Tesla moments

[swaltner]

According to their web site, "Dymax manufactures industrial adhesives including UV light curable adhesives, epoxy resins, cyanoacrylates, and activator-cured adhesives." You shoulda asked if they make the orange goo oozing out of some people's hoods. In reality, this is actually pretty cool, bumping into people like this. They know a certain company/product is a huge customer of their own products, but have never seen the other company's product. Showing off the fruits of their efforts....

 

[Rheazombi]

Was driving the car around for the very first time yesterday! Noticed some head turning, pointing, etc. Was all pretty subtle and I was wondering if it was all in my head, but then I remembered this kind of thing never happened in my Toyota. While I was parked in Lowell, MA a group of middle-aged women walked by and stared and I was pretty sure they were talking about the car, two of them kept making eye contact with me while talking and it made me feel really uncomfortable (I try to avoid being the center of attention usually). My dad says I'm going to have to get used to it -_-;; . (He also lives in the Bay Area so he can't comprehend that a lot of ppl in New England don't know what a Tesla is, lol)

On a more amusing note, a guy and his teenage son walked by us in a Chili's parking lot (apparently quite a few Chili's have chargepoint chargers around here. I wasn't able to use it tho because we haven't gotten the chargepoint card in the mail yet). My window was rolled down about 1cm and I heard the guy say to his son (imagine a very thick Boston accent) "You see that cah right there? That's a $200,000 dahllah cah". Wasn't able to hear his son's response but the tone was of interest/excitement while the dad's was more disparaging. I wanted to roll my window down and say "Hey! It's not THAT expensive, jeez!"

 

[HHHH]

Cool tesla moment! Also, you should still be able to use the charge point charger using your phone, that's what I did before I got the card. I haven't had the opportunity to use the card since.

 

[Rheazombi]

Cool tesla moment! Also, you should still be able to use the charge point charger using your phone, that's what I did before I got the card. I haven't had the opportunity to use the card since.

gahh that normally would be awesome! Unfortunately I only have a really old blackberry that can't install the chargepoint app. (can't use the Tesla app either till I get a new phone ~_~ )

tiny tesla moment today: was showing my SO's relatives (a middle aged couple) the car . We drove up to them and they exclaimed "I didn't think the car was even running! It's completely silent!" They were reeeally amused at the frunk, and were very interested in the key and what happens if the key dies. They also really liked the logo, and somehow didn't realize it was a Tesla until halfway through the conversation and then they had a look of disbelief and starting talking about Elon Musk and spaceships. :smile:

 

[caddieo]

They also really liked the logo, and somehow didn't realize it was a Tesla until halfway through the conversation and then they had a look of disbelief and starting talking about Elon Musk and spaceships. :smile:

I find it unusual and amusing that they did not make a priority of identifying the car. So far in my experience, "What car is this?" is almost always one of the first 2 or 3 questions.

 

[jrreno]

Went to a party and got in a conversation with a woman who was there sans husband. Evidently her husband is very into Tesla's. She had not been in one so I gave her the full demo. She kept saying " no one around here knows what a Tesla is!"
This in the Rochester, NY area.

 

[Tedkidd]

Went to a party and got in a conversation with a woman who was there sans husband. Evidently her husband is very into Tesla's. She had not been in one so I gave her the full demo. She kept saying " no one around here knows what a Tesla is!"
This in the Rochester, NY area.

Not sure what that means. I suppose you could say it is absolutely false but generally true. As a general statement you could make it pretty much anywhere and have it be more true than false, just as you might say "most people are oblivious to the world around them."

I've only seen 3 cars in Rochester, and none in about a year. (One owner is on the threads, not sure if his was one of the 3.)

 

[ACDriveMotor]

I saw a white one going up I-81 above Syracuse this past week. Wonder if it was the same white car as in your picture.

 

[jrreno]

If you spot a blue 85 with Florida plates that would probably be me

 

[roblab]

My wife and I spent about 4 or 5 hours at the county fair this Sunday, showing off the Tesla. Our grandson, 4 year old Tatum, was included at the last minute, to be picked up by Dad later.

Milli and I were busy talking to the many interested fair goers, answering questions left and right, usually from the front passenger seat, as everyone seemed to want to sit behind the wheel. I expect we convinced several that Tesla will be their next car.

Tatum was in and out and around, and although we offered to take him to the playground or the petting zoo, he wanted to stay by the Tesla.

I had just shown off the touch screen and was busy telling about experiences with maintenance, when my current questioner wanted to play "Let's find the engine", which they are consistently surprised to find is NOT under the hood. Always a fun thing to do. However, a few moments later, I noticed that the driver's seat was occupied again, by a grandmotherly type, and beside her was Tatum, waving his arms and telling her, "it goes REALLY fast", and "it uses 'lectricity", and showing her how the screen would open the roof. The lady was taking it all in.

Tatum tells me he will buy his Tesla when he gets old enough to drive. There's a good chance he will want to work for Tesla, too.

 

[Tedkidd]

If you spot a blue 85 with Florida plates that would probably be me

:smile: See me, stop and say hi!

 

[trils0n]

I spent 6 or so hours on Saturday showing my Model S at an Experience Electric / The Better Ride event put on by the California Center for Sustainable Energy. All the other electric cars were there. Don't know if it was local dealers, or manufacturers showing their electric cars, but there were Nissan Leafs, BMW i3s, a Cadillac ELR, Fiat 500e, Mitsubishi iMiEV, Ford Focus Electric / CMax / Fusion Plug-In, etc. Tesla didn't have a presence there (which was odd because the event was in Fremont about 3 miles from the factory), so I was kind of glad I volunteered to show my car. Two Tesla assembly line workers even showed up and chatted while on their lunch break. Both of them had been working there since June 2012 and they said they were still getting the kinks worked out of the new line. Tons of Tesla moments. Was fun watching people's minds getting blown. I don't think I stopped answering questions for the whole 6 hours. EDIT: Also talked to a guy who worked at a machine shop that was making the Supercharger pedestals -- he said they are making quite a few more than they were even a few months ago.

The most asked questions were "What is the range?" and "How long does it take to charge?".

My favorite interaction was a guy asking all the usual questions, and surprised by the range, free Supercharging, no batteries in the trunk, tons of cargo space, etc. Then he said, "Why do all the other electric cars look weird, why can't they look like a normal car like this?" I don't know. "Why do the other cars only go 20-80 miles? And why do I have to give up my trunk or middle seat to their battery" Their battery packs are about 1/3 or 1/4 of the capacity of this car. Battery intrusion is due to being gas cars converted to electric. <Gears turning in his head> "It's almost like they don't want to sell electric cars!" <He's angry now> "Why aren't they letting the consumer choose what kind of car they can buy!? Why are they making all these compromised cars?" <He storms off>. Made me laugh.

 

[Tedkidd]

My favorite interaction was a guy asking all the usual questions, and surprised by the range, free Supercharging, no batteries in the trunk, tons of cargo space, etc.

Then he said, "Why do all the other electric cars look weird, why can't they look like a normal car like this?" I don't know.

"Why do the other cars only go 20-80 miles? And why do I have to give up my trunk or middle seat to their battery" Their battery packs are about 1/3 or 1/4 of the capacity of this car. Battery intrusion is due to being gas cars converted to electric.

<Gears turning in his head> "It's almost like they don't want to sell electric cars!"

<He's angry now> "Why aren't they letting the consumer choose what kind of car they can buy!? Why are they making all these compromised cars?" <He storms off>. Made me laugh.

Mmmm hmmm. Nicely done.

 

[Jeroen Tirion]

I was on the German Autobahn last week, coming back from Austria between Superchargers - love those as they fill the "tank" at 550 kmh. I didn't spot a single Tesla Model S in 3000 km, but I did notice lots of stares. One was from a big Vin Diesel-like character in an open-top BMW. He buzzed around us a few times, then gave us a big thumbs-up.
Besides this I had some fun keeping apace with the typical German blasters (Audi's, BMW's and Mercedes). Traffic was too busy to go beyond 180 kmh / 110 Mph.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Jeroen, would you consider the model S a good Autobahn car?

 

[brianman]

Jeroen, would you consider the model S a good Autobahn car?

Heh. Poke that dragon!

 

[paulkva]

Two kinda funny moments tonight.

First, I was leaving a Miami Marlins game, in traffic in the parking garage, and a couple walks up to my car and motions for me to open the window. The guy said he noticed my Virginia plates and asked if I used any superchargers to get down here. I smiled and said, "All of them." Then he asked if they really charge at 100mph. "Up to 350mph," I said, and I explained how I didn't really need to wait for the car to charge. Turns out he owns a Model S but has only used a supercharger once, and it was when he already had 200+ miles of range.

Second, I arrived at our hotel and plugged in, and the security guard (who hadn't heard of Tesla and asked me all the standard questions the night before) said with a big grin, "I googled your car" and started talking about how amazing it is. I could only smile and agree.

 

[Vip]

So not the typical Tesla moment butthought it was humorous to mention.
I was driving home from work the other evening. I was almost home when Inoticed the climate control was on. It was off before. Just thought I mighthave accidentally turned it on when I touched the screen to change music.
Well it happened again when I got home 5 minutes later. At that point I thoughtthere might be some software issue or my car was possessed. Believe it or notmy car was possessed. When my son arrived home with my wife about 5 minuteslater he asked me if there was anything funny going on with the car. Find outthat he opened the Tesla app on my wife's phone and started messing with theclimate control. My son was laughing his butt off!!!
Needless to say the Tesla app is now logged off from my wife's phone!

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

I was walking to my car when someone was looking at it and another passerby had just stopped when he realized what they were looking at.

The first person was asking if he could take a look inside and as the door handles extended, second passerby exclaimed 'My mind is blown!" and didn't want to see anymore.
we all laughed as he walked of shaking his head.

 

[Pollux]

Geez, after promising to capture more pictures of these Tesla moments, I've managed to forget each time... Two of 'em today.

First, at Panera Bread Company. I park and go in to check on my daughter, who is finishing up her shift. I come back to wait in the car. As I start to get in, a guy seated in the passenger seat of the car next to my driver side says, "Nice car!" Sure enough, we get into a deep conversation about the vehicle. He is scared to go to the Tesla showroom, because he might have to buy the car once he gets too close. I invite him to sit in my car, but he turns me down because he has limited mobility.

Second, at the municipal parking lot in the center of Newton, MA. I'm sitting in my car, reading, waiting for my son to arrive on his bus from his camp. I notice that the meter has decremented to zero, so I get out to put a quarter in the meter. As I do that, I see a meter maid writing a ticket only two cars away. I yell over to her, "honest! I didn't just run out to put money in the meter because of you!" She laughed and we started to chat. When I told her I was just waiting for my kid, she chided me and said it was OK to wait in the car without paying the meter. Then she realized that the Tesla was mine, and was instantly gaga! She completely stopped writing tickets. We walked all around the car, she sat in the back, she marveled at everything. We talked electric power, cargo and people capacity, acceleration, price, and how her husband had just spent $45K on a Jeep, and so $61K (after tax credits) wasn't so outrageous after all (but still expensive!). While we were yakking away, another woman walks up. My meter maid sees this woman as she's about to get into her car, and the woman notices us. The meter maid yells over to this woman, while smiling and laughing, "this is your lucky day! I'm way too busy with this Tesla to come over and write a ticket for your car! Enjoy your day!"

Alan