Hey y'all:
Today's roughly ten years to the day I created my TMC account. So, what's a ten-year-old account doing in the Introductions section? Short of it is that I had never brought myself to actually post anything in these past ten years--this, in fact, might be my first post (and if it isn't, it'll probably my second). I'm sure I could think of some reasons to explain away my decade-long period of silence--but any such rationalizations aren't the reasons I'm writing this introductory post. I'm posting today--in July of 2023--to signify that my decade of silence is over. Looking forward to meeting and interacting with all the fantastic Tesla owners and fans on TMC. And that, of course, starts with an introduction (better late than never)!
Quick blurb about me: I'm located in Houston, TX. Houston's the city I was born and raised in; it's also the only place in which I've lived (save for three years in Chicago). Glad to call Houston my one and only home.
And now onto the cars:
Picture 1--Ultra Red Pill:
Picture 2--From left to right: Silver Bullet, M3 Hammer, Bluey (relative's car), and Noob-Noob:
Not pictured--Shelly (new fleet picture coming soon).
Today's roughly ten years to the day I created my TMC account. So, what's a ten-year-old account doing in the Introductions section? Short of it is that I had never brought myself to actually post anything in these past ten years--this, in fact, might be my first post (and if it isn't, it'll probably my second). I'm sure I could think of some reasons to explain away my decade-long period of silence--but any such rationalizations aren't the reasons I'm writing this introductory post. I'm posting today--in July of 2023--to signify that my decade of silence is over. Looking forward to meeting and interacting with all the fantastic Tesla owners and fans on TMC. And that, of course, starts with an introduction (better late than never)!
Quick blurb about me: I'm located in Houston, TX. Houston's the city I was born and raised in; it's also the only place in which I've lived (save for three years in Chicago). Glad to call Houston my one and only home.
And now onto the cars:
- My Tesla journey began around the same time I created my TMC account (early 2013). At that time, my family was looking for a new car. The precise reasons we (a lifelong Toyota/Lexus family) became interested in Tesla--then a truly fledgling startup--are still unknown to me. But I'm sure glad we did! We took delivery of our first Model S a few months later in June of 2013. Silver Bullet was a Model S 60 finished in Silver Metallic paint, grey leather interior, glossy obeche wood decor, and 19"s. It had the Tech Package (yes, turn-by-turn navigation and the power hatch were upgrades), a solid metal roof, and no other options. That is, no (1) supercharging, (2) sound studio, or (3) air suspension. I still remember the last six digits of the VIN: 012622. Silver Bullet was truly ahead of its time in 2013 and also piqued my interest in cars--there was so much to explore and to learn--it was also the car with which my sister and I learned how to drive. It served us well for the next eight years and we logged over 110,000 miles. And while it's no longer in our possession, I still search for the VIN every once in a while. It made a brief detour up to Chicago, IL; the last update (as of a month ago) is that Silver Bullet continues to zip around with its third owner in Tampa, FL.
- Our second Tesla is a 2018 Model 3 Long Range Rear Wheel Drive, VIN 32851. I camped outside the Galleria Tesla store March 31, 2017 to reserve this one. Arrived at the Galleria around 1:00 A.M. and was third in line; I couldn't see the end of the line by the time dawn broke. This one's named M3 Hammer and is finished in Multicoat Red, black interior, and 19" wheels. At the time of purchase, I didn't opt for Enhanced Autopilot or FSD--upshot is that the car had all the autopilot hardware but manual cruise control (yep, not even adaptive cruise). Bit the bullet and purchased both EA and FSD a few months later. M3 Hammer's still with us and has 71,000 miles.
- Our third Tesla is a 2021 Model Y Long Range, VIN 75749. It's named Noob-Noob and is finished in Multicoat Red, black interior, and 19" Geminis. The Dual Motor configuration was the primary impetus for purchasing Noob-Noob since I was living in Chicago. M3 Hammer performed admirably in the Chicago snow, but I wanted as much of a safety margin as possible (given that I was a Houstonian experiencing cold weather driving for the first time). Noob-Noob also got the Acceleration Boost upgrade a few months after delivery; it's still with us today and currently has roughly 27,000 miles.
- Our fourth Tesla is a 2022 Model Y Long Range named Shelly. As the "A" in the VIN A005487 indicates, this one's a Giga Texas car--the fit and finish is impeccable! Shelly's finished in Midnight Silver paint, black interior, and 19" Geminis. It also has a tow hitch. Certain circumstances made it so that my sister needed a car on short notice, and supply shortages at the time meant we had virtually no control over specs--we had to be prepared to jump on any configuration. I firmly believed (and continue to believe) that the Model Y is still competitively priced at an MSRP of ~$60,000. Shelly's still with us and has roughly 8,000 miles.
- Our latest Tesla is a 2023 Model S Long Range, VIN 514858. Named Ultra Red Pill, this Model S is finished in Ultra Red Paint, cream interior, and 19" Tempests. Took delivery of Ultra Red Pill on June 15, 2023--almost exactly one decade after Silver Bullet! Very glad to be back in a Model S. Perhaps the only thing more amazing than Ultra Red Pill's improvements over the Classic Model S's is the price--while by no means trivial, it's definitely more palatable when compared against the price of a Model S 85 in 2013 (there's a great TeslaTap article with a line-by-line comparison). Now, 24 days after delivery, Ultra Red Pill's already got 1,691 miles on the clock!
- general detailing stuff like paint correction and ceramic coatings;
- hardwiring radar detectors for Classic Model S, Refresh Model S (16V), Model 3, and Model Y;
- running a TeslaMate Docker container that publishes vehicle data through MQTT for Home Assistant;
- using fire sale Intel 670p M.2 NVME SSDs as cheap and reliable TeslaCam drives;
- installing CAN harness that interfaces with the Scan My Tesla app for the Classic Model S, Refresh Model S, Model 3 (old connector), and Model Y (blue connector);
- setting up the Raspberry Pi Tesla Android Auto project.
Picture 1--Ultra Red Pill:
Picture 2--From left to right: Silver Bullet, M3 Hammer, Bluey (relative's car), and Noob-Noob:
Not pictured--Shelly (new fleet picture coming soon).
