"Always" seem to be explaining what newer models have on year old S

[Chopr147]

Like the title says: I always seem to be explaining what newer models have over my 1 year old S.
Like many Tesla owners I get many questions and I am happy to answer. I have had my S a year in August. I have given rides, let friends drive it and even let my 21 year old son take it out a few times. (IK crazy)
As we Tesla owners know people always have questions. My family was surprised when I said I would never have an ICE car again if I can help it. Surprised because I am known as the Corvette guy who likes to tinker with the engine. No more grease for me! At least on my own cars, kids have older rides that need maintenance.
Talking about the 17" screen which everyone loves: slow internet but newer models have better computer.
Fewer cameras and will never be full autonomy. Newer has faster processing speeds.
No USB ports, Apple Play, talk to text that my wife's car has had for 5 years. Still doesn't have I believe.
Now, I am NOT complaining though it appears that way. I did my research and knew Tesla may make my car "old" a month after I bought it. I absolutely LOVE my car and have zero regrets about the timing of purchase.
I just seem to have a habit of "defending" Tesla as a fanboy and feel a need to explain the improvements.
Also to show I did not get the top 'o the line and am still a middle class homeboy

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I just tell people I love the car and will never go back to a gasoline car. I tell them I haven't been to a gas station in four years. I tell them that driving this car is like driving their car with a full tank every morning. And that long distance travel is FREE. There are some aspects of ownership that transcend specific features.

 

[AEdennis]

I like to tell folks that I am "Otto" the pilot when I drive and my wife is in the passenger seat. And he reverse when she is driving me while I sit in the passenger seat.

 

[Max*]

I don't try to downplay what the car has or what it doesn't have.

To strangers I meet outside, I wouldn't even comment about what the car does wrong (not because I'm trying to hide it, but because they don't really car and are more interested in the high level stuff)

To people who do express an interest, I give them details of what the car can and cannot do. And mention that the newer ones promise to do more, but only time will tell.

If we REALLY get into the weeds of details, I do mention that some of the software could use some work (waypoints for the nav, better media player, better browser, etc.), it's not perfect, but it's pretty damn awesome.

I usually also comment that I won't be going back to an ICE. I'm not sure I'd buy another car in this price range, but my next car will definitely be an EV.

 

[Chopr147]

I usually also comment that I won't be going back to an ICE.

That is one statement we all make. Maybe I get into details a little too much. I may be boring people with my tech talk and getting into the nitty gritty but my wife doesn't listen anymore and I need an outlet other than TMC.
I was talking to friend about the car and he cut me off and said " I don't care about that stuff, how fast is it?"
My problem is TMC and all the research I have done,(prior to buying)the every day Elon tweets, news about Tesla I read etc.........If someone asks me about Tesla I usually know the answer. or mentions an article , I probably already read it

 

[alapd]

I don't think that makes you a fanboy. You know what the company is and that it will always continue to strive to improve, and is not a traditional car company with traditional refreshes and model years. But that is why you also purchased the car, because it is not traditional. It's good you don't put your self worth into having the latest and greatest model and cry when it changes. This is a much more enjoyable path you have chosen!

 

[TexLaw]

If someone is truly interested in the car or EV in general, I am happy to discuss the subject and my experience. That is a fun and interesting conversation.

However, if someone is baiting me to defend my choice to drive a Tesla, I just don't have time for that any more than I have time to defend why I enjoy a certain food, band, film, shirt, sport, etc. That's just dealing with someone who's looking for ammo, and I will not supply them. I politely move on to something else with a comment something like "I don't know how to explain the experience, but I love it."

 

[Ugliest1]

No USB ports? The newer cars don't come with two USB ports and a 12V port like my Dec 2013 build does?

 

[brianman]

No USB ports? The newer cars don't come with two USB ports and a 12V port like my Dec 2013 build does?

I suspect he meant for the rear occupants.

 

[Kross]

No USB ports? The newer cars don't come with two USB ports and a 12V port like my Dec 2013 build does?

I can confirm that I have 2 USB ports, right next to the 12V power outlet, center console, in my 2016.

 

[Aieukl378]

Like the title says: I always seem to be explaining what newer models have over my 1 year old S.
Like many Tesla owners I get many questions and I am happy to answer. I have had my S a year in August. I have given rides, let friends drive it and even let my 21 year old son take it out a few times. (IK crazy)
As we Tesla owners know people always have questions. My family was surprised when I said I would never have an ICE car again if I can help it. Surprised because I am known as the Corvette guy who likes to tinker with the engine. No more grease for me! At least on my own cars, kids have older rides that need maintenance.
Talking about the 17" screen which everyone loves: slow internet but newer models have better computer.
Fewer cameras and will never be full autonomy. Newer has faster processing speeds.
No USB ports, Apple Play, talk to text that my wife's car has had for 5 years. Still doesn't have I believe.
Now, I am NOT complaining though it appears that way. I did my research and knew Tesla may make my car "old" a month after I bought it. I absolutely LOVE my car and have zero regrets about the timing of purchase.
I just seem to have a habit of "defending" Tesla as a fanboy and feel a need to explain the improvements.
Also to show I did not get the top 'o the line and am still a middle class homeboy

I just hit my one year anniversary(16000 mi) and this car blows me away every time I drive it. Still feels like it's from 50 years in the future!

 

[David29]

I have been to a few EV events, cars shows, and dealers' "Cars & Coffee" events to show the car and promote EVs. One thing I did to help provide basic information is to make up two cards with basic specs that I place on the windshield or in the frunk, depending upon circumstances. One card lists the specs for my car (model, horsepower and torque, top speed, 0-60 time, etc.) The second card lists the specs for the current set of Model S configurations. Not everyone reads these, of course, but having the specs in sight is helpful for me, too, so I can refer to the cards for accurate info, especially for new cars whose specs keep changing.
My cards are only 8-1/2 x 11, but I have seen on other Model S owner who had a large display board made at Staples or Kinkos, which he sets in his frunk. It is self-supporting, includes colored photos and much more information than mine, and is much more prominent and readable. I might do something like that for future shows...

 

[bob_p]

You think it's bad for a one year old car - our first Model S P85 was built at the end of 2012. Since then, Tesla has added - power folding mirrors, TACC, AP1, EAP (well, at least we have the extra sensors), power headrest height adjustment, automatic brights, summons, ultra white seats (they look great in our S 100D), improved air filtration, LED headlights, removed nose cone, 2.x second 0-60 acceleration, ...

Yes, every time major features came out - we'd go through a period of feature envy and get tempted to pull the trigger on ordering a new Model S - and that went quickly away when we get back in the car - because even without all of the extra feature, our S P85 is still a fantastic car today - and approaching 100K miles, it is still in great condition.

We finally broke down and bought a new Model S when the S 100D came out - because the combination of the autopilot (with the possibility of future full self driving) and the much longer range was significant enough to warrant buying another $100+K car from Tesla. Our S P85 has lost a little range, with the 90% charge typically around 225 miles - and our new S 100D is getting around 300 miles on a 90% charge. Plus with the dual motor configuration, the S 100D is more efficient at highway speeds, reducing stops at superchargers for our typical road trips.

We're expecting to go through the feature envy again with our S 100D. Tesla will continue to innovate - new features will be added. Some of them we might regret not having (such as Supercharger V3 charging in 5-10 minutes), but it won't be enough to convince us to buy another Model S for at least a few years...

 

[croman]

FYI, newer cars have 2 USB ports for the rear passengers as well. They are near the rear HVAC vents in the center console (by the cup holder that retracts).

 

[bob_p]

And they've added the rear cup holders, the console is now standard, ... Quite a few improvements since the first Model S production cars. Though still, our S P85 is a great car...

 

[whitex]

Like the title says: I always seem to be explaining what newer models have over my 1 year old S.
Like many Tesla owners I get many questions and I am happy to answer. I have had my S a year in August. I have given rides, let friends drive it and even let my 21 year old son take it out a few times. (IK crazy)
As we Tesla owners know people always have questions. My family was surprised when I said I would never have an ICE car again if I can help it. Surprised because I am known as the Corvette guy who likes to tinker with the engine. No more grease for me! At least on my own cars, kids have older rides that need maintenance.
Talking about the 17" screen which everyone loves: slow internet but newer models have better computer.
Fewer cameras and will never be full autonomy. Newer has faster processing speeds.
No USB ports, Apple Play, talk to text that my wife's car has had for 5 years. Still doesn't have I believe.
Now, I am NOT complaining though it appears that way. I did my research and knew Tesla may make my car "old" a month after I bought it. I absolutely LOVE my car and have zero regrets about the timing of purchase.
I just seem to have a habit of "defending" Tesla as a fanboy and feel a need to explain the improvements.
Also to show I did not get the top 'o the line and am still a middle class homeboy

Maybe you wouldn't have to be doing as much explaining if you did some fact checking first (it may also make you feel better about how "outdated" your car is). Going through your points:
1. "Talking about the 17" screen which everyone loves: slow internet but newer models have better computer."
Not true. Model S and X has had the very same computer since the beginning. It is just as slow in our 2017 as it is in 2015 as it was in 2013. The only difference is LTE vs. 3G, but that's not really the bottleneck, so the screen is just as slow.
2. Fewer cameras and will never be full autonomy.
Yes fewer cameras, but AP2 will not be fully autonomous. Today it's still less capable than AP1, and in the end it may be more capable, but chances of it being fully autonomous are less than a chance that Elon's idea to use parking sensor for BSM (blind spot monitoring) - just because Elon thought it would work, doesn't make it so.
3. Newer has faster processing speeds.
Yes, but it doesn't achieve anything more with those speeds. AP1 does more with less processing speed than AP2 does today with more. Someday, maybe it will surpass, but by then there will be AP4 and AP2 will get little to no attention, like AP1 today, so for example they broke speed limit conversion when I drive to Canada from US and switch the car to km, and it's been broken for months now (it keeps telling me speed limit is 160km/h on the highways) - Tesla doesn't care to fix old product.
4. No USB ports
There are USB ports in all Model S's. Not sure whether your car has rear USB or not, but if not, yes, that is one minor difference you could solve with a $5 USB extension cable.
5. [No] Apple Play, talk to text that my wife's car has had for 5 years.
Correct, but newest Tesla's don't have that either, so no need to explain.
6. I did my research and knew Tesla may make my car "old" a month after I bought it.
Yes, Tesla's absolutely keep changing, but none of the above things you explain to people are those changes. Your sig doesn't say which one you have, so I can't tell you what actually changed for your trim level. Maybe do a little more research, or go test drive the latest equivalent Model S trim that you have, and see whether you notice anything different, or even something you would want. We have a 2015 and 2017, and I must tell you, I have no desire whatsoever to upgrade the 2015.

 

[NikeWings]

I'm dragging my butt out of the office right now, and smiling like this as I sit in my year old S.
Worried whether or not there are 2 USB ports in the back? LOLOLOL

 

[Tony8489]

Supercharger V3 charging in 5-10 minutes

That's the only feature that would make me think about trading in my Model S prematurely. Maybe some level of true self-driving, but I'd be surprised to see that within 5 years or so.

 

[bob_p]

That was the one feature that caused some hesitation when my finger was poised over the "purchase" button for our S 100D.

However... With the longer range of the S 100D (300 miles at 90%), we've eliminated SC stops completely on our most frequent road trip (190 miles one way) and for the other typical road trip (290 miles one way), we don't mind stopping for a few minutes for a break.

Other than that, we might do one long haul road trip per year - the rest of the time we charge at home.

So, like the pay-for-use supercharging, at least for us, there would be minimal impact for the faster charging speeds with SC V3.

At the time we placed our S 100D order, Tesla wasn't offering the FUSC (free unlimited supercharging), so it was pretty easy to also estimate how much time we might save each year with an SC V3 charger - and neither the loss of FUSC of lack of SC V3 really has much overall impact.

Though we did appreciate getting FUSC added after we received the car...

 

[Chopr147]

I have been to a few EV events, cars shows, and dealers' "Cars & Coffee" events to show the car and promote EVs. One thing I did to help provide basic information is to make up two cards with basic specs that I place on the windshield or in the frunk, depending upon circumstances. One card lists the specs for my car (model, horsepower and torque, top speed, 0-60 time, etc.) The second card lists the specs for the current set of Model S configurations. Not everyone reads these, of course, but having the specs in sight is helpful for me, too, so I can refer to the cards for accurate info, especially for new cars whose specs keep changing.
My cards are only 8-1/2 x 11, but I have seen on other Model S owner who had a large display board made at Staples or Kinkos, which he sets in his frunk. It is self-supporting, includes colored photos and much more information than mine, and is much more prominent and readable. I might do something like that for future shows...

That's a good idea! I did the EV car show last year and plan on doing it again. This year i'm doing a car show in my lake community upstate NY. Should be interesting because I never see another Tesla in this area. ( I say never but yesterday (first time in a year) saw an X and flashed the lights, got a flash back)

As far as the USB ports, sorry I meant rear ports. Not a big deal, but for an $80,000 "high tech" car not to have rear ports? Glad Tesla addressed this.
Like I said i'm not really complaining. I would like to purchase this car after the lease is up in 2019. I am more than happy with what I have.
I keep telling people that no matter the gas prices, EV's are just so much better!