I was looking through my past posts and realized I never wrote up my delivery story on TMC.
I've long been involved in Environmentalism, and followed the development of Hybrids and EVs closely. I wanted a RAV4EV but couldn't find one for sale. I mourned when GM took the EV1 off the market and crushed them. I've driven every iteration of Toyota Prius to date, but other than the gas economy it didn't really appeal enough to me to want to make that my vehicle. I guess you can call me a car enthusiast.
When I heard about the Tesla Roadster way back in the early 2000s, and the performance, I started saving my pennies. I played with the configurator, wanting either an Electric Blue or a Sig Red. When it got to the prototype stage, I was there at a TechShop seminar where I actually got to sit in one of the prototypes, and hear about the development of the Roadster. I was super sad when they discontinued production of the Roadsters, and thought to myself that worst case, I'd buy a used one a few years down the line. I wasn't really thinking much of the Model S, as lifestyle-wise, I'm much more a 2-door person than a four-door type. Tesla back then also had some CPO/Inventory Roadsters in between their discontinuation and the release of the Model S, and my ICE wasn't being used much. I imagined a life without gasoline, using electricity, and vowed that the next vehicle I owned would be electric and it would be a Tesla (and probably a secondhand Roadster). This was a bold statement that I made to all my friends, who sometimes ridiculed or teased me because to them, electric did not seem practical. How would you get from the Bay to LA? How often would you have to stop and charge? How would you be able to charge? These are the questions they had, to which I had no good answer.
I lived in Mountain View, which meant that I could drive up to Menlo Park and visit the first Tesla showroom and see the Roadster. I never did, because I felt that if I went there, I'd be pressured to buy, and after sitting in it, and after driving it, I'd break. I didn't know how Tesla worked, but I thought I knew from previous experiences at dealerships, they'd either ignore me (because I have a look that doesn't scream that I have the money to buy a car) or I'd test drive one and want it.
Enter the Model S and Superchargers.
I have to admit that I didn't initially pay attention the Model S very much. While some Silicon Valley elites were making reservations for the S40 and S60, the range and the MS' range to make it down to SoCal (a trip which I made several times a year) without needing to stop at Harris Ranch (can't stand the odor) made it a no-deal.
Tesla opened up a showroom a few blocks away from my apartment. It was five minutes away, and it was next to the McLaren dealership (which I wasn't at all tempted by). One day I decided to visit and see what all the fuss was about the Model S. I sat in the car. I listened to the sound system, and while it was late in the day and they couldn't accommodate a test drive, they told me that if I wanted to, I could come back another day and they'd let me take one out for a spin around the block. I set up an account, configured a dream option spec, and saved it. They also mentioned that they had set up superchargers along 101/1 so I wouldn't need to stop at Harris Ranch and could just go up the coast. A little longer, but worth it for me.
A few weeks later, they announced the Performance AWD version of the Model S, with Insane mode and Autopilot. I got an email saying that the P85+ that I had configured was no longer available, and that they had reset some of the options. I reconfigured for a D type and realized that I was getting more features/option for the money.
It wasn't long after that I made the reservation deposit and got my Model S (a P85D) into the queue. The delivery went quicker than expected -- the original delivery date listed on the website was in late April 2015, and then got moved up to late March 2015! (I didn't know about TMC then, nor that they prioritized P versions)
I made a trip up the Tesla Factory to receive my Model S, and to tour the Factory at the same time. I was living in SoCal by then, and it made for a good reason to visit the Bay Area. This was in late March 2015, and they had not yet announced the new colors, but on the assembly line at the factory were the soon-to-be announced new colors (my guess is these were the showroom models).
The day I took delivery at the Tesla Factory was actually the first time I had ever driven a Model S, and since it was a P85D, on the way home to San Jose, I mindlessly launched to 90 mph without even realizing it on the on-ramp near the Tesla Factory. My thinking at the time was that it was Insanely quick, and that it was quite a beast -- it reminded me of an BMW M5 or a M6, or an 850, very heavy, excellent torque and good handling and stability. On Day Two, I drove it home to Orange County, driving along the 101, stopping at the Gilroy, Atascadero, and Oxnard Superchargers and bonding with the car. Over the past year that I've owned it, I feel like I've gotten to know it a bit better, and it's grown to be more of a tamed beast. I know now what to expect from it, and I feel comfortable with it.
This past week I retrofitted it with Ludicrous mode, and the white-knuckled experience I had when I took delivery of the car is back again. Palm sweating, heart-racing acceleration, the motors felt like a monster unchained from its shackles. Launching from a standstill I hit 100 far sooner than I thought I would, and eased it back down to 65. My car once again feels like a new car, and I'm going to need to learn all over again, with drive time I happily look forward to.
With all my positive experiences with the Tesla brand, I enthusiastically put my money down on a Model 3. (and remember I'm not a 4-door guy!) If I had more money (and garage space) I'd happily collect all of the different cars that Tesla makes, but for now, I'm extremely happy with my MS P85DL.
(Tesla Grin x 1000)
I've long been involved in Environmentalism, and followed the development of Hybrids and EVs closely. I wanted a RAV4EV but couldn't find one for sale. I mourned when GM took the EV1 off the market and crushed them. I've driven every iteration of Toyota Prius to date, but other than the gas economy it didn't really appeal enough to me to want to make that my vehicle. I guess you can call me a car enthusiast.
When I heard about the Tesla Roadster way back in the early 2000s, and the performance, I started saving my pennies. I played with the configurator, wanting either an Electric Blue or a Sig Red. When it got to the prototype stage, I was there at a TechShop seminar where I actually got to sit in one of the prototypes, and hear about the development of the Roadster. I was super sad when they discontinued production of the Roadsters, and thought to myself that worst case, I'd buy a used one a few years down the line. I wasn't really thinking much of the Model S, as lifestyle-wise, I'm much more a 2-door person than a four-door type. Tesla back then also had some CPO/Inventory Roadsters in between their discontinuation and the release of the Model S, and my ICE wasn't being used much. I imagined a life without gasoline, using electricity, and vowed that the next vehicle I owned would be electric and it would be a Tesla (and probably a secondhand Roadster). This was a bold statement that I made to all my friends, who sometimes ridiculed or teased me because to them, electric did not seem practical. How would you get from the Bay to LA? How often would you have to stop and charge? How would you be able to charge? These are the questions they had, to which I had no good answer.
I lived in Mountain View, which meant that I could drive up to Menlo Park and visit the first Tesla showroom and see the Roadster. I never did, because I felt that if I went there, I'd be pressured to buy, and after sitting in it, and after driving it, I'd break. I didn't know how Tesla worked, but I thought I knew from previous experiences at dealerships, they'd either ignore me (because I have a look that doesn't scream that I have the money to buy a car) or I'd test drive one and want it.
Enter the Model S and Superchargers.
I have to admit that I didn't initially pay attention the Model S very much. While some Silicon Valley elites were making reservations for the S40 and S60, the range and the MS' range to make it down to SoCal (a trip which I made several times a year) without needing to stop at Harris Ranch (can't stand the odor) made it a no-deal.
Tesla opened up a showroom a few blocks away from my apartment. It was five minutes away, and it was next to the McLaren dealership (which I wasn't at all tempted by). One day I decided to visit and see what all the fuss was about the Model S. I sat in the car. I listened to the sound system, and while it was late in the day and they couldn't accommodate a test drive, they told me that if I wanted to, I could come back another day and they'd let me take one out for a spin around the block. I set up an account, configured a dream option spec, and saved it. They also mentioned that they had set up superchargers along 101/1 so I wouldn't need to stop at Harris Ranch and could just go up the coast. A little longer, but worth it for me.
A few weeks later, they announced the Performance AWD version of the Model S, with Insane mode and Autopilot. I got an email saying that the P85+ that I had configured was no longer available, and that they had reset some of the options. I reconfigured for a D type and realized that I was getting more features/option for the money.
It wasn't long after that I made the reservation deposit and got my Model S (a P85D) into the queue. The delivery went quicker than expected -- the original delivery date listed on the website was in late April 2015, and then got moved up to late March 2015! (I didn't know about TMC then, nor that they prioritized P versions)
I made a trip up the Tesla Factory to receive my Model S, and to tour the Factory at the same time. I was living in SoCal by then, and it made for a good reason to visit the Bay Area. This was in late March 2015, and they had not yet announced the new colors, but on the assembly line at the factory were the soon-to-be announced new colors (my guess is these were the showroom models).
The day I took delivery at the Tesla Factory was actually the first time I had ever driven a Model S, and since it was a P85D, on the way home to San Jose, I mindlessly launched to 90 mph without even realizing it on the on-ramp near the Tesla Factory. My thinking at the time was that it was Insanely quick, and that it was quite a beast -- it reminded me of an BMW M5 or a M6, or an 850, very heavy, excellent torque and good handling and stability. On Day Two, I drove it home to Orange County, driving along the 101, stopping at the Gilroy, Atascadero, and Oxnard Superchargers and bonding with the car. Over the past year that I've owned it, I feel like I've gotten to know it a bit better, and it's grown to be more of a tamed beast. I know now what to expect from it, and I feel comfortable with it.
This past week I retrofitted it with Ludicrous mode, and the white-knuckled experience I had when I took delivery of the car is back again. Palm sweating, heart-racing acceleration, the motors felt like a monster unchained from its shackles. Launching from a standstill I hit 100 far sooner than I thought I would, and eased it back down to 65. My car once again feels like a new car, and I'm going to need to learn all over again, with drive time I happily look forward to.
With all my positive experiences with the Tesla brand, I enthusiastically put my money down on a Model 3. (and remember I'm not a 4-door guy!) If I had more money (and garage space) I'd happily collect all of the different cars that Tesla makes, but for now, I'm extremely happy with my MS P85DL.
(Tesla Grin x 1000)
