I'm thinking we're a spoiled bunch

[brucet999]

I don't have my S yet, but i have looked at all of the EV options to compare. Interesting that you like the appearance of i3. To me it looks like a clown car, especially in the orange/black paint. I didn't know how much it costs because I tried to get into the back seat and my knees were jammed against the driver's seat back (and I'm only 5' 10" tall), so I just walked out. The i8, on the other hand, is just gorgeous!
I saw a Leaf and found it so ugly I didn't even ask for a test drive.

I test drove the VW eGolf and liked it. It looks like a real car - like any other Golf - and has even more rear cargo space than MS (but no frunk). Torque is pretty good (not up to MS standards, but as good as its ICE brethren) and at $36K before tax credit and CA incentive it is very affordable. Range was the deal killer for me, though. Its 24KWh battery delivers only 83mi EPA range, so I couldn't even drive the 41 miles to LAX and back to pick up my daughters when they visit; no SC network either.

If Tesla owners are a spoiled bunch, it may be because they haven't really looked at what other EV drivers have to put up with.

 

[bluenation]

'spoiled' as in, priviledged? sure

'spoiled' as in, stop complaining about a $100k car that should compete with other $100k cars in its segment?

nah.

 

[Westweb]

Imagine a world with no Tesla. The competitions EV's are only where they are today because of Tesla. Go back 10-20 years, nothing would have changed since then. They were destroying their own EV's let alone advertising them. The future of automotive evolution should of been years ago and the current auto cartel is to blame. To be honest, they aren't even halfway there yet. We keep comparing the MS to other vehicles when there is nothing of real equal. 250 miles on a charge; where else are you going to go for that let alone half that. We keep pushing Tesla to the better only because we want them to succeed, because a world without them would be the past. Spoiled, you bet. Infatuated, most definitely.

 

[shawk]

Agree.
Based on the some of the complaints, I wonder if some commentators here could survive a bad haircut.

 

[wlscrib]

So true!! This is my first post as a new member and hopefully soon to be a new owner (test driving the P85 Monday). This is deja vu for me all over again but from a different industry. I was a sales director at Cirrus Aircraft at a time when they were the "Tesla" of the private aircraft community pushing the industry by developing aircraft with extensive glass cockpits, fiberglass/carbon airframes and cutting edge power plant designs- oh yes, not to mention every production aircraft equipped with a deployable parachute. Do you think the rest of the industry laughed at us- more than a Richard Pryor concert. Well, 6 years after the intro rollout, ALL competitors were in the rear view mirror as far as sales numbers and were feverishly bashing the product. Now all these once traditional manufacturers are touting their aircraft as equipped similar to the Cirrus but acting as if they "got it" all along. And one of the key driving points to that early success was the COPA website for owners and the willingness of Cirrus to listen to these owners such as yourselves. The so called "complaints" are usually people that truly love their product as it is one of a kind but just want to voice on how to make it better. As about 150 plus changes were made each production cycle, I would guess 35% were due to relevant points and wants made on the owner website. So seeing this active forum only reaffirms my desire to get one of these in my garage as the passion will drive this product to great heights. A good Certified Pre-owned program will be needed and is probably already in the works as I am a neophyte here but people will continue to want the newest and latest technology out there and have a place to market their current inventory. Hope to be posting soon with order booked!!

 

[ecarfan]

@wlscrib, thanks for your very interesting post. Although I am not a private pilot, my father is and so I have an interest in the light aircraft industry. I remember reading about Cirrus when it came on the scene and was impressed with what the company had accomplished. Your comparison to Tesla is a fair one. We know Tesla reads this forum and I am sure considers some posts valuable input.

By the way, the Tesla CPO program has started up just a few weeks ago but it hasn't been officially announced yet, based on some recent posts. Contact your local Tesla showroom and ask about it if you are interested in a CPO car.

When you get your Model S start a new thread in the Introductions forum and tell us all about it.

 

[Merrill]

I thought about this thread and realize that it is not just a Tesla thing but a life thing, most people always want what they perceive that they do not have. So a quote from Garrison Keillor comes to mind "Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have...which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known." I keep this framed and try to look at it on a regular basis.

 

[SteveS0353]

[snip]
I'm just in constant AWE of what Tesla has done. PERSPECTIVE, PEOPLE!

Tesla also doesn't rest on their laurels. If something needs work, they put effort in and they get it over time. They may "over promise", but IMO they also over deliver, if that makes sense. They may get some rollout dates wrong, but I'd prefer that than some company that hides everything from their fans until a week before, like Apple. They actually pay attention to our feedback and they do awesome, nerdy, fanservice things like easter eggs and geek references. They've changed the way people buy cars, they've massively upped the standard for infotainment systems and OTA updates, they've created an amazing infrastructure of Superchargers all by themselves, they've made the safest car on the road, they've revolutionized the entire EV industry and probably changed the course of history ...
[snip].

Perfectly captures my sentiment. Telsa as a company and as an automobile define the term "game changer". The company and the product are not perfect, but they listen and react when appropriate, without compromising the core mission.

 

[Btrflyl8e]

Agreed, OP. I've been perfectly happy with my 2013 MS60 for 2 years. P85+ came out after I ordered... that's nice, I'm still good. Auto folding mirrors? Eh, can't fit it in my garage anyway so don't know when else I'd need them. Parking sensors? I've never had them, so I don't really miss them. Auto pilot and dual motors? Good grief, I'd lose my license (again).

I've made road trips, gone anywhere I had a desire to go, absolutely no issues other than a back window motor (big deal), had a lot of fun going to car meets and talking to strangers about Tesla, made some amazing Tesla friends, become a weird sort of hero at work just for having this thing, and have lost all road rage I used to have. So yeah, I'm spoiled... and grateful.

 

[supratachophobia]

I'm sure there is a happy medium somewhere which I like to think I try to find with my SC. I would differentiate the issues owners experience into fit-n-finish/, interface/reliability.

I can't help but be slightly irritated when I encounter an issue in fit/finish that a car half or 1/3 the price would never suffer from. I mean, come on, panels not lining up, significant dash rattles, and leaky sunroofs are inexcusable at this price point. I don't care if there was a rush to make the end of quarter deliveries. That's even worse in my mind since you could have done better but chose not to.

Interface issues get an easy pass since it seems like Tesla is actively listening to suggestions/input from their driver base (albeit slowly sometimes).

Reliability; We have all agreed to take the risk on this bleeding edge of technology. There are going to be some literal breakdowns on the side of the road. What I think, makes it acceptable (but please minimize it), is that like the other two segments above, Tesla service is right there with you trying to mitigate issues before they happen and resolve/eliminate problems you are currently experiencing.

They say you get what you pay for but on the other side, a product/service is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay. We were all willing to pay whatever we did for what we received. And as long as Tesla and the SC's are willing to be factored into that price for after-purchase concerns, no one should think of themselves as spoiled when they bring up a legitimate concern.

Then again, I'm sure some of us are just privledged jerks that should mostly be ignored.