Advice Needed: Convincing Husband to Go Tesla
- Thread starter ellienovember
- Start date
Congratulations! You will never regret this. And you'll find yourself smiling every time you go in the garage and see it there. Best thing we ever did was get our Model S. Doesn't matter what model you get, as long as it's Tesla.
DWhatley
Member
LOL, I just found this thread and wanted to do a quick, "me too" share. Spouse was not against the tech when I wanted to put down $1,000 at the unveiling but was afraid of losing the money if Tesla went bankrupt. By summer 2018, he decided the company might be around awhile and now has to take his car around the block once a week on garbage day to keep the battery charged. I am not crazy about my M3 being the family car and will be very happy when he finally gets his own fully electric (scheduled for 2 years out)!
Torque Monster
Member
The mobile Ranger service has been life changing experience for me. If the hubby is fearful of any problem, the service techs come to where your are, in your drive way or at work.
The.cost of the electrical work should depend on how far the wiring has to be run for the NEMA plug and If the fus box needs modification. Definitely a confidence to have charging at home.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
MrMassTransit
Supporting Member
It's a bit of both if you are looking to have a fairly high amperage connection. 6 or 4 gauge wire is pretty expensive per foot so even a long, obstacle-free run will add to the cost. If going with something like 8 gauge, thats a bit less of a factor.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
The cost of material gets lost in the cost of labor.
Electricians charge $1 - $2 a minute for labor
DWhatley
Member
A grinning update to my, "me too" experience. Spouse is scheduled to get a new car (his last, where the M3 is my last - yea we are old) in roughly 2 years. We have both been excited about his initial choice of a VW bus. Tonight I mentioned that he is free to look at other cars as they come out and he said he has been doing just that. I mentioned a couple that he might like (like the Mach E or the Cyber Truck) and he surprised me by saying that he wants to look at the Y.
Hugh-SG
Member
4 days to go and I would say both the Hubbie and the kids are climbing the walls in anticipation.
May an ole timer offer a few words of wisdom to the young lady who is joining the Tesla family...
One pedal driving IS different so think about the following...
1.. Get the Delivery Specialist to put the vehicle into Chill mode, not Normal...
Chill will give you acceleration just like your old vehicle, so if you have to "stomp on it" in an emergency to avoid a bad situation, you will not leave your family's heads in the truck. For someone who has never driven an EV, "Normal" mode in a Tesla is breath taking fast. "Ludicrous Mode" is just that, a high G-Force rocket just got turned loose.
Hard acceleration to high speed quickly means longer stopping distance on short notice.
2... set ReGen braking to Normal and Steering to Normal..
Again, Normal Steering get behavior out of the car you are "used to". Normal ReGen gives nice smooth electric braking when ever you easy your foot off of the throttle (accelerator peddle).
Do note on a "cold day", ReGen is very "soft" until the battery warms up thru driving and braking for a bit. So be ready to hear the sound of your Disc brakes activating.
3.. Pedestrians will NOT hear you coming, until you are VERY close to them. Your car is that quiet, so watch out for pedestrians.
4... long after the kids and Hubbie are in bed, do expect to find your self out in your car at 10:30pm in the evening in bathrobe and slippers, endlessly exploring all the controls and features.
Finally....
5..... The Frunk (aka Front Trunk) is a great place for Take Away food if you are bringing home a Pizza or what ever. Keeps the kids from nibbling at it, less chance of a mess on the floor if you happen to hit the brakes without warning, and your vehicle will not smell like a Pizza delivery van next morning.
Good luck and welcome to the future.
Kindest regards,
Hugh-SG
20(ish) vs. 1000(ish) moving parts in a Tesla vs. an Internal Combustion Engine is pretty astounding to consider.
jrweiss98020
Tessa's Tesla
1. BUT... Explore Normal mode and its acceleration, so you know the difference. You may want it occasionally - or all the time, once you learn the car. All it takes is a bit of foot discipline...
3. New cars - built after Sep 1, 2019, have a pedestrian warning tone that broadcasts from the front right fender at speeds 1-19 mph. The tone in Drive is not that noticeable inside the car; and the tone in Reverse is really cool!
6. Don't forget Stopping mode to HOLD. This sets you up for true 1-pedal driving in MOST circumstances - automatic hill-holding, regen all the way to a stop, minimum use of brakes. Once you get used to it, you'll REALLY like it!
DWhatley
Member
As another "old timer" I'll chime in with my 2 cents. The suggested, "more like an ICE car settings", ONLY apply if you were driving something slow and boring. If your old car was a stick shift use full regen from the get go (it feels a lot like down shifting -- I reached for the shifter once and the clutch twice after more than 40 years driving a manual transmission). Do turn on Hill Hold (a feature I wanted and delighted when it showed up in an update). If you are accustomed to a sports car, forget the chill mode for acceleration and start with the steering on sport. I realize not every woman that chooses a M3 has been driving fun for 50+ years but I hate the assumption that we haven't!
My husband likes cars that are less dynamic so he still uses many of the, "more like an ICE car" settings (I think he has changed the chill mode to standard not though). He has to switch between my car and his CMax Energi hybrid and is finding it harder and harder to use his car at all. Once the M3 is paid for (and we save up a decent down payment), he is definitely anticipating getting a full BEV.
The cold day concern is real no matter what ICE car you may have driven and takes some getting used to. I wish they would modify it to automatically bleed off the energy or use the brakes when regen is not available so that it is consistent -- fortunately, the limitation does not last for very long (notice the gray broken/dotted line at the top of the left hand screen display). The after hours fun, pedestrian concern and pizza delivery box are spot on too.
My husband likes cars that are less dynamic so he still uses many of the, "more like an ICE car" settings (I think he has changed the chill mode to standard not though). He has to switch between my car and his CMax Energi hybrid and is finding it harder and harder to use his car at all. Once the M3 is paid for (and we save up a decent down payment), he is definitely anticipating getting a full BEV.
The cold day concern is real no matter what ICE car you may have driven and takes some getting used to. I wish they would modify it to automatically bleed off the energy or use the brakes when regen is not available so that it is consistent -- fortunately, the limitation does not last for very long (notice the gray broken/dotted line at the top of the left hand screen display). The after hours fun, pedestrian concern and pizza delivery box are spot on too
.
MichaelP90DL
Active Member
DWhatley
Member
Actually, those were the ONLY times I tried to shift since August 2018. I was amazed since I have been known to stomp a wide brake pedal from time to time when I have had to drive a camper or pickup for one reason or another.
yerEVan
Member
MichaelP90DL
Active Member
Wait until you get mailings from the Neptune Society.
yerEVan
Member
Seems a bit grim. That I think is an “Old Fart”, not “Old Timer”.
DWhatley
Member
Tell Hubby he will never have soooo much fun as he will driving it. Watch as he makes excuses to drive it. Oh look the mails in, let me drive the 20’ to the mailbox and back. Gee, I just noticed I need a new caflunker, it’s only available at the plumping warehouse in the next state, you don’t mind if I use your car to run out there...
No needed to worry about how it works, it’s an electric motor(s) or 2 electric motors (AWD), and they replace the differentials, If he feels the overwhelming need to work on it, he can replace the brakes, calipers, wipers, cabin filters, tires, & wiper fluid they will all need replacing at some point. Ohh and for extra credit he can rotate the tires every 10k miles. He only needs to use the jack point behind the front wheel to lift the entire side of car to rotate them. Tell him to make sure he washes and waxes the inside of the wheel rims when he takes them off to rotate. Now he can feel he’s doing something with the car.
Other things to consider, Christmas morning every time a new software release comes out, they average about 1 a month. As someone else pointed out, sitting in the car in your bathrobe playing with all the fun capabilities or maybe just watching a movie. It’s fun even when you’re not driving it. If he’s into video games, they have you covered on that too, so if he is missing, check the car.
We have over 40K miles on our model 3 and it’s over a year old and it is still sooo much fun. We do a lot of traveling in it all over the east coast and midwest all four seasons without an issue, finding a charger is a non event and getting more so everyday. We have even slept/camped in it over night in national/state and private campgrounds (charge up at your campsite). The climate control stays on all night, wake to full battery, hit the bathroom and showers, change and get back on the road, for $20-$35 for the night. There are numerous mattress that fit the car perfectly out in the market.
I would suggest getting a spray bottle filling it with window cleaner pack some paper towels or a micro towel we use rain x and it works wonderfully. Now when you stop to charge, you can clean your windows, gives you something to do. Superchargers don’t have window cleaning. Winter months you get salt, all other months you get bugs or road gunk.
Autopilot and Navigate on Autopilot (if you opt for FSD), make long trips much easier, you don’t drive you just supervise and watch for road debris, pot holes, wildlife, etc (nothing in the software tells the car what to do if it encounters these nemesis in the lane of travel). It initially takes a little getting use to what the steering wheel requires to stay in autopilot or NoA, you either keep knocking it out of autopilot or you get the message and blue screen telling you to apply slight torque to the wheel. Only takes a few instances before you get it down and it becomes 2nd nature to you. Autopilot is just another fun and really cool capability, it will help explain the earlier comment about your hubby and the so called caflunker in the next state.
You will really enjoy the car, it never seems to get old, fighting over it may though… so be prepared to buy a 2nd one. Welcome to the new era.
No needed to worry about how it works, it’s an electric motor(s) or 2 electric motors (AWD), and they replace the differentials, If he feels the overwhelming need to work on it, he can replace the brakes, calipers, wipers, cabin filters, tires, & wiper fluid they will all need replacing at some point. Ohh and for extra credit he can rotate the tires every 10k miles. He only needs to use the jack point behind the front wheel to lift the entire side of car to rotate them. Tell him to make sure he washes and waxes the inside of the wheel rims when he takes them off to rotate. Now he can feel he’s doing something with the car.
Other things to consider, Christmas morning every time a new software release comes out, they average about 1 a month. As someone else pointed out, sitting in the car in your bathrobe playing with all the fun capabilities or maybe just watching a movie. It’s fun even when you’re not driving it. If he’s into video games, they have you covered on that too, so if he is missing, check the car.
We have over 40K miles on our model 3 and it’s over a year old and it is still sooo much fun. We do a lot of traveling in it all over the east coast and midwest all four seasons without an issue, finding a charger is a non event and getting more so everyday. We have even slept/camped in it over night in national/state and private campgrounds (charge up at your campsite). The climate control stays on all night, wake to full battery, hit the bathroom and showers, change and get back on the road, for $20-$35 for the night. There are numerous mattress that fit the car perfectly out in the market.
I would suggest getting a spray bottle filling it with window cleaner pack some paper towels or a micro towel we use rain x and it works wonderfully. Now when you stop to charge, you can clean your windows, gives you something to do. Superchargers don’t have window cleaning. Winter months you get salt, all other months you get bugs or road gunk.
Autopilot and Navigate on Autopilot (if you opt for FSD), make long trips much easier, you don’t drive you just supervise and watch for road debris, pot holes, wildlife, etc (nothing in the software tells the car what to do if it encounters these nemesis in the lane of travel). It initially takes a little getting use to what the steering wheel requires to stay in autopilot or NoA, you either keep knocking it out of autopilot or you get the message and blue screen telling you to apply slight torque to the wheel. Only takes a few instances before you get it down and it becomes 2nd nature to you. Autopilot is just another fun and really cool capability, it will help explain the earlier comment about your hubby and the so called caflunker in the next state.
You will really enjoy the car, it never seems to get old, fighting over it may though… so be prepared to buy a 2nd one. Welcome to the new era.
