Well folks, I graduated at 4pm yesterday. As is the custom of our people, I shall share my story for the benefit of future graduates. Its a novel but I hope it's helpful.
- I originally had my pickup scheduled for today (8/2) but on 7/30 whilst standing on a golf course roughly 4 hours from my delivery center I received a phone call from my SA that the car was ready for me. I considered bailing on the round and driving straight there to pick it up but cooler heads prevailed.
- Getting the car a day early was obviously a win but I had already finished the insurance step and my effective date on the policy was a day later than it needed to be. I called the normal Tesla customer service number to resolve the issue (do not do this for insurance related questions) and spoke with what I can only assume was a partially sentient jar of mayonnaise. After putting me on hold multiple times Miracle McWhipface had no answers for me and told me he'd call back (he did not). The next morning I called the insurance line directly and had the issue resolved in maybe 45 seconds. Key takeaway: If you are going with Tesla insurance you really don't need to do it until an SA calls you and confirms the appointment and if you have insurance issues DO NOT bother with the regular help line.
- I picked up from the Norfolk, VA delivery center which did not seem like a busy location at all. I was the only person picking up at the time and there was only one other vehicle that was prepped for pick up that day. I had a great SA there and the whole process took maybe 25 minutes including processing my trade in. Speaking of which, they barely even looked at my trade in vehicle. The only thing they seemed to care about was the odometer reading. No inspection of that car took place prior to signing the paperwork.
- The vehicle itself was flawless. I had one concern as it looked like one of the door seals was leaking but it turned out that, because the windows roll down a bit upon opening the door, a few drops of rain got in behind the window. First 30 minutes of the drive home was in an apocalyptic thunderstorm so I can confirm that it does not leak. The interior was also excellent aside from some dust on the dash. The car included the mobile charger.
- Cell signal sucked at that location so after fighting with the app for a few minutes I was able to get into the car. The SA sat in the car with me for 10ish minutes and explained how to get things set up, basic driving controls, etc. She would have stuck around longer but I was too damned antsy to get going. The only issue I had initially was that the premium connectivity trial wasn't showing up. Turn out that the car needed to update which took about 25 minutes after I got home, after which the trial kicked in.
Driving the "Millenial Falcon" (I hope no one else came up with that name):
- Nothing prepared me for the first time I jumped on the accelerator. I am not much of a giggler but that is the only way I can describe the reaction. The acceleration doesn't even make sense. In the time it took my brain to register what was going on I was already doing 70 and my girlfriend was having an out of body experience. Later that evening, an older family member would "nearly black out" from the demonstration.
- I had prepared myself for a rougher ride than my previous vehicle (3-series BMW) but this was in no way the case. The suspension felt great and despite the aforementioned storm the traction control was incredible. Regenerative breaking is definitely something to get used to though. I had it set to whatever the most aggressive mode is and it really does kick in hard when you release the accelerator. Wouldn't say that I got the hang of it in the first hour.
- Get all of the screwing around with settings and features out of your system before you depart if you can. I kept being tempted to mess with things on my hour drive and since the autopilot hadn't calibrated yet it really wasn't a good idea. There were all kinds of indicators and things that I hadn't bothered to familiarize myself with that puzzled me in the fist half hour or so. This too shall pass.
- Not sure if I can put too much stock in this yet but my insurance was originally quoted at $111/mo. By the time I got home, that value had dropped to $77. I will probably revisit this after I have had more reps driving and opportunity to observe the shifts in the safety score.
- The car came charged to 87% and was in the 70s by the time I got to the supercharger nearest my house so I figured I'd try it out. Very simple and intuitive experience. I didn't, however, let the car know that I was going to do this by navigating to a supercharger so it was a little annoyed that I didn't let it pre-condition the battery. Charging to 90% took maybe 15 minutes and would have been quicker had I done it the "right way".
TLDR:
- Order to delivery: 66 days; listen to everyone that says to set your profile to cash and no-trade in until you get a VIN and not to do anything with insurance, final payment, etc until you get a call confirming your delivery date (seriously, I didn't and it caused some major headaches along the way); delivery experience was exceptional, great build quality, no major issues, mobile charger included; fast car is fast, do not launch if passenger has heart condition. The wait is worth it. I know the despair of having multiple EDD shifts and how discouraging the ordering process can be. I am obviously still in the honeymoon phase but the car is truly unlike anything I have ever driven. I couldn't be happier.
#JusticeForFlatbroke
