Pros and Cons of Owning a Tesla

[Brass Guy]

Getting back on topic, supercharging for trips can fit in both pro and con.
IMO, almost always a pro. On a long road trip, stopping every few hours to charge forces you to take driving breaks to stretch, use facilities, grab a bite etc. My longest trip was a round trip coast to coast, about 8000 miles in two weeks. I was able to stop at any point of interest and hike around for a couple hours, never fatigued from driving. In an ICE, I have on occasion driven the 5+ hours at a stretch it was capable of; but didn't want to do anything after.

The only con for "supercharger hopping" is if you are absolutely pressed for time and need to get to a destination in the least time, ICE would be the way to go; but it will take a toll on you and any passengers.
Well that and if you live in ND (for now); but you are talking about GA.

Hey maybe try to print out a map of the US with all currently open SCs, that might impress.

 

[democappy]

This con was already mentioned, but I just want to restate the ridiculously terrible timeline/cost for repairs. It is a total mess and a huge issue. I love my Tesla, but if there was ever a con that would get me to switch to a different car this is it. If you ever get in an accident, just hope they total the car.

 

[Brass Guy]

Pro: (model S - X too?) Frame and body are mostly aluminum, will last much longer than steel bodies. I don't know about GA, but here in MA body rot is a big concern over the years.

Con: Few body repair shops work aluminum, and as stated above repairs can take a long time and are very expensive. (I still have not damaged any body panels yet, coming up on 6 years.)

Pro: The best backup camera view I've seen on any car yet. Large image, good resolution, excellent adjustment for different lighting conditions.

 

[colin39]

Ive been reading this thread since yesterday, and the pros sound great, the cons i can live with.
Im now looking for a uk hire company so i can get a real world test drive, but not break the bank, some where in the south east.
The next thing to sort out is a way of charging as i dont have a garage, and onroad only parking. I only use my car at weekends.

 

[SoGA Fan Club]

I guess I really messed up the question when I started this thread. I should have said the pros and cons of owning an EV compared to an ICE, but with emphasis on a Tesla in particular.

I say that because, if someone asked the pros and cons of owning an ICE over an EV, no one would say, well Fords have a tendency to jump out of gear and back over people. Or, Chevrolet's have electrical problems, or whatever. I was more talking in general.

I guess I totally messed up the original question.

 

[SoGA Fan Club]

Let me add this also - after reading how many problems people are having with their Teslas, I think I will keep mine forever. No rattles. No yellowing screen. No broken door handles. Only the motor was replaced. It's solid. I guess yall's got built on a Monday!

 

[Brass Guy]

If you want to list pros and cons of EVs in general, I think it's probably this simple:

Pros:
They are fantastic to drive.
Charging while at home is more convenient than one might imagine.
Simpler drive train; no exhaust, no complicated transmission.
Environmental concerns; but you indicated you might stay away from that subject.

Cons:
Long distance travel is not yet feasible except utilizing Tesla's SC network.
If traveling a long distance and time is critical, ICE will take less time - though at the expense of increased driver fatigue.

 

[Cheburashka]

Only the motor was replaced. It's solid.

Can't tell if serious...

 

[Jashev]

I've been reading this forum for 5 years. WhiteX got his feelings hurt by Tesla a while back and he jumps in everywhere he can to make negative posts. I said pros and cons - not stupid nonsense about his hate for Tesla. 99.99% of Tesla owners believe that OTA updates have been beneficial to them and their experience with their Tesla. His constant drivel about how bad Tesla is has gotten old. I can see me now telling potential owners that OTA updates will kill them because Tesla doesn't test them. Yep, that's about as real as telling them that you can fully charge at a supercharger in 5 minutes and it's just as easy to travel in a Tesla as a gas car. Simply put, I'm trying to present honest and real pros and cons not stupidity.

If I wanted to share stupidity like his with potential owners, I would just point them to Seeking Alpha - where they can get their heads filled with even more ridiculous BS from Tesla haters.

Since some folks didn't like your 99.9% number, I put a poll up. Results show you were wrong, but not by that much. About 86% answered that OTA Updates are beneficial ;-)

 

[SoGA Fan Club]

Since some folks didn't like your 99.9% number, I put a poll up. Results show you were wrong, but not by that much. About 86% answered that OTA Updates are beneficial ;-)

Thank you!

 

[Goutami]

Hi Georgia owners! I just got my car Friday.
I wanted to ask, if any of you knew. The Decatur Tesla lady told me the Alpharetta/Roswell location is open on Sunday but only by appointments. It’s 50 miles for me so I’m not making the drive until I confirm I can buy a part from them. Website says Saturday was appointment only and Sunday closed. If any of u live up that way or have gone there on a Sunday in the past 6 months, can u let me know?
This post is relevant to pros and cons because I’m desperately looking for a 14/50 adapter so I can charge and they’re sold out on their website. Ebay has some used ones which I don’t like to buy used and I think the location on Hembree road in Roswell/Alpharetta is my only hope.

 

[Bmac]

I question lack of environmental impact... Burning coal is still the predominant source of electricity so in a sense you're burning coal. Even if you have solar panels, you're consuming more electricity and that's got to come from somewhere.... Also, it seems to be unclear what the long term environmental impact of li-on batteries is, specifically disposal and mining.

well, here in Pennsylvania one can choose the source of electricity so I have, for many years, chosen 100% renewable (solar + wind), which in some cases has been lower in price than natural gas and coal fired sourced power.

 

[whitex]

Since some folks didn't like your 99.9% number, I put a poll up. Results show you were wrong, but not by that much. About 86% answered that OTA Updates are beneficial ;-)

Hmm.... claiming only 0.1% of people have problems vs. poll saying it's 14%. That is 140 times more!
By the way, in that thread you are referring to will notice a trend - the longer you own a Tesla the less you like OTA. Given that Tesla sales were growing exponentially, it is completely understandable that a majority of people have not had Teslas for very long.

 

[David29]

you said that a pro of a Tesla is "environmental impact" and I question if it's actually any better. Burning FF's the primary source of electricity in the USA so just because you drive an electric car, it doesn't mean that you're not "burning" FF. that's not even taking into account increased production cost and time to make an EV, mining for rare earth elements and what that does to the environment, or long term disposal problem of li-on batteries.

I'm not saying the EV impact on the environment is worse, I'm just saying it not as simple as saying I drive an EV so it's better for the environment because it's zero emission. It's a lot more complex than that and the reality is, most people don't have solar and even if they do, solar doesn't produce all of the electricity that a household needs. I have solar and my net usage of electricity from SCE is about 100 KW/month. Now that I have a MS, I'll probably consume another 600 KW per month so I'm "burning" more FF's....

If you think about energy instead of cost, the basic advantage of EVs is their much more efficient use of energy. EPA publishes the equivalent miles/gallon for EVs and they are extremely high values compared to petrol-fueled cars. As I recall, my 70D has a rating of something like 90 mpge.

 

[SO16]

This con was already mentioned, but I just want to restate the ridiculously terrible timeline/cost for repairs. It is a total mess and a huge issue. I love my Tesla, but if there was ever a con that would get me to switch to a different car this is it. If you ever get in an accident, just hope they total the car.

I guess it’s not the same for everyone.

 

[ahkahn]

The biggest pro is that the car blows away anything else I've ever driven in my entire life.

The biggest con is that I no longer have an excuse to grab a bag of chips, some hohos, and a drink.

 

[SilverGS]

The biggest pro is that the car blows away anything else I've ever driven in my entire life.

I'm with you on this 100%!

 

[AMPd]

The thread is about pros and cons. I simply offered an opinion on how OTA is more of a con than a pro. If that offends you, start a thread on "Pros of Owning a Tesla - fanboys only, no cons, no challenges please". Maybe add a note that you're not looking for people to challenge any pros either, so if for example someone adds a yellow screen frame as a beautiful aesthetic feature matching their cream interior, nobody should challenge it.

I think the cons op was looking for are along the lines of
-too good of a car makes me wanna drive more!
-tesla treats its customers too well, downright spoils them!


Any actual cons are just you being butt hurt

Edit: also don’t forget about all the traffic jams the Tesla causes due to all the Brinks trucks backing up to drop off the bags of money you’re saving. Terrible con

 

[Mike Robinson]