Kind of mixing two things here (delivery experience and 4 month drive review) so hopefully it doesn't come across as overly convoluted. For the fan boys and fan girls, I'm sure there is a bunch in here you will disagree with as I am looking to provide a fair assessment from my perspective. So this will contain what I believe is both the good and the bad. For context, I am assessing much of this on expectations I believe reasonable individuals would have when spending what a Model S costs.
High level summary: I enjoy my Tesla, am glad I got it, and would encourage others to get one. It is imperfect in many ways and for some will not match the price point expectations.
Mid level summary: This is a deeply flawed company which impacts owners in multiple ways (drive experience, expectation setting, long term viability).
Vehicle: 2018 P100D, Blue Metallic, 19" wheels, premium sound, no sunroof. OptiCoat Pro Plus, XPEL hood wrap, 3M Crystalline 30/40
Driving: 110 miles per day, commute.
Buying/Delivery Experience: C-
-Web experience: Very Good, information is accessible and ordering is easy
-Financing information availability and execution: Very Good, simple process and the best rate. I was buying at QTR end like I assume most folks do and tracking the market seems to indicate this is the best time to buy. Even my sales rep commented to "just hang a bit...it is QTR end". So while Tesla may not negotiate, deals can be found/had/made.
-Flexibility: Mixed to not good. This could be part of Financing, but as an example, I committed to my vehicle and within 36 hours the interest rate deal came along at .99% financing. While Tesla would not unwind my deal (which on some level I understand but don't like), they did calculate the value and give me service credits and options for add ons (HPWC, or all weather mats, etc) to make up the difference. I'm OK with this. The part where this gets mixed is that I was very clear I wanted 21" Grey Slipstream wheels and we had even priced this in on the quotes with a credit back against the existing 19's to be swapped at delivery. On delivery day I was told that this was not possible. Given that it was ~$2K difference (I think), this was/is pretty frustrating. So, not good expectation setting.
-Actual pickup experience: Very Bad. That said, I didn't really care because I was picking up a Tesla and was excited! But, there is no way...at this price point...that this should ever be the experience. Picked up in Fremont during one of the afternoon slots. It was definitely pretty crowded and a couple of Tesla employees actually came up to me to ask if I was being helped (which I was) because I was sitting there for 20 mins+ waiting for different people to come back. Overall I was there for 2 hours+ and they were very apologetic for that. Dates, times, delivery, etc...all very, very ambiguous. Understanding where the car was, etc...limited detail.
I was trading in...which BTW...was SUPER EASY and should factor in as a positive for anyone looking to trade with Tesla...I got a reasonably fair value on a vehicle I missed on price wise when I purchased it so I know for a fact they were within $1K to $2K of private seller market. I did spend 4 weeks trying to move my vehicle 2015 RR Sport. I did a full U.S. market survey via Auto Trade with analysis across price band and miles.
The vehicle only had 1 FOB with it and I was told they would process through Service getting me a new FOB. I had to follow up 4 times over 7 weeks with everyone from the person who managed my delivery to my sales person to the person I worked with upon pickup. All of them had different answers involving going to a Service Center and appointment scheduling, etc. The resolution...while actually TOTALLY AWESOME...only made this even more frustrating: I get a call from someone at Tesla asking if they can schedule a mobile tech to come out THAT AFTERNOON to my house to do the FOB. I happened to be home, said yes, the person came out within 2-3 hours and had the FOB working in 10 minutes. Even better, when I asked the tech how busy he was he said: "Depends...2-3 calls per day...sometimes 5." Huh...so three different people couldn't get to a place where they knew that they could send a mobile tech out?
Summary on this section: I shopped heavily for the vehicle I wanted (with some indecision that I am happy my sales rep steered me in the direction he did) and ended up happy. My sales rep wasn't clear on the wheels situation and it feels like there was just a mistake made there. But that can't happen on a $100K+ car transaction. Pickup wasn't smooth and the experience should be better (again, at this price point). Disorganization around servicing the FOB issue given that the resolution was a mobile one and there were 3 people involved is an organizational dynamics issue within Tesla Corp that...IMO...are the types of things that entrepreneurial and visionary CEOs don't pay attention to. It's always about the innovation as they believe that is all that matters. And it is...for the first phase (which Tesla is not in anymore). These types of details at this price point are the types of things that improve the overall experience by not detracting from the feeling of buying a Tesla (or other luxury item).
OK, shifting gears to driving experience. So those who are reading this can get a gauge for comparison sake, I am an owner of 2 ICE V8 Audi S4s and enjoy driving in all conditions and will generally opt for performance over comfort when those types of decisions are present. If you are a Mercedes driver (non-AMG, non-performance), your experience with a Tesla will likely be different than mine. Similarly if you are a Mercedes AMG driver (or Audi S4, etc, etc) your experience will likely be somewhat similar. High level, the Tesla is very fine to drive but it all starts with the motor. Past that, I've found limitations (suspension primarily) in performance drive feel and obviously feature components around the interior.
One very major negative is the blind spot which I find to be worse than any other car I have driven. And without blind spot monitors, this is a big negative for the car IMO.
Performance: A-
-Straight line performance...there is nothing like it and it puts the biggest smile on my face every time.
There is nothing to question here and there is no comparison.
-Lane change and freeway performance...there is nothing like it and it puts the biggest smile on my face every time. There is nothing to question here and there is no comparison (see what I did there?!)
-The body roll is just flat out annoying. Yes purists...go ahead and line up with: "You didn't buy a 911!" or "If you want a track car get a Miata!"...but for me the body roll is just too much for what this car could/should be.
-Steering: the firmness of the system is less about pavement contact and road feel and more about a mechanical sense of stiffness (which, ironically, actually feels pretty good...but it's not true "road feel"). It's S-Class heavy weight (I think) without the steering feel and suspension performance of the AMG package.
AutoPilot: It's over-marketed (and this is not just Tesla's fault). If you think your car is going to make turns for you while you read the paper...that's on you. For those who are going to be in bumper to bumper traffic, you will learn to trust it, you will get nagged by it, and you will find it valuable. I use it everyday.
Bottom line: sports car feel power/torque with moderate agility. I don't think this is going to bother anyone besides the spirited driver. And in fact, I think some might even view this as a positive as the ride could be described as "floaty".
Interior: D+ (I think this is fairly well known as a weaknesses so not likely to surprise anyone here, and again, for the price point)
-Components Summary:
Turn signal component, seat belt clip/buckle component, window controls all feel incredibly like cheap plastic. The seat belt part (as long as it works just as well) actually doesn't both me and if they found a way to safely save money there, all for it. But the turn signals just feel cheap.
Steering wheel has great feel and the scroll buttons are a good tackiness in terms of their rubber-y feel. Many cars have plastic scroll wheels and they can be not so great.
Lack of ventilated seats on a $100K+ car? No good.
Electronics:
Console screen: really nice. Layout is good as well. Lack of Waze integration is a big negative and the Tesla NAV, while improved with 2-3 updates ago, is still pretty bad. In the Bay Area at least it's not intuitive when it comes to traffic and Waze and Google Maps out perform it every time. Slacker integration is awesome.
High Performance Sound: exceptional IMO but, I am not an audiophile and do not have a tuned ear. I suspect most aren't and would really like the high perf sound.
Scheduled Events (SW updates and charging): excellent and works as suggested.
I did have an event when I was leaving for work where the car put itself into a shut down mode and kept rebooting. I had to call 800 # and they were able to remotely deal with it. Took about 25 minutes and this was pretty annoying.
Bluetooth connectivity has been great; microphone has had no issues that I am aware of and I am on my phone a fair amount.
Controls for heating, AC, etc are all easy to access and use.
I did have a major issue where every time I engaged the microphone to make a call it would only pick up what was playing on the radio. Even if the radio was down to like 1. How that happens I have no idea at all. It went away after a week.
Overall comfort: B+
Seats are good enough. Ventilated seats should be standard at this price point. They also have a stiffness to them that feels "less expensive" as compared to a Recaro seat that was designed to be stiff yet still comfortable. Hard describe as the seats aren't "bad", but they aren't good either. Perhaps others know more, but I thought I had read somewhere that there was a seat upgrade coming at some point. While not awful, the seats could be improved.
Overall cabin space is exceptional. Leg room is amazing front and back. Spacious in volume and spacious feel looking out over the dash and through the windshield. Top notch.
This could go to an A- perhaps with better tires if they solve some of the performance handling issues (anyone with experience with better tires than the OEMs, please PM me).
If you made it this far, I think you deserve both a medal and a quick summary:
1. Nothing like the feel of the motor.
2. Styling is great all around with the exception of the grill area which I still don't love. Other than that I think the lines are beautiful and the OptiCoat Pro Plus really helps with keeping the car clean and sleek looking.
3. Some components feel cheap.
4. Tesla corporate has a long way to go in ironing out the "Customer Experience" (at this price point)
5. This is a fun car that is enjoyable to drive AND is a differentiated experience
I'm excited when I drive the car (despite having some issues) and I think the car looks beautiful. You feel good when you drop it with a valet at a restaurant because you know when they pull it up when you are leaving that you are going to be stoked to see it and drive it.
Now for my general plea: given the wheel situation, I really need to get my referrals up so I can get the arachnids. If you found this review useful or helpful in any way and are going to purchase a Tesla, I'd be grateful if you would use my referral code (I already have the little car as a gift to my kids from a friend so I'm not looking to stock up on referrals and do the SpaceX thing and blah, blah, blah...I just want the arachnids is all).
Good luck...oh, and one last thing...if you are debating between the P100D and the 100D...unless you are truly a performance oriented person, get the 100D. There is a difference but the difference between your ICE vehicle and the 100D is more than enough to put and keep that smile on your face.
High level summary: I enjoy my Tesla, am glad I got it, and would encourage others to get one. It is imperfect in many ways and for some will not match the price point expectations.
Mid level summary: This is a deeply flawed company which impacts owners in multiple ways (drive experience, expectation setting, long term viability).
Vehicle: 2018 P100D, Blue Metallic, 19" wheels, premium sound, no sunroof. OptiCoat Pro Plus, XPEL hood wrap, 3M Crystalline 30/40
Driving: 110 miles per day, commute.
Buying/Delivery Experience: C-
-Web experience: Very Good, information is accessible and ordering is easy
-Financing information availability and execution: Very Good, simple process and the best rate. I was buying at QTR end like I assume most folks do and tracking the market seems to indicate this is the best time to buy. Even my sales rep commented to "just hang a bit...it is QTR end". So while Tesla may not negotiate, deals can be found/had/made.
-Flexibility: Mixed to not good. This could be part of Financing, but as an example, I committed to my vehicle and within 36 hours the interest rate deal came along at .99% financing. While Tesla would not unwind my deal (which on some level I understand but don't like), they did calculate the value and give me service credits and options for add ons (HPWC, or all weather mats, etc) to make up the difference. I'm OK with this. The part where this gets mixed is that I was very clear I wanted 21" Grey Slipstream wheels and we had even priced this in on the quotes with a credit back against the existing 19's to be swapped at delivery. On delivery day I was told that this was not possible. Given that it was ~$2K difference (I think), this was/is pretty frustrating. So, not good expectation setting.
-Actual pickup experience: Very Bad. That said, I didn't really care because I was picking up a Tesla and was excited! But, there is no way...at this price point...that this should ever be the experience. Picked up in Fremont during one of the afternoon slots. It was definitely pretty crowded and a couple of Tesla employees actually came up to me to ask if I was being helped (which I was) because I was sitting there for 20 mins+ waiting for different people to come back. Overall I was there for 2 hours+ and they were very apologetic for that. Dates, times, delivery, etc...all very, very ambiguous. Understanding where the car was, etc...limited detail.
I was trading in...which BTW...was SUPER EASY and should factor in as a positive for anyone looking to trade with Tesla...I got a reasonably fair value on a vehicle I missed on price wise when I purchased it so I know for a fact they were within $1K to $2K of private seller market. I did spend 4 weeks trying to move my vehicle 2015 RR Sport. I did a full U.S. market survey via Auto Trade with analysis across price band and miles.
The vehicle only had 1 FOB with it and I was told they would process through Service getting me a new FOB. I had to follow up 4 times over 7 weeks with everyone from the person who managed my delivery to my sales person to the person I worked with upon pickup. All of them had different answers involving going to a Service Center and appointment scheduling, etc. The resolution...while actually TOTALLY AWESOME...only made this even more frustrating: I get a call from someone at Tesla asking if they can schedule a mobile tech to come out THAT AFTERNOON to my house to do the FOB. I happened to be home, said yes, the person came out within 2-3 hours and had the FOB working in 10 minutes. Even better, when I asked the tech how busy he was he said: "Depends...2-3 calls per day...sometimes 5." Huh...so three different people couldn't get to a place where they knew that they could send a mobile tech out?
Summary on this section: I shopped heavily for the vehicle I wanted (with some indecision that I am happy my sales rep steered me in the direction he did) and ended up happy. My sales rep wasn't clear on the wheels situation and it feels like there was just a mistake made there. But that can't happen on a $100K+ car transaction. Pickup wasn't smooth and the experience should be better (again, at this price point). Disorganization around servicing the FOB issue given that the resolution was a mobile one and there were 3 people involved is an organizational dynamics issue within Tesla Corp that...IMO...are the types of things that entrepreneurial and visionary CEOs don't pay attention to. It's always about the innovation as they believe that is all that matters. And it is...for the first phase (which Tesla is not in anymore). These types of details at this price point are the types of things that improve the overall experience by not detracting from the feeling of buying a Tesla (or other luxury item).
OK, shifting gears to driving experience. So those who are reading this can get a gauge for comparison sake, I am an owner of 2 ICE V8 Audi S4s and enjoy driving in all conditions and will generally opt for performance over comfort when those types of decisions are present. If you are a Mercedes driver (non-AMG, non-performance), your experience with a Tesla will likely be different than mine. Similarly if you are a Mercedes AMG driver (or Audi S4, etc, etc) your experience will likely be somewhat similar. High level, the Tesla is very fine to drive but it all starts with the motor. Past that, I've found limitations (suspension primarily) in performance drive feel and obviously feature components around the interior.
One very major negative is the blind spot which I find to be worse than any other car I have driven. And without blind spot monitors, this is a big negative for the car IMO.
Performance: A-
-Straight line performance...there is nothing like it and it puts the biggest smile on my face every time.
There is nothing to question here and there is no comparison.-Lane change and freeway performance...there is nothing like it and it puts the biggest smile on my face every time.
There is nothing to question here and there is no comparison (see what I did there?!)-The body roll is just flat out annoying. Yes purists...go ahead and line up with: "You didn't buy a 911!" or "If you want a track car get a Miata!"...but for me the body roll is just too much for what this car could/should be.
-Steering: the firmness of the system is less about pavement contact and road feel and more about a mechanical sense of stiffness (which, ironically, actually feels pretty good...but it's not true "road feel"). It's S-Class heavy weight (I think) without the steering feel and suspension performance of the AMG package.
AutoPilot: It's over-marketed (and this is not just Tesla's fault). If you think your car is going to make turns for you while you read the paper...that's on you. For those who are going to be in bumper to bumper traffic, you will learn to trust it, you will get nagged by it, and you will find it valuable. I use it everyday.
Bottom line: sports car feel power/torque with moderate agility. I don't think this is going to bother anyone besides the spirited driver. And in fact, I think some might even view this as a positive as the ride could be described as "floaty".
Interior: D+ (I think this is fairly well known as a weaknesses so not likely to surprise anyone here, and again, for the price point)
-Components Summary:
Turn signal component, seat belt clip/buckle component, window controls all feel incredibly like cheap plastic. The seat belt part (as long as it works just as well) actually doesn't both me and if they found a way to safely save money there, all for it. But the turn signals just feel cheap.
Steering wheel has great feel and the scroll buttons are a good tackiness in terms of their rubber-y feel. Many cars have plastic scroll wheels and they can be not so great.
Lack of ventilated seats on a $100K+ car? No good.
Electronics:
Console screen: really nice. Layout is good as well. Lack of Waze integration is a big negative and the Tesla NAV, while improved with 2-3 updates ago, is still pretty bad. In the Bay Area at least it's not intuitive when it comes to traffic and Waze and Google Maps out perform it every time. Slacker integration is awesome.
High Performance Sound: exceptional IMO but, I am not an audiophile and do not have a tuned ear. I suspect most aren't and would really like the high perf sound.
Scheduled Events (SW updates and charging): excellent and works as suggested.
I did have an event when I was leaving for work where the car put itself into a shut down mode and kept rebooting. I had to call 800 # and they were able to remotely deal with it. Took about 25 minutes and this was pretty annoying.
Bluetooth connectivity has been great; microphone has had no issues that I am aware of and I am on my phone a fair amount.
Controls for heating, AC, etc are all easy to access and use.
I did have a major issue where every time I engaged the microphone to make a call it would only pick up what was playing on the radio. Even if the radio was down to like 1. How that happens I have no idea at all. It went away after a week.
Overall comfort: B+
Seats are good enough. Ventilated seats should be standard at this price point. They also have a stiffness to them that feels "less expensive" as compared to a Recaro seat that was designed to be stiff yet still comfortable. Hard describe as the seats aren't "bad", but they aren't good either. Perhaps others know more, but I thought I had read somewhere that there was a seat upgrade coming at some point. While not awful, the seats could be improved.
Overall cabin space is exceptional. Leg room is amazing front and back. Spacious in volume and spacious feel looking out over the dash and through the windshield. Top notch.
This could go to an A- perhaps with better tires if they solve some of the performance handling issues (anyone with experience with better tires than the OEMs, please PM me).
If you made it this far, I think you deserve both a medal and a quick summary:
1. Nothing like the feel of the motor.
2. Styling is great all around with the exception of the grill area which I still don't love. Other than that I think the lines are beautiful and the OptiCoat Pro Plus really helps with keeping the car clean and sleek looking.
3. Some components feel cheap.
4. Tesla corporate has a long way to go in ironing out the "Customer Experience" (at this price point)
5. This is a fun car that is enjoyable to drive AND is a differentiated experience
I'm excited when I drive the car (despite having some issues) and I think the car looks beautiful. You feel good when you drop it with a valet at a restaurant because you know when they pull it up when you are leaving that you are going to be stoked to see it and drive it.
Now for my general plea: given the wheel situation, I really need to get my referrals up so I can get the arachnids. If you found this review useful or helpful in any way and are going to purchase a Tesla, I'd be grateful if you would use my referral code (I already have the little car as a gift to my kids from a friend so I'm not looking to stock up on referrals and do the SpaceX thing and blah, blah, blah...I just want the arachnids is all).
Good luck...oh, and one last thing...if you are debating between the P100D and the 100D...unless you are truly a performance oriented person, get the 100D. There is a difference but the difference between your ICE vehicle and the 100D is more than enough to put and keep that smile on your face.
