New Tesla Blog Post 7/12/2012: Get Amped Tour: News from the Road

[AnOutsider]

Nigel, please have Tesla deliver that detached. I'll take it. I'll pay for the shipping on that

No special doo-dads for you riff raff

 

[NigelM]

Nigel, please have Tesla deliver that detached. I'll take it. I'll pay for the shipping on that

That'll save me $990...Wow, that's very generous of you! (They're going to ship my car with it) :wink:

 

[mikevbf]

I guess this is one of the reasons they are ramping up so slowly. They want to discover problem areas like this one early and correct them quickly before lots are produced. Makes sense to me.

 

[Norbert]

Get Amped Tour: News from the Road | Blog | Tesla Motors

 

[Norbert]

The first change we are making is to include the handy accessory shelf under the 17” touch screen as standard equipment on all cars. This shelf takes up very little room, but adds an easy-to-reach space for sunglasses and a few other miscellaneous items that people have said they need a defined place for. There will be no additional cost for this added accessory.

Great, thank you!

 

[dsm363]

Glad to see they're continuing to work on improving things to the last minute.

Being discussed here
New Blog Post: Get Amped Tour: News from the Road

 

[Norbert]

Glad to see they're continuing to work on improving things to the last minute.

Being discussed here
New Blog Post: Get Amped Tour: News from the Road

Ah, missed that somehow....

 

[Jkam]

Well that would explain why more cars haven't been delivered. Glad quality is important to Tesla instead of just spitting the cars out just to get them out.

 

[Jason S]

I'm REALLY happy about the fact that they're putting that little shelf in. I'm going to have to put some non-slip stuff in there so that my iPhone doesn't end up in the trunk every time I accelerate.

The Fremont test drive car I used had rubber bumpy bits (rounded bumps about size of a penny) so things wouldn't slide around in the cubby.

 

[NigelM]

Spoke to my Product Specialist today and found out that the spoiler is functional and affects range, albeit by a small amount (~1%). I had wrongly assumed it was only decorative but it is also easily removable without paint damage and as my car is "just about to enter production" and I would have had to do the paperwork right this minute, I decided to leave the spoiler on. (Sorry gg_ you'll have to wait and see!)

(That's right...."just about to enter production"....Woohoo!) :biggrin:

 

[AnOutsider]

Spoke to my Product Specialist today and found out that the spoiler is functional and affects range, albeit by a small amount (~1%). I had wrongly assumed it was only decorative but it is also easily removable without paint damage and as my car is "just about to enter production" and I would have had to do the paperwork right this minute, I decided to leave the spoiler on. (Sorry gg_ you'll have to wait and see!)

(That's right...."just about to enter production"....Woohoo!) :biggrin:

Congrats on that first off. Secondly, it affects range... negatively or positively?

 

[brianman]

Congrats on that first off. Secondly, it affects range... negatively or positively?

I got the impression he was saying the spoiler helps not hurts.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

A mixed message here (maybe to sell more after-market spoilers?!): Spoilers Aerodynamics

the intended function of spoilers is to increase the driving efficiency and provide stability of a vehicle in a high-speed motion. However, today many modern vehicles can be seen with this accessory due to the sporty look and feel it delivers. Decorative spoilers have little (sometimes even negative) aerodynamic efficiency, so if want your car to not just look sporty, but be so, think about replacing decorative factory spoilers with full-fledged devices.

Thanks anyway, Nigel. Please drop me a line if/when you decide to take it off

 

[NigelM]

I got the impression he was saying the spoiler helps not hurts.

Correct. Spoiler helps on the Performance.

 

[zdre]

Thanks anyway, Nigel. Please drop me a line if/when you decide to take it off

I would also like a CF spoiler if someone doesn't want theirs.... mentioned it a while ago, but no one took the bait.

Correct. Spoiler helps on the Performance.

But decreases range?

 

[NigelM]

Correct. Spoiler helps on the Performance.

But decreases range?

Helps = Increases

 

[Todd Burch]

Helps = Increases

I have a hard time believing that if the spoiler increased range they wouldn't put it on all of the cars--or that they wouldn't modify the design of the car slightly to include the shape.

 

[brianman]

I have a hard time believing that if the spoiler increased range they wouldn't put it on all of the cars--or that they wouldn't modify the design of the car slightly to include the shape.

Perhaps the impact becomes relevant only with Performance for some reason? If not, then perhaps it's a marketing or branding decision w/Perf.

 

[Todd Burch]

Nigel, above you used the term "affects range" but later say "increases". Was it clear that the Tesla rep was indicating that the spoiler actually improves range by about 1%?

 

[thelastdeadmouse]

Generally speaking, a functional spoiler increases down force on the rear wheels, but slightly increases drag. No such thing as a free lunch. There are some "spoilers" that do not provide down force and instead decrease drag, but these are usually refereed to as diffusers and work the same as the one on the underside of the car.