Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was in the crosshairs of PETA advocates about two weeks ago. During Tesla’s last annual shareholders meeting, Mark and Elizabeth Peters gave Tesla a number of vegan proposals. They want the company to reduce the use of animal products. They want to end the use of animal products in Tesla EVs by 2019.
Elizabeth said Tesla was filling its cars with “the skins of sentient beings that suffer unspeakable horror“. She then went ahead to list a number of luxury car brands that offers vegan interiors. She talked about “many faux-leather interiors used by Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, BMW, Infiniti and others that are cruelty-free.” Elon Musk the promised to look into the matter. The investors at the meeting liked the proposals but they did vote against them.
Business Insider Busts the Bubble
In a bid to know if other luxury car brands were actually offering vegan interiors, Business Insider did some research. BI wrote a piece detailing the outcome of its research. It appears that the PETA advocates were wrong in their assertions that other car brands had vegan interiors. According to Business Insider,
- Lexus: “Lexus does not currently have vegan car interiors available.”
- Audi: “While Audi prioritizes the design of eco-conscious interiors, there is not currently a vegan interior offering from Audi.”
- Jaguar Land Rover: “At the moment, all Jaguar vehicles feature premium leather interiors.”
- Acura: “We do offer a leatherette on our base ILX, however, even if a dealer installed the animal-free seating surfaces, the steering wheel is leather (standard on all cars). So,we don’t really have a vegan option.”
- BMW: The company currently offers a non-leather interior option called SensaTec. The fabric is made from a blend of recycled materials and wool. Its color comes from plant-based dye … SensaTec is available as an option on the 2, 3, 4, 5 Series, X1, X3, X5, Z4, and i3 models.”
- Infiniti: “The Q50 and Q70 are available with non-leather seating, however only leather steering wheels are available across the board.”
- Mercedes-Benz offers MBTex premium vinyl seats on some of its vehicles. We reached out to MB for further details, but have not heard back yet.
Tesla Offers the Total Vegan Luxury Car
In a sharp contrast to the offerings of the “role model” car brands that the PETA mentioned, Tesla actually offers an all-vegan interior for drivers who want same. Drivers who want a vegan model can opt for the Multi-Pattern Black Seats, which has synthetic fabric and fake leather trims. Some other luxury brands also offer interiors with synthetic fabric and faux-leather seats but none of them has a non-leather steering. Now, Tesla provides the complete vegan interior in luxury brands in saying, “for the few customers wanting a non-leather steering wheel, we can provide one“.
