Expectations Blown away

[FlasherZ]

That is so true. I think I'm going to have to revise my response to "who makes it". I generally say it's made by Tesla Motors in California.

"Is that the one made in Finland that stole hundreds of millions of dollars of our tax money?" is usually the next question I get, if I don't get "cool!"

 

[ModelS8794]

I'm going to say something that's a little bit weird...

I'm a college student. In engineering and computer science circles, Elon is held as a messiah of sorts. In a group of 30, 3-4 are fanatics and the rest are usually admirers. The fanatics think he's either here to save capitalism from the decay of 'good enough, time to cash out' or that he's going to rule over Earth from his throne on Mars. People follow his every step. If he was in charge of Tesla or SpaceX alone, but not both, he would've been simply admired. Instead, he's venerated. I know a very enthusiastic fellow who has pamphlets explaining who Elon is and what he does.

My dorm also had a large poster of him made from different pieces of paper, but he's one of three (the other two being MLK and JFK.)

Granted, those circles are specifically the more entrepreneurial ones (Hackathon group and the like.) But the level of fanaticism is still worth mentioning.

Oh now you GOTTA post a pic of that. MLK + JFK + ERM, that's some heavy company you keep him in!

 

[DavidM]

A few months ago, I was showing my Model S at the Dupont Registry (Cars and Coffee). A little girl (maybe age 7) was there with her dad. She wandered a few feet away from him to chat with me. My frunk was open at the time and she looked in and said "Where's the engine?". I replied "There's no engine". Then she said "how does it go?". I said "it has an electric motor, and it runs on batteries". Then she said "where do you plug it in?". I showed her the charging port". Then she ran over to her dad and yelled out "Dad! We gotta get one of these".

That's a conversation I will never forget.

 

[kendallpb]

The thrill is not gone yet in California. We still get lots of thumbs up, waves, and plenty of questions from amazed people at the superchargers.

I got thumbs ups several times on my road trip this past weekend! One by a guy in a van on my left, at a light; another from a car doing 60 on my left (passenger pointed at my car and gave a thumbs up); and I think there was another one on the road at one point. :-D

 

[brianman]

A few months ago, I was showing my Model S at the Dupont Registry (Cars and Coffee). A little girl (maybe age 7) was there with her dad. She wandered a few feet away from him to chat with me. My frunk was open at the time and she looked in and said "Where's the engine?". I replied "There's no engine". Then she said "how does it go?". I said "it has an electric motor, and it runs on batteries". Then she said "where do you plug it in?". I showed her the charging port". Then she ran over to her dad and yelled out "Dad! We gotta get one of these".

That's a conversation I will never forget.

Did you tear up? That must have been powerful. (In no way am I being sarcastic.)

 

[Jonathan Hewitt]

Did you tear up? That must have been powerful. (In no way am I being sarcastic.)

Heck, just reading that story is a tear up level event, IMO.

 

[jak]

A few months ago, I was showing my Model S at the Dupont Registry (Cars and Coffee). A little girl (maybe age 7) was there with her dad. She wandered a few feet away from him to chat with me. My frunk was open at the time and she looked in and said "Where's the engine?". I replied "There's no engine". Then she said "how does it go?". I said "it has an electric motor, and it runs on batteries". Then she said "where do you plug it in?". I showed her the charging port". Then she ran over to her dad and yelled out "Dad! We gotta get one of these".

That's a conversation I will never forget.

I thought this was kinda cute: How many kindergarten students can fit into a Tesla Model S?

 

[geramu]

Oh now you GOTTA post a pic of that. MLK + JFK + ERM, that's some heavy company you keep him in!

Here is a picture of Elon's poster. I don't have a picture of MLK and JFK as school's done and summer is here, but they were of similar size. I'm going to see if I have a pamphlet, but I doubt it.

 

[blc1017]

2 - i actually feel sorry for you California folks. Telsa is so common out there, the thrill must be gone. Even in a wealthy suberb of Washington DC, they are like black swans. people go CRAZY. it seems to be getting MORE intense, the attention and adoration, not less. last year, most people still didn't know what Tesla was (or care). but with the glowing press coverage, it's in that stage where people now know about it and are actively looking for them out on the roads. a very cool time to be a Tesla owner 'round these parts...

I'm right in the middle of Tesla country and get interest almost every day, whether I'm driving or parked. Families crowded around the car in the store parking lot, young men in crosswalks pointing at the car, clapping their hands and giving me the thumbs up, and people rubbernecking from their cars. I didn't expect this much activity but I agree...it's a cool time to be a Tesla owner.

 

[Merrill]

I agree with all of the above, the only thing that no one told me about is the problem with Tesla time. So I forgot to factor in the cost of coming up with excuses to drive the MS. We are now spending more money on food, because every time we go on a drive we have to either go for lunch or dinner somewhere. Not that I'm complaining, I just want to be driving all the time. I drove my wife's ML430 downtown the other day and realized that I really hate driving an ICE now that I have the MS. It's loud, klunky and just seems like caveman technology.

 

[stevezzzz]

I'm going to say something that's a little bit weird...

I'm a college student. In engineering and computer science circles, Elon is held as a messiah of sorts. In a group of 30, 3-4 are fanatics and the rest are usually admirers. The fanatics think he's either here to save capitalism from the decay of 'good enough, time to cash out' or that he's going to rule over Earth from his throne on Mars. People follow his every step. If he was in charge of Tesla or SpaceX alone, but not both, he would've been simply admired. Instead, he's venerated. I know a very enthusiastic fellow who has pamphlets explaining who Elon is and what he does.

My dorm also had a large poster of him made from different pieces of paper, but he's one of three (the other two being MLK and JFK.)

Granted, those circles are specifically the more entrepreneurial ones (Hackathon group and the like.) But the level of fanaticism is still worth mentioning.

I can think of a lot of people even more famous then EM who are much less worthy to be held up as a role model for the next generation of difference-makers. They may be geeky, but your classmates' sentiments are not misplaced.

 

[artsci]

I can think of a lot of people even more famous then EM who are much less worthy to be held up as a role model for the next generation of difference-makers. They may be geeky, but your classmates' sentiments are not misplaced.

Like all of the worthless celebrity types. Way too much attention given to them.

 

[electrictorque]

My friend is picking up his multi red p85 Sunday the 23rd.

 

[kevin99]

Oh now you GOTTA post a pic of that. MLK + JFK + ERM, that's some heavy company you keep him in!

+1. Want to see a picture.

Elon has won over me. Before I followed Tesla, there was a unfavorable impression about how he rip the benefit from paypal in a dishonest way. Now all that crap can rest. What he does is nothing short of genius. For us as ordinary people, the least we can do is recognize it, follow it, and benefited from it as well.

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Oh I see the picture now.

 

[AustinPowers]

Then you are doomed. The test drive makes believers out of a lot of people. It is also good for converting SO's who may be less than enthused about "spending that much money" on a car...

My test drive is on 4 Sept. A P85 too. But I am very interested to see how it will affect my view of the Model S.

Reason? I was convinced of this car from the time I saw the first concept pictures and proposed specs. In those days I thought "what a great looking car (remember the prototype interior for example?) and what great, unbelievable EV specs, what a range, what a great bargain (remember the original website stated the top range together with the base price which was very misleading, but still)".

Then came the "Alpha" and I thought "phew, what happened to that car? What a ghastly interior, and why did they change the great prototype rear end?".
Anyway, come the "Betas" and the October "Get amped" event with all the associated videos on Youtube where you could finally see (as a European) moving, almost finished, Model S's. When I saw those videos my first impression then was "Ok, what a performance! Screw the interior and some other design shortcomings, I have to have such a car."

Now fast forward to the present day. The European pricing is out (and the reality is, the Model S now is way over the budget I had thought I would need all those years ago), the shortcomings are known (at least those that for me make the car quite a little less attractive), and I even have sat in one here in Germany, to see that those shortcomings are not just some nits picked by some here on the forums but things that really would bug me as a potential buyer.

All in all, I am not really convinced about the Model S anymore. I still like the great shape, I don't like much about the interior though. I still think the performance specs are great (on paper, I'm sure my test drive will convince me of them being more than real), I don't like many of the shortcomings though.
So I think after my test-drive, my conclusion will be "A Tesla is a great EV. The Model S (even though I have been hoping for years that it will be - and have told many people during those waiting years that this "will definitely be my next car") just isn't the Tesla that is right for me. I am therefor setting my hopes on Gen III. My current car can certainly keep me well motorized until 2017/2018, even though it will be almost 15 years old by then. Which, come to think of it, isn't really old, even for cars. Hell, I am 36, and were I a car, could call myself an oldtimer now ;-)

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I disagree. Many twenty-somethings literally cannot afford a car (or at least think they cannot). They may be saddled with student-loan debt, and may have been forced to move back in with their parents. In that situation, a car may seem like a luxury you can do without. A lot of middle-class families have been squeezed to the point where they cannot donate their older car to junior or help them buy one.

Another factor is that teenagers can interact with their friends by texting and using things like Facebook and Instagram. There is less desire to get out of the house to hang out with your friends than there used to be.

Which I see here as well and think it is a horrible trend. What could be better than to go out and do things with your friends, instead of sitting in front a machine (be it a PC at home or tablet/smartphone somehwere else)?

Oh and about the Model S becoming a common sight in some parts of the world. Over here it's still the "needle in a haystack" phenomenon. Yesterday I even thought I saw one go by here in Frankfurt, but when I walked closer I saw it was just a Jaguar XF (which looks quite like a Model S from the rear).

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This is the way I think of it.

(1) Some people don't want a car at all. (More every year, as statistics show, for whatever reason; many point to cellphones, which you can't use while driving.) No problem: they can walk, bike, ride an electric motorcycle, take an electric train, whatever. That's cool.
(2) However... among people who do want a car, or who don't want but need a car, basically everyone wants a Tesla. (Some just don't know it yet.)
(3) Among those people, those who can't afford a Tesla... still want an electric car.
(4) Only a shrinking leftover tiny minority actually wants a car which runs on dinosaur juice.

The end of the ICE age is nigh.

Would be nice if it were true, but here your theory holds only partly true:

(1) Some people don't want a car at all. => true here as well, but it is mainly two kinds of people: those who can't afford a car any longer (ever more people sadly) and those who just don't need one any longer, because they might live in a city where there is ample public transport, because they might be too old or too ill to be able to drive anymore (also ever more of those sadly) or because they live on the "share/don't own" philosophy that many young people seem to find attractive
(2) Among people who do want a car, or who don't want but need a car, basically ... basically no one has ever even heard of Tesla here.
(3) Among those people, those who can't afford a Tesla... still want an electric car. => only if they have had or seen a test drive of a Tesla ;-)
(4) Only a shrinking leftover tiny minority actually wants a car which runs on dinosaur juice. => a tiny minority of around 99.9 percent of current car buyers worldwide :tongue:

But seriously, I can get your drift.

 

[Newscutter]

I think my wife's quote was Test driving a Model S is like going to just look at a new litter of puppies, either way one is coming home

ABSOLUTELY. There should be a Surgeon General's warning on the driver's seat.