Tesla moments

[Webeevdrivers]

We drive a leaf and a smart ED convertible. We take the smart quite often because it is a very fun and quick car to drive not to mention park. Yes they are small but suggesting they are in some way structurally inferior to a tesla or anything else is a "misinformed" comment. And yes, a smart ED has no problem keeping up with any freeway traffic and it's solid as a rock doing it. We paid about 18,000 bucks brand new for our smart ED convertible. Money well spent for us.

 

[Brass Guy]

^ Not a Tesla moment.

After 3 1/2 years people still notice the Model S. Just yesterday picking up lunch, an employee at the sandwich shop asked about it, "That's a really nice car, what is it?" Yup, it's a beautiful car even if you don't know it's a Tesla!

(I have nothing against the Smart, except I couldn't get a tuba and passenger in it at the same time.)

 

[wdolson]

I actually had a Tesla moment with a co-worker last Friday after I picked up the car, I went back to work and I was getting ready to leave and a co-worker asked me for a "jump".......I said, I can't!!! I don't have a battery!!! And he looked at me like I was pulling his leg.....then I said, well, I don't have a battery that's easily accessible!!!! LoL Then I told him I just picked up my Tesla today!!! as he stared at me with a blank stare.......

When my old Buick's battery went dead after sitting in the driveway for a couple of months and I needed to jump start it i thought it was ironic that it wasn't possible from the car with the world's largest battery. I had to use my SO's Subaru.

 

[Ugliest1]

The incident that triggered my writing this post happened in New Jersey, 66 miles from my house. I didn't have time to get into a detailed discussion with this owner, but he made it sound like I just drove down from the Yukon Territory he was that surprised.

The far North! There's a couple who live in Victoria with a S and an X, who regularly travel to the Northwest Territories. In fact James was instrumental in getting chargers in place so they could complete their trips more easily - persuading some business owners, but also putting a few in at their own expense. And of course there's AudubonB in the middle of Alaska, even further away from the rest of us.

And I concur with your entire post, although nearly all of the owners I've met supercharging are actually on some kind of several-hundred-mile trip themselves. I think road-tripping in any Model S (even without AP1 or AP2) is actually better than an ICE, as long as you're not trying to beat distance-travelled-in-minimum-time records. No heat-soaking of the feet (no matter how good the air conditioning is), smooth acceleration always, one-pedal driving, effortless passing (no downshifting and waaaay better torque)... ... ... And did I mention that's without the even better advantages I assume you get with AP...

 

[Peter Greis]

My best TM to date - shortly after picking up my P90D we were behind something very low and sporty leaving the village. It took a few moments to register that it was a Ferrari (most here are red, metallic grey or black - this one was cream white). I muttered something about "that must suck". My son heard me and asked "why?". Simply, in town you'll never get something like that out of second gear. So we come up to the rotary at the end of the village where the speed limit goes up slightly. He punches the gas, I squeeze down on the go pedal. The look in his side view mirror can only be described as perplexed rage, as we're two car lengths back and he can't shake us. Precious....

 

[RogerHScott]

My best TM to date - shortly after picking up my P90D we were behind something very low and sporty leaving the village. It took a few moments to register that it was a Ferrari (most here are red, metallic grey or black - this one was cream white). I muttered something about "that must suck". My son heard me and asked "why?". Simply, in town you'll never get something like that out of second gear. So we come up to the rotary at the end of the village where the speed limit goes up slightly. He punches the gas, I squeeze down on the go pedal. The look in his side view mirror can only be described as perplexed rage, as we're two car lengths back and he can't shake us. Precious....

It will be a glorious day when Tesla drivers feel only pity for ICE drivers and no need to "show them" anything.

 

[OBX John]

It will be a glorious day when Tesla drivers feel only pity for ICE drivers and no need to "show them" anything.

You mean we can't pity their loud smelly machines while making them eat our dust?

Ok, we'll just say we were trying to get out of their toxic exhaust stream, not showing off...

 

[Ugliest1]

You should leave it in there to add to the structural integrity of the car. I'd hate to see what happens during an accident.

I read a factual accident report of a stopped or nearly-stopped Smart driver who was rear-ended by a truck going 80km/hr, Smart was totalled of course but the driver/passenger area was well protected. The driver got out and had no adverse effects from the accident. I see many Smarts around Victoria/Vancouver on the 80-100km/hr "highways" here; so they are obviously useful not just about town. We even have an owner with the rare cabriolet style on his EV -- looks really cute and fun with the entire top down (there's a very strong roll bar and reinforced windshield ... struts? whatever provides rollover protection near the front).

[EDIT - I now see Webeevdrivers has posted a picture what the cabriolet looks like - thx WEVD]

 

[meloccom]

I read a factual accident report of a stopped or nearly-stopped Smart driver who was rear-ended by a truck going 80km/hr, Smart was totalled of course but the driver/passenger area was well protected. The driver got out and had no adverse effects from the accident. I see many Smarts around Victoria/Vancouver on the 80-100km/hr "highways" here; so they are obviously useful not just about town. We even have an owner with the rare cabriolet style on his EV -- looks really cute and fun with the entire top down (there's a very strong roll bar and reinforced windshield ... struts? whatever provides rollover protection near the front).

[EDIT - I now see Webeevdrivers has posted a picture what the cabriolet looks like - thx WEVD]

A bit off topic but Smart is owned by Daimler Benz and they take the safety of their Smart models just a seriously.

 

[Shaggy]

A bit off topic but Smart is owned by Daimler Benz and they take the safety of their Smart models just a seriously.

I seem to recall Smart having ads showing a LOT of weight on the 'life cage' as a demo for how strong it is.

 

[OBX John]

Someone needs to have a Tesla moment soon... this is turning into a Smart thread!

 

[Takumi]

Someone needs to have a Tesla moment soon... this is turning into a Smart thread!

Okay, I'll bite.

Earlier in April, my family and I were taking our S for it's first long distance drive (Chicago - Niagara Falls - Boston). We had a few people talk to us about the S and we had conversations with other Tesla owners, but one that stood out was when a couple were taking pictures at a Supercharger as if it were a tourist destination. I said Hi to them and learned that they were from Thailand doing research on EV charging. They were working with sustainable energy groups. Of course I had to show them Tesla's approach and how the car navigation worked with regards to the Supercharger network. Talked with them for quite a bit and that of course extended our Supercharging stop and the car was actually ready to go before they were done with all their questions.

 

[Pollux]

Here's another Tesla moment... my Tesla "involved" in a car fire... (so much apparent concern around BEV fires, which happen almost never; so much indifference to ICE fires that happen All The Time)....

and here's what it looked like before the fire crew arrived...

 

[Takumi]

Oh, on that same trip we got to our hotel in Niagara past midnight. Only parking space left were iced, not from ICEV, but from the days melted snow. That turned out to be a good thing for us. Emptied the car and then summoned it into the parking spot. No cars to ding it and the ice's slippery surface became a natural theft/vandal deterrent. Summoned it out in the morning. Thanks Mother Nature!

That definitely gave me a Tesla grin! Wish I had taken a pic.

 

[Half Dollar Bill]

my Tesla "involved" in a car fire...

How hard did you work to get the decal in the picture ?

 

[Pollux]

What are the odds that I'd personally witness a car fire... a car fire near my own home... while I'm in the S and the wife has the Prius... an embarrassing amount of time elapsed before it even occurred to me to take a picture of the car on fire... thinking, I should post this on TMC, yet another ICE fire, so unreasonable that the few Tesla fires have gotten so much attention all out of proportion to their frequency versus ICE fires... more time elapsed... you know, if I'm going to post it on TMC, wouldn't it be cool to have my car in the foreground... more pictures from unthinking angles... finally, FINALLY, it occurred to me... hey! if I take the picture from the right angle, I can also catch the decal in the corner of the picture! So, I haven't gotten any smarter but I had enough time available to partially compensate.

 

[evp]

I had an electric organ that had reached its expiration date (50 years old -- all wires and discrete components inside, not even one integrated circuit!). I disassembled it just to marvel at the technology, then loaded it in the Tesla and took it to the dump. The guy next to me when I was unloading said "damn, I wish I had my camera -- never seen a Tesla at the dump before!" I pointed out that it had plenty of room in back for big things.

 

[SMSMD]

 

[alapd]

I had a Tesla moment today. While I was out dropping something off at a friends house, I guy in a big construction truck stopped in the middle of the road and had a bunch of questions about the car. He was pretty educated on the vehicle, and had been in store it seemed already. But he was sold on the car, and just waiting on the model 3 as he said an S was out of his range. Very friendly, and I was happy to spend a few to talk to someone who actually educated themselves on the car!

 

[int32_t]

View attachment 226421

Hey, that means there's a Roadster in the back of the toy trailer, right?