Unusual Questions from the Public

[Prime Mover]

During my brief time as a Roadster driver I have been asked a lot of questions about the car. You get all the typical ones about how far, how fast, how much, etc.

I have just come home from one of the last Fall days driving with the top off when, while stopped at a traffic light, a truck next to me asked me "Does the car have anything to warn wildlife?". He said he was from Colorado and that deer would not hear a Tesla coming and could run into the car.

Now there have been some debates about electric cars having to make noise so people hear you approaching but this was probably the strangest question I have fielded so far.

However, maybe he was right because as I neared my suburban home, a squirrel came running out in front of me, perhaps because it couldn't hear me coming!

Anybody else want to describe the most bizarre questions they have been asked??

 

[Doug_G]

He said he was from Colorado and that deer would not hear a Tesla coming and could run into the car.

Geez, that's clueless. Deer have that problem already with ICE cars; they startle from the sound and light and tend to run right in front of them. I really don't think the electric vehicles are going to be worse... maybe they'd allow us to slip by before the deer noticed!

 

[Doug_G]

One guy had my scratching my head for a moment, but he wasn't clueless at all. He walked up to me and said, "Is that the new one?"

Wondering what he meant, I replied back, "New one???"

"Yeah, the Evora, I think?"

"Oh! Uh, it's not a Lotus."

"That's a TELSA?!?!?!"

Good for a chuckle anyway.

 

[Jaff]

He got it partly right, "the new one" (2.5) :biggrin:...just the wrong brand! :wink:

 

[tennis_trs]

The wildest question I've gotten came from a guy who had first asked me a few reasonable questions then he asked:

"Does it have a permanent battery or do you have to charge it?"

That would be a battery pack with some serious energy density!

 

[TEG]

Back when Roadster was first launched, a Tesla marketing phrase was "Burn rubber, not gasoline."

I heard a story about how someone walked up to a Tesla employee at a car show and said "where do I put the rubber pellets in?"

 

[TEG]

The wildest question I've gotten came from a guy who had first asked me a few reasonable questions then he asked:
"Does it have a permanent battery or do you have to charge it?"
That would be a battery pack with some serious energy density!

Uh Oh! Don't get us started!
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10147329-48.html

... Shelby said its electric powertrain "will feature a revolutionary power source allowing for extended time between charging intervals with the possibility of several years between charging."...

 

[Jaff]

Sounds like the battery has a "nuclear option"! :biggrin:

Uh Oh! Don't get us started!
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10147329-48.html

 

[TEG]

Sounds like the battery has a "nuclear option"! :biggrin:

Yeah, right!

 

[tomsax]

I get the "do you have to charge it" question pretty frequently. My response now is:

"Actually, I *get* to charge it, which is much more convenient than having to go to a gas station. I plug it in each night and start every morning with a full charge. After I went a few months without a visit to a gas station, I started to wonder how I ever put up with that smelly, dangerous gas station routine."

 

[tomsax]

Regarding the wildlife question, we live in the middle of 5 acres of woods. We get deer through the yard every day. I haven't noticed any difference between gas and electric in terms of wildlife jumping out in front of the car. If you're going 20 mph or higher, electric and gas sound the same: tire noise. At low speeds, EVs can be quieter but then you have more time to react.

In fact, if anything, I've seen fewer deer jump out in front of me on the driveway since going electric. Maybe at lower speeds the car just doesn't make enough noise to startle them into doing something stupid.

 

[bolosky]

Uh Oh! Don't get us started!
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10147329-48.html

In additon to claiming not needing to be recharged for years, it also says:

...fully charged from a 110 volt AC outlet in 10 minutes. ... 200 mile range

Let's see...110V * 20A * 1/6 hr = 367 Wh. If that goes 200 miles, then the car uses 1.8 Wh/mile. I suppose that's possible, but only if the 200 miles is all downhill.

I think that the reporter was completely misunderstanding/misreporting what he heard. No sane engineer could claim such a thing.

 

[PopSmith]

I had a conversation with a employee at a grocery store a few hours after my test drive that went like this:

Employee: "How's your day going?"

Me: "Great, I test drove the Tesla Roadster earlier today."

Employee: "Oh the Tesla, I've heard of it. That's the really fast hybrid, isn't it?"

Me: "It's a pure-electric sports car and it is fast."

 

[Iz]

Employee: "Oh the Tesla, I've heard of it. That's the really fast hybrid, isn't it?"

Unfortunately, a good percentage of the public does not know the difference between pure electric and hybrid.

 

[Jaff]

Yep, it's a steep learning curve for those who would rather watch reality TV than actually learn about something useful...

Unfortunately, a good percentage of the public does not know the difference between pure electric and hybrid.

 

[Doug_G]

Yeah, I overheard a bunch of kids around my car the other day. "Hey, it's got Green Vehicle Plates." "What does that mean?" "It's a hybrid."

(Nope, in Ontario, Hybrids don't qualify for the plates unless they're plug-in).

 

[cinergi]

"Orange?! Does it come in any other colors?"

I've had this at LEAST 4 times now.

 

[tennis_trs]

"Orange?! Does it come in any other colors?"

I've had this at LEAST 4 times now.

My Boxster S, before my Roadster, was orange with black wheels and I got many comments on it with nearly all positive, but a work buddy did ask me if I got a discount on it because of the color (he was being serious); best/funniest comment I got about that car.

His comment made think of Caddyshack and how Rodney Dangerfield's character would have reacted to me and my car:
"Oh, this is the worst-looking car I ever saw. What, when you buy a car like this I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh?
Oh, it looks good on you though."

I like orange with black wheels a lot and probably would have gotten that on my Roadster if I hadn't had it on my Boxster at the time.

 

[hcsharp]

Funniest questions you've been asked about your Roadster

People often ask really funny questions about our car. These are some of my favorites.

"Does it take high octane gas?" This was after I told him twice that it was all electric. Realizing I wasn't dealing with a full deck of cards, I answered with one of my favorite answers "I dunno. I haven't had to fill it up yet. It only has 3,000 miles on it." He looked at me like I was the one who was crazy.

At a large public parking lot a woman asked, "Excuse me, can you give me a jump? My battery's dead." I responded "I'm sorry, not unless your car can handle 400 volts." She looked at me like I was crazy, so I explained that my car didn't have a regular 12 volt battery and that it was all-electric. After pondering this for a moment she asked "If you don't have a 12 volt battery then how do you start it?" It was all I could do not to start laughing.

I get this one a lot: "What kind of mileage does it get?" I usually give my fav answer: "I dunno. I haven't had to fill it up yet..." But recently I said "Pretty good since I got rid of the tail pipe." The puzzled look on his face while he bent over to look for the tail pipe was priceless.

While getting out of my car a guy came over and mentioned how he always likes to see a good looking mid-engine car. I opened the trunk to get something and he couldn't see any motor so he walks around the car and says "Where's the motor?"

I'll save the range anxiety questions for another day...

 

[smorgasbord]

The sad truth is the Roadster does have a 12 volt battery.