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Tesla for teenager?
- Thread starter CleanDemon
- Start date
DocHolliday
Member
I think I would want my kids to learn on a vehicle without all the driver assist features, so they can be more engaged and vigilant. I feel like learning to drive in an older non-automated vehicle makes one a better more capable driver no matter what they drive in the future. I used to commute 40 miles a day by motorcycle in L.A. traffic and expecting every driver to do the worst possible thing and watching for it has contributed to the fact I have not had any sort of accident for decades.
The problem with Tesla driver assist features is that they are poorly tested, and unreliable.
In many situations, a driver (me, my kid) has to driver AROUND their stupidity (phantom breaking, random false alerts, random disengagements), which can be extremely distracting for a new driver. The worst possible scenario is my teen relying on those features, and they fail. Or wasting time to learn when Tesla's feature do and do not work, and learning to drive AROUND Tesla's faults.
Long story short, a Tesla will NOT be his first car. For sure.
They will be allowed to drive our Teslas with adult supervision, but never with AP turned on.
YMMV,
a
P.S.: Leasing an EV and getting $7.5K Fed credit deducted from the lease payments, seams attractive.
Consider letting the kids try it. Younger minds are much more adaptable and quicker learning when they don’t already have long engrained habits and expectations and fears of new things. They will likely figure it out better than you and be able to make productive use of AP like the many of us who use AP all the time. It is only a small subset that can’t figure out how to make productive use of AP and are scared of it and find it to difficult to determine where it works and doesn’t work.
You misread my comments entirely.
There are MANY new things that are good for a NEW driver to experience, and there are those that instill BAD habits.
Just because AP/FSD software is new and still undebugged (aka Beta) after 7+ years in the market, doesn't make it good.
It does, however, earns it a title of an unreliable and over-hyped product launched by an poorly-disciplined and poorly-supervised software team.
Anyone who claims to be using AP all the time is flat out lying.
The sh*t doesn't work nearly long enough to qualify as "use it all the time".
I will posit an opposite theory - only a small subset of Tesla owners are such BAD drivers that a flaky AP is an improvement for them.
It still doesn't make them good, but perhaps, less terrible?
From the rest of the humanity - stay in the RIGHT-MOST lane (especially if you are driving at or near the speed limit!), and out of our way, and out of the way of our kids who are learning how to drive properly!
Thanks in advance,
a
Anyone who doesn’t believe that people can use AP all the time is obviously ignorant on the topic.Anyone who claims to be using AP all the time is flat out lying.
The sh*t doesn't work nearly long enough to qualify as "use it all the time".
Some people lack the cognitive resources to use Autopilot; other people do indeed use it all the time.
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Generally I'd say it's a fine car for a kid. Safe, efficient, and practical. It is an expensive car for someone that age, but if you have the resources to do so then that's not an issue. The only thing I'd be concerned with is that it is a fast car and kids do dumb things with fast cars. Even a RWD base model runs a 13s quarter mile and goes 0-60 in less than 6 seconds which is basically what a WRX does. If I had a car that was fast when I was a teenager I would have gotten in a lot of trouble, so you just have to gauge how much you trust your kid in that regard.
Steps we plan and took:
We did rhe M3RWD as a bridge vehicle until they can buy M2s on their own (we and them get IRa and state rebates)
We limit the speed with a pin, don’t do one they can guess but also don’t forget, btw the app alerts you when they approach this speed limit, pin limiting speed puts the vehicle in Chill drive config/making accel slightly shower
Don’t install the Magbak display Magsafe mount, keep their eyes on rhe road
Can configure the vehicle does not link/read iMessage messages
As a temp vehicle we did not tint and put a sun shield in the vehicle, challenge to get them to use it
Installed the 19” wheels caps and two are already damaged, OMG it could have been the wheels themselves
We ceramic treated the steering wheel and seats, think 5x six footer + people were recently inside
Did not show them AP, hope they don’t discover
We do track and peek at sentry when they are traveling, benefit son just parking in no parking and if ticketed he will pay
Not a hovering parent but making them accountable
No regrets with all of the steps taken
Additional advice welcome
We did rhe M3RWD as a bridge vehicle until they can buy M2s on their own (we and them get IRa and state rebates)
We limit the speed with a pin, don’t do one they can guess but also don’t forget, btw the app alerts you when they approach this speed limit, pin limiting speed puts the vehicle in Chill drive config/making accel slightly shower
Don’t install the Magbak display Magsafe mount, keep their eyes on rhe road
Can configure the vehicle does not link/read iMessage messages
As a temp vehicle we did not tint and put a sun shield in the vehicle, challenge to get them to use it
Installed the 19” wheels caps and two are already damaged, OMG it could have been the wheels themselves
We ceramic treated the steering wheel and seats, think 5x six footer + people were recently inside
Did not show them AP, hope they don’t discover
We do track and peek at sentry when they are traveling, benefit son just parking in no parking and if ticketed he will pay
Not a hovering parent but making them accountable
No regrets with all of the steps taken
Additional advice welcome
Track with much more detail with the Tessie app — great for any Tesla. speed limit alerts, coming and going alerts. lots more and lots of info. If they don’t like being tracked on Tessie, “get a job, buy your own car, buy your own gas etc.”
My kids (now 19 & 17) share a 2016 leaf (purchased used, but has new 40 battery). They also drive our 3 & S when needed (longer trips or one already has the leaf out).
They prefer the teslas in chill mode when they use them, but we don’t lock them in speed limit mode.
I guess I can always see how they were driving with teslafi.
They prefer the teslas in chill mode when they use them, but we don’t lock them in speed limit mode.
I guess I can always see how they were driving with teslafi.
My concern was safety and driver aids, and while the M3 does have safety it does have some shortcoming when it comes to driver aids.
I got our kid a Leaf.. it has BSM, cross traffic detection and the 360 overhead cam. They like the driver display and the physical controls but still get the convenience of charging at home and not having to worry about gas or maintenance.
Ride is also better than the M3 but not as roomy (or has as much cargo space) and drives very much like an ICE car in non-one pedal mode.
I don't think an M3 is a bad choice... and Tesla tech is great... but I also think you should open your search to other EVs that you might also get at a better price used (and may have more service options available depending on your area).
Edit: Also has CarPlay which they like.
Good luck.
I got our kid a Leaf.. it has BSM, cross traffic detection and the 360 overhead cam. They like the driver display and the physical controls but still get the convenience of charging at home and not having to worry about gas or maintenance.
Ride is also better than the M3 but not as roomy (or has as much cargo space) and drives very much like an ICE car in non-one pedal mode.
I don't think an M3 is a bad choice... and Tesla tech is great... but I also think you should open your search to other EVs that you might also get at a better price used (and may have more service options available depending on your area).
Edit: Also has CarPlay which they like.
Good luck.
At a basic level it’s like Microsoft vs Apple
Apples ecosystem is far superior
Teslas ecosystem is far superior
Also like the free IRA money for the parents
I respect your opinion and we encourage rooting for all manuf in EV adoptions
Just saying for us at this time, we are Tesla family and like I said we are planing more to come outside the parents wallet
Btw, my dream pair is CTTM and MSPT
Apples ecosystem is far superior
Teslas ecosystem is far superior
Also like the free IRA money for the parents
I respect your opinion and we encourage rooting for all manuf in EV adoptions
Just saying for us at this time, we are Tesla family and like I said we are planing more to come outside the parents wallet
Btw, my dream pair is CTTM and MSPT
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