I appreciate the TMC people

[patrick80132]

After I bought my Audi A4 a few years ago I put up some posts on the Audi Forum when I started having some issues with the car. I could not believe the nasty posts I got in response. Basically they were pretty damn mean and telling me if I don't have deep pockets what am I doing buying an Audi. Yikes!

I have to admit the people I have interacted here at TMC are a different lot. Generally very nice and helpful. Definitely appreciate a more informative, laid back attitude.

Thank you all.

 

[GolanB]

I also came over from Audi, but never joined the online forums so it is hard for me to characterize the differences there.

By and large, people are people -- Mostly people here on this forum are very helpful and enjoyable to communicate with. I believe that owning a Tesla is less of an "exclusivity club" and becoming far more of a "people for the future" car - especially so with the sale of the Model 3.

There is a general sense that owning a Tesla is good for everyone involved - the environment, the future of the planet, and the other automakers which are being challenged to do the same.

Getting more people to join the Tesla club is open and apparent here, but I have also seen some honest communication taking a hard look at Tesla's challenges - so it is also not just a Tesla Fan Club.

I hope you continue to find your time here useful!

 

[BobThe]

I agree that folks here have been really friendly and helpful.

I think this Forum is a mix due to the nature of what we have with our cars.

Personally I am a car guy. Lifetime between my wife and I, our Model 3 is car 45 and we both love it. I ended up here by driving the car and falling in love with instant torque and crisp handling as the initial hook. There were many other things I loved, but that was what pulled me in. Others have come here from other EV's and discovered that you don't need to give anything up as compared to an ICE just because you own an EV. Others have come here from the other sport sedan crowds like Audi and BMW. But collectively, we have all jumped in to something completely new and love what we have.

I think that because this is all new for everyone, this group is willing to discuss topics to better understand things versus the old "know it all" types who slam everyone. There are a lot of people on this forum that know more a lot than I do, and they all seem ready to help bring others along to understand what we have. When I run in to someone that asks me about my experience, I will talk their ear off and offer up any information I can and I think that spirit is reflected here.

Hopefully it stays that way.

 

[tavish]

I have never joined another forum before, car or otherwise. I can't compare, but I can compare the car. It's like nothing I've ever driven before and as such compelled me to join TMC because I'm like a fish out of water. Needing all the help I can get with the things I run into. So far, same experience as you, very welcoming and helpful.

 

[SeaDoc]

Welcome to all, especially those new to Tesla. There is nothing like owning one, and the excitement that these cars provide knowing that it improves with every firmware upgrade. It's as if I finally found the car that matches my personality perfectly, plus I'm doing my part, however small, to help our world, sans exhaust... And yes, Tesla owners are a unique breed, by and large, good people... A refreshing change... Again, welcome...

 

[EVnut]

Owning a production EV used to be a hyper-exclusionary "club." Not made exclusive by the *members* but by the availability of the cars, of course. 20 years ago, we all knew each other. The handful of us EV1 drivers, became the handful of Rav4EV drivers. When the cars started being sold, the whole group would know who was selling and who was buying. The old Rav4EV group continues today... with a couple hundred of the cars still in operation. It is one of the tightest communities I've ever been involved with - both online and offline.

Fast-forward to today (when all those EV1 and Rav4 owners are now Tesla owners... many still in roadsters!). Owning my 5th EV in 20 years, and now the "club" is ENORMOUS (though the old guard can still be found..). A totally different feel. But the part that remains the same is the core belief that we don't actually want to be exclusive, and that mass ZEV adoption is the goal. Of course as the owners' club inches closer to merely being a cross-section of our society, we'll more commonly find the grumpy people who look for nothing but the things to complain about, and drag others down. But for the most part, the help found on the Tesla forums is fabulous, and certainly appreciated by this "new" Tesla owner.

(And yes, that's the other odd part for me: Our family's main vehicle for 20 years has been an EV. I've had five different chargers (well, first chargers, now EVSEs) mounted on the wall. The EV was the daily-driven car, and really all we've known for a long time. And now I find myself as a total Tesla newbie, and it is amusing to hear some assumptions that I must be new to EVs if I'm just now buying my first Tesla)

 

[notAnExpert]

I agree TMC is a warm forum. I like it here. Most people are friendly and helpful.

I’m not sure though that it is a direct reflection of Tesla owners being nice people. I also visit forums.tesla.com’s Model 3 forum. There are some mean spirited people there. Maybe just a handful of bad apples, but for me, they ruin that forum. I’m glad TMC doesn’t have those types of people. Besides, I think the mods here tend to jump in and ensure civility when a thread gets a bit out of hand.

 

[kavyboy]

The mods do a really good job of keeping things friendly. Quickly, the worst posts are moved to "snippiness" and the worst users are banned or put in time-outs.

 

[Ostrichsak]

After I bought my Audi A4 a few years ago I put up some posts on the Audi Forum when I started having some issues with the car. I could not believe the nasty posts I got in response. Basically they were pretty damn mean and telling me if I don't have deep pockets what am I doing buying an Audi. Yikes!

I have to admit the people I have interacted here at TMC are a different lot. Generally very nice and helpful. Definitely appreciate a more informative, laid back attitude.

Thank you all.

Sounds like Audizine! lulz

 

[woodisgood]

The online Tesla family is super cool. I mean of course you have a proportion of rich, entitled folks who just buy them because they're the cool status symbol, but those folks don't spend time as part of the online community. Everyone here is generally interested in EVs and related tech and helping each other out, even when we don't agree on things.

 

[Dondix]

When we first got our Model S, the Tesla staff showed us how to do all the amazing things like self park, summon, etc. But with so much info at once, it was hard to remember what steps exactly do we take to accomplish whatever we were trying to get the car to do. So I joined this site and asked how these things get done. This group is so great that I even got phone calls to walk me through the steps. Everyone is so very helpful. Never had experiences like that before. Really caring, considerate members. We appreciate the car and the owners.

 

[Saguarojoe]

I agree TMC is a warm forum. I like it here. Most people are friendly and helpful.

I’m not sure though that it is a direct reflection of Tesla owners being nice people. I also visit forums.tesla.com’s Model 3 forum. There are some mean spirited people there. Maybe just a handful of bad apples, but for me, they ruin that forum. I’m glad TMC doesn’t have those types of people. Besides, I think the mods here tend to jump in and ensure civility when a thread gets a bit out of hand.

There are many Tesla sponsored clubs. We belong to the southern Arizona club. It is a wonderful place to meet like minded people. You might find one near you.

 

[TexasEV]

If this is different than car forums (and I wouldn’t know, having never looked at a car forum), it’s because most people here in the early years weren’t “car guys”, we were interested in Tesla and EVs because of the technology and/or environmental aspects. Also the direct sales model, buying without having to go thru a dealership. That’s why so many early owners were and still are supportive of Tesla politically against the dealers. It wasn’t just a car. All of those aspects are still true, but probably to a lesser extent now as Tesla has become more mass market. It is “just a car” to a lot of more recent owners.

 

[zhu-]

It is “just a car” to a lot of more recent owners.

To me, this means Tesla is succeeding in their mission

 

[LDMD7]

TMC is nothing like the Tesla forums which remind me of reading the comments on CNN or BBC. I’ve learned so much from the generous people on this forum. Many of them may be thinking “read the manual” when responding but few articulate it. Whatever the secret sauce, it is part of the delight I feel in this car and you warm people. Thank you.

 

[Solarman004]

It's not just the forum. My wife and I have had nothing but great experiences chatting with fellow owners at Superchargers.

 

[AnzacValentine]

The online Tesla family is super cool. I mean of course you have a proportion of rich, entitled folks who just buy them because they're the cool status symbol, but those folks don't spend time as part of the online community. Everyone here is generally interested in EVs and related tech and helping each other out, even when we don't agree on things.

I trust you didn't mean to deliberately denigrate a proportion of Tesla buyers who you label as "entitled". That's not nice :-( And I am not one in case there's an inference I have been offended, which I personally am not. The subject of this post is friendliness.

 

[woodisgood]

I trust you didn't mean to deliberately denigrate a proportion of Tesla buyers who you label as "entitled". That's not nice :-( And I am not one in case there's an inference I have been offended, which I personally am not. The subject of this post is friendliness.

If you’ve spent much time in the Bay Area, you’ve probably noticed it’s not just being a Tesla owner that makes one a nice person, and there are unfortunately Tesla owners who’d have the same attitude as the Audi folks referenced in the OP. Many instances of Tesla owners behaving poorly in “do you know who I am?” fashion.

There are also, in fact, Tesla owners out there who are disappointed in the way the mass market Model 3 dilutes the status of the brand. I’m not terribly worried about offending those folks.

Those people are generally not concerned with electrification, Tesla’s mission, the tech, etc., and you generally won’t find them on online forums related to Tesla. That was the distinction I was making.

 

[AnzacValentine]

Point taken. I know the type, "do you know who I am" point which is not exclusive to Tesla owners, sadly

 

[daniel]

After I bought my Audi A4 a few years ago I put up some posts on the Audi Forum when I started having some issues with the car. I could not believe the nasty posts I got in response. Basically they were pretty damn mean and telling me if I don't have deep pockets what am I doing buying an Audi. Yikes!

I have to admit the people I have interacted here at TMC are a different lot. Generally very nice and helpful. Definitely appreciate a more informative, laid back attitude.

Thank you all.

I've been involved in several chat boards over the years, and maybe it's just bad luck, but the majority have been rather unfriendly places, causing me to leave in short order. I've joined more than one forum dedicated to a subject I was interested in, only to be jumped on immediately and massively and accused in very unfriendly language of being the return of a former member who was despised. A couple of others were friendly when I first joined, but the normal turn-over of members led to their becoming much less friendly.

I was on a Prius-related board that was very friendly in the early days when most of the members were tree-huggers, but as the car went mainstream the membership also went mainstream and became much less pleasant.

TMC does an excellent job of keeping the conversaton civil and friendly. It may be partly because Tesla owners are still highly skewed toward environmentalists and lefties. Once the general public catches on that Teslas are superior cars that just happen to be electric, we may start getting a less desirable element in here.