Re Tesla versus BMW and Mercedes: It's true the interior of the Tesla is spare, but you could also call it clean. The Mercedes S550 has higher quality material

Re Tesla versus BMW and Mercedes: It's true the interior of the Tesla is spare, but you could also call it clean. The Mercedes S550 has higher quality materials, but the interior is pretty busy/glitzy I think. BMW is also quite high quality materials, and cleaner design than the Mercedes. Tesla materials are not as nice, I have to say. However: 1. Both the BMW and Mercedes infotainment systems are _profoundly_ clunky compared to the Tesla. Tesla is far, far ahead - not only with the 17" screen, but also UI. Cannot overemphasize this. The Tesla is a pleasure to use & they are clearly working to minimize # of clicks to get a task done - when will BMW get a clue about this?? 2. When you press the pedal, the Model S accelerates _right now_. It is like piloting a UFO: car was there; now car is here. This makes the driving experience totally different in traffic. You see an opening in traffic, and pow, you can take it. It's frustrating to drive a gas car after getting used to this. Likewise handling is excellent - the weight of the battery placed so low in the car makes it stick to the road like a go cart. I used to have a BMW M3... so much noise and fuss to accelerate! In the Tesla, it's silent, you just pull away from people effortlessly. I think Tesla is actually under-marketing the driveability. It is not even the 0-60 time that matters: it's the very low latency.