This is a poll to gauge whether or not Tesla's actions have had an impact on how we, as customers and Tesla enthusiasts, have changed the way we speak about Tesla when speaking to other people about the company and our cars.
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rocketdallas
Member
Looks like I am one of the first to vote. My happiness with Tesla and my ownership experience has deepened over time, I think with some of the very pleasant experiences with my local service center and a general satisfaction with my car. Best car I've ever owned.
Nothing has changed, but I've only had the car for a month. But I've been following Tesla for probably 1-2 years now.
I recommend Tesla to all my techie friends, but not to my non-techie friends. Why? Because there are still some bugs we as users deal with, and non-techie people are less likely to handle that well (nav errors, the car restarting, door handles still not being perfect, squeaks/rattles/etc.). In addition [not related to just Tesla] the learning curve for using an EV (lots of my friends have asked me "how do you know where to charge?". People comment "o wow, your car can get 2xx miles on a single charge? then you get into the whole discussion of not if you speed, and not if it's cold, and etc.)
I recommend Tesla to all my techie friends, but not to my non-techie friends. Why? Because there are still some bugs we as users deal with, and non-techie people are less likely to handle that well (nav errors, the car restarting, door handles still not being perfect, squeaks/rattles/etc.). In addition [not related to just Tesla] the learning curve for using an EV (lots of my friends have asked me "how do you know where to charge?". People comment "o wow, your car can get 2xx miles on a single charge? then you get into the whole discussion of not if you speed, and not if it's cold, and etc.)
Skotty
2014 S P85 | 2020 3 P19"
Depends on the time frame. My disposition towards Tesla has never gotten worse, only better, but it depends on the time frame.
It took a big leap up when they started production of the Model S. That really impressed me.
It took another smaller leap up when they demonstrated the Supercharger network and firmed up plans for the full buildout.
There are essentially 2 other things right now that might lead to additional leaps up in my positive attitude towards them. One is if they achieve their goals with the Gigafactory in reducing battery costs and increasing battery production. The other is if their PowerWall and PowerPack ambitions start to be realized.
Admittedly, I get a little excited and happy to see things like the Gigafactory and PowerWall being announced and started, but I don't really give it my personal seal of greatness until planned production capability is realized or reasonably assured. When it comes to a company, I'm not a believer in expectations or ambitions. I'm a believer in proven results. And, in the grand scheme of things, I don't really care so much about "little" things any company can do (like making AWD or a good nav system or a good stereo or driver assist features), I care about "big" things only a great company will do (non-compromising EV production, the Supercharger network, a working Gigafactory, and realizing a viable grid storage solution to make solar power a truly viable large-scale power source).
I know some people might lower their view based on software bugs, hardware glitches, repair costs, problems with autopilot software, etc, but not me. I always expected those things. Tesla has some great engineers, but it's still humans with human errors and limitations, working on new things with new failure modes that humanity doesn't have a history of experience with. There's going to be problems. What I really care about is that they keep trying to do things that are world changing, for the better, and finding real world engineering and production solutions to actually make it happen. So far, Tesla has been doing great in that regard, and I hope they continue to do so.
It took a big leap up when they started production of the Model S. That really impressed me.
It took another smaller leap up when they demonstrated the Supercharger network and firmed up plans for the full buildout.
There are essentially 2 other things right now that might lead to additional leaps up in my positive attitude towards them. One is if they achieve their goals with the Gigafactory in reducing battery costs and increasing battery production. The other is if their PowerWall and PowerPack ambitions start to be realized.
Admittedly, I get a little excited and happy to see things like the Gigafactory and PowerWall being announced and started, but I don't really give it my personal seal of greatness until planned production capability is realized or reasonably assured. When it comes to a company, I'm not a believer in expectations or ambitions. I'm a believer in proven results. And, in the grand scheme of things, I don't really care so much about "little" things any company can do (like making AWD or a good nav system or a good stereo or driver assist features), I care about "big" things only a great company will do (non-compromising EV production, the Supercharger network, a working Gigafactory, and realizing a viable grid storage solution to make solar power a truly viable large-scale power source).
I know some people might lower their view based on software bugs, hardware glitches, repair costs, problems with autopilot software, etc, but not me. I always expected those things. Tesla has some great engineers, but it's still humans with human errors and limitations, working on new things with new failure modes that humanity doesn't have a history of experience with. There's going to be problems. What I really care about is that they keep trying to do things that are world changing, for the better, and finding real world engineering and production solutions to actually make it happen. So far, Tesla has been doing great in that regard, and I hope they continue to do so.
taurusking
Member
I am happier with Tesla and I don't think I will drive any other ICE car with exception to my wife's.
There are things which I think Tesla needs to work on...for instance Nav, Trip planner, 17 inch screen with better features and more robust browser, Tire pressure display etc.
But overall I love Tesla:smile:
What I am curious is to hear from people who chose option 3.
There are things which I think Tesla needs to work on...for instance Nav, Trip planner, 17 inch screen with better features and more robust browser, Tire pressure display etc.
But overall I love Tesla:smile:
What I am curious is to hear from people who chose option 3.
BoerumHill
not great not terrible
Chrisizzle
Member
My initial delivery experience for a demo model wasn't smooth. Glitches on all levels from local staff to head office. Now after 8 months of ownership and some amazing customer service, I am totally pleased.
I chose Option 3.
I haven't posted anything because I didn't want to in any way influence the poll. But since you asked, and since so many people are posting why they love Tesla, and why they are choosing option 2, I will give some of my reasons for selecting option 3.
For me the final straw was what happened with the whole center console fiasco. Tesla lied to us. They broke their promise. I planned to have my very expensive car include a Matte Obeche center console. It was listed in the Tesla store when I ordered my car. The fact that it wasn't on the website order page with the car I viewed as just a technical issue. I'd be ordering the console the same way I was ordering my rubber floor mats--separately, from the Tesla Store. It never dawned on me that I might not be able to get the item. The way Tesla handled that was, as I say, the final straw for me. I no longer trust Tesla to do what they say they will do.
There are certainly many other things led to my feeling that way.
Tesla released the P85Ds without any indication that they had not yet enabled torque sleep, so the early adopters had no idea why we were not seeing anything close to the efficiency we should have expected. Even after torque sleep was released, the efficiency was still not as initially advertised on the website.
Tesla delivered my car without Next Generation seats, even though I had ordered and paid for them. I received them five months later, with not so much as a token of appreciation for the inconvenience. Many others had similar experiences.
My P85D doesn't make the 691 HP I expected it to be able to make, based on what was on the website at the time I ordered the car. It doesn't come close. I believe the best estimates are that at most it puts out 550 HP. Tesla is now releasing an "upgrade" that would get my car close to the HP it was originally supposed to make, but if I want it, I'll have to shell out somewhere in the neighborhood of $6500.
The way Tesla misrepresents things on their website and in their marketing is frustrating. When Musk spoke at the original D launch announcement he made it sound like all the autopilot features would be available when the first cars were delivered. One had to read the fine print on the website to realize that was not the case. Currently the website is even more misleading on this front to those not intimately familiar with the progression of the Tesla firmware versions.
The user interface, in many ways, is severely lacking. There are so many things it could do so much better if Tesla just spent more money on hiring more programmers, and put more time and effort in. The navigation system is a total joke. It was a joke before Musk's big range assurance announcement, and it's an even bigger joke now.
This is, by no means, a comprehensive list of the reasons my feelings have changed.
I am still generally happy with my car. I'm just not nearly as happy with it as I was when I received it, mainly because now every time I get in it I see a mismatched interior that I fear I'll be looking at for the next ten or fifteen years. (I keep cars a long time.) That really steams me, considering what I paid for the car. I feel like my trust has been violated.
So while I still like my car, I am no longer telling anyone who will listen how wonderful it is. I'm not going around bad-mouthing Tesla either. For the most part, I actually do still have lots of good things to say about Tesla and my car. I'm just not going out of the way to say them the way I had been, and my attitude is most definitely toned down from what it had been.
Tesla will wind up selling fewer six-figure cars because they didn't give me a $50 part. How stupid is that?
BoerumHill
not great not terrible
I said this in another thread, but Tesla Scottsdale treats me like royalty. My service manager, Nicholas Thompson, is amazing. Nothing has changed in the way Tesla is treating me since 2013. I am, and always have been, totally thrilled and excited to be part of the Tesla family. I don't have autopilot or any of that stuff, and I don't care.
What does that even mean?
I didn't comment at all until asked.
I gave the reasons why --I-- changed the way --I-- feel about Tesla, and why --I-- am not singing their praises the way --I-- used to.
I'm not suggesting others should feel the same way.
alexrov
Member
I'm confused. Is there some recent announcement or decision on Tesla's part that prompted you to post this poll?
And to answer your question, I'm pretty lukewarm about Tesla right now. On the one hand, they've been exceedingly cordial and helpful to me. On the other hand, they keep not coming through on promises and deadlines, and it's bumming me out.
Replying on the off chance that you don't know what that expression means; I don't have any comment on the content of your complaint.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks" is used to indicate that the speaker's unusually strong arguments in a particular direction are meant to disguise thoughts in the opposite direction.
In other words, if he's talking to you, he's saying that you're being disingenuous in your complaint.
vitaliy
Member
No.
In another thread I suggested that Tesla's actions were causing people like me and others who had been very pro-Tesla to not be as verbally supportive of Tesla as we had once been. Another poster basically said that was ridiculous, and implied that I could be the only person feeling that way, and that if there were others, they must be very few and far between. I decided to start this poll to find out who was right.
Here's my post in response to his: Autopilot lane keeping still not available over 6 months after delivery - Page 86
Thank you.
Of course I'm familiar with the reference. That's why I asked what the poster meant by that, because it makes no sense as he used it. He would have had to have been suggesting that I pointed out all those very real issues, but was somehow doing so to get people to like Tesla more, which makes no sense whatsoever.
My best guess is that the poster who used the quote had no idea what it meant, was using it literally, and was trying to say I was complaining too much.
I remain very positive about Tesla and its products 19 months after taking delivery of a new S85 and 9 months after becoming the owner of Roadster #425. I have had a terrific ownership experience so far! I became a shareholder and am hoping to install solar with a Powerwall next year.
That said, I am concerned about the Autopilot delay (even though it won't come to my S) but I consider it a minor hiccup. The arguing about how much power the various motor types generate and the issues with Next Gen seats and the optional Center Console seems overwrought.
I do think Tesla needs to improve customer communication in some areas and agree to a certain extent that the promotion of the Autopilot option has lead some people to expect too much, too soon. But once it is released that too will pass.
That said, I am concerned about the Autopilot delay (even though it won't come to my S) but I consider it a minor hiccup. The arguing about how much power the various motor types generate and the issues with Next Gen seats and the optional Center Console seems overwrought.
I do think Tesla needs to improve customer communication in some areas and agree to a certain extent that the promotion of the Autopilot option has lead some people to expect too much, too soon. But once it is released that too will pass.
BoerumHill
not great not terrible
That would be a poor guess.
Yes, the classic interpretation is when someone strongly denies something they're covering up how they really feel.
You like that girl?
No. Who, me, what...no!
You like her. You protest too much.
(ASIDE - the meaning has changed; protest meant to affirm, not deny, in 17th c.)
I had in mind the modern vernacular we often see in newspaper & magazine articles, in which vehement protest/denial has the net effect that people conclude the opposite position must be true. For instance, the PotUS defends a policy decision (pick one, I don't want to digress) in numerous press conferences & stump speeches...and after awhile people begin to question the veracity of the statements being proclaimed.
It's not that I think you're being disingenuous, Andy. I have no doubt you feel genuinely disappointed and to some extent misled & wronged. What I think you (& other like minded owners) miss is that the complaints are so incessant in thread after thread that it somewhat devalues your position.
I'm actually quite sympathetic on the points you raised. I can't empathize because I'm not an owner yet, but your complaints are valid.
The center console saga was a complete fiasco. How could Teala screw up something so simple? The delays, limited to piano black, and the ultimate cancellation - it's a running joke of ineptitude. How could a forward thinking, high tech company fail so miserably on such a low tech device with very little complexity?
(ASIDE - some don't like this analogy, but I just ordered one of those 1:18 diecast models. I've heard this was actually designed internally by their own mechanical engineers - Tesla loves being vertical - and the detail is phenomenal. The person who was in charge of the center console should have lost their job, and replaced with the genius who built this 270 piece toy.)
I'm less inclined to agree with you on the 691 HP issue, but we have a few VERY long threads we could engage in that debate...and that conversation continues.
At any rate, my sub-optimal choice of indium was flippant and perhaps a bit disrespectful. I do apoligize as I could have explained myself better instead of just trying to be clever.
I'm basically as positive as I was to start with.
1. It's a car, not a panacea. (This was a problem in the Prius group as well.)
2. Tesla flew out a Ranger when the main charger failed on vacation--I actually lost no driving time although it could have been very different.
3. Service experience at the Service Centre has been above par. I wouldn't say perfect but much better than average. I especially appreciate the the folks who actually work on the car know me.
4. Other than the main charger and a triangle window adjustment (shortly after I got the car). A cable and charge port (about six months into ownership), an alignment, a 12V battery (about two years). There hasn't been any problems. Other than the charger, none actually affected operations. (The charge port operated backwards--that is it unlocked when the charge port door was closed, forcing the door open allowed a charge for the couple of days until it was fixed.)
5. Firmware, especially Nav and music have issues but it's been a two step forward one step back process. As long as things get generally better, I don't see any particular problem.
At ~55K miles I don't seem to have many of the problems that are reported here (e.g. drive train, A/C, panel fit, contactor, etc.)
1. It's a car, not a panacea. (This was a problem in the Prius group as well.)
2. Tesla flew out a Ranger when the main charger failed on vacation--I actually lost no driving time although it could have been very different.
3. Service experience at the Service Centre has been above par. I wouldn't say perfect but much better than average. I especially appreciate the the folks who actually work on the car know me.
4. Other than the main charger and a triangle window adjustment (shortly after I got the car). A cable and charge port (about six months into ownership), an alignment, a 12V battery (about two years). There hasn't been any problems. Other than the charger, none actually affected operations. (The charge port operated backwards--that is it unlocked when the charge port door was closed, forcing the door open allowed a charge for the couple of days until it was fixed.)
5. Firmware, especially Nav and music have issues but it's been a two step forward one step back process. As long as things get generally better, I don't see any particular problem.
At ~55K miles I don't seem to have many of the problems that are reported here (e.g. drive train, A/C, panel fit, contactor, etc.)
There are actually a few posters that I think do bang the drum on certain issues too loud and long, but I think this was an unreasonable place to make that case. Andy's response was on topic and had been specifically requested.
I'm conflicted between #1 and #3. My biggest reason doesn't get mentioned as often here, so maybe I can say it without risking you believing I'm actually persuading people of the opposite. I live about 120 miles from the nearest service center. I was very concerned about this before buying the car, but researched extensively and determined that the $99 service fee was more than a fair solution to the problem of very limited service centers. Unfortunately, a few months after I purchased the car the new fee turned into a $450 fee, which significantly changes the dynamic. I'd consider skipping some of the annual maintenance, but I already bought extra years of them. It affects my willingness to suggest to anyone in this area to buy one. Driving the car, though. Man, that is still a blast.
Thanks, LetsGoFast.
This would be a huge issue for me as well, if Tesla attempts to apply it to me. I say that because I'm 213 miles from the nearest service center and had been told not only about the $99 ranger service, but that because of the distance I lived from the service centers, that $99 fee didn't apply. (My car was delivered to me at no extra charge because of the distance I live from the nearest service center.)
I certainly hope, for my own sake, that Tesla is sticking to that. And, of course, for the sake of anyone else in a similar situation.
I don't understand how Tesla can, in good faith, materially change the terms of the agreement after it has been purchased. The lawyers and Tesla supporters may come and post that the terms of the contract say the fee can be changed at any time, etc., etc., but I just don't buy that as the correct way to treat your customers.
I've actually purchased 8 years of annual service and the extended maintenance agreement. I bought everything I could to make sure that I'm covered going forward. I'm certainly not expecting to pay exorbitant transportation or ranger fees on top of that.
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