So I picked up my X yesterday (VIN 8XX), great experience down at the factory in Freemont. Kind of scary driving a car this expensive, but it didn't take me long to start appreciating autopilot on the drive home. Dropped my wife off at her home office, then went to work.
My partner decides he's going to ditch his bike and catch a ride home with me. Cool! But first I have to pick up my son from a school rehearsal. Walk in, and the rehearsal is running late and a group of parents sit there waiting, bored. One of them says, "I saw your wife posted your new car on Facebook!" Others ask what she's talking about. Three minutes later we're all outside, oohing and aahing the car. Other parents on their way in or out stop to check it out. Then my son's class is released, and I suddenly have twenty kids swarming in and out of the car, opening and closing the doors (they got seriously stress tested). One boy announces that he's moving in with me. Parents wonder about the white seats. I shrug. It's a soccer team mobility vehicle. Either the white seats survive gaggles of dirty, sweaty children loading in and out or they don't. This isn't a museum showpiece.
30 minutes later, I finally get on the road. Drop my biz partner off at home. His son and wife come out to check the car. As soon as the FWD's come up, half the houses on the block empty out to check it out. I have another dozen people swarming around the car. People want to know how much it costs which makes me nervous. "A lot, too much" is the best I can mumble. Every parents asks me about those white seats. Finally I extricate myself, and see a text from my mother. Her husband is dying to see the car. Okay, here I go. I pull in front of the house. They come out to check things out, and so does another bunch of neighbors. I hear a kid yell out, "Mom, come quick, it's a Tesla!" This time I act like I'm in a hurry (though I really have nowhere to go) so I can extract myself from here. I get home, walk in house without making eye contact with neighbors I can sense glancing in my direction. They were also alerted by my wife's Facebook post, so I'll have to deal with them later. But did I mention I'm an introvert? I've had enough human interaction for one day.
I get up this morning, start loading the kids in the car to take them to school. A policeman is parked next to my driveway investigating a report of something or other. He sees me, "Is that your Tesla?" I nod. "Cool! At first I thought it was the Model S, but then realized it was too big and it's the first X I've seen! Do you mind telling me how much it cost?" I spend the next five minutes chatting with him about the car even though the kids are going to be late to school...
So, this isn't even a first-world problem. This is a no-problem. As someone who believe's in Tesla's world-saving mission, I'm happy to be an ambassador for the Tesla brand, and always bring up the Model 3's forthcoming reveal. I want people to know why electric cars are such a benefit, and I want people to see Tesla as the aspirational brand that it is.
I just want to do it in little bits and pieces, because if every day is like the last 24 hours, I'm not sure how I'll survive! I'll manage, but man, I do look forward to the day when this car doesn't attract these kinds of crowds!
And to those who question the value of those doors ... these last 24 hours really do prove that they are sheer marketing genius.
My partner decides he's going to ditch his bike and catch a ride home with me. Cool! But first I have to pick up my son from a school rehearsal. Walk in, and the rehearsal is running late and a group of parents sit there waiting, bored. One of them says, "I saw your wife posted your new car on Facebook!" Others ask what she's talking about. Three minutes later we're all outside, oohing and aahing the car. Other parents on their way in or out stop to check it out. Then my son's class is released, and I suddenly have twenty kids swarming in and out of the car, opening and closing the doors (they got seriously stress tested). One boy announces that he's moving in with me. Parents wonder about the white seats. I shrug. It's a soccer team mobility vehicle. Either the white seats survive gaggles of dirty, sweaty children loading in and out or they don't. This isn't a museum showpiece.
30 minutes later, I finally get on the road. Drop my biz partner off at home. His son and wife come out to check the car. As soon as the FWD's come up, half the houses on the block empty out to check it out. I have another dozen people swarming around the car. People want to know how much it costs which makes me nervous. "A lot, too much" is the best I can mumble. Every parents asks me about those white seats. Finally I extricate myself, and see a text from my mother. Her husband is dying to see the car. Okay, here I go. I pull in front of the house. They come out to check things out, and so does another bunch of neighbors. I hear a kid yell out, "Mom, come quick, it's a Tesla!" This time I act like I'm in a hurry (though I really have nowhere to go) so I can extract myself from here. I get home, walk in house without making eye contact with neighbors I can sense glancing in my direction. They were also alerted by my wife's Facebook post, so I'll have to deal with them later. But did I mention I'm an introvert? I've had enough human interaction for one day.
I get up this morning, start loading the kids in the car to take them to school. A policeman is parked next to my driveway investigating a report of something or other. He sees me, "Is that your Tesla?" I nod. "Cool! At first I thought it was the Model S, but then realized it was too big and it's the first X I've seen! Do you mind telling me how much it cost?" I spend the next five minutes chatting with him about the car even though the kids are going to be late to school...
So, this isn't even a first-world problem. This is a no-problem. As someone who believe's in Tesla's world-saving mission, I'm happy to be an ambassador for the Tesla brand, and always bring up the Model 3's forthcoming reveal. I want people to know why electric cars are such a benefit, and I want people to see Tesla as the aspirational brand that it is.
I just want to do it in little bits and pieces, because if every day is like the last 24 hours, I'm not sure how I'll survive! I'll manage, but man, I do look forward to the day when this car doesn't attract these kinds of crowds!
And to those who question the value of those doors ... these last 24 hours really do prove that they are sheer marketing genius.
