Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

You Still On Your Honeymoon?

I love my new Model S, and...


  • Total voters
    70
  • Poll closed .
This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Hey there, new Tesla 75D owner and TMC member here. Actually, I take delivery in a month from today, 8/16/17. I feel like I've watched every YouTube video there is on the Model S, both older and newer. I'm looking forward to my delivery day.

My question to current owners are:

- How long did the honeymoon phase last? Or are you still in it?
- Any buyers remorse or regret now that the exciting technology and speed dust have settled?
- Any new unpublished tips to share?

Thanks!
 
  • The Tesla honeymoon never ends! I'm past 18000 miles including many super long road trips and it's still a dream car. I run into owners at SCs who have "old school" Teslas who seem just as excited today as new owners I've spoken with.
  • No remorse or regret. As I'm sure you understand, Tesla improvements never stop and a car you buy today may not have some feature of tomorrows build but that doesn't mean your car is suddenly "out of date". For instance, I missed HW2 by a few months...but that doesn't make my HW1(AP1) is any less amazing.
  • Don't back into a stationary object(but I think that's been covered on TMC already;))
 
I'm still on my honeymoon and it's been 20 months. I have yet to take my car for a service or to fix any kind of issue in 27,500 miles. I have asked for the year 2 service but Tesla considers this the very lowest priority while they are still getting their first dealership in Dubai up to speed. I'm also still on my original rear tires (staggered 21's) even though I have Ludicrous mode and I have taken it to the Drag Strip. I had to replace the fronts due to pot hole damage.

When compared with my last car of this type (an '09 BMW 750 Li), the Tesla has been a terrific hassle free ownership experience. My BMW was such a nuisance that I was glad to get rid of it after less than 12 months. At just 10,500 miles the rear tire inner treads were worn down exposing metal threads, despite the car being both lighter and MUCH slower in comparison.
 
Bought 3 Model S to date. Awesome cars, still have 2 of them. Greatest frustrations you can expect is from buying future features, like EAP or FSD. In my case it was 691hp "passing speeds OTA" promised but never delivered, and the AutoPilot 1 which came short of promised features (blind spot monitoring amongst them). The frustrating part is paying for something and then waiting, while you get no communication whatsoever. You may or may not even get the feature by the time you sell the car. So bottom line, make sure you'll be happy with the car with only the capabilities it comes with, or else you'll be here looking, waiting, hoping, cursing, etc. The last Tesla I got, no EAP or FSD. If Tesla ever gets FSD to work as described (car drives me to work, drops me off, goes back home, then comes picks me up) I will gladly pay them $10K, but I am really not counting on this. The one feature Tesla still hasn't delivered after 8 months is automatic wipers, but I knew that going in and was willing to take the gamble that it will not be available for a while, or ever. A secondary annoyance is possible initial quality issues, annoying but Tesla takes care of them in stellar fashion, so a minor inconvenience overall.

Enjoy your new ride! Teslas are really fun to drive.
 
Personally no longer on any kind of honeymoon, I think it lasted from around 2014 to 2015, so perhaps a year. It was new and exciting in so many ways, the EV thing. I believe Tesla changed the world with the drivetrain and that will always be their great achievement for me.

But by the time I exchanged my Model S to a Model X in early 2017 (after 2.5 years), it was more like if I don't buy the X now, I might wait for a long, long time to buy another Tesla... I was kind of fed up with Tesla, drained by all the stuff that is going on with Tesla overall, Model X delays etc.

It was getting long in the tooth. Still, I am glad I did buy the Model X. I know I wanted to experience the crazy doors and I am a believer in the BEV future in general. It is a good car, as is the current Model S. But for me, now it is pretty much everyday.

Don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with being everyday. It is everyday in a good way (certain specific bad things excempted).

But no way is there any kind of honeymoon anymore. The only time there are blips of that when other people gush about the car (and there certainly are Tesla moments still), but even then it is more gringe-worthy for me personally, it just reminds how special the car is seen as.

As for waiting, I am personally glad I didn't beyond for AP2. I bought the Model X at a good time, features-wise (much has been discontinued since that mattered to me) - and as said, if I hadn't, I might have delayed and moved away from Tesla. IMO that would have been unfortunate, I think the car I did buy was a worthy purchase overall (warts and all).

But it seems even the great EV drivetrain can get boring. :) I've been enjoying some ICE time lately more than Model X. It is more a utility vehicle now for me.

If I was buying a Tesla now, I would definitely wait 6-12 months at the minimum for the next one, though. Perhaps indefinitely. Things have changed.
 
Last edited:
Have an 2014 85 and I'm long past the honeymoon. The range anxiety is something I've never gotten used to and the continually quality issues really put a damper on things. The lack of meaningful OTAs has also been a real disappointment.

On the other hand the supercharger roll-out has been very impressive, and knowing what I do now, I am still glad we got it, and am considering getting a 2nd one.
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: AnxietyRanger
The lack of meaningful OTAs has also been a real disappointment.

Yeah, since I missed out on AP1, basically all the software updates I've gotten have just made the pre-AP car worse - with the exception of the parking lines in the rear-view camera and, on the Model X, the few feature and quality updates to AP2 so far. The usability "improvements" of 7.x and 8.x just made it worse and the easter eggs, while fun, are pointless. Everyday usability of the cars has just become worse over time overall.

I've pretty much given up on the big screen system getting any better or as good as 6.2 was. Tesla will move onto a new generation before that happens, I wager. I'm still holding out (very remote) hope that 8.2 might actually fix some of the usability omissions and introduce something useful and new.

AP2, that I still expect to actually offer meaningful improvements over the life of the car (unless HW 2.5 etc. obsoletes us fast). I know AP1 did for those who had it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jaguar36
Honeymoon phase still somewhat here at 19k miles. For me, the honeymoon phase for my new material objects die pretty fast. When I got my watch, I would probably spend 10 minutes at work everyday just looking at it. I loved it (still do love it but just not to that extent), but that honeymoon infatuation lasted maybe 2 months.

A Tesla is different though b/c of the OTA updates. So every 2-3 months your Tesla will be able to do something it couldn't before, and that'll give some new life to the honeymoon phase. If I were to graph it:

Watch.jpg

Tesla Graph.jpg
 
It'a a ying/yang sort of thing. I'm in love with the driving experience. Acceleration, handling, braking, quietness, nav system and all the entertainment options are fantastic.

I hate the lack of a decent storage option for a space saver spare tire. I'm frequently too remote for timely road service so need to rely on myself. Takes up a lot of room in the trunk. Then there's the stupidity of no door storage pockets, a center console that doesn't open for storage, no vanity mirror lighting, no passenger grab handles, and lousy cupholder design. Truly lousy design.
 
Picked my CPO 85, 18 months ago at 20k miles. And now it 50k miles I am still delighted every day morning when I cruise down the highway on Auto Pilot to my workplace. AP1 is like pure magic. Still on honeymoon and that won't go away until a competing EV comes with an equivalent AP suite. Downside: I hate my other ICE cars.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GSP and EinSV
Honeymoon phase still somewhat here at 19k miles. For me, the honeymoon phase for my new material objects die pretty fast. When I got my watch, I would probably spend 10 minutes at work everyday just looking at it. I loved it (still do love it but just not to that extent), but that honeymoon infatuation lasted maybe 2 months.

A Tesla is different though b/c of the OTA updates. So every 2-3 months your Tesla will be able to do something it couldn't before, and that'll give some new life to the honeymoon phase. If I were to graph it:

View attachment 241901
View attachment 241902
In your graph you forgot to add an example of a buggy OTA or one that takes away functionality (added nags, limits, or if you've been with Tesla long enough, disabling or Air Suspension lowering completely for 5 months or so) - whose cause an immediate drop in love until it's fixed or you just get used to it or don't care anymore. Then there is the drop when you realize a promised feature will never come (Blind Spot Monitoring) or Tesla lied about the specifics (691hp), that one never fully recovers.
 
@69bluesman - I was going to say to ignore the Debbie Downers, but they have their own experiences. So -shrug-. Please keep it in context - as you can see, the majority of folks on the forum are delighted with their cars & the company.

I've had a Tesla parked in my garage since Feb 2011 (sometimes two) and can't imagine ever buying anything else again. Still on the honeymoon here.

And congrats! And welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing pics of your new car.
 
Great to hear everyone's take on continued ownership. Yes, people all have different expectations which will result in different opinions. I'm more of a positive guy...so it's nice to see the majority are still happy. But I'm also a realist...so there's always the other side.
Regardless of the quirks some people gripe about....the model S is still just a beauty of a car on the outside. The best looking sedan I've ever seen.
 
Great to hear everyone's take on continued ownership. Yes, people all have different expectations which will result in different opinions. I'm more of a positive guy...so it's nice to see the majority are still happy. But I'm also a realist...so there's always the other side.
Regardless of the quirks some people gripe about....the model S is still just a beauty of a car on the outside. The best looking sedan I've ever seen.
Set yourself a reminder and update this thread in 6 months, then again in another 6 months. It will give a nice honeymoon progress report.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sully's8 and GSP