Owners delivery stories, photos and first impressions

[DFiveK2]

Received my ride around 530pm tonight. Installed the car seats and immediately starting blitzing around town with the family.

Kids didn't want to stop launching (1 & 3 yr old). Wife loved the selections/UI available on slacker and was impressed that we could get to 90mph so fast and effortlessly.

2 predictions after day 1:
My 4Runner is going to rust in the garage.
I'm going to get a ticket soon.

I'm thinking this was a great idea.

 

[mobe]

I placed my 85d order on May 28, it's in production now and my DS says to expect it at my house June 20-22. That's an amazingly fast build. DS says I couldn't have hit the timing any better.

 

[evsolarman]

Took delivery of S70D last week on Friday.. Impressions after driving for a few days:

This car drives awesome. Friends who drove in my car said they are officially now getting Tesla envy. One that just a couple of months ago ordered a BMW 5-series is now wishing they had bought the 70D as it is more or less the same price after incentives and gas savings.

I had trouble disconnecting the J1772 adapter at work. I used to drive a Leaf, where the plug would fit right in - I was using the TSLA supplied adapter. I just pulled out the J1772 and the adapter got locked in the charge port. Tried to click unlock on the screen - but no luck. Finally decided to plug the J1772 back into the adapter, then go to the touchscreen and click stop charging, then pull the adapter and J1772 together and it finally worked. Looked up that several folks have the same problem in the forum, there has to be some better solution for this.

TACC- I do not trust this yet, but have been experimenting with it on the drive to work. That is typically a stop/go situation in the freeway for me in the morning, with speeds ranging from 0 to 40mph. So I set the cruise around 40mph and let the system manage things for me. I noticed that when the car ahead leaves the lane, Tesla decides to accelerate pretty rapidly to close the gap. I guess I am not used to Tesla's acceleration fully yet - but if I were driving without TACC I'd probably accelerate a bit slower just in case some one else decides to cut in front from the adjacent lane. May be Tesla is watching out for that, but I am not fully comfortable with this feature.

Unfortunately the car only has 3G, unlike some others who are getting LTE. The data plan is quite a bit laggy as we have all been spoilt by LTE.. I wonder if there is a way down the road to upgrade to LTE..

This is a very big car (my other 2 cars were a Leaf and a Prius, but still..). I did not realize how big it was until I parked it next to an SUV and noticed the Tesla is longer by quite a few inches. All sorts of proximity alarms go off as I pull into the garage. Haven't been in a parallel parking situation yet. I hope they release that Autopilot soon...

The turning radius is not good enough on the Tesla.. They should figure out a way to move rear wheels independently like BMW does to improve the turning radius.

Car is pretty silent - again I used to drive a leaf so no surprise there.

The default audio system is plenty good enough for me.

I knew there is no center console, but 4 days into owning the car, I did not know I'd miss a center console this much. Probably will end up buying that after market at some point.

 

[chriSharek]

Took delivery of S70D last week on Friday.. Impressions after driving for a few days:

This car drives awesome. Friends who drove in my car said they are officially now getting Tesla envy. One that just a couple of months ago ordered a BMW 5-series is now wishing they had bought the 70D as it is more or less the same price after incentives and gas savings.

I had trouble disconnecting the J1772 adapter at work. I used to drive a Leaf, where the plug would fit right in - I was using the TSLA supplied adapter. I just pulled out the J1772 and the adapter got locked in the charge port. Tried to click unlock on the screen - but no luck. Finally decided to plug the J1772 back into the adapter, then go to the touchscreen and click stop charging, then pull the adapter and J1772 together and it finally worked. Looked up that several folks have the same problem in the forum, there has to be some better solution for this.

TACC- I do not trust this yet, but have been experimenting with it on the drive to work. That is typically a stop/go situation in the freeway for me in the morning, with speeds ranging from 0 to 40mph. So I set the cruise around 40mph and let the system manage things for me. I noticed that when the car ahead leaves the lane, Tesla decides to accelerate pretty rapidly to close the gap. I guess I am not used to Tesla's acceleration fully yet - but if I were driving without TACC I'd probably accelerate a bit slower just in case some one else decides to cut in front from the adjacent lane. May be Tesla is watching out for that, but I am not fully comfortable with this feature.

Unfortunately the car only has 3G, unlike some others who are getting LTE. The data plan is quite a bit laggy as we have all been spoilt by LTE.. I wonder if there is a way down the road to upgrade to LTE..

This is a very big car (my other 2 cars were a Leaf and a Prius, but still..). I did not realize how big it was until I parked it next to an SUV and noticed the Tesla is longer by quite a few inches. All sorts of proximity alarms go off as I pull into the garage. Haven't been in a parallel parking situation yet. I hope they release that Autopilot soon...

The turning radius is not good enough on the Tesla.. They should figure out a way to move rear wheels independently like BMW does to improve the turning radius.

Car is pretty silent - again I used to drive a leaf so no surprise there.

The default audio system is plenty good enough for me.

I knew there is no center console, but 4 days into owning the car, I did not know I'd miss a center console this much. Probably will end up buying that after market at some point.

After your last couple of cars, I'm happy you bought an American car that was designed, engineered, built (mostly) in America and whose profits contribute to our GNP (not some other country's).

 

[evsolarman]

After your last couple of cars, I'm happy you bought an American car that was designed, engineered, built (mostly) in America and whose profits contribute to our GNP (not some other country's).

Er.. I guess I am glad you are happy, but just to clear your misperceptions, we live in a global environment. The people in those "other countries" and us we all live on the same planet. In case you were not aware, the Nissan Leaf that you probably think is beefing up the coffers of Japan is actually manufactured in Smyrna, Tennessee, in good old United States of America. And also in case you were not aware, Tesla has several parts that are made by international companies - see Tesla Suppliers List: These 26 Companies Help Make a Model S Sedan. Tesla uses a highly automated factory in Fremont, where each robot probably displaces 3 American workers. Everyone buys things for a different reason - a darn good reason to buy a Tesla is because it cuts CO2 emissions. How Tesla Will Change The World | Wait But Why. And yes, I would buy a Nissan Leaf or a Toyota prius ANY DAY over a gas guzzling Ford F150.

 

[travwill]

Took delivery today around 5PM of my new 70D. Will look to post more detailed feedback on the car in next day or so when I use it a little more, etc. But in short for now:

- it seems much nicer now that I've spent more time with it, definitely different!
- i'm a fit guy, 6', 195/200, and it is snug getting in and out, rubbing the next gen seat bolsters - may have to set an exit scheme to use sometimes. hope they add where it just does it if home/work automatically since that is a lot of time.
- i'm completely happy with the sound system (UHF). sounds great, playing slacker best quality, good managed bass delivery, high treble notes, etc.
- the autopilot was pretty awesome in the 5 miles home from service center on freeway with back to back traffic (Chicago). At setting of 1, it kept perfect distance from car in front of me, wasn't TOO jerky in starts/stops (could improve). i feel that it may make me look like a jerk sometimes where the car gets off in front of me and others are merging on - it picks up speed an closes the gap, ha, thus cutting off person getting on.
- have to get used to the buttons/cruise/stalks/steering but that will be 2nd nature in no time. very easy already i can see.
- I really DO like the solid white, non metallic. It is bright, extremely shiny, and a beautiful sporty color (is white a color?) for sure! i applied some aquapel to my front windshield today (love that stuff) and a coat of polymer backfire wet diamond (also awesome stuff and easy). looks even wetter/shinier (sp) now.
- Even the charge port is cool, just opens/closes automatically, and you can also touch the corner of it if you don't have a tesla product to charge with and still opens now.
- Oh, and I do have LTE - seems plenty fast in nav, audio, etc.

take care and hope everyone with theirs on order gets them delivered soon! was a great experience up to this point, although a hard wait!

-T

 

[chriSharek]

Took delivery today around 5PM of my new 70D. Will look to post more detailed feedback on the car in next day or so when I use it a little more, etc. But in short for now:

- it seems much nicer now that I've spent more time with it, definitely different!
- i'm a fit guy, 6', 195/200, and it is snug getting in and out, rubbing the next gen seat bolsters - may have to set an exit scheme to use sometimes. hope they add where it just does it if home/work automatically since that is a lot of time.
- i'm completely happy with the sound system (UHF). sounds great, playing slacker best quality, good managed bass delivery, high treble notes, etc.
- the autopilot was pretty awesome in the 5 miles home from service center on freeway with back to back traffic (Chicago). At setting of 1, it kept perfect distance from car in front of me, wasn't TOO jerky in starts/stops (could improve). i feel that it may make me look like a jerk sometimes where the car gets off in front of me and others are merging on - it picks up speed an closes the gap, ha, thus cutting off person getting on.
- have to get used to the buttons/cruise/stalks/steering but that will be 2nd nature in no time. very easy already i can see.
- I really DO like the solid white, non metallic. It is bright, extremely shiny, and a beautiful sporty color (is white a color?) for sure! i applied some aquapel to my front windshield today (love that stuff) and a coat of polymer backfire wet diamond (also awesome stuff and easy). looks even wetter/shinier (sp) now.
- Even the charge port is cool, just opens/closes automatically, and you can also touch the corner of it if you don't have a tesla product to charge with and still opens now.
- Oh, and I do have LTE - seems plenty fast in nav, audio, etc.

take care and hope everyone with theirs on order gets them delivered soon! was a great experience up to this point, although a hard wait!

-T

Great review! Thanks for sharing!

 

[!S4]

i applied some aquapel to my front windshield today (love that stuff)

Let me know how your experience is with Aquapel on this car. For some reason they say to not use things like that because it'll cause the wipers to skip, but I've always used aquapel on all my car. I can't imagine NOT using it.

 

[chriSharek]

Let me know how your experience is with Aquapel on this car. For some reason they say to not use things like that because it'll cause the wipers to skip, but I've always used aquapel on all my car. I can't imagine NOT using it.

I'm not familiar with Aquapel, but assume it's like RainX (No?) In Florida, the rains are torrential. We put RainX on just about every month - works great. I have Bosch wipers (which I think are the standard on MS now) and never have any issues with them skipping.

 

[travwill]

I'm not familiar with Aquapel, but assume it's like RainX (No?) In Florida, the rains are torrential. We put RainX on just about every month - works great. I have Bosch wipers (which I think are the standard on MS now) and never have any issues with them skipping.

I use Aquapel on the front and rear windows, works great - better than RainX for sure - watch some demos/videos. No wiper skip, just make sure you really wipe it off with paper towels like the application videos say, really well so it is slick/smooth again - you can feel it if still rough anywhere while wiping off pretty easily.

 

[!S4]

I use Aquapel on the front and rear windows, works great - better than RainX for sure - watch some demos/videos. No wiper skip, just make sure you really wipe it off with paper towels like the application videos say, really well so it is slick/smooth again - you can feel it if still rough anywhere while wiping off pretty easily.

I agree. Works better and lasts much longer than RainX.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

I had trouble disconnecting the J1772 adapter at work. I used to drive a Leaf, where the plug would fit right in - I was using the TSLA supplied adapter. I just pulled out the J1772 and the adapter got locked in the charge port. Tried to click unlock on the screen - but no luck. Finally decided to plug the J1772 back into the adapter, then go to the touchscreen and click stop charging, then pull the adapter and J1772 together and it finally worked. Looked up that several folks have the same problem in the forum, there has to be some better solution for this.

FYI, this is Tesla's recommended procedure for disconnection from J1772:

View attachment unplugging_model_s_from_a_j1772_public_charger.pdf

 

[Nantang]

Just took delivery on my new P85D. I've been looking forward to this car for about a decade, following Tesla's progress from "a silicon valley upstart" to where they are today. Though I've read bunches and have done two test drives, I'm still none-the-less in that stage of getting used to not having to push start, or strong regenerative braking. And, I've been driving Lexus hybrids for the past eight years or so, too. I've done one supercharger fill, but I have yet to do a P85D insane mode launch.

The car itself is heavily optioned out, but I went with mid-price 19" cyclones rather than the 21" for practical reasons.

 

[ahurst]

Just took delivery on my new P85D. I've been looking forward to this car for about a decade, following Tesla's progress from "a silicon valley upstart" to where they are today. Though I've read bunches and have done two test drives, I'm still none-the-less in that stage of getting used to not having to push start, or strong regenerative braking. And, I've been driving Lexus hybrids for the past eight years or so, too. I've done one supercharger fill, but I have yet to do a P85D insane mode launch.

The car itself is heavily optioned out, but I went with mid-price 19" cyclones rather than the 21" for practical reasons.

View attachment 84960View attachment 84961

I love the new blue. Awesome car.

 

[mobe]

I placed my 85d order on May 28, it's in production now and my DS says to expect it at my house June 20-22. That's an amazingly fast build. DS says I couldn't have hit the timing any better.

So that didn't work out. Delivery now scheduled for the 24th. Car arrived in St Louis over the weekend. Still not too bad.

 

[mbaier]

mobe - i waited 9 MONTHS for my 85D - so don't feel bad if yours gets delayed by a couple of days : )

 

[evsolarman]

FYI, this is Tesla's recommended procedure for disconnection from J1772:

View attachment 84859

Thanks, Nola for the link. I haven't had the adapter stuck since that incident as I try to be extra careful, but I still need to nail down a consistent way of doing this. But 700mi into the Tesla and its been fantastic. The range is as I expected, plenty more than enough.

 

[gvands]

picked up our tesla today at the wrap shop, it's been there 10 days during our vacation.
We only had it for a few days before we had to leave it there, so I didn't have too much
time to play with it yet.
We have to go back for a few minor changes (we asked for the word "INSANE" on the side of
the car, with letters underneath the black side striping, to get a relief effect but it's not visible enough.

 

[csr19us]

OP, feel free to include my story on the original post... I'm documenting my entire experience (even the train ride), but in blog form. I don't monetize it or anything... just a fanatic

http://teslatao.blogspot.com/

 

[yo mama]

Picked my P85D up yesterday, July 30, 2015... and literally put 200 miles on it in one day. What a fantastic car! It is everything I wanted and more. However, the pick up experience was mixed. The rep I worked with (Jake) was an absolute pro and couldn't have done a better job. That said, he had to mop up a few delivery-day disappointments that weren't his fault. For example:
1. my DES never told me the balance of the down payment had to come in the form of a paper check. Yes I "could" have paid online *before* I got there, but apparently that is no longer an option once you get to the factory. I stopped carrying around paper checks years ago and would have never assumed that such a tech-advanced company would require such an old school form of payment in order to get the car off the lot. Apparently my DES was supposed to tell me that, but didn't. The whole thing was kind of a surprise considering Tesla took a credit card for the initial deposit.
2. Someone from the factory left me a voicemail the day before my pick up to confirm pick up time and date. (I was traveling). I called him back twice but didn't get a return call prior to my actual pick up. It wouldn't have mattered except for issue #1 above.
3. It was frustrating trying to confirm Tesla's receipt of accessories (front console) after other accessories had been delivered to my home (rear console). Apparently they'd received the front console a while ago but didn't confirm either shipping or receipt. I literally had to drive over to the service department to confirm if they had it - and they did. But it's two weeks for the next available appointment to install, which I fine, I guess. That said, I previously called and left two voicemails with the service department trying to schedule such an appointment for the actually delivery date but nobody ever called me back. And my DES was unable to schedule a delivery-day appointment, either. I know it's minor, but it's kinda weak CS.
4. I had previously uploaded proof of insurance with an effective date of July 31, 2015 (i.e., today - one day after delivery). They wouldn't let me take the car of the lot until I provided proof of insurance for the actual day of delivery (i.e., July 30, 2015). Luckily my insurance guy was able to fix that over the phone but I'd have been really disappointed if I'd have to come back another day over that. If it is really such an issue for Tesla couldn't someone mention it *before* I got there? My proof of insurance had be uploaded to "My Telsa" for weeks prior to that. Like the paper check deal, this seems like something that could have easily been clarified over the phone, prior to the delivery date, to prevent an embarrassing delivery-date surprise.

Again, Jake was the BOMB and turned everything around and into a fabulous experience. And I couldn't stop grinning the whole time once I was in the car. So don't get me wrong - the positives far, FAR outweigh the negatives. And what was the BEST part of Day 1 of being a Tesla P85D owners? My family and I went for a drive to get some coffee, just 'cause. After we parked and I was inside I noticed the owner of a new(ish) 911 Carera walking around and admiring every angle of my Tesla. I bumped into him on the way out and we chatted briefly. It was super cool that another cool car owner showed so much interest and respect for my ride. I'm sure it won't be the last time!