Well, the idea of restricting the reservation process to only those willing to show up in person (even if only initially) strikes me as a bad idea for a publicity stunt. Tesla is leading the way in changing not only how and what we drive, but also how we buy our cars. They've been fighting the good fight against the dealership model, and making the best use of connectivity, so it seems out of character to do this.
imagine Tesla forcing everyone to bring their cars in to an authorized location to receive a software upgrade, just for the "publicity." It makes no sense.
I'm very pro-Tesla. I made the trip to the 2014 shareholders meeting just to be around people who share my enthusiasm, so I get that desire. What I don't get is making people jump through unnecessary hoops, when the online infrastructure is already well established. Seems asinine to me.