Tesla Model S First Impression and Review

by Jay Cole

Last week Tesla released their Model S to a handul of early customers at a ceremony in Fremont California.  Since then, the car has been made available on a very limited and controlled basis, so we  have been reticent to give out our full impression of the Tesla Model S, or to even to title this update a “review” or “test drive”, because quite frankly Tesla hasn’t allowed the car to be truly vetted.

Sure, a little seat time, and 5-6 minutes driving around a controlled course is nice, but it doesn’t really allow for any feel of the car’s  true strengths and weaknesses.

A Tesla Model S Waits To Be Driven

Still, you work with what you have, and since we haven’t been able to track down any of the first 10 retail deliveries (video of that ceremony below) to let us borrow their car for a few days, we thought we would patch together some initial impressions.   (emails to Elon Musk about borrowing his have gone unanswered…the nerve)

The Model S seats 7 in theory (a $1,500 option that adds a couple children’s seats where you would normally find the rear trunk), but reality is 5 adults could squeeze into the car, although we’d recommend sticking with just 4.  If you do decide on the 7 seat option, and fill up your trunk with kids, you still do have over 8 cu feet of space up front.   However…(read the rest of the article here)…