Reserved on January 1st and delivered on December 30th, this is a car we've literally been waiting all year for. Of course that's nothing compared to how long some waited – including some who are still waiting. I hope yours comes up soon! Our call came out of the blue at least a month before we expected it, but when they called last Wednesday we jumped on the opportunity to visit the factory for a tour and pick our Model S up before the end of the year.
Sadly, no photos are allowed in the factory. I'll try to write up a bunch from memory at some point, but for now I'll focus on the car itself. At the end of the tour we were led into the delivery room where she was staged against Tesla's signature red and white color scheme:
That's a Pearl White 85kWh model with 19" wheels, the tech package, active air suspension, grey leather, and paint armor. If you were concerned about the disclaimer that the paint armor will be more visible against white? Don't be. I wasn't even sure they had applied it until I felt for the edges. The walkthrough was simple enough since I'd read everything available before picking the car up and already knew the vast majority of what the delivery special was about to say. The only sour note evident was a passenger side mirror that didn't adjust properly. Tesla service will take care of it in relatively short order, I'm sure.
Driving home was everything I remembered from the test drive. Solid, sure handling, with more available power than I'm likely to need. It was
much easier to search for and set navigation for a destination than in our Lexus, and noting that the passenger is allowed to do so while the car is moving is a huge plus. The Internet radio is extremely promising and the standard sounds system is passable. Nothing special, perhaps a little full in the midrange and bass is a touch weak and slightly muddy. It's not especially crisp, but it's respectable for an in-car stereo. Bluetooth audio has been a little erratic but my car was delivered with v4.0 firmware so perhaps an eventual update will improve matters. In the meantime, I'm enjoying exploring other options.
The next day I took her on a brief tour of her new home town. We're delighted to be back in Santa Cruz and it's nice to introduce the newest member of our family to the sights:
She looks entirely at home in front of our house:
... and better yet, the air suspension helps her attain enough clearance to make it down the driveway and into her spot in the garage. The NEMA 14-50 outlet installed on Friday is working perfectly, delivering 40 amps at around 237 volts to make quick work of charging:
