Older Tesla owners

[Azlaneguy]

I’m a senior citizen and know most Tesla drivers are much younger than me. But Teslas have many benefits for drivers my age which arent articulated enough to encourage other drivers in my age group to dump their ICE cars. I havent seen much discussion on this topic. If Tesla was smart, theyd start touting them to Boomers to grow market share.

My personal reasons for buying a Tesla with FSD:

I bought by MY LR with FSD for several reasons. Its critical that the world become greener to help ensure that my grandkids will have a livable world to live in, and EVs can be a big driver in that. Of course, this applies to all EVs, not just Teslas. My grandsons are already claiming my MY for when after I’m gone!

Having spent over 40 years in IT consulting, it was always exciting to be an early adaptor of new tech and definitely had that thrill when I got my Tesla. As with all newer tech, Teslas are more expensive upfront, but looking at them from a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), they are much more cost competitive with ICE vehicles than the public thinks. Maybe the currently inflated cost of gas will change more minds.

Finally, Teslas (unlike most of its competitors) have rapidly evolving autonomous driving capabilities which means that as I age, my growing infirmities will not endanger me or others as i continue to drive in order to maintain my independence. Even at today’s level of FSD capabilities, TACC, Autosteer, blind spot warning, NOA, etc. and compensate for natural declines in my stamina, eyesight and reaction time. As a FSD beta tester, I share Elons vision of fully autonomous driving and Robotaxi functionality to enable me to continue to safely travel when and where as I please well into my golden years. I‘ll know we’re finally there when Autosummon works in my neigborhood Costco parking lot on a holiday weekend!

So if you’re an older Tesla owner, why did you join the community? What does your Tesla do for you now and as you get older?

 

[jwharnish]

I'm a senior also.My main reason for buying the car was the performance, plus already had Solar so refueling cost was 0.
Another reason due to being a senior, was for the adrenalin rush. Us seniors need a good jolt now and then, and this car does it for me.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Well over 70 here. Just to say it will be a race to see if FSD can become a better driver before I become a worse one!

 

[Z_Lynx]

I think there are more older people here than will admit it.

I was going to have an electric car before I died. Forced (kind of) to buy a new car replacing my 33 year old Honda wagon, I sure as heck was not going to buy an ice vehicle, in any shape or form, and I wanted hauling capacity. Ran the numbers, brought my handy tape measure to test drive a MY, ordered it that day and got it less than 2 weeks later, in Sept 2020.

I had NO IDEA it was going to be so much fun! Everything I learned about it later made it an absolutely fab car (only a handful of gripes - turning radius is the big one).

As far as FSDb goes, it didn't take long as a tester to realize I was never going to be able to rely on this car to safely get me from one point to the next without close monitoring. So I treat FSDb kind of as a game you play when you feel like it and when you are ready to deal with both the expected and unexpected errors. Dialing down the speed is the safe way to see if it can finally handle issues like running stop signs. Hoping each new version it gets better.

I do hate the regressions. The most annoying is trying to drive into my neighbor's mailbox. It showed up in the current version.

 

[Twiglett]

I think there are more older people here than will admit it.

I was going to have an electric car before I died. Forced (kind of) to buy a new car replacing my 33 year old Honda wagon, I sure as heck was not going to buy an ice vehicle, in any shape or form, and I wanted hauling capacity. Ran the numbers, brought my handy tape measure to test drive a MY, ordered it that day and got it less than 2 weeks later, in Sept 2020.

I had NO IDEA it was going to be so much fun! Everything I learned about it later made it an absolutely fab car (only a handful of gripes - turning radius is the big one).

As far as FSDb goes, it didn't take long as a tester to realize I was never going to be able to rely on this car to safely get me from one point to the next without close monitoring. So I treat FSDb kind of as a game you play when you feel like it and when you are ready to deal with both the expected and unexpected errors. Dialing down the speed is the safe way to see if it can finally handle issues like running stop signs. Hoping each new version it gets better.

I do hate the regressions. The most annoying is trying to drive into my neighbor's mailbox. It showed up in the current version.

I'm in similar circumstances here and like you sadly I doubt my car with HW3 will never reach the stage of being able to drive me anywhere on its own.
It will only ever be a driver assistant and one that needs constant nannying.
I can easily cope with looking after autopilot, it is overall not bad at all.
FSDb currently needs more concentration to stop it doing stupid stuff than it takes to drive it yourself. So most of the time now I do just that, drive it myself.
Real FSD (full self driving, not the Tesla-speak version) is further than a decade out based on current rates of progress.

 

[kabin]

New MYLR owner here as well and we're still getting use to the EV thing. Summers are a bit hard on range but in a few months this too will change. I was involved in radar quipped adaptive cruise vehicles almost 30's years ago so it only made sense to see how things were progressing with Tesla's FSD. Hopefully it won't be a long wait to get into the full beta program.

 

[BitJam]

[...] replacing my 33 year old Honda wagon, [...] (only a handful of gripes [about the Tesla] - turning radius is the big one).

My Model Y replaced a 33 year old Volvo 240 wagon that I had driven for 20 years. I miss the 16 foot turning radius of the Volvo.

Like others have said, I'm hoping FSD becomes fully functional before I'm too old to drive. And, the low maintenance of a Tesla is great for seniors. When I was younger I'd do most of the work on my cars myself but I can't (don't want to) do that anymore.

 

[Azlaneguy]

Great responses! I do understand concern that we old timers may not not be around by the time FSD works perfectly. But we know its always going to be a work in progress and maybe Elon time will improve over dog years.

 

[Dogtone]

Good Stuff

 

[Azlaneguy]

I'm a senior also.My main reason for buying the car was the performance, plus already had Solar so refueling cost was 0.
Another reason due to being a senior, was for the adrenalin rush. Us seniors need a good jolt now and then, and this car does it for me.

The adrenaline rush is great. As you say, its fun to get the heart pumping when youre driving again. I didnt have a pony car growing up so missed out. And don't you love leaving some kid in his exhaust belching pickup in the dust when he looks over and you know he's thinking grandpa/grandma!

 

[David29]

I am a senior as well (well north of 70) and have enjoyed my Model S but I am somewhat less sanguine about Tesla being any better for us seniors. In particular, my 7 years of experience with AP1 has been positive, but I am severely skeptical of AP or FSD being able to protect us from our ourselves as we lose abilities. There are too many times when AP simply cannot handle the situation, and I do not see FSD succeeding very soon. The lack of cross-traffic monitoring is also a big issue.

Plus, my Model S is terrible for anyone with arthritis, as so many seniors have. The car is too low for comfort. I think I will need to move to a taller car just to be able to get in and out safely and comfortably. I may look at a Model Y since I hear its seating is a bit higher. But unless the Model Y seats are substantially better than those in my Model S, I'll have to look at legacy brands to find good seats (I hear and read that Audi's are among the best so I plan to look at the "fat eTron" despite its inefficiency and excessive size).

One more comment and that is the terrible UI design. The use of tiny, gray fonts is simply criminal, and is not conducive for use by older drivers. There are so many other cars out there with good, bright readable instrument clusters and other displays! Tesla's foolish addiction to what is fashionable or looks sexy (or whatever their motivation is for the poor UI design) is one of my biggest disappointments. The screens have more functionality than when I got my car 7 years ago, but are much less readable.

And now I will get off my soapbox! I hope I can keep driving for many more years (my mother drove her Camry until she was 95 or so -- good car for seniors), but whether or not I'll be in a Tesla remains to be seen.

 

[Z_Lynx]

I think you'd be happy getting in and out of a Model Y.

Every browser/phone allows one to set font size. There is no reason not to provide display options.

I've acclimated to the newest version but complained about the smaller size of important information. And the beeping messages are not large enough to be deciphered later via a carcam (if reading them is not convenient in the moment).

 

[Azlaneguy]

I find the voice commands to be very useful when driving since you don't have to be trying to look over at the screen to find functions and selections. However since the voice command are natural language without a definitive list in the user manusl and often with more than one command expression. it's hard to keep up with all the functions are voice controllable. But I'm glad the list keeps growing with many of the non-driving functions supported.

 

[JHCCAZ]

I find the voice commands to be very useful when driving since you don't have to be trying to look over at the screen to find functions and selections. However since the voice command are natural language without a definitive list in the user manusl and often with more than one command expression. it's hard to keep up with all the functions are voice controllable. But I'm glad the list keeps growing with many of the non-driving functions supported.

The user community's view of voice command seems to be strongly polarized. A fairly large number of people seem to want nothing to do with the voice control, while others like myself much prefer to interact by voice when possible.

To really come into its own, i think the voice interaction needs to address the following points:

• Become independent of web connectivity for requests that don't otherwise require web data. This goal is entirely consistent with current technology with reasonable CPU and memory usage.
• Provide auditory (speech-capable as appropriate) confirmation of user requests, and natural language follow up for clarification or next step user input. In the vein of Alexa and Google Assistant. Right now, I think speech generation is only used in Teslas for navigation guidance.
• To provide flexibility of interaction and safety backup, the UI should open the control section that relates to the requested topic. Some users will prefer to interact this way anyway, and for inevitable instances where the car is confused about the detailed request, but knows it has something to do eg with wipers or with climate, it allows the user to shortcut frustrating arguments when the auditory control isn't responding.
• Obviously, be able to customize certain aspects of the voice interaction, ie selectively enable and disabled function categories customize the language and voice and so on.
• Personally, I would like the option to enable what I call a "back seat driver" mode, where the car can tell you not only upcoming turn directions, but can announce major and/or minor streets as you cross them, optionally make clean short announcements of recognized traffic lights and important signs, and tell you the essential content of those messages that now appear momentarily, in small type, below the ego car visualization.
  • Basically, have an optional and customizable audio alternative to the various bits of information that come and go on the center screen, so you really don't have to look at it if you don't want to.

Anytime I've mentioned this in a post, I've seen several negative reactions where people say the car speakers already bother them too much etc etc. That's fine, I'm not proposing anything mandatory. I personally would love these features, provided that they work relatively well.

In my dream interface design , these auditory features would not be instead of, but in addition to, the ability to choose larger and higher contrast text, icons, buttons another UI elements.

 

[nvx1977]

I am a senior as well (well north of 70) and have enjoyed my Model S but I am somewhat less sanguine about Tesla being any better for us seniors. In particular, my 7 years of experience with AP1 has been positive, but I am severely skeptical of AP or FSD being able to protect us from our ourselves as we lose abilities. There are too many times when AP simply cannot handle the situation, and I do not see FSD succeeding very soon. The lack of cross-traffic monitoring is also a big issue.

Plus, my Model S is terrible for anyone with arthritis, as so many seniors have. The car is too low for comfort. I think I will need to move to a taller car just to be able to get in and out safely and comfortably. I may look at a Model Y since I hear its seating is a bit higher. But unless the Model Y seats are substantially better than those in my Model S, I'll have to look at legacy brands to find good seats (I hear and read that Audi's are among the best so I plan to look at the "fat eTron" despite its inefficiency and excessive size).

One more comment and that is the terrible UI design. The use of tiny, gray fonts is simply criminal, and is not conducive for use by older drivers. There are so many other cars out there with good, bright readable instrument clusters and other displays! Tesla's foolish addiction to what is fashionable or looks sexy (or whatever their motivation is for the poor UI design) is one of my biggest disappointments. The screens have more functionality than when I got my car 7 years ago, but are much less readable.

And now I will get off my soapbox! I hope I can keep driving for many more years (my mother drove her Camry until she was 95 or so -- good car for seniors), but whether or not I'll be in a Tesla remains to be seen.

If your model S is the 70D you reference in your sig, then the Model Y seats will be way better. I have a 2014 S and the seats are awful compared to my 2018 Model 3, which in turn is worse than the current seats.

Agreed with UI issues. Accessibility is a total afterthought. It's not that they are going for trendy; it's that they designed the screen as if it were a tablet. It's not. It's immobile and hard to tap in a moving car. Buttons should be at least 3 times larger. Font size should be scalable. The car visualizations are not as useful as they think. Buttons and other interactive elements should not be placed on the right side (unless it is intended for passenger like the volume).

 

[Handlebars]

In January, 2015 I bought my first Tesla (a used 2014 S 60). I was 82 at the time. In 2019, I ordered a new SLR Raven FSD. Needless to say I have been well pleased with both cars. Along the way I created a poem to describe how it works with Senior Citizens.

TESLA TIME MACHINE

I’m old and slow, but not my new S
It goes from zero to 60 pretty darn fast
The 60 for me makes this old man smile
I go from 89 to 29 in less than a mile

Handlebars
​

 

[Sans-gas]

I am a senior as well (well north of 70) and have enjoyed my Model S but I am somewhat less sanguine about Tesla being any better for us seniors. In particular, my 7 years of experience with AP1 has been positive, but I am severely skeptical of AP or FSD being able to protect us from our ourselves as we lose abilities. There are too many times when AP simply cannot handle the situation, and I do not see FSD succeeding very soon. The lack of cross-traffic monitoring is also a big issue.

Plus, my Model S is terrible for anyone with arthritis, as so many seniors have. The car is too low for comfort. I think I will need to move to a taller car just to be able to get in and out safely and comfortably. I may look at a Model Y since I hear its seating is a bit higher. But unless the Model Y seats are substantially better than those in my Model S, I'll have to look at legacy brands to find good seats (I hear and read that Audi's are among the best so I plan to look at the "fat eTron" despite its inefficiency and excessive size).

One more comment and that is the terrible UI design. The use of tiny, gray fonts is simply criminal, and is not conducive for use by older drivers. There are so many other cars out there with good, bright readable instrument clusters and other displays! Tesla's foolish addiction to what is fashionable or looks sexy (or whatever their motivation is for the poor UI design) is one of my biggest disappointments. The screens have more functionality than when I got my car 7 years ago, but are much less readable.

And now I will get off my soapbox! I hope I can keep driving for many more years (my mother drove her Camry until she was 95 or so -- good car for seniors), but whether or not I'll be in a Tesla remains to be seen.

Ditto re: the UI of gray fonts on white background or white on gray backgrounds. Sexy...but I know the age of the designer when I see it and glower!

As an older driver, I want fun as well as green and reliable. It puts zip back into my step. I thought if I didn’t make the leap to a more technically advanced vehicle soon, I might be TOO old to make the adjustment.

As it turned out, it’s easier, not harder, to progress to a Tesla. After 4 years, all I’ve had to deal with is a tire replacement and a couple phone re-pairings. It was far easier to go from a 12 year old Subaru to a Tesla than to upgrade my cellphone!

I have basic autopilot and call it my “2nd set of eyes”. I know my reaction time isn’t what it used to be, and it reassures me when driving freeway speeds. Smooth, quiet and under control, I’m a very happy EV driver.

I don’t find entry difficult, though my M3 is lower than my Subaru Outback. It certainly not too low for most folks, I’d say.

 

[KArnold]

I don’t find entry difficult, though my M3 is lower than my Subaru Outback. It certainly not too low for most folks, I’d say.

I assume folks who need it (like me) use the Easy Entry profile. Mine is full up, back only slightly bent. Whatever works. May look funny but it works.

 

[coffeesnobnc]

I'm over 70 but have lived the life of a tech enthusiast. I pre-ordered my Model Y Dual Motor when in Sept 2019, took delivery March 25, 2020 when the price I paid was $3000 lower than what's listed when I placed the order with some mad money I had. At the time, My wife had a Prius for over 10 years and I drove a 1998 Honda CRV on my original brakes but spewing exhaust fumes I really hated. I included FSD in my order. We're generally what people call tree huggers. What really influence my splurging on transportation was a Tesla Model 3 teardown review by Munro Associates on Youtube. My take away was that Tesla put quality inside the car instead of wow factor like fancy dashboard and leather seats. I'd call the car a sports sedan but definitely not a luxury car.
On the purchase, Likes were: Refundable preorder deposit ($3000 at the time), purchase price lower than at preorder, no unpleasant dealer experience. Dislikes were (and still is) tax surcharge of around $350-$400 to register an EV in my state.
After driving the car for 3 years, Likes are: no visiting or waiting in gas lines unless stopping at Super Chargers on long road trips, Monthly home charging (on a 120 volt 20 amp circuit shared only with my two garage doors) that cost us around $10/month when there's only local driving.
Dislikes are: 1. without engine noice, road noise are so much loader, 2. feeling all the road imperfections (especially with those 20" wheels, any amount of riding over the curb invariably scratches the rims.

On the AutoPilot and FSD,
1. auto-backup into a parking space is offered mostly if I've already lined up the car nicely and is already to back up myself, and while the screen graphics show the car parked itself in the centre of its imagined parking space, it will be much closer to that tall SUV next to the driver leaving plenty of space to the compact sedan on the passenger's side. It's like I have to be patient and supportive to a nervous 16 year-old granddaughter.
2. On 2-lane roads, FSD either slows down even when the approaching car is maintaining its lane
3. On the right lane of a 4-lane roads, FSD brakes when a car ahead of it on the left-lane slows down for a left-turn
4. At around 35 mph on a curve road approaching a traffic light, the card feels like it speeds up and then brake hard to stop
5. On the middle lane of a 6 lane Interstate, too hard a swerve to the left when a car enters the highway from the right, despite a large truck moving up on the left.

Since I've been preconditioned by my wife's freaking out in the passenger's seat if I ever drive like that, I often surpass the 5-override rule when FSD puts me in timeout and I can't use the feature for the rest of the trip (a stop). My wife keeps asking me why I even use FSD in town.

 

[coffeesnobnc]

I am a senior as well (well north of 70) and have enjoyed my Model S but I am somewhat less sanguine about Tesla being any better for us seniors. In particular, my 7 years of experience with AP1 has been positive, but I am severely skeptical of AP or FSD being able to protect us from our ourselves as we lose abilities. There are too many times when AP simply cannot handle the situation, and I do not see FSD succeeding very soon. The lack of cross-traffic monitoring is also a big issue.

Plus, my Model S is terrible for anyone with arthritis, as so many seniors have. The car is too low for comfort. I think I will need to move to a taller car just to be able to get in and out safely and comfortably. I may look at a Model Y since I hear its seating is a bit higher. But unless the Model Y seats are substantially better than those in my Model S, I'll have to look at legacy brands to find good seats (I hear and read that Audi's are among the best so I plan to look at the "fat eTron" despite its inefficiency and excessive size).

One more comment and that is the terrible UI design. The use of tiny, gray fonts is simply criminal, and is not conducive for use by older drivers. There are so many other cars out there with good, bright readable instrument clusters and other displays! Tesla's foolish addiction to what is fashionable or looks sexy (or whatever their motivation is for the poor UI design) is one of my biggest disappointments. The screens have more functionality than when I got my car 7 years ago, but are much less readable.

And now I will get off my soapbox! I hope I can keep driving for many more years (my mother drove her Camry until she was 95 or so -- good car for seniors), but whether or not I'll be in a Tesla remains to be seen.

I've been driving my Model Y for 3 years. While its ground clearance is still low (for aerodynamics and road hugging), its front seats are mounted on a pedestal for easier entry and exit. On top of that, you still have the height adjustment of the front seat. The driver's seats move back on entry and exit automatically. Depending on your height, that can help. Since the Model Y has a higher mounted horizontal screen, most of the screen text will be closer to you than the bottom half of the vertical screen on the Model S. I use Tesla Navigation (which a Tesla mobile support told me is really Google Maps) and find the verbal prompts spare me from reading the map on the screen most of the time. We find the rather flexible voice commands ('turn on/off AC' works just as well as 'enable climate') has been really helpful with keeping our eyes on the traffic.
I use voice commands on my iPhone(Siri) and Amazon Echo (Alexa) at home to turn lights on/off, play soft music to lull me to sleep and wake me up gently all the time, and I experiment with and found commands on Tesla that helps.
I've worked in the computer industry before I retired, so while I find many of what the car does imperfect, I can often understand the trade-offs, and appreciate Tesla continued improvements (sometimes feeling like experimentation).
Good luck with your search for your next car. Check out the Sandy Munro (an old timer who really knows cars, especially EVs) on the Youtube Channel 'Monro Live'. His team has torn apart just about every TVs sold in this country and show you what they find and assess their merits and faults on his videos.