A while back, I mentioned that a friend of mine bought a Tesla Model S, and I said I'd update the thread when I got a chance to get a ride and get some info from him.
So they picked us up this w/e and we went out to dinner. So only about a 10 minute ride each way, so this is really a mini-mini impression/review. And keep in mind, even though I'm interested in technology, and know a fair amount about cars, I just never got the bug to own a performance car. To me, a car is something to spend the least amount of money on to get me reliably from A to B in reasonable comfort and safety. I don't think of cars as status symbols, I just don't care about that.
He mentioned that he got the S because he didn't like the Model 3, he said the interior looked like something out of a Dodge Neon (his words, not mine). As we got in the car, his wife warned us that she had got her hand caught in the door handle a couple times, be careful. I didn't really know what that was about, but thought it was kinda weird.
He showed off some of the novelty gimmicks, which I thought were pretty cheesy (fart sounds for turn signal, 'Santa' mode' with sleigh bells for turn signals - oh well, whatever floats your boat). He was consuming ~ 425 wh/mile on our little trip.
He said the regen braking had only 2 settings (3 with 'off'?) and he really wanted something in the middle. Maybe a future SW upgrade? He talked about how you end up doing 'one pedal' driving, as you feather the accel pedal to control braking, and only apply brakes near the end of a stop. We discussed whether this might create a problem in an emergency - if you are thinking about using your right foot as active braking on the accel pedal, in an emergency, might you just stomp on the accel instead of moving to the brake pedal? After all, your brain is already thinking "I'm braking". He thought it might be a problem. And considering you'd be at 60 mph in a few seconds, that could be a big problem very fast! (if it were to happen).
As far as the quietness of an EV, there were only two times I noticed it. Not at road speeds, I expect a $70,000+ car to be pretty quiet, and we heard road and wind noise. I can't say it was noticeable quieter than any decently quiet car with an ICE. Even my lower end car does not produce much engine noise while cruising.
So of course, we had to experience the accel. This surprised me - he hit it, and my reaction was, literally - "is that all there is"? Yes, I was pushed back in my seat, and I know it accel faster than any car I'd ever been in, but w/o engine noise, it just did not seem exciting. A personal thing I guess, some will miss it, others will think it's cool to accel w/o the "rrrrrooooaarrrrr". But again, I don't understand why anyone wants sub 4 second 0-60 times in a street vehicle anyhow, I'm just not the target audience for that.
The only other time I was aware of 'quiet' was when they dropped us off, and there was no idling engine sound. Again, to me, kind of a pro/con thing, it makes a bystander sort of unaware that there is an active car nearby. I recall discussions about having EVs make some artificial noise to keep pedestrians aware of their presence, have not heard about that lately.
He did a short example of Auto-pilot. He and his wife (it is actually her car) were sort of not thrilled with it. They said it keeps you right in the middle of the lane and that felt awkward to them, I guess with no oncoming traffic, we tend to move a bit to the middle to avoid stuff on the side of the road? Not quite sure about their issue with that, but they seemed to not want to trust it much. Maybe they need more time with it.
His wife actually prefers her GMC truck. That's not a knock against a Model S, they are just different vehicles, and she likes sitting up high. But maybe it's telling that the Tesla didn't impress her so much that she fell in love with it?
My wife also likes higher vehicles, we both thought it was a little hard to get in/out of the S. But that's compared to our crossover style cars.
He has had it glitch out on him about 3x a week, radio stuck, heat full on, indicates it is in Park but it is in Reverse, lots of odd things that required the extended "Control-Alt-Delete" procedure to clear up. The latest when he was backing into the garage. He almost hit the wall before he realized the sensors had glitched out, and were not giving him the warning that he was near the back wall. He seems to think this will 'clear up', as he heard that was the case with someone else he knows with a Tesla, but I told him he's got the SW updates that they probably got at the time, so there is something wrong.
His wife mentioned that her boss also has a Tesla, and he had to unexpectedly leave it parked in the lot at work for a few days in the cold. Battery was so low, he needed some sort of service to come and get it going for him before he could get it to a charger.
He will be taking it on a longer trip soon, where he needs to rely on a Supercharger. We'll see how that goes.
He didn't seem to think there any fit-finish issues like we've heard about with recent Model 3s. And he seems to like it, said if he gets another it will have Ludicrous mode. So he's really into the performance end of it, not sure anything else really matters much to him. He has another Cobra kit car, no heater, no radio, etc - just an engine, shell, seats and wheels. Different strokes, and all.
When we got out of the restaurant, I asked him to 'summon' the car. He said he didn't think it would work more than ~ 50 feet away? Or maybe he just didn't trust it? I kidded him that I can 'summon' my car too, as long as I can walk up to it.
I'll be curious what he thinks after he has more time with it. Like I said, I'm just not interested in spending that much for a car, so it doesn't mean much to me.
But I will still be watching future EV developments. I know some here think I'm anti-EV, but I'm not. I just don't like to let questionable information/claims go unchallenged, regardless the subject. We will probably replace DWs car in a few years - maybe a lower priced EV on the market by then would fit our needs? I've always felt that there are many things that are attractive about EVs, and when the cost comes down to our range, they will be in consideration. But I still hesitate over things like depreciation (if newer models come down in price as much as the fans expect), and battery life on lower cost models (I know Telsa batteries have held up well). And even though we don't drive much, and rarely take longer trips, the whole range thing still bugs me. Maybe I'm being pig-headed about that, but apples-to-apples with an ICE/hybrid, I just hate having this limitation, because you just never know when you might need it, and may not have the time to plan for it. It has happened to me before, just gas up and go.
So there you go, FWIW.
-ERD50
