Advice Needed: Convincing Husband to Go Tesla

[CharleyBC]

It's a go!

I'll be ordering before end of March!

Yay! Welcome to the family, Ms November. We look forward to hearing of your adventures. I predict a few miles down the road (literally and figuratively) your husband will in effect steal the car from you or demand his own. Either way, you become a two-Tesla household!

 

[brucet999]

Just to clarify, the car does have a fixed-gear "transmission" whose function is to gear down the motors.

Not a transmission, it's a reduction gear to change high rpm of motor to lower rpm of the wheels. All gasoline and diesel vehicles also have a reduction gear on the drive axle; as part of the differential.

Transmissions change gears to enable ICE engines to rev high enough at low speeds to generate enough torque. Electric motors generate full torque from the start, so gear changes are not necessary.

 

[brucet999]

The no sales tax and the $5k incentives are my no-brainers for an EV. He's more open to other EV's as his sister bought a Volt a few years ago.
We live 10 minutes from a service center
We have a driveway and should be no problem installing a 240 charger if need be. My daily commute to/from work is about 12 miles per day, with working 1 day at home. I drive a lot more on the weekends but to give you an idea of my usage, I put less than 40k on my current car in 6 years.

"Filling the tank" at home is a big advantage. By all means have a 240V plug installed. You may already have a dryer plug in the garage.

Would he avoid golf carts because he doesn't understand how they work?

Tell him also, that when you take your foot off the accelerator, the motor works as generator, returning power to the battery and slowing the car down without having to use the brakes (until the last 5 mph). You may never have to replace brake pads on your Model 3. That's another savings in operating costs.

 

[gigawatt1010]

It's a go!

I'll be ordering before end of March! Still need to get the outlet set up for charging, get his '95 Ford Ranger out of the driveway, and see if I have any mechanically-inclined friends that would want to take the Eclipse off my hands once its delivered.

Congrats @ellienovember! I'm sure you'll post up here once you have it. If you're using Paramus SC, look for Andrea if you have any service needs. She's excellent!

 

[dmurphy]

look for Andrea

*** THE BEST!! *** Can't say enough great things about the entire Paramus crew!

 

[Saghost]

Tell him also, that when you take your foot off the accelerator, the motor works as generator, returning power to the battery and slowing the car down without having to use the brakes (until the last 5 mph). You may never have to replace brake pads on your Model 3. That's another savings in operating costs.

Any modern Tesla with recent firmware has Hold driving mode, which will bring the car to a complete stop without hitting the brakes.

It’s only pre-Raven S/X that didn’t get that in a firmware update last year, because of the hardware differences.

 

[ElectricIAC]

Any modern Tesla with recent firmware has Hold driving mode, which will bring the car to a complete stop without hitting the brakes.

It’s only pre-Raven S/X that didn’t get that in a firmware update last year, because of the hardware differences.

Good knowledge to have for someone who buys an older Tesla.

 

[Dan203]

I think I'm gonna go with black, sorry blue team!

Just a minor FYI but black seems to be the color most reported on the forum to have paint issues. Maybe that's coincidence, but Tesla did switch the default color from black to white last year. So it could be that they just have trouble with black paint for whatever reason. So if you do get black make sure you inspect the paint thoroughly and make them fix any issues.

Might also want to consider a clear bra as well. From what I understand they use a white/gray primer even under the black paint so if you get a chip it stands out like a sore thumb.

 

[ElectricIAC]

Our 2018 3MR was mostly flawless in Black but there were spots in the trunk/frunk where a little more care could have been taken. Perhaps it’s gotten better?

What about interior? If Black exterior is your ultimate choice then I can say for certainty that Black/White really makes it pop.

 

[CharleyBC]

From what I understand they use a white/gray primer even under the black paint so if you get a chip it stands out like a sore thumb.

Interesting. Ours is white, and the little chips reveal the black plastic of the bumper, so they stand out like sore thumbs. I guess you can't win.

 

[ellienovember]

Just a minor FYI but black seems to be the color most reported on the forum to have paint issues. Maybe that's coincidence, but Tesla did switch the default color from black to white last year. So it could be that they just have trouble with black paint for whatever reason. So if you do get black make sure you inspect the paint thoroughly and make them fix any issues.

Might also want to consider a clear bra as well. From what I understand they use a white/gray primer even under the black paint so if you get a chip it stands out like a sore thumb.

Good to know. I thought I was sold on the black but I might be more open to others. Not a red fan, or a white, but grey or blue are possibilities. I've personally not seen the blue in real life though - seems like it would be a little flashy, like turn-heads noticeable?

 

[focher]

- Tesla considers themselves a software company first, not everything, but a lot of their software sucks in many ways - auto wipers suck, auto high beam sucks, Sentry sucks, Dashcam sucks, AP sucks, FSD sucks. All really bad software that requires taking out the programmers for regular caning. And it's not "improving" like they would want you to believe.

Not even close. Tesla has, by far, the leading software stack (and hardware) of any auto manufacturer. It's not even close. Every single car gets better over time through those OTA software updates.

 

[SageBrush]

Good to know. I thought I was sold on the black but I might be more open to others. Not a red fan, or a white, but grey or blue are possibilities. I've personally not seen the blue in real life though - seems like it would be a little flashy, like turn-heads noticeable?

I turn my head at every Tesla that passes. It's going to get tedious when every other car is a Tesla, but I'll just tell myself that it is good for my neck.

 

[ellienovember]

Also - while this thread is still so active - question for everyone:

The M3 doesn't lose battery for non-use, does it? Say I park it with 50% charge on a Saturday, would I still be good the following Saturday to drive it home? This would only be a once a year occurence, definitely not often.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Not even close. Tesla has, by far, the leading software stack (and hardware) of any auto manufacturer. It's not even close. Every single car gets better over time through those OTA software updates.

There's always going to be fanboys that are dreamers. It seems to get down the road ok, but the all the things I mentioned are indeed poorly written code that has barely gotten better over the last 3 years. Anyone that uses those features will know, so no need to come to Tesla's defense, because it's a waste of your time. Sure, you'll get more fanboys backing you up, but all the posts on the forum from personal experience is all the evidence you'll need to know I am right and you are wrong.

I laugh when people say Tesla is the most advanced car because they can control some electric motors and it has fart mode. The software needed to run today's gasoline and hybrid engines and their transmissions is far more advanced and took a lot more R&D to refine. Plus every other car in the world can figure out when to wipe the windshield. Com'on Tesla!

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Also - while this thread is still so active - question for everyone:

The M3 doesn't lose battery for non-use, does it? Say I park it with 50% charge on a Saturday, would I still be good the following Saturday to drive it home? This would only be a once a year occurence, definitely not often.

Yeah, that would not be good. It loses a lot of battery just sitting. You can turn some stuff off, but you better leave it with 90% charge when you leave for a week.

 

[CharleyBC]

Also - while this thread is still so active - question for everyone:

The M3 doesn't lose battery for non-use, does it? Say I park it with 50% charge on a Saturday, would I still be good the following Saturday to drive it home? This would only be a once a year occurence, definitely not often.

It does lose some charge just sitting. How much is a function of several variables, most of which you have control over. If you leave Sentry Mode or Summon Standby on, those can burn about a mile an hour. Sentry will shut itself off at 20% to protect you. Even if you turn off the various bonus features, count on losing a mile or two daily. Your week-long scenario should be just fine. Oh, and in warm weather, Cabin Overheat Protection can use up battery keeping the car from getting super hot; again, it's optional to use.

 

[CharleyBC]

Yeah, that would not be good. It loses a lot of battery just sitting. You can turn some stuff off, but you better leave it with 90% charge when you leave for a week.

I would respectfully disagree. If you turn off all the optional drains, you should lose maybe 7-15 miles in a week. So if you leave it at 50%, you come home to 45%. YMMV.

 

[DCGOO]

Just to clarify, the car does have a fixed-gear "transmission" whose function is to gear down the motors. It is like the difference between a 10-speed bike (10 gears) and the first Schwinn bike you had as a kid with "no gears" (in reality, 1 gear). The Tesla is mechanically so simple relative to a car with an engine and a transmission that you can practically feel the simplicity when you drive it. Everything is so smooth that it makes you question why we have been driving overly complex machines for so long.
You'll love it.

Not even a reverse gear. Instead, the motor turns backwards!

 

[Jenremoved]

Mine is black and I think it looks great.