[4play]

We live in a 1940s bungalow in a major city, so have an alleyway driveway and a tiny garage (non-functional except for maybe an NA Miata).

If I had an actual 1 or 2 car garage and a driveway wide enough to not have to shuffle the cars every time, I would probably already have an electric vehicle of some sort.

My wife drives a Prius wagon and the car is an appliance for her, so something with low cost of ownership and modern tech (semi-autonomous, etc) would actually be an ideal car for us. We do occasionally take road trips, mostly see family within a 250 miles radius, so the range issues that some folks have would likely not be a huge issue (also, the Supercharger network is fairly decent around here).

[Ikester19]

Never if I can help it. EV's are not my cup of tea

[The J-Man]

I will buy a Tesla when:
1. It becomes a good car
2. The interior quality improves by a factor of 500.
3. Head up display is offered

[swhat]

Already have one. I can't complain since it's a great daily beater. Get in and drive. No maintenance. No going to the gas station.
Still have my M3 as a fun weekend car though. When I want to drive, I take the M3. When I am lazy, I take the model 3. Best of both worlds.

[flybigjet]

My wife and I went to dinner with my buddy and his wife a few nights ago. The girls sat in the back so my buddy could show off his latest software update on his toy-- A T3.

Aaaaaaaaand, it tried to kill us.

He was demonstrating the Autopilot which (on the surface) is pretty amazing-- the screen started figuring out the middle of the street lanes and the traffic and obstacles around us, and then when it got smart enough, he enabled it.

It seems to be a lot of work though-- keep your hand on the wheel, keep tapping the right control stalk to go through intersections, keep an eye on what it's doing, being ready to brake suddenly-- personally, I thought it was more work than just simply driving.

And then, as we were going through a series of curves, for NO reason-- the thing just decided to aim *DIRECTLY* at a huge curb and drainage grate-- it was a pretty aggressive maneuver.

My buddy had to override it and pull it back onto the road-- it sure as hell got my undivided attention when it did that-- if he hadn't done a "panic intervention", the thing would definitely have taken out the front driver's wheel at a minimum.

On a completely unrelated note (heh)-- I stopped by my auto-body shop today since I had a quick question (they are the BMW, Porsche, Audi & Tesla specialists in Denver)-- they had a TON of Tesla's in the yard-- enough that I asked the tech if they were "flipping" them. His response? "No, people just crash them a LOT."

He also said that parts availability has a much longer delay than for Porsche, BMW & Audi-- a day or two for those makes, weeks or longer for Tesla.

So, neat toy, amazing technology, and you need to watch it like a hawk if you don't want it to commit automotive suicide. The Autopilot might be the bee's knees in Kansas on the interstate, but it sure as hell isn't ready for prime-time in downtown America suburbia.

On the plus side? It provided a LOT of abuse that I (and my wife, and his wife) could heap on my buddy over dinner.

And his wife? HATES his Tesla and doesn't like to ride in it.

R.

[bucketfoot]

What really gets me about Tesla and how bad their vehicles look is that they have the perfect platform to be able to basically drop any shell on.

The could very easily put out some amazing looking cars if they simply decided to.

[GenXer]

[SflBimmer8484]

I picked up a model 3 performance last year when my f80 lease ended. So far so good it has its slight issues with panel gaps and such if you are extremely anal but honestly its so slight I wouldn't even bother taking the car in. with 15k miles on the odo its never been in for a repair or any service actually. Only thing thats starting to show up is a slight ticking from the suspension and you can only hear it when its silent in a garage but to be fair many of my bmws have also done the same thing over time ( I drive my cars very hard). Unlike bmw I hear tesla is willing to fix this known issue without any hassle. Autopilot is awesome and I take full advantage of it on my 25 mile hike to work which is mostly highway about 22 miles of that is on autopilot.

Handling is similar to a bmw but it gets a little loose at high speeds(suspension should fix this issue.) Cornering is fantastic and noticeably quicker and more stable around corners due to its lower center of gravity and insane traction control system compared to my m3 even with its tiny 235 ps4's. Traffic light to traffic light nothing really compares it always hooks even in the rain and with no gear changes you will be king of the traffic light races with a constant 3 second 0-60 with roll out. Where it really shines is roll races under 50 mph as it just jumps most cars by a car or so but only to reeled in around 130 to cars in the 500hp range as you lose power and torque.

I do miss my 6 speed, the danger of a 600whp rwd car and the ability to rev and show off sometimes but all in all its been a great do it all type vehicle.

You can follow some of my races on instagram @teslavseverything

[jpy1980]

I think I want to get my wife the Model Y due to Tesla's exception car crash safety ratings and tech. When my wife and I decided to have kids, we also decided to lease all of her cars (every 3 years) until she the kids were in HS due to the fact that car safety and tech has been changing and improving so fast. It would put my "precious cargo" in the latest and safest place for the time being. Currently she's in an Audi Q7 but when that lease is up in a year, Tesla was the next brand that came into mind. The thought came up because my wife kept asking me, when we were searching for her next car (the Q7), does it have auto braking, etc? Ultimately she said she wants to be safe, just in case the kids distract her. I obviously told her, if the kids are distracting or crying, to just let them cry and pull over, but she said she wants tech to assist as well. I was like, isn't there a freaking car that drives itself? At that time Tesla didn't come to mind, but now it does. Anyone else have similar thoughts in regards to the car's safety features?

For myself, I doubt I'd ever go EV. and/or an Automatic/DCT/DSG. Give me a gasoline smelling, oil drinking, sub 4 second 60mph, manual that hurts my left foot to drive in traffic. Thankyouveddymuch.

[jpy1980]

Originally Posted by Andrew@ActiveAutowerke

I picked up a model 3 performance last year when my f80 lease ended. So far so good it has its slight issues with panel gaps and such if you are extremely anal but honestly its so slight I wouldn't even bother taking the car in. with 15k miles on the odo its never been in for a repair or any service actually. Only thing thats starting to show up is a slight ticking from the suspension and you can only hear it when its silent in a garage but to be fair many of my bmws have also done the same thing over time ( I drive my cars very hard). Unlike bmw I hear tesla is willing to fix this known issue without any hassle. Autopilot is awesome and I take full advantage of it on my 25 mile hike to work which is mostly highway about 22 miles of that is on autopilot.

Handling is similar to a bmw but it gets a little loose at high speeds(suspension should fix this issue.) Cornering is fantastic and noticeably quicker and more stable around corners due to its lower center of gravity and insane traction control system compared to my m3 even with its tiny 235 ps4's. Traffic light to traffic light nothing really compares it always hooks even in the rain and with no gear changes you will be king of the traffic light races with a constant 3 second 0-60 with roll out. Where it really shines is roll races under 50 mph as it just jumps most cars by a car or so but only to reeled in around 130 to cars in the 500hp range as you lose power and torque.

I do miss my 6 speed, the danger of a 600whp rwd car and the ability to rev and show off sometimes but all in all its been a great do it all type vehicle.

You can follow some of my races on instagram @teslavseverything

You guys should make a fake exhaust system with a sound symposer speaker built into the Tesla cabin. =)

[racerbruce]

It's very presumptive to ask when we will buy a Tesla....are you part of the covert advertising for Tesla??

Is this a feigned attempt at subliminal suggestion??

[5.M0NSTER]

Originally Posted by GenXer

A picture is worth a 1000 words.

But if I had to use words, I would quote the great JayZ, who once said:

"Not fo' nuthin'
never happen
I be fo'ever mackin' "

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

My wife and I went to dinner with my buddy and his wife a few nights ago. The girls sat in the back so my buddy could show off his latest software update on his toy-- A T3.

Aaaaaaaaand, it tried to kill us.

He was demonstrating the Autopilot which (on the surface) is pretty amazing-- the screen started figuring out the middle of the street lanes and the traffic and obstacles around us, and then when it got smart enough, he enabled it.

It seems to be a lot of work though-- keep your hand on the wheel, keep tapping the right control stalk to go through intersections, keep an eye on what it's doing, being ready to brake suddenly-- personally, I thought it was more work than just simply driving.

And then, as we were going through a series of curves, for NO reason-- the thing just decided to aim *DIRECTLY* at a huge curb and drainage grate-- it was a pretty aggressive maneuver.

My buddy had to override it and pull it back onto the road-- it sure as hell got my undivided attention when it did that-- if he hadn't done a "panic intervention", the thing would definitely have taken out the front driver's wheel at a minimum.

On a completely unrelated note (heh)-- I stopped by my auto-body shop today since I had a quick question (they are the BMW, Porsche, Audi & Tesla specialists in Denver)-- they had a TON of Tesla's in the yard-- enough that I asked the tech if they were "flipping" them. His response? "No, people just crash them a LOT."

He also said that parts availability has a much longer delay than for Porsche, BMW & Audi-- a day or two for those makes, weeks or longer for Tesla.

So, neat toy, amazing technology, and you need to watch it like a hawk if you don't want it to commit automotive suicide. The Autopilot might be the bee's knees in Kansas on the interstate, but it sure as hell isn't ready for prime-time in downtown America suburbia.

On the plus side? It provided a LOT of abuse that I (and my wife, and his wife) could heap on my buddy over dinner.

And his wife? HATES his Tesla and doesn't like to ride in it.

R.

I think the correct statement about the Tesla boneyard is, "They crash themselves a lot".

Your experience mirrors mine with a Model 3. Autopilot is nowhere near primetime, and having to watch it drive is more nerve racking than just... DRIVING.

Good post.

[Eternalthinker]

Originally Posted by jpy1980

I think I want to get my wife the Model Y due to Tesla's exception car crash safety ratings and tech. When my wife and I decided to have kids, we also decided to lease all of her cars (every 3 years) until she the kids were in HS due to the fact that car safety and tech has been changing and improving so fast. It would put my "precious cargo" in the latest and safest place for the time being. Currently she's in an Audi Q7 but when that lease is up in a year, Tesla was the next brand that came into mind. The thought came up because my wife kept asking me, when we were searching for her next car (the Q7), does it have auto braking, etc? Ultimately she said she wants to be safe, just in case the kids distract her. I obviously told her, if the kids are distracting or crying, to just let them cry and pull over, but she said she wants tech to assist as well. I was like, isn't there a freaking car that drives itself? At that time Tesla didn't come to mind, but now it does. Anyone else have similar thoughts in regards to the car's safety features?

For myself, I doubt I'd ever go EV. and/or an Automatic/DCT/DSG. Give me a gasoline smelling, oil drinking, sub 4 second 60mph, manual that hurts my left foot to drive in traffic. Thankyouveddymuch.

I personally love driving and the engagement / connection between myself + machine. When I began using Autopilot in my Teslas, it was (past-tense) new and fun. However, the novelty wore off in months. In many occasions, I have had "phantom braking" problems, which is while Autopilot is engaged on the freeway, it would hard brake for no reason at all. This happened to all of my Teslas and have brought this up to Tesla with nothing done at all. My service advisor said they could not pull the logs and I must have the exact date and time for them to look up. It became a nuisance to the point that I just found myself to be a more attentive driver than the Autopilot itself. At the very least, I would not step on the brakes for no reason while traveling at 80mph. When I use AP, I use it now under the assumption that this system may brake for no apparent reason...which really ended up me not using the system for very long. I would caution anyone using these systems, at least Tesla's AP, to be very attentive. I have not had as much seat time in my Taycan to tell you how its system works, but for the sake of me and my passengers' I do not give it as much confidence as others in the Tesla community do.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by jpy1980

I think I want to get my wife the Model Y due to Tesla's exception car crash safety ratings and tech. When my wife and I decided to have kids, we also decided to lease all of her cars (every 3 years) until she the kids were in HS due to the fact that car safety and tech has been changing and improving so fast. It would put my "precious cargo" in the latest and safest place for the time being. Currently she's in an Audi Q7 but when that lease is up in a year, Tesla was the next brand that came into mind. The thought came up because my wife kept asking me, when we were searching for her next car (the Q7), does it have auto braking, etc? Ultimately she said she wants to be safe, just in case the kids distract her. I obviously told her, if the kids are distracting or crying, to just let them cry and pull over, but she said she wants tech to assist as well. I was like, isn't there a freaking car that drives itself? At that time Tesla didn't come to mind, but now it does. Anyone else have similar thoughts in regards to the car's safety features? Sure, everyone wants their kids to be safe, but it's not like not buying the absolute safest vehicle on the road is putting their life in any additional danger.

For myself, I doubt I'd ever go EV. and/or an Automatic/DCT/DSG. Give me a gasoline smelling, oil drinking, sub 4 second 60mph, manual that hurts my left foot to drive in traffic. Thankyouveddymuch.

Teslas do have top ratings from the NHTSA and IIHS, but so do dozens of other cars and that does not make them any safer than other cars with the same ratings. I would also argue that too many technical nannies actually make you a less attentive, worse driver.

The kids are safe in just about any modern vehicle. I always laugh around here when people have their first kid and they buy an armored Escalade. In many countries they just buy a bigger scooter as the family grows.

[AlexFL]

Originally Posted by Andrew@ActiveAutowerke

I picked up a model 3 performance last year when my f80 lease ended. So far so good it has its slight issues with panel gaps and such if you are extremely anal but honestly its so slight I wouldn't even bother taking the car in. with 15k miles on the odo its never been in for a repair or any service actually. Only thing thats starting to show up is a slight ticking from the suspension and you can only hear it when its silent in a garage but to be fair many of my bmws have also done the same thing over time ( I drive my cars very hard). Unlike bmw I hear tesla is willing to fix this known issue without any hassle. Autopilot is awesome and I take full advantage of it on my 25 mile hike to work which is mostly highway about 22 miles of that is on autopilot.

Handling is similar to a bmw but it gets a little loose at high speeds(suspension should fix this issue.) Cornering is fantastic and noticeably quicker and more stable around corners due to its lower center of gravity and insane traction control system compared to my m3 even with its tiny 235 ps4's. Traffic light to traffic light nothing really compares it always hooks even in the rain and with no gear changes you will be king of the traffic light races with a constant 3 second 0-60 with roll out. Where it really shines is roll races under 50 mph as it just jumps most cars by a car or so but only to reeled in around 130 to cars in the 500hp range as you lose power and torque.

I do miss my 6 speed, the danger of a 600whp rwd car and the ability to rev and show off sometimes but all in all its been a great do it all type vehicle.

You can follow some of my races on instagram @teslavseverything

Would putting wider tires improve the traction and the 0-60? Did you guys ever try this? I'm just having hard time understanding how the skinny 235 tires can deal with so much low end torque.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

My wife and I went to dinner with my buddy and his wife a few nights ago. The girls sat in the back so my buddy could show off his latest software update on his toy-- A T3.

Aaaaaaaaand, it tried to kill us.

He was demonstrating the Autopilot which (on the surface) is pretty amazing-- the screen started figuring out the middle of the street lanes and the traffic and obstacles around us, and then when it got smart enough, he enabled it.

It seems to be a lot of work though-- keep your hand on the wheel, keep tapping the right control stalk to go through intersections, keep an eye on what it's doing, being ready to brake suddenly-- personally, I thought it was more work than just simply driving.

And then, as we were going through a series of curves, for NO reason-- the thing just decided to aim *DIRECTLY* at a huge curb and drainage grate-- it was a pretty aggressive maneuver.

My buddy had to override it and pull it back onto the road-- it sure as hell got my undivided attention when it did that-- if he hadn't done a "panic intervention", the thing would definitely have taken out the front driver's wheel at a minimum.

On a completely unrelated note (heh)-- I stopped by my auto-body shop today since I had a quick question (they are the BMW, Porsche, Audi & Tesla specialists in Denver)-- they had a TON of Tesla's in the yard-- enough that I asked the tech if they were "flipping" them. His response? "No, people just crash them a LOT."

He also said that parts availability has a much longer delay than for Porsche, BMW & Audi-- a day or two for those makes, weeks or longer for Tesla.

So, neat toy, amazing technology, and you need to watch it like a hawk if you don't want it to commit automotive suicide. The Autopilot might be the bee's knees in Kansas on the interstate, but it sure as hell isn't ready for prime-time in downtown America suburbia.

On the plus side? It provided a LOT of abuse that I (and my wife, and his wife) could heap on my buddy over dinner.

And his wife? HATES his Tesla and doesn't like to ride in it.

R.

I had a chance to test a Model S about 2 years ago in Miami traffic... at the time, it was not full autopilot but it was to the point where in straightline, it could drive itself...

All I will say is that in that iteration, I would NEVER let this thing drive anyone automatically... it kept veering into the lane over and made some abrupt changes when cars next to us would get too close. It was the worse lane management I've ever seen and like you said, I still had to monitor with my hands on the wheels... as far as the car itself, outside of bizarre QC issues and a car that looked like it was put together for $25, the driving experience was actually quite decent.

[Yvette]

Tesla is just not for me. Hopefully we will have more variety after 5 years

[Cabbage]

Originally Posted by mousefarmer

When would any of you buy a Tesla? What needs to happen for that to happen?

For me its when the price goes down and the weight of the vehicle goes down to be similar to gas cars. I have no brand loyalty for any brand.

Fix the P.A.N.E.L. G.A.P.S.

[DanG]

I don’t have a garage with my house. So never because I have no place to charge it.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by stein_325i

You can charge it outside of a garage. People down the street from me charge their X in the driveway. Apartments will be another hoop that EV's will have to jump through and find a solution.

Not going to have a power cord hanging out tempting someone to steal it.

[AlpineKing]

Originally Posted by DanG

Not going to have a power cord hanging out tempting someone to steal it.

People in your neighborhood are stealing power cords these days? Jeez...

Family member just picked up the Model X Long Range. Haven't gotten behind the wheel myself yet, but sitting in it, very impressive vehicle with funky technology quirks. I'll be looking at one myself for an suv in a couple of years if the Rivian doesn't come to fruition.