The new interior option for the Tesla Model X allows vegan buyers to have access to high-end interior options.
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The Tesla brand represents a kind of sustainable luxury, but many vegans have complained that having an eco-friendly auto that includes animal products does not make sense, keeping in mind the large amount of greenhouse gases the industrial sector emits.
The Model X is the first Tesla to be offered with a full synthetic-leather interior, but if vegan customers remain this vocal, it probably won’t be the last. At the electric auto company’s annual meeting in June past year, PETA urged Tesla to offer vegan leather for the interiors of its vehicles, with CEO Elon Musk stating that the suggestion would be considered.
“The timing of this press release is a mystery to us”, said the company spokesperson.
Tesla is just the latest automaker to offer such an option, or it was inevitable perhaps.
“We find that customers enjoy both leather and nonleather options for their Teslas”, said Tesla spokeswoman Khobi Brooklyn in an e-mail, adding that the company is committed to providing its customers with the ability to build the Tesla electric vehicle that would meet their needs and their lifestyle.
Therefore, Tesla has come up with a new version of its vehicle that will appeal to the luxury-minded vegans, says a report from The New York Times. Vegan owners take issue with the leather trim used for seats and steering wheel, as well as the cheap-appearing cloth substitutes Tesla has offered so far.
In its discussions with the company, PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – pointed out that Tesla could reduce its carbon footprint by using only vegan leather.
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For each ton of hides, leather production takes up to 15,000 gallons of water. Turning animal skins into leather requires 130 different chemicals, including cyanide, and people who work in and live near tanneries suffer from exposure to these toxic chemicals.
