New owners and early adopter owners: Do I detect a major difference?

[LetsGoFast]

I think the biggest factor is confirmation bias -- once you form the opinion that the early owners were more helpful and understanding, you'll be able to reject the posts of older members that are unhappy and new members who are rabid supporters easily. Another factor is that people whose interest remains high enough to continue to post regularly several years later are indeed probably more supportive than the average owner from that time period, distorting your perceptions. Finally, there is just something of a numbers game at work. As the user base grows, it is impossible (or at least difficult) to maintain that same sense of community. It also means you're eventually going to attract obnoxious people like me by the law of averages. :tongue:

 

[mrjedistud]

The real newbies won't even bother to find and join this forum.
I think that anyone who is here is still an "early adopter".
We'll know Tesla is mainstream when people just buy the car, use it, and don't obsess over it on this forum.

Great point!

 

[CHGolferJim]

As owner of approximately #60,000 of the Model S series, out of tens of millions of cars on the road in this country, and the 2nd in my neighborhood, I feel like and would like to be seen as an early adopter. It's part of the charge I get out of owning and driving the car. So, I partly understand those really early adopters having a special sense about themselves as I imagine I would. I wish I'd known about the company and car earlier.

Also, my daughter just got engaged so I'm really glad I bought in 2015 as I'm beginning to display serious penny-pinching tendencies.

 

[Eclectic]

I bought in 2013 and consider myself an early adopter. However, I am far less forgiving of Tesla's faults today than I was two years ago. I was willing to forgive a lot in 2013 because it was a new product by a new company. However, Tesla has fallen woefully behind in maintaining the vehicle's software, and its regular software updates invariably break something that was previously working. Tesla has shown an unhealthy obsession with acceleration performance at the expense of almost everything else, it seems. As soon as Tesla gets something "good enough" with a minimum feature set, like the navigation system, it seems to forget about it.

Version 7 of the car's operating system was a huge step backwards that left me questioning how decisions are being made at the company. The continued problems with drive units has me wondering the same thing. Elon's demotion of Jerome Guillen as a scapegoat for poor China sales left a bad taste in my mouth, especially when it was Elon's decision, ultimately, to enter markets that he was absolutely unprepared to enter. Witness Hong Kong and the fact that Tesla never bothered to apply for regulatory approval of Autopilot. Now the feature has been pulled by government order.

Current buyers have every right to expect big things from Tesla, not the least of which is quality. I've been noticing that despite Elon's insistence that hundreds of improvements have been made to Model S, I continue to read about the same recurring problems with recent builds that have plagued owners since 2012. I continue to hear about lack of communication from delivery specialists, continued delivery delays and changing of dates, and the continued lack of QC causing some horrendous initial quality problems for a car of this price tag.

It is my opinion that Tesla is unprepared for what may be coming.

I'm of the same vintage (bought a P85 in 2013, then one of the first P85Ds in 2014) and I really can't say it better than AmpedRealtor. At this point, as much as I like our P85D (with warts and all), I don't know whether we'd buy another Tesla. I have no problems with ICE vehicles and there are a lot of compelling alternatives at this price point. I don't care about status (I live in an area that is littered with Teslas...just yesterday I saw two Model X's at the gym parking lot, so I'm not sure whether a Tesla is a status symbol in my neck of the woods) or even cutting edge tech. I care about functionality, value, performance, convenience and reliability. I like not having to go to gas stations, but I'm spending a lot more time waiting at superchargers (I drive to Sacramento and LA quite a bit, so I'm one of the folks who use superchargers regularly, but not as a replacement for overnight charging). Like AmpedRealtor, I don't think Tesla is prepared for what is coming and with that, the benefits of being a Tesla owner may diminish.

 

[tezco]

I agree with Flasher. I think much of the sense of an initial tight-nit community had to do with the very small numbers of owners in the early days. Everyone knew each other. Same thing in the Leaf community and in their forum. Now I see Leafs everywhere, and for most, the car is just a car. Most new Tesla owners I encounter now days don't even know about our forum, so I always recommend checking it out.

By the way, I always felt that the Roadster owners were always very willing to share their knowledge; like Bonnie, they have almost all been mentors, and have spent countless hour educating the rest of us. Thanks guys (and gals!)

 

[tstafford]

The real newbies won't even bother to find and join this forum.
I think that anyone who is here is still an "early adopter".
We'll know Tesla is mainstream when people just buy the car, use it, and don't obsess over it on this forum.

True.

 

[TLej]

I think those are some silly and dangerous assumptions to make, almost bordering on elitism The Tesla Model S has been my dream car since it was released, but I never thought I could afford it. Being relatively young, I feel absurdly lucky every time I go into my garage and see my car in there. I am grateful every time I take it out on a trip, and thankful every time the car brings me back home safely.

This is me exactly. Delivery 12/29/15. My "Tesla grin" happens every morning when I go to the garage and see the car's still there and it wasn't a dream. Doesn't give Tesla a free pass for quality issues, but in my part of the world I'm an early adopter (nearest Supercharger is about 150 km away and nearest Service Centre is about 1800 km away) and willing to live with some oddities and inconveniences for the pleasure of being on the forefront (maybe not the bleeding edge) of new automotive tech.

 

[pedriscoll]

I am a newer owner as well, with 6 months under my belt. However I am a full fledged Tesla evangelist, willing to talk to anyone at any time about the car. Is it perfect?, not by any means. I do still consider myself to be an early adopter of electric vehicles in general and have been willing to give Tesla the benefit of the doubt over many imperfections. My car has been an absolute joy to drive and I have had no significant issues with it at all. I do think that as Tesla aspires to be a mass market manufacturer (model 3) they will find new owners much less forgiving and will need to be sure they produce a consistently reliable vehicle with good technical support and maintenance. I love the car and want to drive it for many more years.

 

[jimmy82abn]

I think by you starting this thread letting everyone know you are an early adaptor tells me you are trying to elevate your status and lean towards an elitism mentality.

I've personally just bought a model s and it has nothing to do with elitism I'll tell you that. I wanted my family riding in a very safe car.

 

[int32_t]

Even if it were true in spirit, your data will be polluted by would-be early adopters who haven't purchased yet or purchased only recently due to financial limitations of trying to buy a car that costs half as much as a house (yes, I know some of you west coast folks live in places where houses cost 50 billion dollars each, but back in normal land typical houses go for about $150K-$200K). ...

+1. The only Model S I can afford right now is the Hot Wheels edition! :frown:

 

[benf]

I'm a new owner (1 month) and while I agree with your statement, I see it from the other side obviously. I came on these forums originally and was surprised at the complete lack of objectivity from the "early adopters." In general the attitude seemed to be (this is sweeping and meant to be over the top):

• ICEV's by definition are pieces of crap, and the Model S is perfect.
• The Model S is the fastest car ever. This is proven by random videos of it beating certain supercars in very limited circumstances (quarter mile). Then when anyone brings up the obvious, like what happens after 100mph, or what happens when you decide to turn, or what happens when it's below 90% state of charge, they fall back to the "EV family sedan" position, where it doesn't matter if it loses because the fact that it's even being compared to a supercar proves it's the best car ever. Or my favorite, the areas in which the Tesla doesn't excel likely involve driving at illegal speeds or in dangerous ways, so they don't count or matter.
• The company is young, so problem X Y and Z don't matter, are understandable, should be given a pass, etc. This makes sense if you're buying some of the first cars ever built, but when you're #100,000 you expect the issues of three years ago to be figured out.
• The interior is great, and anyone who says otherwise is a prick. Anyone who mentions the lack of cup holders, seat pockets, door pockets, cheap vanity mirrors, underwhelming material quality, or rattles/buzzes/build quality issues is just nitpicking.
• The problems with the car don't matter because Tesla's service is so great. Except that it isn't anymore. Rangers are gone. Wait times to get in to a service center can be a month out. A lot of people are getting non-Tesla loaner cars. And don't even get me started on why people shouldn't have to bring their cars in for service in the first place because these issues ARE NOT NEW!
• The car has no maintenance and will last forever, more proof it's the best thing since sliced bread. Except it does, and people pay $600 a year for it. And it's a bit odd that some owners are on their 4th and 5th drive units for a car that only has a handful of moving parts that last "forever."

I could keep going, but you get the idea . I love my car, I think Tesla is great, and EV's are the way forward. I applaud what Tesla has done, and I think they will truly change the world. But that doesn't mean when my car has 10 minor issues within the first 3 weeks of ownership I should pretend they don't exist or pretend the car is perfect. I'm sorry if that makes me one of those ungrateful entitled people who are ruining your forums now. :tongue:

Now to be fair, the extreme on the other side is just as bad, and when I see ridiculous threads like "MY SEAT HEATERS ARE USELESS!!!!!" or "WORST X Y Z EVER" I can't help but laugh. There exists a happy medium where people are REASONABLE and OBJECTIVE regardless of when they bought their car. It would be awesome if we could all work towards that a bit more .

 

[AMPUP]

This is just an intuitive hunch but my reading of posts on this web site and my experience with actual owners suggests a major difference between those of us who were among the early Tesla adopters (2013) and those who came later. Motivation for buying the car and attitudes about Tesla seem to be very different. It's difficult to summarize and gross generalizations are always risky and unfair, but I do think there's a notable difference. Early adopters seem to be more grateful to have the car, less likely to complain, and more interested and supportive of other owners and the Tesla community. Newer owners seem to be more status driven, more likely to complain about service and other matters, more concerned about "luxury" appointments and the like. Of course there are always major exceptions but this is a pattern that seems to hold true.

Opinions? Let the flaming begin

You could be right.

The other thing I have noticed is that some new owners look down on early adopters for not having autopilot or dual motors, I don't remember ever seeing early adopters looking down on models without certain features or options.

Maybe we did, and maybe just the community is much larger now so that's the reason.

Then again, Tesla have also changed in the last few years. Change is I guess always changing [emoji3]

 

[russman]

I consider myself a little bit of both. I lurked for quite sometime before joining. Received delivery in early 2014 before autopilot hardware, but after increases in things like Extended Service Contract and such.

I'm thankful for the early buyers as I cancelled my order 3 times before finally committing and if it weren't for the early people dealing with the issues, I'm not sure I could get over the mental block of the cost and the perceived "risk" at the time.

It's still the best car ever, but I find it disappointing that I still see so many similar challenges that I wish/hoped Tesla as a company would have improved on by now. I just read about a Model X delivery that had a number of the similar issues I had with my Model S. When someone buys the car they shouldn't plan delivery before a quarter end or year end for concern of quality issues. I saw something similar with a recently delivered P90D which has been in the shop as many times as the owner has driven it.

Just makes me more worried about what might creep up when I'm out of warranty. I hope to own the car for 10+ years and 200k+ miles, because it's the best car ever. So I think I'm a little whinny because I'm still worried about the "newness".

 

[ndhaon91]

I can only speak for myself. I took delivery of my 85D just a few weeks ago. I would never for even a fraction of a second have considered spending $90k on any other vehicle. I did it for the following reasons:

1) I believe in Elon's vision, and I want to support the man who one day will be seen as the person who, through sheer force of will, broke the Unites States free from oil dependency.
2) I love the idea of significantly reducing my carbon footprint.
3) I was in the midst of going through a divorce, suddenly realized I could spend my money however I wanted, and decided to do something really nice for myself.
4) The rebates and being able to write off the monthly lease as a business owner made the monthly payment much more reasonable. I still could have afforded it, but I wouldn't have let myself do it.

The decision certainly had nothing to do with status. Honestly, despite the price tag, I still don't think the Model S conveys the same sense of elite status as other vehicles. And that's a plus. If I wanted status, I'd have bought a Maserati. If I wanted maximum luxury, I'd have purchased a BMW 7 series or a Mercedes S-Class. If I wanted pure sport, I'd have purchased a new Z06.

Only Tesla could have inspired me to hand over $90k. My previous car was a 2012 Hyundai Sonata purchased new for $27k. In that sense, I would consider myself an early adopter. But you're damn right I expect my $90k vehicle to work. I can live without the ultra-premium interior or the swinger status. But the door handles sure as hell better work, the hood better latch, and I sure as hell better not get wet in a rainstorm. I'm willing to accept whatever that makes me.

 

[GoTslaGo]

I'm just wondering how many new owners will stand up and say 'oh yeah, that's me, I totally am not an early adopter'.

This will not go well.

That is totally me! New owner, Oct/Nov 2015. Ok, I'm cheating, wife is the new owner...:wink:

Formerly BMWs only. Wife hates Audis. Can't stand the MB dealership. Got pissed off at the BMW corporate for trying to sell me services I didn't need.

I never bought the newest model cars, always waited for the new model configuration to work out the kinks. Looked that way with the Model S. Besides wanted the autopilot, and the fact that Tesla upgrades software tipped it for me.

Now will not go back to ICE. Waiting for you early adopters (Thanks Bonnie for great info on the X) to figure out the bugs on the X before I buy (and yes, I like to test drive before I plunk down the cash...).

Funny thing, I sense my wife is becoming a Tesla Fan-girl. Last time I mentioned some negative post on the forum, she was almost livid!

 

[MrAustraliaTax]

This is just an intuitive hunch but my reading of posts on this web site and my experience with actual owners suggests a major difference between those of us who were among the early Tesla adopters (2013) and those who came later.

Great topic and very true in my opinion. (Mine: Australian P85D, delivered August 2015).

I have been following Tesla since the Roadster - the first *desirable* electric car IMO.

I bought my Tesla because it is:
- desirable as a car
- looks like a car and not a weird greenie fashion statement
- is actually usable as a primary car (decent range, size, performance and comfort)

I did not buy my car because I was a fanboi. I am therefore far less forgiving and far more cognisant of the flaws of the car and the company.

I'm a new owner (1 month) and while I agree with your statement, I see it from the other side obviously. I came on these forums originally and was surprised at the complete lack of objectivity from the "early adopters."

Tesla as a company has made many, many mistakes.
The car is not perfect. The company is not perfect.
It used to be that the slightest critique of Tesla here resulted in a hail of "why don't you just sell the car and buy a stinky ICE" replies. Fortunately, that attitude seems to be changing.

 

[jeffro01]

While I'm a new owner, I've been following Tesla since the early days of the Roadster. What they've accomplished is amazing, what they still haven't yet accomplished is equally amazing. What I mean is, the quarterly quality issues, the ridiculous service time waits, asking brand new owners to hand their cars right back because of issue number one, are just as unacceptable as Tesla is impressive in getting this far.

The reality is, Tesla has moved past the early adopter phase. It simply has. The people buying the cars now, whatever their reasons may be, aren't looking for the early adopter experience. Tesla MUST address this before the big boys see the light and start to move away from fossil fuel based cars\trucks.

Now for the part that'll ruffle some feathers... It is absurd to deliver a car to someone with the flaws that we see all the time here, and we all know we aren't talking about isolated events. Are all cars off the line in need of post delivery QC fixes? No, but the fact that we all know how Q end goes should be alarming but it's brushed under the rug by many members here for various reasons. You won't find many people here who have bad things to say about Tesla as a company, but it's not hard to find people here who are frustrated and disappointed with their experience. That must be addressed. Given that it hasn't yet, I think Tesla is in serious need of an upper management shake up and whatever role Elon is playing needs to change. For one whoever is in charge of the QC team needs to be fired, not tomorrow, not yesterday, but now. Whatever systemic issues exist within that team, it's staff, it's budget, it's processes, whatever, needs to be fixed along with a change in management. Tesla needs to invest serious dollars into their service department as well, some of the wait times are so far from acceptable that I have to sometimes do a double take with regards to some of the service wait time posts here. I cannot understand how some of you can continually gloss over, and push under the rug on a consistent basis just how poor Tesla's service department and QC processes are???...

Tesla has accomplished so much in such a short amount of time and they are to be commended for doing so. I love my car but the reality is people have had the wool pulled over their eyes because the car is so awesome that it's caused them to go totally brain dead when it comes to everything else. Tesla has the luxury of being able to get away with all of this now, there simply is no other competitor. That won't always be the case...

Jeff

 

[msnow]

I think by you starting this thread letting everyone know you are an early adaptor tells me you are trying to elevate your status and lean towards an elitism mentality.

I've personally just bought a model s and it has nothing to do with elitism I'll tell you that. I wanted my family riding in a very safe car.

If you're talking about the OP @artsci you couldn't be more wrong. End of story!!

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I think by you starting this thread letting everyone know you are an early adaptor tells me you are trying to elevate your status and lean towards an elitism mentality.

Only people with inferiority complexes say things like this.

 

[GregTexas]

From what I've read on the forum, I'm happy I'm not an early adopter.