Washington Post: Tesla Model S P90D: A normal person drives the ‘best car’ ever made

[Lanny]

One clue that this Washington Post article on the Tesla Model S is bad - their description of plugging in at a Supercharger: "Grab the nozzle, bring it to your car and the fuel door automatically swings open." Nozzle? Fuel door?

It gets worse...

Link:
Tesla Model S P90D: A normal person drives the ‘best car’ ever made

-Lanny

 

[LetsGoFast]

The Bethesda supercharger is a horrible one, to be fair. Two stalls, often busy and charging seemingly always throttled for some reason or another. It is hard for someone on a two day test drive to really understand what it like to own it and have it charged effortlessly every day.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Thanks for the link. While it started out ok, it does sound like the author was a little too worried about some things. He mentions having to worry about the battery level...but does he ever worry about the fuel gauge in an ICE? While public charging stations may not be as plentiful as gas stations (yet), the Tesla could be charged at almost any of the billions of electrical outlets in the world. Sure, some of them would be a lot faster than others but if there's an outlet, you'd be able to 'refuel' slowly. Very few people would be able to 'fill up' their gas car at home...or any other home/business that they stopped at.

 

[ChadS]

If he's a "normal" person, what are we? I find the title odd. There seems to be a recent rash of articles and comments that conspicuously mention how "different" Tesla drivers are than "real" people.

It's just another article by a reporter who spends a very short period of time with the car and then tries, unsuccessfully, to describe what it's like to live with the car. This is why it has always been important for owners to talk to the public about their cars.

 

[LetsGoFast]

If he's a "normal" person, what are we? I find the title odd. There seems to be a recent rash of articles and comments that conspicuously mention how "different" Tesla drivers are than "real" people.

I assume he is using normal to mean average as opposed to wealthy. There are certain demographic assumptions one can make about drivers of $100,000 cars.

 

[TexasEV]

The problem with reporters reviewing the car is they don't have a 240V outlet in their garage to charge it overnight. So they don't understand the paradigm shift of starting every day with a full charge, and they're and overly focused on range and where to charge it.

 

[ChadS]

I assume he is using normal to mean average as opposed to wealthy. There are certain demographic assumptions one can make about drivers of $100,000 cars.

I'm sure you are correct that he is talking about money. But there are lesser demographic assumptions you can make about drivers of $70k cars with very low running costs that make them more similar to $50k sedans. Not to mention that many people driving Teslas didn't spend nearly as much on ICE cars; Tesla is finding different kinds of buyers. Other than "they can afford it" (which is necessarily true of any car), I don't think there's much you can assume about Tesla owners.

It's a bad headline. Not surprising, and far from the worst, but a bad headline nonetheless.

As for the article, I think TexasEV nails it. They need to live with the car for a while with L2 charging at home before they can do a good job of describing the experience. (Of course, that also points out how far we have to go to accommodate people that don't have easy access to L2 charging at home. Not that the industry is producing enough BEVs that we have to be able to cover that market).

 

[jvonbokel]

I assume he is using normal to mean average as opposed to wealthy. There are certain demographic assumptions one can make about drivers of $100,000 cars.

I think you're correct, but I don't agree that a Tesla is a $100,000 car, and it annoys me how often that gets repeated. I admit for many, $70k might as well be $100k, but for some (such as myself) it makes all the difference.

 

[Objective1]

I think by "normal," he means someone who isn't willing to re-think how to drive and fuel their car. They just want to get in and go. Using Superchargers instead of gas stations is about as much a change as they can stand.

Now, those of on this message board like to re-think how to drive. We're interested in technology change. We can understand that the new car could require a paradigm shift.

 

[gnxs]

I think you're correct, but I don't agree that a Tesla is a $100,000 car, and it annoys me how often that gets repeated. I admit for many, $70k might as well be $100k, but for some (such as myself) it makes all the difference.

Agree!

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I think you're correct, but I don't agree that a Tesla is a $100,000 car, and it annoys me how often that gets repeated. I admit for many, $70k might as well be $100k, but for some (such as myself) it makes all the difference.

Oh god yes. How many times have we seen people saying that just because you _can_ load up options on a Model S, that Tesla's cars haven't got any cheaper, despite the fact that:
- the base Model S price is $39,000 less than the Roadster, which was $109,000
- the base Model S has a larger battery than the Roadster
- the base Model S has a more powerful motor than the Roadster
- the base Model S has DC fast charging
- the base Model S is a 5-seater not a 2-seater.

You can buy a Model S and Volt _now_ for less than it cost to buy the Roadster in 2010!

And more on topic: any article where a journalist has the car and tries to describe living with the car when they don't have 120V charging isn't worth reading. (Also any articles by whiny journalists who like to make things difficult for themselves, who then don't follow up with a similar trip a year later demonstrating how the improved infrastructure changes things).

 

[TexasEV]

And more on topic: any article where a journalist has the car and tries to describe living with the car when they don't have 120V charging isn't worth reading.

I think you mean 240V charging.

 

[dgpcolorado]

...And more on topic: any article where a journalist has the car and tries to describe living with the car when they don't have 120V charging isn't worth reading...

Did you mean 240 V charging? I would guess that most have 120 V plugs that they can use but that doesn't lead to a realistic user experience IMO.

 

[Canuck]

This is bizarro land stuff:

"I missed the car when I gave it away — the quiet of the drive, the smoothness of the suspension, the power and speed — but it also felt a bit refreshing to not have multiple screens in my line of sight. Electric cars are coming rapidly, perhaps for the good of the planet. But for now, I appreciate not having to worry about a progress bar."

My line of sight is through the windshield. I have to look down to see the screens. And I've never seen the progress bar. Does he mean when the battery is charging? If so, who worries about that? You plug it in and walk away.

"...perhaps for the good of planet..."

I wonder if this guy has any children? He sure has his head in the sand when it comes to the environment and wanting to jump back into his gas guzzler where his vision is not impeded. What a clown.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Did you mean 240 V charging? I would guess that most have 120 V plugs that they can use but that doesn't lead to a realistic user experience IMO.

Sorry, yes, I meant only. 120V is fine for a PHEV. There are people who use 120V for their BEV, but that's because it fit. But really, 240V would be the norm.

 

[Patrick W]

If he's a "normal" person, what are we? I find the title odd. There seems to be a recent rash of articles and comments that conspicuously mention how "different" Tesla drivers are than "real" people.

Go with it. We are different. We are not normal. We drive the best, safest vehicle ever made (unlike everyone else).

 

[RDoc]

The Bethesda supercharger is a horrible one, to be fair. Two stalls, often busy and charging seemingly always throttled for some reason or another. It is hard for someone on a two day test drive to really understand what it like to own it and have it charged effortlessly every day.

I totally agree! Bethesda is an embarrassment and Tesla should put a very high priority on more usable Superchargers around the DC area.

 

[Patrick W]

Maybe I'm less sensitive to such things but I enjoyed the article. Sure, I can find a few quibbles like references to range anxiety and such but nothing really glaring.

And I did enjoy a couple of the quotes:

One, while riding in the car where his wife says, “Damn, no other car is going to feel good after this.”

And my favorite where he overheard a guy saying, "If you can't afford it, don't test-drive it. It'll ruin your life."