I have a Tesla moment in waiting.
Met a girl at the local Verizon store a few weeks ago. Ended up being there a couple of hours because we were on hold with HQ, yadda yadda. There was nobody else around (slow day), so we got to talking, and are now friends. I mentioned Mr. T the other day, and she said, "Oh yeah, I've heard about them. I don't know about electric cars though. I've heard they still have really limited range and super low power -- like, you can't even have a real subwoofer because it drains the battery."
I just smiled. I didn't refute any of it. In my head, I'm thinking, "This is going to be fun."
So we have a date. When she gets off work tomorrow, I'm taking her for a test drive.
I am new to the evangelical process, so any suggestions would be most welcome. I've probably already forgotten half the cool and/or strange things about the Model S, because they're all just normal now. The one thing I plan to do before having her drive is demo both the acceleration and the regen braking, because both are a bit... surprising.
I will, of course, report back on the experience. ;-)
So, as promised, here's the trip report.
I picked up "Rachel" (not her real name) at the appointed time this afternoon. We walked out to the car, and she's like, "wait -- did the handles just come out?" I remember that feeling -- did I just see what I think I saw? So I realized almost immediately how much coolness I had already forgotten about, and mentally slowed down the pace. I showed her the trunk -- pretty nice, lots of space -- and then the frunk. The frunk reveal invariably produces a priceless expression, as the person fails to see what they were expecting to see: wait, huh? who stole the engine? That, of course, is a natural segue to talk about how *small* the motor is, which is a perfectly devious setup for someone who's already expecting lame eco-friendly performance.
I then spent a good bit of time (more than expected) on the UI. Again, I'd already forgotten how cool it is. No buttons, just like an iPad, and oh yeah, here's this iPhone app that can honk the horn (to show that it actually works) or, more importantly, turn on the AC ten minutes before you leave the restaurant/movie/whatever on a hot day.
Next, I drove for a bit to set expectations on both the acceleration (cf Tesla grin) and the regen braking, and explained the one-pedal driving concept. Then it was her turn, and it was like a duck to water. She drove like an ace from the get go. She was struck by how smooth the ride is, and how responsive the car is. Can't argue with that.
Finally we drove back to work (she was on break for our little adventure), and Rachel's first comment to her co-worker was, "I'm getting a Tesla. That's my new life goal."
So, to the crew in Fremont, thanks -- for a fun outing, and for making the future happen. That is the magic of Model S: from "I don't know about electric cars" to "new life goal" in half an hour. What an amazing creation.
