Tesla moments

[Alco5229]

As our primary car, which we often use for road trips, nothing is a serious alternative. My wife is keeping her S85.

However, the secondary car that I drive doesn't need to do nearly as much. While nothing is as much fun as a Tesla, until not so long ago any EV would have suited my needs, and been considerably cheaper to own. Before the S was available, we had a ~90-mile RAV4 for about 4 years - it was a great car for us for everything but road trips. Plus I'd prefer a much smaller car than the S, so I am happy to look at other EVs. (Practically speaking I should consider PHEVs too; but after not buying gas since 2009, I can't see myself going back).

However, for various reasons (a weekly 100-mile trip, my wife not wanting to swap cars weekly with me if I have a short-range EV, me wanting to support Tesla, etc) we ended up deciding that another Tesla makes more sense. Well, no - it doesn't necessarily make more sense. But it's what we're going to do.

I suppose this part qualifies as a Tesla Moment: a stripped S60 would perfectly suit my needs for the second car, and is the obvious frugal choice (well, as frugal as buying any Tesla gets). I started looking at inventory cars for an S60 stripper; and I really think I could have been content if I had found one. However, most inventory cars are pretty loaded and not that cheap. Plus, if I get a stripped 90D, then it could be our new road trip vehicle, and when our Model 3 arrives we could replace my wife's car instead of mine. And it would have AWD (a concern for those of us in the Cascade foothills; my wife got stuck in her S85 once trying to get up the hill even with winter tires) and be considerably quicker (a concern for those of us that have to sell a Roadster). So I looked for stripped 90Ds...but discovered a pre-facelift loaded P90DL that was cheaper to lease than any inventory 90D. In fact it was cheaper than some of the loaded 60's.

So, I started looking for a stripped S60 but ended up with a loaded P90DL. Tesla has a way of doing that to you.

I know this post is over a year old but if you haven't ordered the second MS yet you might want to consider a CPO MS. Save yourself a ton of coin and get all the options. Simply consider a CPO MS as having a few more " test " miles on it. I don't own MS yet, but I've visited the store in Natick once and Watertown once to look at CPO cars and was very impressed with the quality of the CPO fleet.

Buying a CPO MS can save you a bunch of money but no one but you and your wife will know as it will look like it just rolled off the production line. Tesla will not sell a used car that won't meet Teslas specifications for CPO. Cars that don't meet the CPO program are sold to used car dealers.

Why pay for a new car when you can get the same quality and attention to detail Tesla offers on a CPO P85D. I was at the hookset SC back in July and a MS pulled in and while talking to the owner discovered it was a CPO car and it had just over 22,000 miles on it yet I thought it was new.

He saved over $45'000 versus a new one.

Food for thought.

I may never be able to own one myself but I can live vicariously through you Gentleman and Ladies who own and enjoy one.

 

[GaryW]

I took clients to lunch this week in my new model S 100D. I asked if they would like to try a little excelleration. They said yes. I picked a spot, and pushed on the accelerator. The sweet little church lady said “ Oh, sh*t!”, then immediately covered her mouth with both hands. She was very apologetic.

Then she said she wasn’t ready, so could we do it again. A minute later, a good spot presented itself, and I opened up the throttle a little. Again, she said “Oh, sh*t”, and turned beet red.

After lunch, she wanted to try one more time. This time I gave it the slightest pressure, and eased right off. She looked at me and said, “See? I was ready that time.”

 

[aesculus]

Again, she said “Oh, sh*t”, and turned beet red.

She needs the cussing translator that's in the "Good Place" TV show.

 

[pedriscoll]

When I had my 85D in for 2 year maintenance the loaner was a fairly new 90D charged to 100%. I did not request that.

 

[JanetM]

As much as I like having my car get constant attention, I’m getting the sense that it also comes with its share of minor annoyances from the misconceptions that people have about it. For instance, when I was explaining to someone about the batteries being lithium ion, their first thought was that they’ll explode.

When I first got my MS we were getting out of it and someone said, "You know, those things explode." Without missing a beat my husband grinned and said, "You know, your car exploded the whole way here."

I love him.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

When I first got my MS we were getting out of it and someone said, "You know, those things explode." Without missing a beat my husband grinned and said, "You know, your car exploded the whole way here."

I love him.

Ha ha I’m going to steal that quote, it’s brilliant.

 

[hsctiger93]

Here's a new Tesla Moment:

Took Blue Steel in to have a 12v battery replaced. When I set the appointment the tech said that it was under warranty. I questioned because my car had 60k miles and was out of warranty. He confirmed. When I got to the service center another tech pulled up my car and said the battery was NOT under warranty and it would cost $250. Oh well. I figured I was right.

When I went to pay, the original tech who said it was under warranty came out and apologized for his mistake, then said Tesla would goodwill the battery replacement because he told me it was a warranty item in the first place. He said when he originally pulled up my car it did show warranty and wasn't sure about the cause of the glitch.

Honesty? Apologies? Taking responsibility for a mistake? In a car service environment? Now that's a Tesla moment!

 

[milleron]

When I first got my MS we were getting out of it and someone said, "You know, those things explode." Without missing a beat my husband grinned and said, "You know, your car exploded the whole way here."

The statistic we sorely need for repartee in such encounters is the number of exploded ICE gasoline tanks vs the number of "exploded" Tesla battery packs in the US or world over the last 12 months or per million miles driven. Has anyone seen such data?

 

[Ugliest1]

Here are a couple of posts from previous; TL;DR is 150,000 fires ANNUALLY in the US alone, based on statistics up to a decade ago. Oh and by the way, Kevin O'Leary never got anywhere near being Canada's prime minister.

Johan, thanks for your several attempts at refuting the idiocy in that article. I couldn't help myself, I had to add a comment to it as well:

From one of Cato's comments: "In almost all cases, the comments below do not address the facts."

On the contrary, several commenters do correct the various misrepresentations that Cato presented. Cato's response: "Your accusation is not only ignorant, but libelous. That said, as usual -- and like all the others in the comments section -- you are not addressing the facts, but instead attacking the messenger."

Rather than waste my time re-correcting what others have so ably done, I'll pick one statement within Cato's comments that I think is ridiculous, when one considers the FACTS: "The cars have been plagued with problems, the ones that don’t catch on fyre." This is a misrepresentation because, yes, some cars have had things that needed to be repaired, just like all automakers, however Tesla's service departments have done a stellar job getting the fixes completed. Check the recent Consumer Reports survey where Tesla scored the highest out of anyone, other automakers AND dealerships for owner satisfaction on service and repair: "The one automaker that outscored the independent shops was the electric carmaker Tesla, which earned high praise for its on-time repairs, courtesy, price, quality, and overall satisfaction." See, Cato: I'm arguing with FACTS (Best Places to Get Your Car Repaired - Consumer Reports).

The second part of Cato's comment "the ones that don't catch fyre", let's look at the FACTS there. Another poster has responded with the FACT that 150,000+ ICE cars catch fyre EACH YEAR, resulting on average in 200+ deaths (repeat: that's a FACT, Mr. Cato). Tesla, on the other hand, had three fyres in October 2013 (none since), all the result of accidents. In two of the three, after the battery was pierced by large debris from the highway in separate incidents, the car warned the occupants that there was a problem, to pull over safely and exit the vehicle, which they respectively did. In one of those cases, the fyre started because the fyre department mistakenly ripped open the battery shielding from the top, allowing the frunk upholstery to catch fyre from the dissipating heat. The third accident was a drunken spree in Mexico that sent the car at over 100 mph over a curb and through a concrete barrier; all occupants were filming getting out, laughing, and running away, then several minutes later the car caught fyre. THAT'S IT, Mr. Cato, 3 fyres, all of them coincidentally happening in October 2013. So, "the ones that don't catch fyre" is a pretty clear misrepresentation.

To conclude, I've seen your byline in my local paper in the past. I don't know if I've read any of the earlier articles because I'm not usually interested in car reviews, except for specific ones. But I certainly know I won't be reading any of yours in the future: when I want to read fiction I'll pick up a book, or maybe a dealership ad. It's a mystery to me how the G&M allowed such a weak piece to be published.

Thanks for this. Since I'm snarky today, and Mr. O'Leary may be Canada's prime minister in the future, I sent in this:

"I read a post that quoted you: CNBC panelist Kevin O’Leary said, “You spend your whole time driving on top of a giant lithium battery; that makes me a little nervous.”

I submit that driving on electric is far safer than driving behind a gasoline-powered bucket of bolts, metal, rubber, liquid and noxious fumes and where the engine is trying to explode and destroy itself every second. As a well-respected financial professional, and as someone who is attempting to become the leader of one of Canada's major parties, I expect more from you than apparently listening only to bearish and ignorant headlines. Do some real research about the state of EVs today. Take a few rides in any make. You'll find that EVs are far better to drive, and far more fun. Oh -- and don't forget the statistic that in the U.S. alone, there are 150,000 car fires ANNUALLY (2006-2010 statistical average) and two deaths every three days from gasoline car fires. You're being nervous about the wrong thing."

 

[milleron]

I witnessed this Tesla moment in a showroom here in Columbus, Ohio. On the floor was a Model X with hatch and frunk wide open demonstrating the large empty spaces within, obviously devoid of internal combustion engines. An older couple was being shown around the car, not saying much until the man, standing right in front of the vacuous frunk, asked, "So it doesn't use any gasoline?"

 

[arcus]

"So it doesn't use any gasoline?"

This question comes up more frequently than I would have anticipated. Sometimes from people that generally have a good grasp of the differences between Hybrids, PHEV and BEV. Or so I thought

 

[Acho]

This question comes up more frequently than I would have anticipated. Sometimes from people that generally have a good grasp of the differences between Hybrids, PHEV and BEV. Or so I thought

It looks like it is hard to get out of the stereotype: looks like car > moves like car > must have ICE

 

[nowtleft]

... my 25 year old son finds it hard to smile but the P85 never fails to put a grin on his face Yesterday as we joined the motorway and were doing 70mph in about 4 seconds he smiled and said it was like a plane taking off.

Same day I called at a SC for 1st time with him and he was impressed when I got a text in KFC saying I had enough juice to complete the journey!

 

[wattsup]

This question comes up more frequently than I would have anticipated. Sometimes from people that generally have a good grasp of the differences between Hybrids, PHEV and BEV. Or so I thought

My neighbor, who has seen my Tesla and talked about it with me before, at one point suggested I get a louder muffler, since the car is so quiet coming down the street.

I wasn't sure if they were joking or not.

 

[bugZPDX]

People ask me if my X gets good gas mileage. All. The. Time. I think in the future I'll say, "It does! I've been driving this car for nearly a year and have NEVER put gas in it."

 

[CuriousG]

My neighbor, who has seen my Tesla and talked about it with me before, at one point suggested I get a louder muffler, since the car is so quiet coming down the street.

I wasn't sure if they were joking or not.

Tell him that's a BMW i8 with the artificial engine noise.

 

[DavidB]

"So it doesn't use any gasoline?"

My reply is almost a mantra, given how many times I hear this question––"Correct. No oil, and no gas. This car is 100% electric."

And I know, technically, that the "no oil" is a lie, but the person asking is so used to the concept of consuming oil to keep the engine lubricated that "no oil" is a better reply than "it uses small amounts of lubrication".

 

[Ugliest1]

My reply is almost a mantra, given how many times I hear this question––"Correct. No oil, and no gas. This car is 100% electric."

And I know, technically, that the "no oil" is a lie, but the person asking is so used to the concept of consuming oil to keep the engine lubricated that "no oil" is a better reply than "it uses small amounts of lubrication".

Be careful using those last few words, there. They could apply to almost anything.

 

[Half Dollar Bill]

A 2fer.
I pull into the Harrisburg PA supercharger. There is one other car charging there with a Mass plate. I notice a gent sitting on a curb across from the supercharger looking at his phone. After plugging in I walk over to him to chat. He opens the conversation with an observation that the supercharger is normally packed on weekends with travelers but it's much slower during the week. I ask him if he's done soon and he responds that he has hours left before leaving. That comment takes a bit to register and he immediately asks me where I'm from and how I like the car. I find that question a bit odd coming from an owner and while responding turn the question back about his experience. It's then that he replies that he's not an owner, just the manager of the nearby Starbucks. So I'm really embarrassed and I finish the conversation with him and head off to eat.
I get back to the car and check mail for a few minutes to let the car finish. A Ford Fusion pulls up and the driver rolls down the window and asks if he could charge. I'm a little stymied and reply that it's a proprietary Tesla station. He turns around to head off, but before leaving he rolls down the window again and asks how long it takes to charge. I start to get into the "it depends" explanation when I give up and say that during our cross country trip it took about 30 minutes on average for each stop. My first experience with a non-Tesla trying to charge and after nearly four years of ownership, it made me laugh.

 

[arcus]

I drove in the middle lane on a freeway yesterday, cruising at 70-ish. There's a minivan about to pass me on the fast lane. Before I know it, they adjust the speed to match mine, both passenger windows roll down and the folks put their hands to their ear (as in to listen to what kind of noise my car makes)