

+1

In that picture above, it looks like that girl might come close to the glass; maybe it is just the angle of the photograph. Either way, I haven't seen any data regarding rear crash testing and the effect on the seats. Until then, no seats. And that's a shame, because it would seem as though installing them after market may not very convenient and families may need to have the extra room.
 
Installing the seats afterwards is supposed to be a no-brainer.

Actually I've heard otherwise. Apparently if you decided to add the rear seats after the car has left Tesla, it will apparently cost more than $1,500. Supposedly they have to add some extra bolts and connectors. While that would be easy when the car is in production, it probably takes more effort after the fact.

Also I inquired whether I could remove the seats myself when I'm done with them, and was told a Tesla specialist would have to do the removal. I don't know how true that is, but that is what I was told by a Tesla rep.
 
In that picture above, it looks like that girl might come close to the glass; maybe it is just the angle of the photograph.

Yes, I agree that she looks like barely fitting in. Must be close to the 5' limit.

Either way, I haven't seen any data regarding rear crash testing and the effect on the seats. Until then, no seats.

I think it was in the shareholder meeting video, where Elon stated that rear-end crash testing was done not just with 35mph but 50mph (=double the kinetic energy) and in addition to that not only central but offset crash. With positive results, I assume since it would be pointless to brag about test results where the passengers were harmed.

There is one double-octagon crash structure in every vehicle side and one seems fitting to deal with a 50mph rear end crash. The intruder has to come to terms with a 800lbs battery pack, not the rear seat passengers :wink:
 
You guys are reading a lot into this. Any event like this, the company has a set of policies, like "No driver swaps, no turning off the traction control, no kids in the way back, etc." All designed to make the event run smoothly, avoid delays and provide a positive experience. The folks at the event typically don't have a lot of discretion to sway from those rules, so you get silly situations. I'll bet that the kids were asked to move, even thought it introduced a delay rather than avoiding one, because that was the rule and the Tesla folks were expected to follow those rules.
 
You guys are reading a lot into this. Any event like this, the company has a set of policies, like "No driver swaps, no turning off the traction control, no kids in the way back, etc." All designed to make the event run smoothly, avoid delays and provide a positive experience. The folks at the event typically don't have a lot of discretion to sway from those rules, so you get silly situations. I'll bet that the kids were asked to move, even thought it introduced a delay rather than avoiding one, because that was the rule and the Tesla folks were expected to follow those rules.

I don't think people are reading into things; I think the conversation migrated a bit and was overtaken by people (like myself) who would like to test drive with their kids and want to see some data regarding the safety. That's all. Wish Tesla was more forthcoming with this data, but I'm not going to say there is some conspiracy here. :smile:
 
I don't think people are reading into things; I think the conversation migrated a bit and was overtaken by people (like myself) who would like to test drive with their kids and want to see some data regarding the safety. That's all. Wish Tesla was more forthcoming with this data, but I'm not going to say there is some conspiracy here. :smile:

If I was Tesla I would be worried about people behind the cars, and someone pulling behind them. Having a fender bender with people, especially kids, between the bumpers would not be good! I think the no jump seats policy is more about the rear end incident than cabin safety.