for more and bigger images, check out autoblog
Wow, has it really been two years since Tesla unveiled the Model S, the 4-door, seven [!] passenger, electric awesomemobile, without showing what the kid-sized, rear-facing jump seats in the trunk looked like?
Yes, yes it has.
Glad to see I'm not the only one wondering whatever happened to that dream. DT reader Seth flagged Autoblog's first ride in a Tesla S prototype over the weekend at a company preview for the hundreds [?] of folks who have put down deposits for one.
And there is a photo of the jump seats, complete with five point harnesses. And they look awesome. If Tesla can pull this off, I predict it will throw the Luxury Hauler With Character-Forming Rear-Facing Seats segment into turmoil. Watch out, Mercedes E-Class wagon! [Mercedes still does import the wagon, right?]
First Ride: 2012 Tesla Model S Beta [autoblog]
Previously: Baby In Trunk?
Is it just me or does it look like they'll have the glass of the hatch inches from their faces?
Still, very cool idea. I wish more cars had this.
E63 wagon as of the end of this month, too.
alright then. so it's still a market segment.
Since Elon Musk's divorce and maybe some custody arrangements, perhaps the +2 seating became less of a priority?
I give Tesla a lot of credit. The automotive establishment pretty much wrote if off when they decided to build a mass produced vehicle on their own from the ground up. Of course, it's still not in showrooms but I think the Model S is already turning some skeptics around.
As for the rear glass being pretty close to the face of those rear-facing kids, maybe you just suction cup some LCDs back there.
Still a year away but now we learn that those jump seats are a $1,500 option to turn your Model S into "sportiest carpool-ready sedan ever produced." Seems like a pretty pricey option but it looks like they're charging $10,000/additional 70 miles of range across the model range so I guess Tesla values your kids to be worth about 5 miles each.
The Model S is for real. It's here. You may have to wait but you can own one. But even the VIP buyers of the first production cars are still waiting for their +2 seating: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/11/2012-tesla-model-s-first-drive-review-video/