Why did you buy your Model S?

[ElSupreme]

Because it is everything a car should be. If I put down a list of things I wanted in a car the Tesla would just about check every single box.

Electric. AC Induction motor. No permanent magnets.
Fast. Quick. Handles well.
Enough range where I don't EVER have to think about how far I am going, unless on a road trip.
Enough range where I don't have to compromise my driving habits (i.e. cruising at 80-85 on the interstate, rapid starts)
Seat 4 adults. Fit my luggage. Fit my dogs.
Be silent. Be smooth. Handle well.
Dedicated roof rack mount points (yes this would have been a checkbox, my GTI's door seals were eventually leaky due to clamp on roof rack towers).


There are a couple of things that I would change right now:

• I loved my GTI seats. I sat in mine for 6.5 years. It was familiar. I still haven't got my seat exactly perfect. And it is a little wider, and has less lateral support than my GTI's.
• Ideally I would love about 4 more inches of height in the back for my greyhound. She isn't cramped, but could use the space. I realize this couldn't really happen without other drawbacks.
• The car wouldn't have come with floormats. Or the floor mats would have been more than useless. The ones that got sent out are embarrassing for Tesla.
• The speedo pseudo-analog display wolud have MPH and KPH at the same time. I like distance in Km but I need speed in MPH (so I don't go too fast). I guess I'll just have to start converting MPH to KPH in my head.
• The car would come with factory 15% tint, option. It seemed hard to find a non shady tinter in GA that would tint lower than legal. Go figure right. :wink:
• There would be a native WinPhone app.
• A way to have the headlamps to always default to 'on' versus 'auto'. I want my headlamps to be on basically all the time.
• Amber rear turn signals. Really the only 'checkbox' Tesla missed. Other than 'cheaper'. But I still can't believe the Tesla is real, and $80k is a steal.

 

[Plug Me In]

I've been interested in fuel efficient cars, and waiting for long range, practical, electric car for years. Bought my first Prius in 2006, when there were wait lists and some people were paying above MSRP. I was aware of and peripherally followed Tesla. The Roadster was too expensive and too impractical for my needs. I was glad to hear of the Model S, but I knew it was a sedan and I'm more of a station wagon/cargo space guy so didn't really look into it much. The first time I actually visited the Tesla website was to look at the Model X. I'm generally anti-SUV, but figured I could get over that for an all-electric car. Didn't take long to scroll over to the Model S and get some more details on that. This was around time I was looking to replace my VW Passat wagon, which I eventually did with a Plug In Prius, so now a 2 Prius household. The Plug In got me hooked on electric driving, even in the low performance Prius version. I wanted electric but just couldn't find the combo of range and utility. A casual visit to the Tesla Store outside Chicago last Thanksgiving sealed the deal for me. I saw the huge amounts of space in the car and learned I wouldn't have to sacrifice the ability to throw one or two bikes, dog, etc in the back. I put the deposit down within 1 or 2 days.

This is by far the most expensive car I've ever bought and it's never crossed my mind to buy any other kind of luxury car. I wouldn't spend this amount of money on anything but a Model S (except maybe a Model X). Fortunately I'm in a position now that it won't strain my finances or I might have had to content myself with waiting for Gen III.

So bottom line, I got it for environmental reasons. More and more I feel silly hauling my 165# carcass around in this big metal box that snorts, wheezes, belches, and smokes. At least now, that box is going to be much more elegant and efficient.

 

[Daniel Scherer]

Hey Arron.S I live in Monroe, Mi just south of Ann Arbor if you need to charge up.

 

[Daniel Scherer]

Great reasons by everyone.


We had some sloppy weather yesterday here in Michigan and I drove my Dodge Ram 4x4 diesel which was on empty so I had to fill it up at $4.20 per/gal. The pump shut off at $100. I haven't driven it since I received my S on Jan 8th. What a horrifying flash back in time stopping for fuel. Looking around at other customers spending their hard earned money to get around their daily lives with no idea that there is an alternative. I honestly feel that the car companies are holding back building true high range EV's because the oil companies dictate it. Tesla is a major threat to their pocket books. When Tesla gets a $50,000, true 300 mile range version, then say goodby to ICE for the general public. Get big trucks on natural gas and build the hyper loops and we have changed the transportation industry forever. I don't want another American Soldier to die protecting our oil addiction. Elon needs to stay the course and I'll support him financially by investing in his companies and products. I wont blindly follow him off a cliff or drink any cool aid but he gives me hope for a better future. Plus it's a Fricken cool car!

 

[StevePro]

I've been eyeing Tesla for years, but as much as I would love a roadster it just wasn't practical for me. Then my crappy Jeep Grand Cherokee broke down, yet again, so I took a look at the leaf. I loved the heated steering wheel and peppy in city driving, but the car is gutless at highway speeds and the range was not sufficient to get me to the airport and back. On a whim, I test drove a Model S and was absolutely blown away. It was the quiet acceleration that did it for me - like a magic carpet or a silent high powered hover craft. So I was sold on the base model plus options. Why wouldn't you get all the options when you're paying that much money I thought. Might as well fully enjoy the car with no regrets. My wife then told me that I should get the top of the line model because "what was I going to do with my money anyway". I've been hoarding my money for decades and could pay cash for the car without significantly denting my savings. So the 40 KWh became 60KWh, then 85KWh. I was already opting for air suspension and 21 inch wheels, so the jump to performance was a no-brainer. Next thing I knew my 50k splurge was 102k and I've never been so excited about buying a car in my life! Now if they would just get started producing the new Red! Can't wait!

 

[Dr.Ling]

I'm not entirely sure why I crave the Model S so much. I simply haven't experienced this got-to-have-it feeling before.


I'm not an early adopter type, I've bought my first gen Galaxy phone and iPad used. I don't worry about global warming, hell, I wouldn't mind it being 15 degrees warmer all year round


I'm not concerned about fuel expenses - I live in the same building as I work, and drive very little.


I love old cheap noisy rear wheel drive japanese sports cars and I've done engine swaps and all kinds of mods to the two cars I have - a 1987 Toyota AE86 (for winters and track-days) and a 1990 Toyota MR2 Turbo (my summer car). Both lightweight cars, and I love that.


I don't mind pumping gas. I'm pretty sure I'll spend far more time fiddling with the power-cables than I ever spent in a gas-station.


I find it totally insane that anyone would chose a Tesla Model S over a 2013 M5 or S6 or E63 AMG or GT-R or 991. Or a 997 or an E92 M3 for that matter. Where I live most of these cost twice that of a MSP or more.


The Model S doesn't have 4x4, lacks rear headroom, seem to have pretty poor seats, doesn't come in any color I really like, and it can't tow my boat. The "dealership" will be 10 hours away, and the servicing costs will be insane (do you think I've ever had my current cars on a "service"?)


BUT


I've been wanting a new car for years and years and never found anything good enough. When getting a new car I want something spectacular, something unique, something technologically revolutionary, something with outrageous performance, and something brand new so I can chose all the options myself. And as I'm really old now (36) I want something refined, something with rear seats, a car where I can hear music over the engine and exhaust noise. Hybrids are soon to be obsolete stepping stones on the way to 100% electric cars.


AND I am really concerned about pollution. Every time I drive my Toyotas now I can't believe that the horrible carcinogenic **** that's coming out the tailpipe isn't illegal! Standing rush-hour traffic is a nightmare, all I can see now is exhaust. I never noticed before. 100% of electricity around here is renewable.

 

[Rodolfo Paiz]

Because the Roadster convinced me that a Tesla EV is better than an ICE in every single way with absolutely no exceptions, but I can't put the kids in the Roadster and the Model S will allow me to evangelize EV's better than the Roadster.

 

[ZestyChicken]

Midlife crisis

 

[Opus]

I read the Tesla article in the October 2010 issue of Wired and then had to go and test drive the Roadster. It was an amazing experience -- while the road noise, wind noise, etc. was quite noticeable, the motor was so quiet and amazingly fast. A couple of years earlier my wife and I decided to lower our carbon footprints and revamped our home with that goal in mind (Double Pane windows -- not standard equipment in So. Cal -- new insulation, new and much more efficient heating and a/c, and (then) hideously expensive LED lighting in our kitchen, etc.). Having committed time and money in our home we decided that a hybrid should be our next car purchase, and my wife sold her Honda Odyssey and bought a Prius. After riding around in the Roadster one morning, we decided an EV was next, and the Model S looked too great to pass up. It helps that I'm a "techie," and while neither of us are car crazy, we decided that the Model S somehow made sense. Sure, it's more expensive, by far, than any other car we've ever owned, but we're hoping that with the rebates and gas savings we will earn back some of that expense over time. In the meantime, we can proudly be "green," use the HOV lanes and hope to convert others to EV technology. On top of that, the connection between Tesla and Solar City seemed like a logical connection for us to make, and after speaking with another solar provider, we've signed up to switch our home to solar energy. Now we're waiting for the Model S to be ready (34 days!) and for the Solar to be installed.

 

[bbmertz]

I saw an interesting poll on another forum asking MS owners if they considered themselves performance car, EV/environmental or technology enthusiasts. I was surprised to find that about half of the responders were tech, rather than car or EV enthusiasts. I too fall into the tech category, although what's great about the MS is that you get the best of all three categories! I personally heard about Tesla from a friend who was one of the early adopters of the Roadster. He raved about the performance and range as well as the styling. When I heard about the MS sedan I decided to jump on board, particularly since it only required a refundable $5K deposit at the time. I got more excited the more I read about the car, which got me more comfortable being an early adopter of the MS. No regrets so far -- while a few glitches are to be expected on such an innovative car, it is a blast to drive!

 

[Kleist]

1) designed AND build in the US ( almost in my back yard )
2) jobs for my friends kids
3) anybody who has the guts to start a production line in the US needs our support = buy product

 

[HoneyBug]

I had an Olds Aurora. Great car but it was getting old. We had been watching Tesla for several years. We live close to their office.
I told my husband, Bugeater, that if they came out with a sedan for around 50K I wanted one. I liked the idea of an all electric car.
Shortly after that we installed Solar on our home. Well, the Model S Performance cost us a bit more than that, but my husband had
stock that paid off just at the right time! And best of all is I won't have to buy gas again!!!

 

[mknox]

I'm sure there are many reasons for buying one and I'd like to hear from everyone on what they are as there may be a couple I never thought of.

Probably nothing new, but or me it's all about the fuel costs. I drive somewhere near 21,000 miles/year and the savings should add up quickly. Model S is a more expensive car than I typically buy (currently driving a Cadillac CTS which listed for $65k when I bought it), but the fuel savings should bring the total cost of ownership down to a bit below that over 5 or 6 years. So I end up with a nice car for a bit less than what I would otherwise have spent.

A lot of people, when they hear what the car costs, are shocked and say I could get a <insert name of econobox here> and pay for gasoline forever. I tell them that I am in the market for a premium luxury sedan, and the TCO of Model S is actually the best bang for the buck with that class of car.

 

[jerry33]

A lot of people, when they hear what the car costs, are shocked and say I could get a <insert name of econobox here> and pay for gasoline forever. I tell them that I am in the market for a premium luxury sedan, and the TCO of Model S is actually the best bang for the buck with that class of car.

You could also live in a one-room furnished apartment and eat canned beans. That would save money as well. Cars and houses are a lifestyle choice that you use money to get.

 

[NigelM]

Discussions on xenophobia went here. Apologies to all innocents who got caught up in the move.

 

[Spaniard]

Why did you buy your Model S?.

Because my wife wanted it.:biggrin: