Unexpected Tesla Fans

[1.21GW]

I really enjoy driving my Tesla around, during these COVID times, it provides a great escape from reality. I have run into so many people that I would never have expected to be Tesla fans. Seeing the broad appeal across ages, races, political backgrounds, current vehicle choices. Tesla has a much broader appeal than just an “Electric car”

Here are a few of the great people I ran into at stop lights:

• Lifted Tahoe with multicolor glitter paint and 28”+ wheels, the guy had lots of tattoos - Kept going on about how cool Tesla’s were
• Pickup truck driver with a trailer hauling stuff - Wanted to know how fast mine was, also he asked when the pickup was coming out because that was going to be fast too
• Harley rider w/ ape hanger handlebars, he had a sweet mustache - looked at me and said “is that one of those Teslas? They are electric right?” I answered yes, and he nodded in approval (Ron Swanson style)
• Jaguar XJ - asked me if my car was as quick as they say they are.. (I think he wanted to race.. but traffic didn’t allow)
• Homeless guy - Thought he was going to ask for money, he just looked at the car and said “I love those Teslas, the technology is incredible” and walked away. (I have to admit, it was a surprise)
• Construction worker - I was stuck in traffic and the guy was asking me all sorts of questions
• Fox body mustang, heavily modified - we did a quick “comparison” and I won. He gave thumbs up
• Older lady (60-70yo estimate) at Starbucks - Asked tons of questions and then told me she was picking her Model 3 up in a few weeks
• Teenager w/ his gf in a Saturn - “Hey man, those Teslas are my favorite car, do you want to trade?”
• Young mom in a Camry - “My sons love those Teslas” (her sons were between 5-10yo in the backseat)
• The list goes on...

The odd thing, is that no Prius driver has ever said a word to me..

Anyhow, this gives me hope that Electric vehicle adoption is just a matter of making them compelling at an affordable price. Tesla really took away the stigma of dorky electric cars.

 

[T3SLAROD]

Wait until the Cybertruck and hopefully Compact Hatch arrive

 

[FurryOne]

The odd thing, is that no Prius driver has ever said a word to me.

Considering what a Prius looks like, they're probably too embarrassed. I give Toyota +5 points for coming out with the Prius so long ago, and -100 points for being too stupid to bother making it look and work better.

 

[MichaelP90DL]

Those were some fun conversations!

 

[Bubbatech]

I had a Prius before theTesla. It’s one of the most common tradeins that Tesla gets. They are excellent cars. Dirt cheap to run, extremely reliable. When I saw a Tesla in those days, I thought “of course, it’s the next logical step”. I have a Model 3 now. It’s like a perfect Prius. All electric all the time, seemingly limitless power, cool styling and interior. I have had people ask me about it as well.

 

[Sam1]

The odd thing, is that no Prius driver has ever said a word to me..

Anyhow, this gives me hope that Electric vehicle adoption is just a matter of making them compelling at an affordable price. Tesla really took away the stigma of dorky electric cars.

Only interaction I've had with a prius owner on the road was that he flipped me off, then tried to cut me off, but found out teslas accelerate a little faster than a prius. He then also immediately received a free demonstration of how well the brembos work.

<edit> actually had a passenger today that owns a speed shop, since I'm a car guy we started chatting, he had a few personal drag cars running in the 8's. He said that they were about to build a car similar to the COPO electric Camaro and start transitioning to electric since they have been getting requests to convert some of the older hot rods to electric and they needed to figure everything out before they started doing it for customers. So that was super cool. And he was also impressed with the traction control and computer system being able to minimize spin on the M3 during a launch and hold that type of acceleration.

 

[one2many]

Well my wife comes to mind. I have never seen any
girl love a car like that and almost every day she says that.
She also said she is getting a lead foot.

Everyone that rides in my car pulls out the cell phone to
take pictures. They are speechless.

We get a lot of walkups when we park, folks love to talk about it.
and I do to.

When we first got the car the kids in the hood came by to look at it,
pointing out all the features and cameras and so on (7-12 years old.

On the street all the cars seem to be way behind me, not a lot of talking
going on.

 

[Siciliano]

I never thought I'd get so much attention with this car. It does lead to many conversations with strangers (and even more acquaintances)! The only other car I've owned that got even close to this much attention was my Maserati, which ppl just assumed was like a $200k car.

Not only that, I've never owned a car that I like talking about more than the Tesla. I swear I feel like a Tesla salesperson when anyone asks me the obligatory, "do you love it?".

Most ppl are blown away by the fact that you can control SO many things with voice alone. The public in general is so used to dumb cars that it really seems like a quantum leap to them...hell, I'm a die hard car guy, and it feels like that to me! lol it's pretty sad that I've owned $100k cars that have had "voice commands" that were complete garbage. You would think for that kind of money it wouldn't take 10 steps to navigate somewhere with your voice!!

So my answer is usually, "no, I actually don't love the car... I'm IN LOVE with the car."

 

[Lindamon]

I live in a very rural and pretty conservative area. In the year I’ve owned my car, I have gotten mostly love from the pickup truck crowd, (I have one myself) wherever I go, and asked many questions, especially from the younger guys. I haven’t lost a “comparison” yet, and almost always get a thumbs up. Taking the recycling to the dump (no pickup out where I live), one of the workers, a big burly older man saw me open the rear doors of my X to get at the bins (I had a lot of recycling that day). He drove his dump truck over, leaned out the window and said “that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

Both of the local outdoor gun ranges have destination chargers.

I have no doubt electric is the future.

 

[qdeathstar]

i’ve feel like prius people are the weird antisocial cat people we’ve all heard about.

 

[Gasaraki]

The people most excited about my Model 3 were the kids in my neighborhood. They are between 5-10 years old and every time I drive past them they say they want one and if was their first time seeing it, they say to their parents "that's a Tesla, dad!"

 

[toolman335]

i’ve feel like prius people are the weird antisocial cat people we’ve all heard about.

This is absolutely correct. I don't know what it is about Prius people, but every single one of them that I know are indeed antisocial and miserable human beings. I'd add "preppers" to the list too. Right now they're home with 500 rolls of toilet paper and 1 ton of cat litter. The apocalypse is upon us!

 

[Apprunner]

There are over 10 Teslas in my small neighborhood alone. I see more Model 3s now than 3 series. Nobody asks about Teslas in California

 

[jjrandorin]

I live in a very rural and pretty conservative area.......

Both of the local outdoor gun ranges have destination chargers.

I have no doubt electric is the future.

I am actually blown away by the juxtaposition of the statement "both the local outdoor gun ranges have destination chargers". I cant think of anything that indicates that the "tide is turning" related to the perception of electric vehicles more than those two statements....."I live in a rural and conservative area, and the outdoor gun ranges in my area have destination chargers".

 

[Dolemite]

I really enjoy driving my Tesla around, during these COVID times, it provides a great escape from reality. I have run into so many people that I would never have expected to be Tesla fans. Seeing the broad appeal across ages, races, political backgrounds, current vehicle choices. Tesla has a much broader appeal than just an “Electric car”

Here are a few of the great people I ran into at stop lights:

• Lifted Tahoe with multicolor glitter paint and 28”+ wheels, the guy had lots of tattoos - Kept going on about how cool Tesla’s were
• Pickup truck driver with a trailer hauling stuff - Wanted to know how fast mine was, also he asked when the pickup was coming out because that was going to be fast too
• Harley rider w/ ape hanger handlebars, he had a sweet mustache - looked at me and said “is that one of those Teslas? They are electric right?” I answered yes, and he nodded in approval (Ron Swanson style)
• Jaguar XJ - asked me if my car was as quick as they say they are.. (I think he wanted to race.. but traffic didn’t allow)
• Homeless guy - Thought he was going to ask for money, he just looked at the car and said “I love those Teslas, the technology is incredible” and walked away. (I have to admit, it was a surprise)
• Construction worker - I was stuck in traffic and the guy was asking me all sorts of questions
• Fox body mustang, heavily modified - we did a quick “comparison” and I won. He gave thumbs up
• Older lady (60-70yo estimate) at Starbucks - Asked tons of questions and then told me she was picking her Model 3 up in a few weeks
• Teenager w/ his gf in a Saturn - “Hey man, those Teslas are my favorite car, do you want to trade?”
• Young mom in a Camry - “My sons love those Teslas” (her sons were between 5-10yo in the backseat)
• The list goes on...

The odd thing, is that no Prius driver has ever said a word to me..

Anyhow, this gives me hope that Electric vehicle adoption is just a matter of making them compelling at an affordable price. Tesla really took away the stigma of dorky electric cars.

And this is exactly why we all have to collectively fight against the idiotic & narrow-minded tribalistic-style of thinking that the media's constantly trying to corner us into. People are people, and the only answer will (and always has been) to treat people like individuals. Running into counter-stereotypes has to be one of my favorite things... like my ex special ops buddy who's hardcore into baking and has to buy a new KitchenAid mixer every year. Finding your own way requires a lot more introspective thinking and experimentation and pain, but ultimately is far more worth it than buying into any bullshit pre-packaged set of interests & personalities we tend to make up for ourselves.

I know quite a few of us on here that also fall far outside of the "typical" stereotype. I called a racing shop to get an alignment yesterday & they said "oh we've never done a Tesla before." Well brace yourself buddy cuz we a-comin'.

 

[hydro 481]

Ah...time for the monthly circle-jerk thread

Not sure where some of you guys are from but here in California no one even bats an eye at Teslas. Not unless it's modified or something.

 

[Watts_Up]

Ah...time for the monthly circle-jerk thread

Not sure where some of you guys are from but here in California no one even bats an eye at Teslas. Not unless it's modified or something.

I'm in San Francisco and every time a Model X stop somewhere there are still some onlookers of various age waiting to see the FWD in motion. (myself include...)

 

[jjrandorin]

Ah...time for the monthly circle-jerk thread

Not sure where some of you guys are from but here in California no one even bats an eye at Teslas. Not unless it's modified or something.

Op location sayws "michigan".

You almost have to throw california out when it comes to tesla. I think something like 50% of teslas are sold into california, so our experiences out here dont count relative to the rest of the US.

 

[1.21GW]

Ah...time for the monthly circle-jerk thread

Not sure where some of you guys are from but here in California no one even bats an eye at Teslas. Not unless it's modified or something.

Not from California.

For those from California, please tell me more about how no-one cares.

 

[outdoors]

Wish my Dad would ditch his Prius #2. He would be so cool as a guy in his 80's with P3. I can dream can't I?