Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Educating other Model S owners

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
This is a very interesting discussion. Prior to my Model S I was a Leaf owner. I came to the table with a fair bit of knowledge on what it means to drive electric. That being said there is so much to learn about the car it can be overwhelming. From setting up / using the scroll wheels to taking multi day trips. 18 months and 30K miles later I am still learning. I think it would be too much to expect the delivery specialist to cover all the possibilities. I'd hazard a guess most folks just want to sync their phone and then go drive (haha). In addition to this forum, Owning Model S and Tesla Model S Best Car Ever are two resources I steer new owners to.
 
On my recent road trip I encountered several non-enthusiast Model S owners who plugged in at the shared plug to my Model S and took some of my power. I even politely educated them, and in several cases they just ignored me.
Yeah, a couple months back I was at the SJC SC and educated a guy on that who had purchased his MS long before I did. But I was using 4a, which doesn't share and he was plugged into 3b which was sharing with 3a (and the guy on 3a was there before him). Opened his eyes when he saw how fast a charge I was getting compared to his, and I explained the whole sharing issue and that whenever possible he shouldn't plug into a shared setup if someone is already there. When I left, he switched over to 4a.
 
Last edited:
As others have said "took some power" is a bit dramatic. But it is true, when I arrive at 20 rated miles left my car is able to pull 120kW. And when someone arrives immediately after me, they reduce my power to 90kW. It delayed me a few minutes. No big deal. More important was they didn't listen to my suggestions they move so THEIR power level would be higher.

ah I didn't know this cap at 90kW when someone else plugs in.. thanks!
 
IMO, directing the type of owner we're discussing to TMC is a disservice. The information fire hose here is more than that group of owners wants to deal with.

I do think there's a small group of things that Tesla can / should to improve owner experience, for example:

- Integrate nav & energy apps to provide routing and recommended charge times for road trips. Ping the app when the car has sufficient charge to continue the journey.

- if stall selection is important, as others have mentioned, then make that information / recommendation available via the charging screen.

- offer videos on how to use some of the features that may not be covered in delivery walk through.

I'm sure that others could put together a more comprehensive list, but IMO, the car needs to help answer these questions for the owner at the time the information is needed and as mush as possible, keep the experience as simple as driving an ICE.

The remaining 10 percent will love coming to TMC to learn about the details.
 
- offer videos on how to use some of the features that may not be covered in delivery walk through.

+1. Tesla's walk-through video is old, and it doesn't cover nearly enough information. Tesla should have videos covering at a minimum:

1. At-home charging, including outlet options, best practices for daily charging, and charge scheduling.
2. Supercharging, including how the cabinets work and how to select the right stall.
3. Opening and closing the frunk.
4. Using the media player, including USB options, SiriusXM, bluetooth audio, and more information and tips on Slacker and TuneIn.
5. Voice commands in detail.
6. Navigation in detail.
7. Trip planning.
8. Customization including driver profiles.

This should make life easier for new owners and the DSs.


 
This is an interesting thread. And a formidable challenge once you think about it.

Maybe just my opinion, but like many other marques where there are performance cars in the line-up there is an enthusiast segment (those that want to know every little detail, read every manual, etc) and then... everyone else.

The everyone else segment just wants it to work like an appliance. Even if they read the manual/watch the video they'll soon forget it and become occupied with other parts of life. Really tough to induce much crossover. Not sure how much you can help people that really don't want to know, and are not particularly intersted in learning in the first place.
 
This is an interesting thread. And a formidable challenge once you think about it.

Maybe just my opinion, but like many other marques where there are performance cars in the line-up there is an enthusiast segment (those that want to know every little detail, read every manual, etc) and then... everyone else.

The everyone else segment just wants it to work like an appliance. Even if they read the manual/watch the video they'll soon forget it and become occupied with other parts of life. Really tough to induce much crossover. Not sure how much you can help people that really don't want to know, and are not particularly intersted in learning in the first place.

i agree. Although I'm on this forum way too much (like right now, for instance) and have learned a lot of the operating details for my car, I recall how little I remembered on the day I took delivery of the car. The last thing I wanted to do was sit there for 1 to 1 1/2 hours and get detailed lessons on the car. I wanted to know the basics and get on the road with my new beast as quickly as possible. Despite the very thorough delivery review (thanks to Klaus at the Tampa Service Center), I probably didn't hear or forgot 50% of the non-essential information. With the excitement of picking up the car, it is hard to pay attention and also quite an information overload.

Maybe a better idea would be to allow the buyer to choose a brief or an extended delivery review, and offer periodic classes at the service center (maybe with local enthusiast owners involved) for more detailed review of the car. This might become more important as the number of deliveries ramp up over time.
 
Tesla needs to give better tutoring.

The car has a GPS and knows you're pulling up to a Supercharger. It could easily suggest to play educational videos or tips on the dash if you're not in the mood to go outside; or play them when you are back in the car.

Informed users tend to be happier (as long as they are not bombarded with complexity: Engineers & fans love educating people about solutions to problems they didn't know they had, which can turn into a dissatisfier.)
 
...

1. At-home charging, including outlet options, best practices for daily charging, and charge scheduling.
2. Supercharging, including how the cabinets work and how to select the right stall.
3. Opening and closing the frunk.
4. Using the media player, including USB options, SiriusXM, bluetooth audio, and more information and tips on Slacker and TuneIn.
5. Voice commands in detail.
6. Navigation in detail.
7. Trip planning.
8. Customization including driver profiles.

...


  1. Totally agree. This currently can be extremely confusing for someone who is expecting delivery of their first EV soon. Especially since they will probably try to install their charging station before the car is actually delivered. The forum can be overwhelming for anyone who does not have sufficient time to read through everything, and the only source of info is the email sent out a few weeks before delivery to arrange for installation.
  2. I don't think Tesla officially acknowledges power sharing between stalls. As someone mentioned before, probably because it will open up a can of worms. Until then, officially indicating any stall to be superior to another is not going to happen, I believe.
  3. This is demonstrated at the time of delivery, and is also part of the official delivery video, I believe. Same goes for Supercharging, and driver profiles
  4. I think this part of the firmware has too many gaps/flaws, so disguising as too intuitive to provide (standard) official demos is the way Tesla has chosen to go I suppose. Same goes for Voice commands - although those are standardized and specified in the manual at least. Also, trip planning is probably too complicated to explain officially, unless they are vague about it. Hopefully, they will have better standard demos after v6.0 address some of the issues.
 
...Tesla needs to give better tutoring
The nearest Tesla store is 275+ miles away from me so my MS60 was delivered by a flat bed. the driver pulled it into my drive way, handed me the keys and asked "Do you know how this car works....because Tesla just told me to drop the car off and give you the keys". I had obviously done plenty of research and self educating in the 2 years leading up to the purchase of the car, but I am sure there are others that haven't prepared to that degree. If I had been a complete novice when the car was delivered, I guarantee I would have ran into issues that would have negatively effected my feeling on Tesla in general.
 
my MS60 was delivered by a flat bed. the driver pulled it into my drive way, handed me the keys and asked "Do you know how this car works....because Tesla just told me to drop the car off and give you the keys".
I believe this was rare. Mine was delivered and the specialist took the time to explain the various functions to me. In any case, they don’t deliver any more. Picking up from the service center ensures there will be someone knowledgeable about the car around.
 
I agree. TMC is awesome, but I know a number of people who would own a Model S but would not be inclined to wade through the overwhelming amount of information here.
That's what the wikis are for.

- - - Updated - - -

The car has a GPS and knows you're pulling up to a Supercharger. It could easily suggest to play educational videos or tips on the dash if you're not in the mood to go outside; or play them when you are back in the car.

Informed users tend to be happier (as long as they are not bombarded with complexity: Engineers & fans love educating people about solutions to problems they didn't know they had, which can turn into a dissatisfier.)
I like the concept, but I highly doubt Tesla will go anywhere near the video dragon.
 
Hi Texas and All
Thank you.
There was no introduction to charging from Tesla. I got my garages wired for 220 OK and was fine at home but was ignorant about public charging. Again, with the mass of new owners coming, Tesla is going to have to do a lot of training.
.
I am still struggling with the right thumb wheel. Right now I have been asking over at :
Tomorrow on Fox News... (kidding) Road Debris
about the energy graph. It was on the demo car, is not in the Owner's Manual and I can't get it up. Not being an cell user, the many happy features on the 17" are new to me, still plowing through them but having a good time doing it.
1. Press to click the right scroll wheel and release.
2. Turn the scroll wheel to look through the icons showing on the right side of the instrument panel until you get to the energy app icon.
3. Press to click the right scroll wheel again.
 
For me the delivery info and video was a place to start, but thanks to this forum I learned most of what I needed to know before delivery. After delivery I keep learning things that I knew nothing about and appreciate everyone who contributed to the forum. There is so much that you can do that is not something you can get from the owners manual or the delivery, so everyday I learn some tidbit of info and 15 months later still learning.
 
No matter how good the delivery specialist is, it's information overload when you get the car if you haven't done research ahead of time. After an hour of going through all the screens and settings, if anything was said about how to use the superchargers most efficiently the new owner who is overwhelmed by that point wouldn't remember it anyway. I think it would be a good idea for the DS to call new owners after 30 days to ask what questions the owner has, what needs to be explained again, any setting the owner wanted but was having trouble with, any questions about charging, etc. It would be great PR for Tesla and proactively solve a lot of problems. That would also be a good time to give tips for efficient travel with superchargers. By that time the new owner might be receptive to hearing those finer points, but not before.
 
No matter how good the delivery specialist is, it's information overload when you get the car if you haven't done research ahead of time. After an hour of going through all the screens and settings, if anything was said about how to use the superchargers most efficiently the new owner who is overwhelmed by that point wouldn't remember it anyway. I think it would be a good idea for the DS to call new owners after 30 days to ask what questions the owner has, what needs to be explained again, any setting the owner wanted but was having trouble with, any questions about charging, etc. It would be great PR for Tesla and proactively solve a lot of problems. That would also be a good time to give tips for efficient travel with superchargers. By that time the new owner might be receptive to hearing those finer points, but not before.
I think this is a really EXCELLENT idea! I, for one, was WAAAY too excited when I took delivery. I listened to the Delivery Specialist, but my mind was on other things--not how to plug in the power cord. I think 30 days might be a bit much but a week or two after delivery would be great.
 
No matter how good the delivery specialist is, it's information overload when you get the car if you haven't done research ahead of time. After an hour of going through all the screens and settings, if anything was said about how to use the superchargers most efficiently the new owner who is overwhelmed by that point wouldn't remember it anyway. I think it would be a good idea for the DS to call new owners after 30 days to ask what questions the owner has, what needs to be explained again, any setting the owner wanted but was having trouble with, any questions about charging, etc. It would be great PR for Tesla and proactively solve a lot of problems. That would also be a good time to give tips for efficient travel with superchargers. By that time the new owner might be receptive to hearing those finer points, but not before.

+1!