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What's your Tesla (origin) story?

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Just wondering how everyone here got into the world of Tesla? I'm sure there are a range of ways in...

For me, I'd heard of Tesla in the early/mid 2010s without really being that interested. That changed when I started listening to Ride The Lightning (RTL) podcast. I got onto that from listening to an Xbox podcast, when the host (Ryan McCaffrey) started RTL.

I started listening around the time that the Model X did its founders delivery event which I think was about Oct 2015. After that I was pretty much convinced this was the future and have pretty much listened to every episode since. If anyone's not heard - it's a good listen every week. He's had some decent guests on - Franz von Holzhausen and the man himself Elon was on episode 300 I think it was.

Even when I got my current car (Mercedes C-Class) in 2017, I really wanted a Model 3 but a) they hadn't arrived on these shores then and b) I lived in a terraced house with no drive or garage - so charging it would have been a bit of a problem.

The Model 3 has been the car in mind for a number of years now so I've kinda been working slowly towards that. We moved into a bigger house in Oct '21 with a double drive & garage (and solar on the roof - bonus!). Finally placed an order in July this year, after hiring a Model 3 LR in Vegas in June. Drove it down to LA, went to Malibu and Santa Monica in it, which was a pretty good way to test drive it :)

So yeah...been a Tesla enthusiast for years without actually owning one. Hopefully in the next few weeks, I'll be able to join the owners club - my car will be getting loaded onto RCC Europe in the next few days all being well and I'll be able to collect in early December as an early Christmas present! :D
 
mine is very simple...

Had plug-in hybrid since 2019 (BMW 330e as company car) and managed to be electric only for half a year (thanks covid) which made me think that I might be able to do it with full EV.
then I changed the jobs and was waiting some time to get the company car list.. In the meantime I was watching Bjon Nyland's and Autotrader's EV videos and realised that I could go with electric car no probs. So with super low BIK I was determined that I will go full EV as company car list had some (but did not see it before).. so once I got the car list - it it was a huge disappointment. Only EV available was Kona... And I decided to go for my personal car, rather than company (maths worked out at the time...)

I had booked couple of test drives while I was waiting (one being tesla). Hyundai Ioniq 5 was just released and not really available for test drive, Skoda Enyaq was meh (ok up to 60 mph, sluggish after.. and wife is against Skoda's for whatever reason), Mustang mach- E was very meh (strange mix of 2015 mondeo and some stupid design/engineering decisions), could not get Polestar for proper test drive and KIA - well let's say that sales team approach was a good indicator of what to expect.

after checking the finance options I realised that Model 3 LR has much better charging network than any others, and is actually cheaper (price per month) than KIA EV6/Polestar of equivalent specs... so I and went to Tesla on 29th of December and place the order.

6 weeks later got myself a car :)

Car has shetloads of rattles, some issues, however the only regret is... that I did not switch to EV earlier :)
 
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Had no interest until 2019 when they announced that EV company car tax was dropping to 0%.
The M3 was one of only about 4 cars that cost under 50K and and had a realistic 200mile + mile range.
It was also the only one of those with less than a 12 month waiting list so it was a bit of a no brainer.
 
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Just wondering how everyone here got into the world of Tesla? I'm sure there are a range of ways in...

For me, I'd heard of Tesla in the early/mid 2010s without really being that interested. That changed when I started listening to Ride The Lightning (RTL) podcast. I got onto that from listening to an Xbox podcast, when the host (Ryan McCaffrey) started RTL.

I started listening around the time that the Model X did its founders delivery event which I think was about Oct 2015. After that I was pretty much convinced this was the future and have pretty much listened to every episode since. If anyone's not heard - it's a good listen every week. He's had some decent guests on - Franz von Holzhausen and the man himself Elon was on episode 300 I think it was.

Even when I got my current car (Mercedes C-Class) in 2017, I really wanted a Model 3 but a) they hadn't arrived on these shores then and b) I lived in a terraced house with no drive or garage - so charging it would have been a bit of a problem.

The Model 3 has been the car in mind for a number of years now so I've kinda been working slowly towards that. We moved into a bigger house in Oct '21 with a double drive & garage (and solar on the roof - bonus!). Finally placed an order in July this year, after hiring a Model 3 LR in Vegas in June. Drove it down to LA, went to Malibu and Santa Monica in it, which was a pretty good way to test drive it :)

So yeah...been a Tesla enthusiast for years without actually owning one. Hopefully in the next few weeks, I'll be able to join the owners club - my car will be getting loaded onto RCC Europe in the next few days all being well and I'll be able to collect in early December as an early Christmas present! :D
My story very different. I was vaguely aware of Tesla for a few years but didn't pay much attention as I used to do a lot of business miles and didn't want the hassle of finding or waiting on chargers. When I changed jobs I decided maybe my next car should be EV. Did a lot of lazy research (mostly online reviews and videos but when I say lazy, I mean it. I wasn't super thorough). Anyhoo. I realised earlier this year that there was probably a lot of equity in my car and Mrs McChimp also changed job so she worked from home. We decided to go to one car. I felt like going EV just because it was so different to the diesels we have/had. Mrs McChimp was more favouring hybrid. But I booked a Tesla test drive (partly because it was so easy and I got it for the next day) and we both loved it. The space in the model Y was exactly what we needed with 2 teenagers and 2 big dogs. We didn't order straight away as we felt we should do more due diligence. We booked an EV6 test drive but happened to call in at a Kia garage and Mrs McChimp vetoed it as she really didn't like it - fair enough. We booked a test drive of the Sportage hybrid and were Both a bit "meh" about it. All other cars we looked at really didn't appeal either.

We ended up sat in the garden at end of July and just decided over a beer or two to go for the model Y as we both kept talking about it and nothing else seemed to compare. So we placed the order but after a week felt like we had maybe rushed a bit so went back for another look and both loved it as much so we have been impatiently waiting since.
 
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2002 Skoda Fabia 1.4 8v to M3LR.
I ordered a M3 SR+ at 08:30 on the day they opened orders 01/05/2019 I believe, I hadn't test driven it but at the time they had a 7 day return policy so I had a backstop. I got the then UK Gove £3K Grant and a £35K Interest Free Loan from Scottish Gov so it was an easy Business Case. Several of my colleagues said I was mad until I took them for a drive in August when I got the Car, they were universally blown away. Tesla ownership isn't for everyone but if you can get past some of the obvious mistakes then it is an astonishing ownership experience and so cheap to run with a Home Charger and Octopus Go Faster. It's one of the best decisions I ever made !
 
Different again, but I’m a soldier and based hundreds of miles from home. The commute home each weekend (to see my wife and son so not an option to not go) was costing upwards of £300 a month in fuel alone. I’m sure fuel prices almost doubled at the height of the recent silliness so would have been the same as I am paying for a new car. Add to that when I got it I could charge on MOD sites and it was silly cheap to charge it elsewhere, it just made sense. My wife’s business is run from home and my son is happy at school so they will never move and I will commute at weekends as long as I continue to serve.

Now the lying, cheating, disgraceful scum that rule us government has decided to raise the energy caps it’s a bit more expensive but I have a brand new car for the same I way paying in fuel (ish). Add to that no servicing etc and when it’s paid off I will keep it for as long as possible it just makes sense to me.

Also a gadget geek and this is full of toys - which work to varying success admittedly - but I like it.
 
5th May 2017 and a ukulel!!

i have never been a car buff and am not sure if I had even heard of Tesla in 2017. We were sitting in our motorhome at Gills Bay waiting for the Pentalina ferry to St Margaret’s Hope (Orkney). It was a hot day and my wife was sitting in the van gently strumming away on her ukulele with the door open passing the time away. A lady from a rather swish looking car beside us asked if she could join Sue in the van as she had a ukulele as well. After several minutes of them strumming and singing away tea was made for all, the lady’s husband joined us in the van and we got chatting away. He invited us to check his car out (turned out to be a Tesla MS) and my wife was entranced by it - those door handles that slid out, that iPad on the dash, etc!!.
By then several other electric cars had turned up for the ferry, including several Teslas driven by Tesla reps, all on the way to a rechargeable energy conference in Orkney (hosted I believe by Robert Llewelyn). We had a good look at the reps MX and were pretty impressed. I do recall a guy turning up in a Nissan electric van from Sunderland - it had taken him 5 days with 18 charging stops!
After that I kept thinking about Tesla. Some of you may recall those halcyon days when Tesla actually had showrooms and demonstration vehicles! The Edinburgh showroom was in Multrees Walk opposite Harvey Nichols, so my wife never complained about the many visits to Edinburgh when I just “popped my head in” to the Tesla shop to annoy the staff while she went to Harvey Nicks.
Two years later after much consideration and mind changing I became the proud owner of a Raven MX long range, which I still have and enjoy as much today as when it was new.
 
I have been a car guy and surprised friends when I was interested in (and liked the look of) the Model S when it came out. But too much money, too big, never thought of buying one.
Was waiting for the 3 and when the reveal came HATED the look. But then it became clear it was as fast as only Mclarens had been until then and the govt would pay me half of it… so I took a test drive and signed up there and then. Bought a demonstrator M3P for more than I’ve ever spent on a car
And 2 years later? I know you asked for origin stories but who wants falling in love without the happy ever after or the divorce? I still hate the way it looks (except the rear view. The high tail and shaped rear window is lovely). The speed is intoxicating but, frankly, dangerous (it’s my fault but I go for gaps I know I’ll get through easily but it frightens other drivers). The range is a joke: it won’t do 200 miles. The things that have made cars feel modern over the last ten years - auto wipers, adaptive cruiseI - are beyond a joke. But I LOVE driving on electricity in towns. Long story short, if the market hadn’t dropped out of second hand 3s a month ago I’d be in a rather lovely Panamera ST now .
I’m pleased to have had it. Don’t want another Tesla.
 
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15 years ago I attended an aspirational art event in which the guests were asked to set a benevolent life target in exchange for creation of an art token made by the artist. As a tech nerd concerned about ecology I chose to aspire to make my household carbon neutral, knowing that I was 45 at the time, and that technology would eventually help me on my way. Since then I have bought 3/4 acre of land and planted about 100 trees. I put half my pension into renewables investment funds before it was a thing, much to the distress of my IFA, but it turned out ok. Small steps for sure. Every time I saw a Model S out on the motorway I was jealous of the enviromental high ground, simultaneously with the knowledge of just how good that tech is at the same time. Sustainability, performance, and technical elegance, thats a beautiful combination. Especially since I am an inverter engineer. Electric speed control has been my working life. The single pedal driving, the braking recovery, the gearless drive, the silky smooth quiet, the instant torque, all things feeling just right, as they should be in a drivetrain. I knew exactly what the Model 3 would drive like before I got in (especially coming from CVT Lexus) and it was exactly as I expected except, well, rather tighter and more fun.

Choosing a Tesla from the company car options is another small step, but hey, burning the planet any more than we do already is mega risky. So for me a Tesla charged by Octopus is another step on the journey to an ambition conceived 15 years ago, which still has a lot of distance to go. And like any grandparent I like to know that I am making the planet a tiny bit less messed up for the grandchildren.
 
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I'm in the US but I have what I think is a good story.

I became aware of Tesla creating amazing cars with the old Oatmeal cartoon review. But the cars seemed totally out of my reach so mostly irrelevant to me. Then I happened to catch, quite by accident, the live Cybertruck reveal in 2019 and that really captured my imagination. Not the truck per se but the revolution in battery tech that would be required to meet the specs. The stainless steel etc was also very cool. We talked Tesla at my local barbershop shortly after that. On my way out one of the barbers said "buy a Tesla!" I replied "buy Tesla stock!" This was shortly before the stock went through the roof.

Then covid happened. My health is poor. I had been sick almost the entire winter without the help of covid so I stayed home a lot. I learned more about Teslas on YouTube, especially from Out of Spec Reviews where I learned about the joys and ease of road tripping with a Tesla. And all the cool tech. But ownership still seemed like an impossible dream although it was something I really wanted now. Perhaps on the top of my bucket list.

In 2021 I came into a small, totally unexpected windfall. I loved my 1988 Volvo 240 wagon but it was really starting to disintegrate and I was no longer able to do most of the maintenance myself. Maybe I would get a restored Volvo 240 wagon, maybe with a turbo because my car was really slow at the 2km elevation where I live. Then it occurred to me I could now afford a Tesla and make an impossible dream come true. You only live once!

At first I was going to get a standard range Model 3 but I eventually went for a long range Model Y. The AWD and higher clearance would be useful where I live (for getting into my crazy driveway if nothing else) and I would lose less storage space compared to the Volvo wagon. The nearest supercharger is 100 km away. I figured longer range could be handy in the very rural part of the country where I live, especially after the battery starts to degrade.

Oddly, my Volvo was in the shop getting repaired when I decided to buy a Tesla. There had been a short in the wiring inside one of the doors which drained the battery so it got towed to the shop. Which may have been a first in the 20 years I owned the car. I called them up and told them to not replace the brake pads. I ended up selling the Volvo to a friend I knew from the dog park. He was able to fix it up and it became his daily driver. I often see him driving it in the neighborhood.

While I was waiting for my car I found this wonderful 2k+ page thread filled with wonderful people: Model Y Current Delivery Times where I learned a lot about buying and owning a Tesla. My delivery would probably be months away so I ended up getting a demo car with 770 km and dropped my original order. The car arrived June 28, 2021, on Elon's 50th birthday.

I went from owning what was once the safest car on road to the current safest car on the road. I also went from one of the slowest cars in my sleepy town to one of the fastest. I've only ever seen three other Teslas in town and two of them were from out of state. The car I bought was the first Tesla I saw in person.
 
I'd been aware of Tesla as a company for years, and the cars too... but that's about it, they didn't sell them over here, so was more or less an irrelevance. If someone had asked me who are Tesla, I'd tell them they made electric cars and that's about it. Fast forward a few more years, and I still ignored them as the S and X were way out of my price range, so not something I would spend any thought on.

Just before Covid lockdown a colleague and I had noticed that you can get a Model 3 in the UK, and thought we'd try renting one for a month, see what they're like. We never got around to it and then lockdown came around.

During one bored period of lockdown I started having a quick look. I'd had my current car for 3 years and although I had another year to run on the PCP for it, it was enough time to "be bored" type thing. Spotted the Model 3 prices were high but not too bad, and PCP at the time reasonable too, so arranged a test drive, and bought one there and then. I got a M3P when tesla were doing a 3K discount, so only 53K paid. Now they're 10K more, I'm not sure I'd get another one, but I've 2 years left to worry about that.
 
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I'm in the US but I have what I think is a good story.

I became aware of Tesla creating amazing cars with the old Oatmeal cartoon review. But the cars seemed totally out of my reach so mostly irrelevant to me. Then I happened to catch, quite by accident, the live Cybertruck reveal in 2019 and that really captured my imagination. Not the truck per se but the revolution in battery tech that would be required to meet the specs. The stainless steel etc was also very cool. We talked Tesla at my local barbershop shortly after that. On my way out one of the barbers said "buy a Tesla!" I replied "buy Tesla stock!" This was shortly before the stock went through the roof.

Then covid happened. My health is poor. I had been sick almost the entire winter without the help of covid so I stayed home a lot. I learned more about Teslas on YouTube, especially from Out of Spec Reviews where I learned about the joys and ease of road tripping with a Tesla. And all the cool tech. But ownership still seemed like an impossible dream although it was something I really wanted now. Perhaps on the top of my bucket list.

In 2021 I came into a small, totally unexpected windfall. I loved my 1988 Volvo 240 wagon but it was really starting to disintegrate and I was no longer able to do most of the maintenance myself. Maybe I would get a restored Volvo 240 wagon, maybe with a turbo because my car was really slow at the 2km elevation where I live. Then it occurred to me I could now afford a Tesla and make an impossible dream come true. You only live once!

At first I was going to get a standard range Model 3 but I eventually went for a long range Model Y. The AWD and higher clearance would be useful where I live (for getting into my crazy driveway if nothing else) and I would lose less storage space compared to the Volvo wagon. The nearest supercharger is 100 km away. I figured longer range could be handy in the very rural part of the country where I live, especially after the battery starts to degrade.

Oddly, my Volvo was in the shop getting repaired when I decided to buy a Tesla. There had been a short in the wiring inside one of the doors which drained the battery so it got towed to the shop. Which may have been a first in the 20 years I owned the car. I called them up and told them to not replace the brake pads. I ended up selling the Volvo to a friend I knew from the dog park. He was able to fix it up and it became his daily driver. I often see him driving it in the neighborhood.

While I was waiting for my car I found this wonderful 2k+ page thread filled with wonderful people: Model Y Current Delivery Times where I learned a lot about buying and owning a Tesla. My delivery would probably be months away so I ended up getting a demo car with 770 km and dropped my original order. The car arrived June 28, 2021, on Elon's 50th birthday.

I went from owning what was once the safest car on road to the current safest car on the road. I also went from one of the slowest cars in my sleepy town to one of the fastest. I've only ever seen three other Teslas in town and two of them were from out of state. The car I bought was the first Tesla I saw in person.

Yeah, good call on the Out of Spec Reviews team. I've seen a few of their road trip videos and they're really good. Thanks for sharing your story!
 
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I never thought about buying a Tesla. We a have been a Honda family for the past 21 years, and never considered another brand. Most of my family works in the oil industry, so getting an electric vehicle would be scandalous.
We have lived in Hawaii for the past 11 years, and this is our forever home.
Teslas are literally everywhere on this island. Gas prices are ridiculous here, but the price of electricity is the highest in the nation so the choice to get an EV is not an easy one.
We started out paying a nation high $.28kwh, but HECO started raising our rates July 2021. Every month rates went up until we were charged $.42kwh. I finally had enough and put in the order for Tesla solar panels and powerwalls. Our solar system was installed October 5, 2022, and we are in love with it. I swear I spend more time checking the Tesla app to view our solar production and usage than I use to spend shopping on my phone. We haven’t officially been given PTO, but HECO gave Tesla permission to power on while we are waiting for the post install inspection. We haven’t used anything from the grid since the install, and we are very impressed with Tesla. Our neighbor got solar panels installed about a month before us, and his panels look horrible compared to ours.
That put us on the Tesla bandwagon, and we went for a test drive last week. As soon as my husband pressed on the accelerator he was sold. He was smiling like a little kid, and said, “I want one NOW”! We have gone back and forth on the M3 or MYLR 7 seater. I want the $7,500 tax credit, which means we can’t take ownership until January 1, 2023. Now I’m wishing I would have got a bigger solar system with another PW to handle the EV charging.
 
I was looking at a Jag XJ super sport or F10 M5 or Lexus GSF. as the next car back in 2015. Than saw what I initially thought was a Maserati Quattroporte been shown off at a local shopping centre. Than arranged a test drive in a P85, putting my foot down on the first sweeping corner was all it took, after that the shortlist of next cars became very short :).......Still hoping one day I'll find a way to get a P85+ on the driveway, not the fastest Tesla ever made, but for 'fun' RWD is what I still crave.

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Never been especially interested in cars and was very sick of driving as I was commuting down the M40 into Uxbridge every day for 17 years and traffic was miserable. It was becoming time to change as my BMW X1 was out of it's service plan and warranty and starting to cost big money for silly faults. I was very taken by the prospect of a car that would do the driving for me and be far easier to drive (the X1 was effectively entirely analog and manual in everything).

Went for a test drive in a Model S at West Drayton and was blown away, placed a reservation for a Model 3 but spent a long time considering if I should keep waiting or buy an S, both were at least 3 or 4 times what I've ever spent on a new car before. My reservation was early 2018, the wait for Model 3 to come to the UK was agonising. Orders opened May 1st 2019 at 8am, I placed an order from a train platform on my phone. Those that remember the wait then for delivery was completely a rollercoaster, Tesla changed prices, stopped selling LR, changed specs several times, and never gave us any idea when deliveries would start. It was a very hard lesson in learning the patience required with Tesla's way of doing things.

I was fortunate that my car was in the second batch to arrive in the UK in early August 2019, collecting what was then a pretty rare and unusual vehicle from the future was a joy. Met and exceeded my expectations.
 
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