I wanted to pass along a recent experience I had with some old friends that my wife and I hadn't seen in a while. Recently, my wife ran into them at an event attended by their children and grandchildren. I wasn't there, but my wife says somehow the topic of Tesla came up and one of the grandkids got interested. When my wife told him we owned a Tesla he did not believe it. Even after showing photos, he just said those could be from the internet. So, my wife told him the next time we were down with the Tesla we'd stop by and give him a ride. His dad was also very interested.
So, early Thanksgiving week we were in the area (central West Virginia outside of Charleston) with the Model 3. We arranged to stop by for dinner and a visit so the grandkids and their dad could see the car. The one non-believer grandkid had to eat some crow and I gave them a demo ride going through AP, the acceleration, streaming, games, etc. They were all impressed, but for that age group (12 and under boys), I think fart mode may have been the favorite, but the acceleration runs were up there too.
When I got back with that group, our friends (the grandparents) wanted to take a ride. The grandfather had just gotten back from a day of deer hunting. They are late 50s and early 60s age wise. I gave them both a ride and went through the same demo minus fart mode (mostly because I forgot).
Lastly, the father of the kids really wanted his wife to take a ride and had to do some convincing, but eventually I did a third ride with the mother of the kids and their older daughter.
After doing three demo rides with different groups, the bottom line that was expressed was "we had no idea" and "you can't understand it without experiencing it" and "everything else feels primitive" and "the technology is just unbelievably futuristic". This family drives normal Camrys, Tacomas, Subarus, etc.
They just kept reiterating that no matter how much someone tries to explain it, you just can't understand until you experience it. I don't know if they'll be buyers anytime soon since there isn't a store or service center within a couple hundred miles, but they certain have a new appreciation for what a Tesla is and can do.
So, early Thanksgiving week we were in the area (central West Virginia outside of Charleston) with the Model 3. We arranged to stop by for dinner and a visit so the grandkids and their dad could see the car. The one non-believer grandkid had to eat some crow and I gave them a demo ride going through AP, the acceleration, streaming, games, etc. They were all impressed, but for that age group (12 and under boys), I think fart mode may have been the favorite, but the acceleration runs were up there too.
When I got back with that group, our friends (the grandparents) wanted to take a ride. The grandfather had just gotten back from a day of deer hunting. They are late 50s and early 60s age wise. I gave them both a ride and went through the same demo minus fart mode (mostly because I forgot).
Lastly, the father of the kids really wanted his wife to take a ride and had to do some convincing, but eventually I did a third ride with the mother of the kids and their older daughter.
After doing three demo rides with different groups, the bottom line that was expressed was "we had no idea" and "you can't understand it without experiencing it" and "everything else feels primitive" and "the technology is just unbelievably futuristic". This family drives normal Camrys, Tacomas, Subarus, etc.
They just kept reiterating that no matter how much someone tries to explain it, you just can't understand until you experience it. I don't know if they'll be buyers anytime soon since there isn't a store or service center within a couple hundred miles, but they certain have a new appreciation for what a Tesla is and can do.
