This article covers Tesla's introduction of the all-new Model S Plaid as well as the Long Range Model S. I believe the Tesla Model S is the best car ever made and this story goes into detail on how I came to this conclusion. Whether you are already very knowledgable about the Tesla Model S, or completely unfamiliar with Tesla, I am certain you will enjoy this article.
So what 'objectively' makes a car the 'best' ever made you ask? It's a combination of things. Not just 0-60MPH timing, but much more which I cover in this article. If you are confused about whether to purchase a Plaid Tesla Model S or the new Long Range model you are going to LOVE this article! I will skip straight to my conclusion and say:
I believe the new Tesla Long Range Model S is the best car EVER made. That being said, I am A THOUSAND TIMES more excited for the Long Range Tesla Model S, than the Plaid as I believe the Plaid upgrade is a COMPLETELY nonsensical waste of money.
This article is far different in detail and analysis than ANY other article you will read on the Model S Refresh! Why? I have been driving a Model S P85D for seven years and in that time have gained a tremendous amount of understanding and invaluable insight I will share in this article. I also have a lot of experience with driving the Model X and 3, and I am very familiar with the Model Y as well.
All New 2021 Plaid Model S Tesla Released in June is Pictured Above
Last month introduced the all-new Tesla Model S Plaid along with the new Long Range Model S and they are AMAZING!!!!! If you haven't already watched Elon's Plaid Model S Introduction Keynote be sure to check it out:
Everybody who attended the PLAID launch even received one of these special edition posters that shows the conceptual Tesla artwork featuring the all-new Model S interior along with the mirrorless body which appears somewhat more modern than the Plaid exterior.
Radical New Interior
The Power of Simplicity
There is really something to be said for the power of simplicity. Socrates said "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" and it's profoundly true. As as designer, with 4 decades of work product and experience I would say the single greatest challenge I have faced is the quest to make products that are simple. This follows Einstein's famous notion: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, not simpler...Out of complexity, simplicity, and if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
So let's take look at the all new interior, which is by far and away the coolest looking car interior I have ever seen in my life!!! I must point out the interior refresh on the Model S was long, long overdue as the old interior was getting pretty stale. That being said—as you can clearly see—the all new Model S interior is busting out with everlasting freshness!!! Whoever designed this radical minimalist masterpiece interior is one talented person or group of people...
The Shape of Things To Come
It is really interesting and kind of bizarre when you realize Tesla finally figured out how to eliminate almost every single old-fashioned knob or stalk element with this beautifully sparse and simply ultra-clean looking all-new interior. I will admit when I first got my Tesla Model S P85D back in early 2015 I thought perhaps Tesla had gone overboard with digitizing everything, but in retrospect I now realize it was brilliant, and as we see the all-new Model S takes radical simplicity to a whole new level.
So where did Detroit, Stuttgart and Japan not figure this out? Perhaps is all began back in the 1960 when they took direction from the original Star Trek, and in the photo below of Lieutenant Uhura we see her swimming in a sea of buttons and knobs. It's funny how life mimics art but as our world moves at warp speed into the digital age unnecessary complexity no longer reigns supreme. It's also fascinating to compare and contrast some of the sci-fi technology from the original Star Trek to today, in the sense an iPhone today completely destroys any technological communicator or device they put forth as being 23rd Century technology today largely looks more like early 20th Century tech.
My good friend Paul carefully studied the new Plaid Model S and described sitting in the new Model S as:
"Extremely comfortable, with perfectly laid out ergonomics. Basically, sitting in the new Model S is otherworldly."
Blacked Out
The all-new Model S comes standard with the chrome delete. In other words, all prior Tesla Model S came with polished chrome door handles and windows trim. The new Model has zero silver chrome on the vehicle with the exception of the Tesla 'T' logo on the front of the car. For some reason, the Scorpions song 'Blackout' keeps playing through my head when I look at the blacked out trim which comes standard on the all-new Model S.
On RolexMagazine.com which which I have been publishing for 14 years straight, I am known for writing super-detailed, thorough, long-form, in-depth stories. My goal as the world's leading Rolex historian is to perfectly contextualize stories so when you are done exploring them you walk away with a complete understanding of the people and subject matter. In other words, you develop an unusually deep connection and understanding of the content.
My goal with this article is to create and share the ultimate, single most comprehensive review of the all-new 2021 Tesla Model S & X vehicles. An article where if you read it and watch all the videos, then if you were to get in the new Tesla it would feel like and old friend and you have been driving for years, and would require no instruction manual—like a well worn pair of favorite slippers. I am naturally curious and equally passionate about amazing things and people as you will discover in this article.
Otherworldly Minimalist Masterpiece
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some quality time studying the new Tesla Model S, and I gave it the once-over. Let me begin by saying when I first sat in the Plaid Model S, I knew what to expect but I must admit my design brain exploded at first glance of the new dash in what I can only describe as a design braingasm euphoria.
Zen & The Art of Tesla Model S
I spent a minute or so in absolute shock and complete Zen awe, mostly looking and touching the screen to which I only have two things to say:
1. My eyes have seen the glory of the second coming of the Model S, OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!
2. I am 1000% certain it is game-set-match for every other car manufacturer on earth. I have thought since Elon's Keynote Debut of the CyberTruck Tesla has the entire auto industry in check-mate, and as Eddie Murphy back in the 1980s: "You dead! You may as well lay down cause your dead...I will moonwalk all up and down your ass, motherfucker."
The brand new Model S interior layout is beyond flawless in a highly organic digital way, which at first may sound like an oxymoronic statement, but this new configuration is light-years beyond anything else in the world. I will point out despite the car having a 17 inch landscape screen in the center, just like the old one, which was in portrait, that is where the similarity starts and ends as there is almost no other similarity. The speed and performance of the new screen feels just like an iPad Pro as it is instantaneously precise. The built-in web browser is now actually useable and super fast like on an iPad, which is a significant game-changer. You can't pinch and zoom and there are some limitations to the browser, but by-and-large it really flies...
The prior Model S model was and elixir that showed the world what a top-of-the-line electric car had the potential to be. The all-new 2021 Model S refresh at long last largely delivers on that promise. That being said, I still think there is room for improvement, but the baseline feature set has not been met. How could this car be better?
If it had a real-world rated range of 1000 miles range anxiety would be gone, and would significantly ease the burden on the Suprcharger network. Do I think in the future we will see a Tesla, that has a 1000 miles range? Absolutely. When? I would guess we will hit that ideal in about 5 years or so. There are several small details that I will discuss that could take the design beyond perfection, but none of them are deal-breakers. I will start by saying, Bravo Tesla, you have turned what used to be the ceiling into the new floor by constantly iterating. You are what Toyota once pretended to be with their Lexus brand which had the slogan, 'The Passionate Pursuit of Perfection.' Toyota and Lexus rested on their laurels and failed to innovate, which is a terrible shame as they could and should have. Now they are a lame duck that is dead in the water.
Tan Interior
I was pleasantly surprised with how beautiful the new tan interior turned out in the refreshed Tesla Model S interior.
The real world photo below shows the great Tan color combination which I like as much as the all black interior...decisions, decisions!?!!
The image below is from Tesla.com and shows the seat style without the contrast stitching running around the perimeter of the seat which we see in the real world photo above.
My only constructive criticism of the center armrest is I question why Tesla put unnecessary stitching on the sides of the center armrest since when occupants naked arms will inevitably rub against them and NOT be comfortable. If I designed this feature I would have simply eliminated the goofy and unnecessary stitching. The padding on the center armrest and door armrest is much better than in previous models but is still not padded and luxurious enough. I know because my old Lexus LS 460 was perfect in this sense which I go into depth on in My Tesla Background article.
Door Pockets!!!!
This photo below shows my 24 Ounce ThermoFlask water bottle in the rear passenger side door pocket which is able to hold it. So you might be asking why anybody would want to keep their water bottle in the side pockets, when there are cup holders in the front and back of the Model S? When you go on a long drive it is great to have plenty of water so you can store extra water bottles or drinks in the side doors.
Center Console
A Place for Everything
& Everything in its Place
The center console in the outgoing Model S was a complete mess and offered terrible storage capacity. The great news is the all-new center-console appears to be the best designed one I have ever seen which you can check out in this video I put together.
In this set of 4 images below we see the center console front storage options and in the first image see it with the cover in the completely closed position, and of course the smartphone cubby with built-in QI chargers is beyond brilliant!
This next image shows what happens when the center console cover is slid forward all the way to expose a perfectly positioned set of cup holders, along with another shallow storage compartment that is perfect for holding sunglasses and reading glasses. Also, you can slide the garage top lid back only half way, so it JUST exposes the cup holders (not shown).
The next image below show what occurs when you slide the sunglasses drawer forward away from you to expose an even deeper storage compartment underneath.
This last image (below) shows the fact you can optionally slide back the dual cup holder to access the space underneath or to just create a very large storage area.
Also, the leather covered center armrest in hinged on its back and features another deep storage compartment underneath it (not shown).
With all these really intelligent storage options it ensures that the owner will NEVER run out of space for storing all the important items that are great to have in a car. The area under the center armrest could be used for storing tissue or even as a garbage can for the car. So for instance, if you are driving and you have a used wrapper or ziplock bag or empty bottle or can you can hide it out of site until you have a chance to empty the garbage. It appears Tesla went from the back of the storage class straight to the front!!!
My friend Paul who has spent time carefully studying the new Model S Plaid said:
"The new center arm rest and door arm rests are EXTREMELY COMFORTABLE HOLY SHIT!!!! It's actually kind of amazing....Tesla brought back the ventilated seats and did it properly, and they are VERY COLD as they pump AC through them now, and NOT just a fan."
Reinventing The Wheel
The new Yoke steering wheel which first came from the upcoming Tesla Roadster and CyberTruck preview prototypes is standard in the new Model S which looks totally Star Wars Land Speeder / Fighter Pilot Cockpit / KITT / Alien Technology. The new Yoke steering wheel has several profound benefits.
- Offers unobstructed view of drivers side screen.
- Lacks ANY stalks which are now buttons on yoke. In other words, the shifting and turning signal stalks are gone as is the windshield wiper stalk and the cruise control stalk as well as the wheel height/depth adjusting stalk.
- Looks totally Batmobile/GQ/Formula 1 magnificent minimalist masterpiece RAD!!!! I mean look at this cockpit which is a complete work of art!!!!
If The Batmobile was real its interior couldn't be more of a magnificent minimalist masterpiece than the all-new 2021 Tesla Model S
My initial personal interior color preference was all-black with black carbon fiber accents as it makes the cockpit look and feel like a stealth fighter cockpit. It turns out the carbon fiber accent is only available on the Plaid and NOT on the Long Range, which pushes me closer toward getting the tan interior as I don't like the black interior with dark brown wood combination. The white has WAY too much unnecessary and distracting contrast—like a flat screen TV with a silver bezel v. a matte black bezel. That being said, I know many people like the white interior, it's just not for me. Also, as previously mentioned I was really surprised by how much I like the tan interior.
There has been a lot of controversy not only regarding the yoke steering wheel as well as the auto shifting. Below is a photo of manual touch controls that are located at the bottom of the smartphone cubby. The way the user makes the usually invisible shifting controls appear is by lightly pressing both scrolling wheels on the yoke steering wheel at the same time, or by touching anywhere on the hazard strip which will make the Parking, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive options appear. My understanding is they are capacitive, meaning you tap on them like on a smartphone screen. I also understand if the cars computer reboots these stay active as a secondary method for shifting gears. This is super-slick and impressive minimalist design!!
If the user covers all 4 buttons on the ride side of the steering wheel with their palm it will sound the horn despite the yoke having a dedicated physical horn button.
The new center console is MUCH more ergonomic and super-clean looking with an intelligent place for everything.
In the image below we see the size of the front trunk in the updated Model S which is commonly referred to as the FRUNK. The size is good for keeping a backpack or transporting a pick-up/take-out meal for the family or some groceries.
Reinventing The Car Key
— Jake Ehrlich (@JakeEhrlich) December 6, 2018
1. Chill 2. Regular 3. Insane
Here is a List of improvements I have noticed on the new refreshed interior Model S:
- Finally added 4 long overdue Door Map Pockets.
- Added wireless QI phone charger cubby section in front and in center rear armrests.
- Added ventilated air cooled seats, which keeps your back dry on long drives.
- Improved new dual layer sound deadening windows using acoustic glass feature with significant noise reduction coupled with increased thermal properties so in winter the cabin stays warmer and in summer it remains cooler.
- Noise Cancelling seat speakers act like AirPod Max or Bose Headset as illustrated below.
My friend Paul who has spent a lot of time studying the new Plaid Model S said:
"So the main feature I keep talking to everyone about is the new windows which are a COMPLETE game changer and I mean COMPLETE in the sense they make the cabin so much quieter that it's hard to quantify. The new Plaid Model S is such an improvement over the P100D I have been driving it's honestly hard to explain. The interior is crazy and feels like you're in a spaceship."
Special thanks to DÆrik for sharing the images below which are from their excellent Model S Plaid video review at the end of this story. Tesla kept the 17 inch screen size for the center console but rotated it from Portrait to landscape which offers MANY benefits. The image below shows the new UI for the Main Controls.
I remember when first got my Tesla Model S seven years ago, kinda tripping on the center screen that digitized and replaced almost every old-fashioned analog button. I remember thinking Tesla almost went overboard, but as time went by I grew to love it. The all-new 2021 Model S takes this digitization to a whole new level even by replacing things like the physical button for opening and locking the glove compartment.
Essentially, Tesla has hidden most of the technology, and this includes things like hiding the air vents and their directional knobs which have been successfully replaced by the UI on the center screen. When I really stop and think about it—it's almost bizarre how Tesla has managed to radically simplify everything in the new Model S and X, as the essence of life should always be simplicity, which is never easy to achieve.
The images below show the climate control screen that allows the user to control the invisible ventilation alone with controlling features like turning on and off the heated steering wheel.
Tesla incorporated the invisible vent system into the Model S that debuted in the Model 3 and Model Y. Below is the page from the new Model S Instruction manual that shows exactly where the invisible vents are positioned.
In the photo we see how HUGE the live view is when the Model S is backing up which is super immersive!!
I put together a Pro/Con list for upgrading my P85D to the 2021 Model S Refresh I though I would share with you:
Pros for Upgrading to Long Range Model S
- iPhone Key: This means no more FOB!!! So I don't have to carry around or worry about losing or misplacing the goofy Tesla Key Fob. Now I can go totally keyless and just carry my BulletTrain SAFE WALLET everywhere I go!
- Ventilated air-conditioned seats.
- Huge Map/Door Pockets in front and rear seats can hold water bottle, tissue, garbage, hand sanitizer, and masks.
- New 17 inch Screen 16x9 UI on screen looks AMAZING!!!! Should be great for watching video and playing games while Supercharging. Screens should be very high performance like an iPad Pro with zero lag. (No more slow-motion graphics or swiping like it's drunk).
- 4 Year Warranty zero repair cost guarantee (peace of mind)
- 19 inch Wheels will give a much better ride + Quieter wheels, and half as much to replace, half as often.
- Phone charging position is very cool in front seats: Can I use with a lighting cable in with SAFE WALLET?
- Amazing Audio System with 22 Speakers!
- Back seat armrest with drink holders and chargers.
- 400+ Mile Range is great! (500 would be better)
- 0-60MPH same as P85D, which is all I need. Plaid is $50K extra to shave off .55 seconds on 0-60. Savings invested in Stock could pay for new Model S.
- Great value for $.
- Black trim.
- Autonomous (really).
- Super Fresh looking!!!
- Radically simplified all-new UI.
- Tesla Bioweapon Defense Mode HEPA Filter is super legit.
- New H-Vac System is Octovalve and Heat Pump offers 30% better cold weather range + requires 50% less energy for cabin heating and freezing conditions. Should have much warmer floor heat, and use far less electricity + much better cold weather performance. Octovalve new heat pump, with 30% better cold weather range and 50% less energy required in very cold weather.
- Much faster computer uses same AMD Chip in Sony Play Station 5 and X-Box.
- Super Clean new dash with no visible vents.
- Stalkless steering wheen is super clean looking
- Ultra-modern vibe...
- New updated pencil-thin-mustache nose as apposed to old goofy-looking cone nose.
- New auto shift feature seems cool.
- Wider body in rear looks cooler.
- New Suspension Dampening for great luxury drive.
- More luxurious well designed interior.
- Bose noise reduction/cancelation technology.
- Supports new faster supercharging which adds 200 Miles of range in just over 15 minutes and will get even faster as Tesla Superchargers evolve to 300 and 350kWh Superchargers.
- Most aerodynamic car on earth @ 0.208 (Probably only in Cheetah Launch Mode).
- Safest car on earth.
- More legroom in back seat.
- Invisible vent system in front and back seats.
- All new UI looks super-clean and intuitive.
- Acoustic Glass for sound deadening and much quieter interior.
- Front and Rear seat door pockets .
- Heated Yoke steering wheel.
- Air-Conditioned cooling seats.
- Has dual USB-C 36 watt charing ports in back under screen you could use for charging if you can't charge in center console and they can charge an iPad or MacBook.
I don't have many Cons—just concerns. Keep in mind 100% of my criticism is purely constructive. I have heard many people complain about the terrible fit and finish on Tesla vehicles and I have experienced this myself. For me I was always willing to overlook these as the rest of the car was so AMAZING in an MVP kind off way! From the early reviews the new interior is light years ahead of the old one and features many improved details like more luxurious and thicker carpet. Here are a list of concerns I have:
SEAT BELT HEIGHT TENSIONER CONTROL: The Model S has always had a fixed seat belt which always cut my neck just the wrong way. This was fixed in the Model X by adding a height adjustable seat belt tensioner, but unfortunately the new Model Slacks this useful feature. When I sat in the new 2021 Plaid Model S it appears they repositioned the seat belt hight tensioner to make it more comfortable. I will report back on this when I have had more real world driving time.
UNCOMFORTABLE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE POSITIONING: I had a Tesla Model 3 which I sold because there were two features that drove me nuts. One was the drivers interior door handle was placed in the worst position so if you wanted to rest your left leg against the door on long drives the hard plastic was REALLY uncomfortable. I Noticed they fixed this on the Model Y, but I am a little concerned as one of the great features of the older Model S is that there is so much horizontal room to spread your legs on a long drive. I will report back once I test this out.
WINDSHEILD WIPERS: The windshield wipers in my P85D always worked well. In the Model 3 they were the WORST windshield wipers I have ever experienced!?!! Elon got this bright idea to use the front facing camera to automatically sense and see rain, but it didn't work at all. I would be driving in pouring rain and the AUTO windshield wipers would NOT engage. I pray they left the older more reliable proven windshield wipers in the new Model S. The following video offers a superb overview of the Yoke steering wheel features, and at 6:55 into the video he demonstrates all the windshield wiper functions which have a super-slick UI experience:
The image below taken from the video above shows how the brilliant windshield wiper UI works. On the right side of the Yoke there is an icon just above and to the right of the scroll wheel that has a windshield wiper icon on it. If you press the windshield wiper button it will pop-up the windshield wiper control selector which you can see on the left side of the binnacle display with the blue highlight.
Once the user pops up the UI with the right scroll wheel, the left scroll wheel is used to scroll up and down through the 6 choices (as seen below) to select your choice.
This is an amazing piece of UI. The close-up image below (from Motor Trend) of the all-new Tesla Model S Yoke steering wheel shows the controls for the windshield wipers and washers. Just to be crystal-clear the first icon is the horn which is a pushable button and as I understand it if you cup your palm and place it over all of the buttons on the right side of the steering wheel it will also honk the horn.
The second from the left icon is the control for engaging Autopilot which can be customized to turn on either with one tap or two taps, and also permits the user to increase or decrease the speed by scrolling up or down. The third button from the left, with the windshield wiper icon engages the 4 speeds of the windshield wipers including 2 intermittent modes and and two constant modes as well as 'Auto" and 'Off'. The fourth button in a microphone for speaking to the car like with voice commands. Think "Hey Siri", or "Alexa", but you can use it for all kinds of interesting things like tell it to take you to the gym, or work, or home or Trader Joes. You can also use it for controlling the car, with everything like turning on the windshield wipers or fog lights. From what I have heard this voice activation feature works really well.
Below is the page in the all-new Tesla Model S Instruction Manual for the all-new Long Range and PLAID model Windshield Wipers and Washers. There are really only two options here. Either Tesla has the old-fashioned bulletproof reliable AUTO rain sensor (hopefully), or they are using the front facing camera which would likely be a travesty. The good news from what I can tell is that they appear to have at least kept all 4 of the manual modes, which would be better than not. Once again, time will tell on this one.
Update on Windshield Wiper Sensor
I had the chance to spend time studying a Plaid Model S in great detail and I took a photo of the top center of the windshield and if you look closely you see what appears to be three front facing cameras as well as a rain-sensor located in the upper left hand corner about a 2 inches above the 3 cameras. Assuming this is correct, that is awesome!!!
REAR INFOTAINMENT SCREEN AKWARD POSITION: Tesla intelligently utilized the back of the center console to add a small-tablet-like screen for controlling things like the vents and heated seats in the back of the car. If you look closely you will also notice two USB C ports located just under the new Infotainment screen which are really useful and cannot only charge a smartphone but also a laptop like a MacBook. The new Infotainment screen can also be used by back seat occupants for watching video and playing video games if you pair a bluetooth game controller. The challenge for me is if I were in the backseat of the Model S on a long drive, I would NOT want to sit with my neck bent facing down for long periods of time.
The simple way to avoid this would be to attach an iPhone or iPad to the back of each seat at eye level which is where many car companies place infotainment screens. I like how Tesla utilized this space intelligently but would much prefer an additional option that would locate screens on the backs of the front seats at eye level. A potential solution is to attache magnetic mounts to the back of the seats at eye level than you can attach an iPhone to.
LACK OF OVERHEAD LIGHTS IN FRUNK AND TRUNK: The LED lights in my Model S Trunk and Frunk were so dim in my P85D I replaced them with aftermarket lights that were much, much brighter. That being said, I was shocked that Tesla did not feature an overhead light in the Frunk? In other words, the light was easily covered as it is placed on the front of the frunk bay so if you have anything in front of the light it blocks the light. If Tesla installed an overhead light on the bottom of the frunk hood it would be 1000% more effective. Same with the lights in the hatchback. I think the new interior is excellent in many ways, but could see how there would be room for serious improvement with the lighting systems.
CABIN LIGHTING: The cabin lighting was always lacking in the Model S and of poor quality.
4G OR 5G NETWORK?: I am wondering if the new Model S and X use the 4G or 5G network?
CENTER CONSOLE ARMRESTS: It looks like they finally put in a much more comfortable center armrest, although I think they should have wrapped it in such a way that there is ZERO exposed stitching which is uncomfortable when your arm rubs against it if you are wearing a short sleeve T-Shirt.
DASH PANELS FIT AND FINISH: The photos below are of a Plaid Model S I spent an hour studying. I don't mean to nitpick, but as we see in the four following images there is a lot of sloppy construction. Once again, I want to point out I am completely blown away by the interior design and build-quality, but Tesla obviously needs to get these dash details dialed in if they are going to be a world-class luxury brand. In the first image we see gaps that really stand out located on the far left side of the dash where it intersects the side drivers door.
In the next photo below we see the exact same fit and finish issue occurring on the far right side of the dash where it kisses the front passenger side door.
The next image shows many sloppy dash details, of not only fit but of finish and defective looking panels that look like they are of poor quality.
This last image gives us a close up of the mismatched edges, and the lower arrow points to the black valance panel which looks strange to me. Maybe I am wrong but it strikes me there is likely a better way to achieve this in a way that would look much better.
SIDE DOOR FABRIC: I am NOT a fan of the carpet like material panel on the side of the door which looks cheap industrial dark grey carpet. I would prefer to see this in faux leather, but who knows, maybe the fabric deadens sound? After some research I think these are speaker grills which now kind of makes sense.
NO MORE FREE SUPERCHARGING?: One of the benefits my P85D came with was free lifetime supercharging. The new Model S no longer comes with free supercharging, but to a large extent free supercharging was a bit of a gimmick, at least for me as I rarely use the supercharger network since it is so much more convenient to charge at home. Also, by having increased range you can now travel longer distances without having to visit a Tesla SuperCharger.
REAR FOLD DOWN CENTER ARMREST: Rear fold down Center Armrest front corners have bad geometry. Video coming soon on this one.
RANGE ANXIETY: The Long Range Model S features 405 miles or range which is good. 500 Miles of Range would be awesome...1000 miles would be perfect and would largely eliminate the need for Supercharger network.
LACK OF RED BRAKE CALIPERS: Tesla replaced the red brake calipers that came standard on the high-performance P100D, but did NOT come on the less expensive models. On the refreshed models the Plaid now comes with glossy black painted calipers which would not be visible with the 19 Inch wheels anyway. The press photo below from Tesla shows the new Plaid Model S WITH Red brake calipers which I think looks much cooler, and I am not the only person who thinks red would look much better than black, so Tesla if you are listening please bring back that beautiful touch-of-red with the brake calipers. If you are really hellbent on having red brake calipers you can do it aftermarket with powder-coating but that is an expensive pain.
DRIVERS SIDE DOOR ARMREST: This has always been a complete unergonomic, uncomfortable mess and I am sad to report that while they made it more padded, they also make it way too shallow so your arm keeps sliding off it. This would be an easy fix so Tesla if you are listening talk to me and I will show you how to fix it and make it the way it always should have been!
WHEN TO BUY?: I think it is a good idea to wait at least 6 months before upgrading. That way Tesla can work out any hardware or software kinks as I don't really want to be a beta tester. Then when I get the car it will be closer to being fully functional with features like the seat sound reduction system and the autonomous driving should be much, much better.
I am including several videos I watched below that go into detail with people who already have a Plaid Model S. Once I get a chance to test drive and study the new Model S I will update this story with ALL my findings.
"When it comes to women there are high-maintenance women and low-maintenance women...What I wan't is NO maintenance!"
