Why did I buy a Tesla ?

[neroden]

Well, I've been one month with my 2018 Model S P100D. I look for every excuse to drive it. If my wife says that we are out of sour cream, I'm at the store in 10 minutes. Now I'm trying to figure out what exactly it is about this car that is so different from other cars I've owned.

One month ago I was at the Mercedes dealer about to pay cash for a 2018 Merc AMG E63S 4matic. The car was a beautiful, brutal sounding, 600+ HP, insanely fast piece of luxury .... yet, I could sense a guilt developing regarding the gas waste and pollution. So, I decided to test drive a Tesla first. That very day I purchased an inventory car with 700miles.

Recently I've been looking at some youtube videos of the AMG E63S 4matic that I didn't buy and mentally comparing it against my SP100D. On most levels there is no comparison; the Merc blows the Tesla away ... in luxury, build quality, customer service, parts availability, reliability (probably),etc. However, I don't have even one regret about going with the Tesla. Why is that ? Is it just because the Tesla is an EV and I'm not polluting every time I hit the accelerator ? There seems to be something else, some intangible quality of the Tesla that I just can't seem to bring to my conscience mind. A quality that I hope will never go away.

For me? It doesn't shake. It rides smooth. I get out feeling more relaxed because there's none of that ICE engine vibration subconsciously upsetting me.

In short, it's an electric car.

 

[Unpilot]

I find the real magic of the Tesla car is the way it drives. It is so much better than any ICE drive train. That instant and smooth acceleration just can't be beat. The jaw-dropping quick acceleration is a lot of fun too, but every time I'm forced to drive an ICE car, I honestly get frustrated. Why is it so slow? so noisy? why doesn't it respond instantly to my every whim and desire? The environmental benefits of a Tesla are wonderful, but the drive is simply sublime.

Yeah...plus I am always turning on my blinkers when I want to put my ICE car in gear.

 

[P85DBeast]

My short and simple answer is....I wanted to try something new, at least 2 years before I had purchased my first Model S I had seen a black S charging at the local supercharger and I had no idea what it was except that it was beautiful....Fast forward a few months later I saw another S and at that point I wanted to figure out what it was and I googled it and I wanted one so bad but wifey didn't allow me to pull the trigger and I was kind of skeptical about owning an electric car. A few years later and a couple car wrecks later I had finally pulled the trigger and ordered my first Model S and I've had the Tesla bug since. Our entire fleet (for me and my wife) is now Tesla's. Sadly I'm sort of disappointed with my P100D due to it's quality, but I mean overall it's still a great car and I love it but the quality could have been better and hopefully my next Model S will be better.

 

[Benjanos]

Observing this forum, my answer is.... Tesla folk are contrarians in a very honest sense. Tesla has given us a product to express a feeling of ‘why do things have to be the same way?’ I think that’s why some people buy Tesla.

These cars challenge the status quo on many levels. Performance, environment, fueling options, brand identity, technology. Tesla also make the contrarian in us accessible. You can have an EV and live with it basically the same as any ICE car.

 

[Twiglett]

I read a lot as a kid. Loved science fiction. At 12 I read Heinlein’s The Rolling Stones where he describes the 20th century ICE from the perspective of a spaceship-repairing teenager. I regaled everyone within earshot with the revelation of how inefficient, how crazy the engines are... well no one seemed to get it.

Skipping ahead a bit, I had become more familiar with the ICE and its whole baroque pipe organ by fiddling around with repairing/maintaining my ‘99 Saturn (which explains the handle, eh?). Became aware of these Tesla Motors guys forty-mumble years after my ICEpiphany, late 2013.
“Holy sugar, they get it. They are making my car. It’s on the road right now! CU even says it’s all right” (putting it ludicrously mildly!)

I really don’t see that I had any choice.

Demand follows Awareness...

I always tell folks I wanted to buy the future now rather than wait for it to catch up with everyone else, I'm done with buying the past.

 

[Jonathantuba]

I feel exactly the same. Any opportunity to drive my Tesla, and when I was two weeks away on business, I even hired a Tesla, as did not want to be driving anything else. Difficult to to put in words exactly why, but here are some thought;

1. The technology- its like being in the future
2. Autopilot (not perfect, but still incredible)
3. The effortless power
4. The quiet
5. The low cost (or no cost with free supercharging) of travelling
6. The cleanest (Eco)
7. The Tesla spirit
8. The fun!

I have only had my Tesla for 10 weeks, and already I can’t imagine ever going back to ICE car.

 

[Darmie]

This is a great thread. Thanks for starting. Keep the thoughts coming. For me, I can remember when I use to go to the web site green something dot com and seeing what cars were available for sale that was an electric. This was back in the early 2000. I remember coming across Elon and the T zero, then the roadster. WOW, what an amazing accomplishment. So, time went on and I purchased a mazda truck 2007, and often mention after 300,000 miles, my next vehicle will be an electric. over the years, the model S came along and as most, we watched and dreamed. An amazing car at the time, (still is today). Pricing was well, way out of reach of my budget. Now moving up to 2014, I purchased a ford fiesta ST, and sold the truck. Awesome small car, very fun to drive. We did some track days at the local SCCA events and had a blast. Moving now to last year, I noticed Tesla was combining features, making a faster cheap car with a lot of options. Timing is everything. The 75 RWD only car was to me such a steal at the price point. We didn't get beat up at all on my ST trade in. Had some cash and at .99% interest, we were in! OMG, Heaven for sure. So, I was one car away when owning the truck of saying my next car would be an electric. 30,000 miles later, somehow we got bit with the Model X bug. It's a nasty bug. Worse than anything. Sold the S, quick I may say, and placed the order for our X. Oh gosh, and it's going to be in the family as we are being told this coming Saturday. I need to add one more thing. I want to say that I am so blessed to have a partner in life (My wife Karen) that shares the same excitement as I do with ownership of our Tesla. Heck, there were several weekends I was working and she took the S to car shows and just loves showing the world how wonderful Tesla is. She's now been on the Tesla diva group for a while and been to one of their events. Going to local meetups and just having a blast. I heard her this evening on the phone talking to the service center and can sense her excitement building for this Saturday.

Next.

 

[pjoseph]

1. Beautiful car and road presence.
   
2. Instant torque. Why i like to race those other cars from the stoplight.
3. Economics. It is going to be ~ 600k miles before i break even on this one
4. Minimal maintenance.

Downsides

1. Expensive cars (my first one) stress me out. The beater Leaf is my daily driver and is delivering much of the promises of EVs.
2. Width. Big city driving. Shrinking parking spaces. The Leaf and i3 are at 70". The S is at 86", feels like a boat at times.
3. Missing blind-spot detection. Common feature on the $30k cars today.

 

[tdbrooks]

Well, I've been one month with my 2018 Model S P100D. I look for every excuse to drive it. If my wife says that we are out of sour cream, I'm at the store in 10 minutes. Now I'm trying to figure out what exactly it is about this car that is so different from other cars I've owned.

One month ago I was at the Mercedes dealer about to pay cash for a 2018 Merc AMG E63S 4matic. The car was a beautiful, brutal sounding, 600+ HP, insanely fast piece of luxury .... yet, I could sense a guilt developing regarding the gas waste and pollution. So, I decided to test drive a Tesla first. That very day I purchased an inventory car with 700miles.

Recently I've been looking at some youtube videos of the AMG E63S 4matic that I didn't buy and mentally comparing it against my SP100D. On most levels there is no comparison; the Merc blows the Tesla away ... in luxury, build quality, customer service, parts availability, reliability (probably),etc. However, I don't have even one regret about going with the Tesla. Why is that ? Is it just because the Tesla is an EV and I'm not polluting every time I hit the accelerator ? There seems to be something else, some intangible quality of the Tesla that I just can't seem to bring to my conscience mind. A quality that I hope will never go away.

 

[tdbrooks]

My prior ride was a Mercedes CL65, 608hp, 12-cyl, rocket. However, after a few $15,000 service and an eventual selling price of $25,000 (for 6yr old CL65 w/60,000 miles with original sticker of $180,000), I'll NEVER go there again. I'm now on my second Model S (first lease expired) and even with 65D and 75D, they are both beyond necessarily quick, handle great (with battery weight lowering CG) and way better electronic features.

 

[OilAndGas]

Never had any buyers remorse on my ‘18 S75D. For the money I could have had something exponentially faster, and way better customer support.

Some of the perks:
- Quick but not obnoxious if you have to gas it and get ahead of everyone
- Autopilot makes my 60 mile round trip commute feel like nothing
- Refills are dirt cheap, basically pays for the insurance
- You’ll always get software updates giving it a ‘new’ feel every time.
- Practical trunk/passenger seating

Bought 95% for autopilot, in Houston it’s a lifesaver. Feels like I’m getting an hour and a half of my life back every day.

 

[JPoldo]

OP asks, "why did I buy a Tesla? .....instead of a Mercedes. I made the Mercedes to Tesla transition to drive a totally different vehicle. You receive silent, instant acceleration, one pedal driving, environmentally friendly operation, over the air updates, giant display, ability to monitor vehicle from a smart phone, lower cost driving, and much more. Storage capacity for vacation items is amazing when considering trunk well and frunk. No more time and money wasted at gas stations is wonderful feeling. At least half of my energy usage is free from solar power at grocery stores or a supercharger.
However, Tesla's interior appears spartan compared to my wife's E-series convertible. Her vehicle offers a choice of 3-different instrument clusters, purple (or any other color) ambient lighting, hot/cold air on your neck, massage seats, fragrance scented air, and a drop-dead georgous interior. Despite all that, no regrets with Tesla.

 

[Mobster]

After 5 Corvettes I am on my 2nd Tesla. SP100D. Fast. (OMG) Quiet. Comfortable. Constantly being upgraded. (wait, I received a software update last night...oh boy oh boy oh boy!) Roomy. and so many great features that I don't NEED, but love (like the car automatically shutting my garage door without me having to lean all the way forward to push a button...whew!)

And then service.....I was spoiled back in 2012 with my S85 when it came to service. The local center RAN to help me and would bust their arses to get parts and install FAST. sigh...those were the days. Now they are "slammed", trying to deliver and service all those new Tesla's. I am now over a month waiting for a replacement touch screen that my service adviser says is "quantity constrained" (interesting terminology).

The parts and service is a real problem now. However, I loved the first Tesla I bought and love the one I have now. Every day driving is a wonderful experience.

 

[traxila]

I have bought a Model S, a Model X, and a Model 3.

I bought them because they were electric cars. The BEST electric cars. The BEST cars.

Make mine electric.

All the best!