CleanTechnica published a nice article about a Santa Barbara Tesla store experience: The Tesla Dealership Experience + AutoPilot Test Drive | CleanTechnica
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
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A Tesla Store and Autopilot Encounter
- Thread starter Electric700
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"About the Tesla dealership culture…. It is worth noting that I didn’t roll into the dealership by myself. I had my wife and 2 kids, which is extremely relevant in a dealership selling $70,000–130,000 cars. Normally, the attitude is stuffy. Everyone is paranoid about the kids and what they are going to touch (break), where they go, how they interact with the cars, etc. In the Tesla dealership, I was more concerned with them not doing damage to the car than the folks who were helping me. My kids are admittedly on the mellow side, but still ventured into the frunk, the trunk, played with the charging port incessantly (I learned it can be opened by pushing the front of it), and the touchscreen."
This reminds me. I was in the new Ala Moana Tesla Store last weekend. Two kids were in a P90D. The kid in the driver's seat was yanking down the left stalk in an attempt to break it. I was mortified. My mother tried to politely ask them to let us have a turn with the car (read: stopping them from damaging the car), but they said "you can get in the back seats!" :cursing:
On a separate note, don't turn on the AC in the Tesla cars. It spills large amounts of water on the floor.
This reminds me. I was in the new Ala Moana Tesla Store last weekend. Two kids were in a P90D. The kid in the driver's seat was yanking down the left stalk in an attempt to break it. I was mortified. My mother tried to politely ask them to let us have a turn with the car (read: stopping them from damaging the car), but they said "you can get in the back seats!" :cursing:
On a separate note, don't turn on the AC in the Tesla cars. It spills large amounts of water on the floor.
The reporter has a basic fact wrong. There is no such thing as a Tesla dealership. People are so used to "dealers" being the only business model of selling cars that they call the place where you buy a car a "dealership" even when it's not. A Tesla Store is no more a Tesla dealership than an Apple Store is an Apple dealership.
gavine
Petrol Head turned EV Enthusiast
The showroom cars should have a "showroom mode" to locks-out certain things, like the AC.
That is true for all cars, not just Teslas. AC units cool air resulting in condensation. In humid climates like Hawaii, car AC units produce a lot of liquid water which is vented out the bottom of the vehicle.
And more importantly, keep the fob in aluminum foil or away from the car so that hitting the accelerator doesn't turn the car on and run into/over anyone.
That is what truly scares me...
That is what truly scares me...
As you're probably aware, it's a little more involved than that - with the key in the car and the kid in the driver's seat, he still has to hit the brake pedal for a bit, then shift the car into gear, and then hit the accelerator to run someone over.
Locking the key away from kids is certainly a good idea, but they have to go through a sequence of actions to get into serious trouble.
Walter
Apparently in China a child managed to drive a Model S and hit someone (I think they hit someone, my memory is a bit vague on this) inside a Tesla store.
This resulted in a lot of bad publicity for Tesla and some suspicion it may have been staged by someone with a grudge against Tesla but it just seemed to me like something that was bound to happen unless precautions (like keeping the fobs out of radio range) had been taken to ensure it could not.
This resulted in a lot of bad publicity for Tesla and some suspicion it may have been staged by someone with a grudge against Tesla but it just seemed to me like something that was bound to happen unless precautions (like keeping the fobs out of radio range) had been taken to ensure it could not.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Good point. Now that I think about it, most of the Tesla s I have seen in showrooms have been plugged in.
BozieBeMe2
May I have this dance?
Very nice article.
Personally, I haven't stepped foot inside a Tesla showroom, nor taken a test drive.
I know I'll instantly be hooked and I'm not quite ready to pull the trigger YET.
True!
I just dropped in to see what a Tesla was, first hand.
Ha! I was instantly smitten - Love at first drive.
I instantly was in love and have never regretted giving my heart away. Every day I walk out to the garage and start grinnin'.
She, yes SHE,, is beautiful Fast and you have to admit, FUN
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
Happy New Year!
Great point. I think the UMC needs to only be plugged into the car and doesn't have to be connected to an outlet too, correct?
Also TexasEV, I agree that Tesla stores are not dealerships and there's a big difference, probably the main one being that the prices of Tesla cars are predetermined since you can just order them online, adding the options you like at predetermined costs. In a dealership, they may arbitrarily charge much more for the options you want or add other packages on that you're not interested in.
Hmm. The car is sensing the physical presence of the plug rather than anything electrical, right?
I think that means you could disable the car like this using just the J1772 adapter If you didn't want the cord dangling to trip over...
Walter
Ooohh, yes! I like the UMC trick even better , and J1772 adapter idea is great too.
Although one of my favorite games to play with the littlest ones is: "can you find the engine?"
And when the 8 or 9 year olds ask "is it really all electric?" I ask them if they can find where I plug it in.
, and J1772 adapter idea is great too.Although one of my favorite games to play with the littlest ones is: "can you find the engine?"
And when the 8 or 9 year olds ask "is it really all electric?" I ask them if they can find where I plug it in.
stephenpace
VIN S00219
Five star pro-tip.
Ditto. That is one of the enhancements I've raised to the firmware team--there should be a 'car show' mode that prevents the car from going into gear while allowing all other functions to work. But this trick is a good way to force that.
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