New MS, old Wife

[Akikiki]

I'm expecting my MS in the next couple of weeks, my first EV. I have been on the M3 list since day 1 (and am still there) but a 24-hour test drive on the MS sold me. I took a decent day-trip with 3 of my sons.

My concern is my wife. For reasons I don't think I'll ever understand, she thinks a car is something used to get from Point A to Point B (I know, right? It's the JOURNEY). She casually walked by the 24-hour test drive car but did not ride in it. Her comments? "It's pretty.". <sigh>

I already am thinking that I want to create a profile for her that will have "low" regen on, to feel more like a regular car, at least to start. And with the SAS, set the "home" profile to "very high" to make it easy to get in/out. Maybe even create an "exit" profile. But she could care less about computers, gadgets, and so on. She has her own car (6-speed Outback) but I hope to make this our "trip car" - so she will have some seat miles.

Trading in the wife is not an option. After all, she lives with me and let me buy a MS! That's pretty darn rare.

Anything else I can do to help ease the transition? I want to make this as painless as possible - a custom "home screen" with my most-used options by user-profile would be nice!

Thanks in advance!

I am so glad for you that you came to us before she drove it. Look, you are not the first well meaning innocent husband to come here and talk about this. You won't be the last. But thank goodness there's hope for you here. Heed our lessons. Pay very close attention.
The next time she walks past the car, tell her, put down the fob and walk away slowly. Do not pay any attention to that small voice in your head that tells you that you want to take it for a drive. You do not.

K, look we are doing you a big favor here. So don't waste our time. You do NOT want to convince her that she wants to drive it. You don't want anyone to drive it in your household - that is, unless you are already ready to buy one and never get to drive it again. You risk never getting to drive it again, except when you get to drive her to an ER that is. She might let you drive it then.

We've seen this before. Well meaning husbands that don't know better. If you are lucky enough that she's going to let you buy it, just buy it and keep yo' yap shut about it. Its going to be hard. Its okay, we know. We authorize you to come back here and brag all you wish about how amazing it is. Of course you are talking to the choir, we already know. But you will need to vent. Then in a year or so, when your Reservation Number comes up, take her down to the Tesla store and let her drive the 3. Then reward her by buying it for her. But under no circumstances let her drive the S or you will not drive it again. Understood?

Now. You owe us. You owe us for this valuable information. But if you screw up and let her drive the S, you must come back here and confirm we were right. You see, - its critical that we gather the life experiences of those that did not heed our advice and let their S get away from them. And by the way, if you let your sons drive it? - Its going to be worse. Got it? !!!!

 

[NikeWings]

Anything else I can do to help ease the transition? I want to make this as painless as possible -

I think you're a very lucky guy. Not everyone loves cars (guys or gals). But turn the car into memory, and she'll be forever attached........make delivery day irresistable, not about the car, but about her. A little blue box (from you know where) hidden in the picnic basket, which is hidden in the frunk might do it. Just get creative and make a memory, and the rest will take care of itself.

EDIT: And stop calling the car new and her old, or it'll be new MS, and no wife.

 

[wayner]

I've nor heard of this. Are you saying if you are actively installing an update, you cannot drive? I asume you get an option to defer to a convenient time, like overnight? How long do they take?

You can do them overnight but you have to initiate the upgrade by clicking on the screen. They say to allow for about 1.5 hours but they often take quicker.

But when you see that there is a new upgrade and you see that it adds X,Y and Z features then sometimes you can't wait until overnight to do the upgrade.

 

[mrElbe]

A lot of Superchargers are located in Mall and Outlet parking lots. So be aware that while the car charging is free, the wife going shopping and charging the credit card might offset that.

 

[TacC]

Is it an option to buy an X?

 

[SageBrush]

OP: Has your wife loved any car ? If yes, why ?
Or does she simply want a car that that is practical, reliable, safe and she can ignore ?

I mostly fall in the second group and only became attracted to EVs because of their environmental characteristics and and quiet ride. In many ways the Model 3 is my perfect car because it is un-car like. Just a pleasant place to sit while I go somewhere. And while I am sure that the car is speedy, powerful and dynamic -- I might never bother with those aspects of the car because they cannot compare to a bicycle and I find them ... boring.

So know your enemy, and good luck!

 

[KArnold]

OP: Has your wife loved any car ? If yes, why ?
Or does she simply want a car that that is practical, reliable, safe and she can ignore ?

Definitely the latter. She wants a car that will start/stop EVERY time, has basic amenities/room, and is very functional. She's the kind who gives the kids new socks & underwear for Christmas. A very practical kind of woman, whom I love more than life itself. When the Subaru "low oil" light comes on, she wants me to fix it that day. She gets gas at slightly less than 1/2 FULL. She would say "you never know when you are forced to bug out on short notice".

I'm the techno-nerd, gadget, car guy. I love horsepower and ride a fast motorcycle. I'm also 60 years old. While the Corvette was fun, I didn't really enjoy it because it was such old tech (2003 model). Having a green, fly-by-wire, upgradeable OTA, with lots of tech, AND lots of horsepower, and more importantly LOTS of torque - that is a car I would have designed. I expect this is the last car i will every buy for me.

It will take some hand-holding for me to explain things to her. She doesn't want a lot of detail. She well never use auto steer and maybe not cruise (she doesn't on the Subaru). She just wants to know the necessary part to drive and turn on the tunes. I'm still on the fence with re-gen by the way - more "normal" or teach her how to drive differently? I'll show her both and she can decide.

Definitely a marriage made in heaven!

 

[SageBrush]

Less is more

 

[MrAustraliaTax]

My wife was wary of our Model S when it was new, 2 years ago. Rarely drove it.

Contrary to numerous stories I read here, she still rarely drives the Tesla. I bought her an i3 to run about in. She loves it. About the only time she drives the Model S is for longer drives in poor weather conditions.

 

[Swift]

I say go the CPO route on OkCupid. Just make sure to select the "loves Teslas" option....

 

[OBX John]

My wife was a hard core SUV driver, and was "intimidated" by the Tesla so she never drove it after the test drive.

Then one day she lost her keys to the Suburban, and had to take my car to pick up our kid.

My profile pic shows what happened next...

 

[Saghost]

You can do them overnight but you have to initiate the upgrade by clicking on the screen.

Not true. You have the option for scheduling the update for a specific time instead of initiating on a click. The car defaults to 3 AM I believe...

 

[ModelX]

One of my very good friends was a Subaru die hard and had no interest in her husband's model S. He convinced her to try the X and traded in her Subaru-I won't say she was excited and I don't know how long they negotiated that she would try the X. I am pretty sure he said that after a year if she wasn't convinced she could go back to Subaru. She never uses auto-pilot, etc but now loves the car! She always says 'I traded up from a Subaru.'

 

[SMAlset]

KArnold, do you have a delivery date yet? Love to hear how it goes....with everyone

 

[KArnold]

KArnold, do you have a delivery date yet? Love to hear how it goes....with everyone

This coming Friday, June 30, Lord willing. I should say I have an appointment then - communication is sparse. We'll see!

 

[Saghost]

This coming Friday, June 30, Lord willing. I should say I have an appointment then - communication is sparse. We'll see!

Yeah. Tesla is as much software company as car, and the cars take connectedness and communication to new levels, but somehow the customer communication is often limited and confusing. Most of us went through that. Eventually you'll get the car, and that makes up for it.

 

[SMAlset]

This coming Friday, June 30, Lord willing. I should say I have an appointment then - communication is sparse. We'll see!

Ah, end of 2nd Quarter, I bet they will try hard to make it happen. Hope it's a great experience. My husband said if he only had one super nice car in his lifetime he wanted it to be this one.

 

[Akikiki]

Ah, end of 2nd Quarter, I bet they will try hard to make it happen. Hope it's a great experience. My husband said if he only had one super nice car in his lifetime he wanted it to be this one.

Wellllll, you can tell your husband "It is".

 

[SMAlset]

He's got his Telsa and me. What else more could he want!

 

[David29]

My spouse is not a car person and although she did take a test ride with me before I ordered, she did not want to drive. She drove it in a parking lot one day early on, very nervous about it. She was afraid of its size (she drives a Corolla) and of the technology. i did not push it. The way she finally drove it was when we went on a long trip several months after we got it. I asked her if she would drive because I was tired (which I was). She did so, cautiously at first. But as we all know, once you are moving it is really like any other car, in the sense that you have the "gas," the brake, and the steering wheel, turn signals, etc., like any other car. Once she had driven it for a few minutes at highway speed, she said she loved how it drove. She liked the easy steering, solid feel, quiet, etc. So now she still does not drive it routinely, but she drives it on tripos quite willingly. Parking still makes her nervous, as it is a large car. But all she had to do was try it to like it.
And by the way, i did not "coddle" her -- she uses normal regenerative braking and no creep, just like me.
You'll get there.