Funniest Tesla Question Thread

[SageBrush]

A lady was walking around my car and asked me “where do you put the gas”
I told her it runs on electricity, I plug it in at home. She replied she knew Tesla’s were electric but how do you fill it with gas.

It may have taken a decade but it sounds like the Toyota Hybrid message finally landed.

 

[JWood]

During a cross country bathroom break (My wife had less range than our S85), I had the frunk open pouring a coke and this guy comes over and tells me " you will ruin your engine".

I also need to warn people that Teslas can cause family friction. I let my brothers youngest step daughter drive mine and now she wants one for graduation.

 

[swaltner]

I've never heard of it but I have to see this. Is it on Netflix or Amazon? Kid friendly?

Re: the movie Idiocracy: If someone else hasn’t replied already, it has a well-deserved R rating for “language and sex-related humor”. It’s a good movie, but probably one that the kids should find for themselves.

 

[Price-S]

OK, not a dumb question but uninformed information. I was telling people how much oil EVs save (it was on the video at the SC). Guy pipes up 'Those don't save any oil due to the amount of oil used to make electricity.' I needed to look it up (didn't know how to use Google yet). Only .5% of all electricity in the US is from oil. One half of one percent! I haven't been able to get back to him yet. I did mention that in CA we use mostly natural gas for elec. production.

 

[StealthP3D]

"Ya know its all fun and games until you get electrocuted while driving in the rain or snow. I heard theres more power in those cars than a power line carries".

-Random stranger in a restaurant parking lot

"Yeah, Tesla drivers get electrocuted all-the-time. But that's only because they don't have a St. Christopher medallion hanging on their mirror to keep them safe like I do."

 

[MichaelP90DL]

"Yeah, Tesla drivers get electrocuted all-the-time. But that's only because they don't have a St. Christopher medallion hanging on their mirror to keep them safe like I do."

Good reason to convert to Catholicism.

 

[SimbadCA]

Obvious response. They might even fit in the frunk.


And there's plenty of space in the trunk to put you

I was disappointed that I can’t fit a case of wine in the Frunk.

 

[evp]

"Does it charge while you're driving?"

Someone told me they heard that Teslas could charge while they were driving. No I'm afraid they don't do that. They insisted. It took a while to figure out they were talking about regen.

 

[Pollux]

Love these stories...

I used to play a little game (Model S) where I'd ask people where they think the engine is located... "front, of course". So I'd open the frunk. Eyes pop! OK, must be a car with a rear-engine drive. Walk to the back. Open the trunk. Eyes bug out! Then I would pull up the rear jumpseats...

Seriously, I just want to put in a word in favor of educating whoever is willing to interact with you. I guess some people are so snarky or close-minded that you can't give them new information. But the vast majority will listen. And if you can convince them to sit in the car or, even better, go for a quick ride with you, that's pretty much 100% game-changing. It seems most people just plain don't absorb new stuff in one sitting or even in one decade. Too busy. Too focused on their own slice of the world. Whatever. I just looked up the data for 2018: 280 million registered vehicles in the USA, of which ~1M EVs. The way I figure it, that means each EV owner has to "touch" about 100 people and open their minds to what EVs can do to achieve a critical mass of the population willing to recognize the benefits of EVs. Some of us do that by going out to the drag strip and kicking ICE ass in front of crowds of dozens or hundreds. Some of us do that by living the EV life in front of our relatives and friends. And some of us grab every random stranger foolish enough to open their mouth -- sincerely or offensively -- and shove them into our car and SHOW THEM.

We are all of us -- even now -- early adopters.

Alan

 

[SageBrush]

Someone told me they heard that Teslas could charge while they were driving. No I'm afraid they don't do that. They insisted. It took a while to figure out they were talking about regen.

Did you thank them for the education ?

 

[SageBrush]

I used to play a little game (Model S) where I'd ask people where they think the engine is located... "front, of course". So I'd open the frunk. Eyes pop! OK, must be a car with a rear-engine drive. Walk to the back. Open the trunk. Eyes bug out! Then I would pull up the rear jumpseats...

I still do that ! I particularly enjoy looking under the car with them LOL

People love it if done in good fun.

 

[ghawkjr]

This is not a dumb question but rather a dumb answer--perhaps pop doesn't know the answer to this good and appropriate tech question?? The answer is that regenerative braking only recovers a fraction of what the motor uses up so the car would come to a stop before charging the battery enough to keep going.

The question is good and penetrates into the relevant tech. I don't know exactly what % a Tesla can recover but I doubt it is a whole lot different than a Prius that only recovers 8%

I watched a YouTube video with a couple of guys who drove a Tesla (I think M3) up and back down some local mountain, checking the usage in each direction. I don't remember the details, but thought their reasoning was good. They estimated they regenerated about 25%.

I must have knowledgeable friends because I don't get very many stupid questions, although living in Florida I have received the question about the power going out. I think we may have a small advantage there, in that we can figure which superchargers are operable more easily than ICE-ers can find which gas stations are pumping. We can also trick the questioners. I like to talk about the car for a minute or two before asking if the want to see the engine. Having an engine in the front is so ingrained that it catches a surprisingly large percentage of folks even after they've been told it's an EV.

Those holier-than-thou types who look down on or ridicule those who ask 'dumb' questions, should think back to a couple of years before buying their EVs. They probably went through some of the same thought processes and asked either themselves or others some of the same questions. Even if you're annoyed by the 50th person who asked the same 'dumb' question, you may have asked the same question yourself, and it doesn't make the 50th guy dumber than you or the first 49 guys who asked. They're just a bit behind the curve.

The good thing to do is to have some quick, clear, polite answers at the ready. Some have already been suggested in this thread.

 

[SageBrush]

They estimated they regenerated about 25%

My arithmetic worked out to ~ 65%. Bjorn Nyland got similar results in a youtube video he posted of the car doing a series of jack rabbit starts.

 

[rallybob]

"Ya know its all fun and games until you get electrocuted while driving in the rain or snow. I heard theres more power in those cars than a power line carries".

-Random stranger in a restaurant parking lot

Joke is, he doesn't know how high the voltage is in those lines. If that was true, an EV owner would be bombarded by a great deal of magnetic energy. Not good. We would need to wear the big insulated gloves the linemen have to drive! Just in case.

 

[evp]

I often get asked how to start it. That's actually not a horrible question and they seem satisfied with the answer....I think

I have two answers to this, depending on how the question is phrased:

* You sit down, put your foot on the brake, put it in drive.

* "Start? There is no start. It's always on." "Why?" "It's listening to five different radios - cellular, wifi, bluetooth, GPS, and the little transponder that opens the charging door."

 

[Paul 666]

Agreed. That’s a really dick move and makes Tesla drivers look like assholes. Or bmw drivers. Eww.

My coworker with a BMW said his engine was much bigger and there was no way my performance model three could keep up, an argument I put a quick end to.By the way, do you know the difference Between a BMW
And a porcupine is? A porcupine has the pricks on the outside.

 

[MichaelP90DL]

My coworker with a BMW said his engine was much bigger and there was no way my performance model three could keep up, an argument I put a quick end to.By the way, do you know the difference Between a BMW
And a porcupine is? A porcupine has the pricks on the outside.

LOL! High-5! How badly did the coworker lose?

 

[hill]

It was not.
Apologize, and take her for a ride followed by a nice lunch.

likely - it doesn't work - when people try to explain elements of character - once they reach adulthood.
.

 

[lowtek]

Idiocracy

This movie is nothing short of prophetic ... love it!

 

[SageBrush]

My coworker with a BMW said his engine was much bigger and there was no way my performance model three could keep up, an argument I put a quick end to.

Don't keep us hanging, tell us about the end of race conversation