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Comment by saurik | Hacker News Reader

Is it the height of a normal car yet? :/ I am kind of tall (6'3.5"), and it is comical just how poorly I fit in a Tesla. I can sit more safely (which is the correct word, not "comfortably": my head bangs up against part of the ceiling in a way where even a very minor collision would cause me serious head trauma) in a Miata. I would love to get a Tesla, particularly this new cheaper one (as I can't really justify >$100k; I waste a ton of money on my current car scheme, but it is still cheaper than a Tesla), but it feels like trying to buy a trendy shirt and realizing they don't bother making it in my size as my size simply isn't as trendy as their shirt :/.

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I noticed this too. I'm guessing it has to do with the fact that several inches of the floor are taken up by the batteries. I would not expect the Model 3 to be any better in this regard, and if it's a smaller car, as is rumored, I'd expect it to be worse.

That's odd, I am nearly as tall as you and had no problem fitting in a Tesla (the fact it didn't cross my mind probably means there was plenty of buffer space left).

I don't know what to tell you: this is an incredibly common complaint on Tesla forums, though "your mileage may vary" as people are proportioned in all sorts of different ways. Here is a thread that is particularly verbose and well-researched (showing comparisons to another car based on technical measurement specifications).

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/will-the-model-3-be-...

Though that person claims to have managed to have found a "comfortable" position with the seat moved entirely back: that doesn't fix the safety issues. I can also feel comfortable, but if I rock my head even slightly to the left it slams into the frame of the car, as the only reason my head fits is because some of the models have a divot in the top of the car.

I have a friend with a Tesla S (who is a major major fan of the company) who adamantly didn't believe me until we finally had an opportunity to go out to his car and have me sit in the driver's seat: he shut up pretty quick ;P. (He had wanted me to drive us to our destination, so as to fall in love with the car, but instead I ended up in the passenger seat with the seat extremely reclined, feeling only slightly claustrophobic.)

This is almost funny. The reason I have a LEAF (see my post above) and not a Model S is because it doesn't fit small people. Everything about that car seems to be built for the 6' tall person with no thought about those of us not that tall.

I'm 5'6. My wife is 5'1. When I test drove the Model S I found there was nearly 3' of foot room behind the driver seat. That doesn't really bother me, but it told me the car was made for taller people.

When my wife test drove the Model S, after adjusting the seat so she could reach the peddles, the drivers should belt went right across her neck. After 15 minutes of driving she had a noticeable red mark there. She was unhappy to say the least. We went to adjust the seat belt anchor to make the belt not cross her neck.

We were surprised that an $80,000 car doesn't have adjustable seat belt anchors. ($80K as we would have configured it)

The "salesperson" (are they called that?) in the Tesla store suggested we get some kind of cover for the shoulder belt to avoid it irritating my wife's neck. My wife was "you mean I need to jury-rig something to make this $80K car comfortable to drive?"

We've never bought expensive cars; a Honda minivan was the most we'd ever paid for a car. That was comfortable and cost 1/3 the Model S. My wanting to buy one was already stretching reasonable limits. The seat belt issue made the Model S a non-option as far as my wife was concerned.

It's perhaps the difference between leg-tall and torso-tall.

I'm in the latter category and to this day I can't safely drive in most cars with a sunroof. Things have improved a lot over the last 20 years or so: it used to be I couldn't fit into any sedan less than full-size, whereas now many sedans other than subcompact are okay.

I'm 6'3 as well with a long body and don't fit in 80ish % of cars and I fit wonderfully in a Model S even with the sun roof. Heck, I could even pull off sitting in back if a 'normal' sized person was driving.

I am very pessimistic I will fit into a Model 3 though, especially with a car seat in back. My hope is to find a used S in a couple years.

My friend is 7 feet tall and he mentioned to me that he fit better in my model S than almoat any other sedan.

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