Mixed feelings about Tesla

[Imafrog]

I got my Classic in June2014. I am sort of an early adopter an I got this car because I loved the technology, the software update possiblities and the future Supercharger network. I am retired and I was able to pay for the car.

I have had no big issues with the car, except the replacement of 3 door handles, one at a time. First was replaced 3 months after I got the car. It was done the day after I reported the problem. For the other 2, I had to wait one week to get the parts, shipped "rush".

This part fails. Why don't they have some on hand. Unless they fail so much that they are always out of inventory.

It took more than one year to get a Supercharger in Quebec. We now have 4 locations, no more expected in the near future. Anyways, if one was to be announced, in Elon's time, I would add 12 to 18 months.

I got my car with v5 and got v6 a few weeks later. V7 came and it was adjusted a little bit for us Classic owners, but displays were changed and we lost some features, like clock and temperature positions. I was able to adjust, no so for my copilot(wife).

And 2 weeks ago, I received v8. I never had such a bad UI. Why fix unbroken things. Things dissapear from the map. Yes, touch the screen and it comes back. But, it takes more attention away from driving. Of course, this does not matter with Autopilot, but I have a Classic and have no intention of letting the car drive itself. I would rather take a cab ( in Montreal, we have Tesla cabs)

Also, the media app is all changed. I have 2 usb keys, each with 1300 songs. I need a DJ to handle searches. If the voice command worked, it would help. But I am sorry Tesla, I am French Canadian and, in English, I do not have the expected accent.

I still like my car, but v8 did not improve it but destroyed some of it. I do not care about new piloting features. I care about the UI and tought that this would be improved over time. It is not happening and I have been told by Tesla that I cannot go back to v7.

From my point of view, Tesla sold me a car on promises, wich they do not hold. I have ben waiting for over 2 years for a better web browser, it is not happening. Better connctivity with Android or Apple devices, not happening. Adjustable windows on the big screen, not happening. These are simple software issues that could be easily fixed, if a team was dedicated to it.

And I won't address 3G frequent failures.

Tesla takes realy good care of its future buyers, but leaves us early adopters out in the cold.

 

[Phillip L]

I absolutely love my Model S but I did get it in 2015 with the sensors. But I do have one huge beef with Tesla and that was my naivety in actually expecting the build out of Superchargers as laid out in their Supercharger map. I am originally from the Maritimes and thought that the Superchargers in Rivière du Loup and Woodstock, N.B. were going to be built in 2015 facilitating our yearly trip back to Nova Scotia. And to be honest I would not have bought the car back then if I didn't think those SC's were not really going to be built in the time frame I thought was promised. I would have waited. That said, I have been down to Nova Scotia 4 times in the Model S and have gotten used to the slow charging in the Maritimes and in fact am excited by anticipating using either or both of the SC's in R du Loup and Bangor, Maine. Oh, if only the one in Woodstock was really going to be built in 2016 but I have gotten used to Tesla time. But it has cost them one Model 3 sale because we are getting a Chevy Volt to replace our remaining "ice" car, since I cannot wait until the car really becomes available in Canada (I simply don't believe in Tesla's timelines anymore and our "ice" won't last until 2020 or whenever the Model 3 will really be available in this country.). But one thing about owning a Tesla has done for me .... I will never buy another gasoline car ever again.

 

[SmartElectric]

Our experience with Tesla has been so positive that a few little issues can be easily accepted.

New UI is a nice change for me, our 2013 classic non-autopilot car is still improving, especially with the new navigation improvements.

As for charging, Quebec is covered with CHAdeMO, and Tesla made an adaptor which makes owning this car better than when it was first released!

If you are so sensitive that change like a few icons moved and thousands of audio files aren't as convenient results in a "destroyed" experience, you're the wrong type of person to own a rolling technical showcase of silicon Valley.

Sorry you hate your car.

We love ours. But we're in the iPad generation, so are comfortable with change.

Cheers and hope you can enjoy your car some day in the future when it improves to perfection.

 

[CadillacJack]

I'm a Signature Performance CPO owner. I get frustrated sometimes about the little things (3G drops were REALLY bad), but I still love the unique sig red paint, the quiet & crazy acceleration, & the kid loves the jump seats. Perhaps the best part is that someone else paid most the depreciation on the car.

Supercharger network finally lets me get to Northern Ontario without a long L2 charge, and the car still makes me smile. I'm not sure I'll want to own it out of warranty in 2.5 years, but for now Tesla service has done their best over the 1.5 years I've had it. There's the odd ghost and goblin in the software, but I knew new tech & and early car would be like that. The SAF (spousal acceptance factor) is still relatively low, but for some reason she does like to tell people we have a Tesla.

Although 0-60 in 3 seconds and Autopilot are interesting, I have 90% of a Model S' value for less than 50% of the price of a new P100D. 'Nuff said!

 

[Canuck]

I agree with @Imafrog and I agree with this:

Our experience with Tesla has been so positive that a few little issues can be easily accepted.

Although the issues mentioned by the OP are not "little" to me, and I can add more, like no longer remembering passwords for any length of time. V6.2 was superior in so many ways.

It's just that the overall experience of owning a Tesla is so great that I can put up with them.

But we shouldn't have to.

 

[green1]

It's the best car currently on the market bar none.

It's also one of the absolute worst companies to deal with. Between their hostility to DIY and 3rd party repair, their lack of keeping up on repair infrastructure, the buggy software, removing paid for features after delivery, always getting their timelines wrong (usually by a large margin), and flat out lies about everything from service fees to what features the car has or will have. It's not a company I would ever willingly do business with.

As long as there's no competition in this space, I'll drive a Tesla. But the instant there's a comparable vehicle on the market, Tesla better watch out, because I would deal with almost any other company on the planet in preference to Tesla at this point. And while that's not a popular opinion on this forum, I know I'm not alone, and I can see that the number of people like me is growing every day. Tesla needs to change, or someone will wipe them out one of these days, their arrogance won't be tolerated once competition arrives.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

...arrogance won't be tolerated once competition arrives.

The DIY issues you are specifically talking about are safety related, and one that needs oversight.

 

[green1]

The DIY issues you are specifically talking about are safety related, and one that needs oversight.

Believe what you want. But if people can't repair their own cars from Tesla, but can from every single other car manufacturer on the planet, I think it's Tesla that needs to re-think things. not me.

 

[deonb]

The DIY issues you are specifically talking about are safety related, and one that needs oversight.

Disabling Slacker and Navigation and refusing to re-enable it unless you're willing to accept a new UI that looks like it was designed by a 5 year old meth addict, has nothing to do with security - it is just arrogance.

 

[SmartElectric]

if people can't repair their own cars from Tesla, but can from every single other car manufacturer on the planet, I think it's Tesla that needs to re-think things. not me.

Never owned a Mercedes then?

Seriously, these Tesla's are fabulously engineered vehicles, the normal stuff like tires and brakes are easily handled by regular shops, but not the electronics, and most shops aren't tooled to repair aluminum stricture either....all in good time.

 

[Skotty]

I agree that over the air updates can be a double edged sword. The great thing is that it allows you to get features that you never had before. The terrible thing is that it allows you to get "features" that you never had before.

You are left kind of dreading ever thinking the UI is great, because without fail, they will change it. That's not just a Tesla thing. I kind of think it's a human thing. People just can't stop changing things, even when they are generally accepted as perfect already.

 

[green1]

I have owned a Mercedes, and I did all my own repair work on it. On the Tesla I can't even replace a door handle.

 

[Pollux]

Disabling Slacker and Navigation and refusing to re-enable it unless you're willing to accept a new UI that looks like it was designed by a 5 year old meth addict, has nothing to do with security - it is just arrogance.

Huh? News to me. Could you please clarify? (Of course, I just accepted the 8.0 upgrade, so I wouldn't've noticed the case you're describing.)

Thanks!

Alan

 

[deonb]

Huh? News to me. Could you please clarify? (Of course, I just accepted the 8.0 upgrade, so I wouldn't've noticed the case you're describing.)

Thanks!

Alan

A lot of us (on pre-AP cars) were on 6.x and didn't upgrade to 7.x because of the flat UI design.

6.x was a beautiful skeuomorphic design and what I bought the car with. 7.x / 8.0 is ugly as crap. I would most likely not have bought the car if it came with 7.x. (I'm emphatically against flat design - maybe because I already lived through Windows 1.0, and didn't need to do that again).

6.x kept working for a long time. But a few weeks before the release of 8.0, Tesla disabled Slacker & Navigation UNLESS you upgraded to 7.x.

 

[davidc18]

Love the cars, and agree that dealing the Tesla leaves a lot to be desired. The people at our SC are really wonderful but the the processes in place at Tesla are a mixed bag. Dropped the 90 off for a few minor things and waited 5 days to get the car back because a part (air suspension compressor) had to be shipped from CA. One issue (24/7 buzzing/humming from behind the left headlight) is not only still present but deemed "normal function". Earlier in the year, we waited 10 weeks to get a new windshield in the 70. I am not at all convinced that Tesla can scale up to dealing with the M3. Time will tell.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Disabling Slacker and Navigation and refusing to re-enable it unless you're willing to accept a new UI that looks like it was designed by a 5 year old meth addict, has nothing to do with security - it is just arrogance.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the motivation.