Input From Tesla Owners?

[Midpack]

I've been on the fence for years, but with the price decreases I've scheduled a Model Y test drive for later this week. I have seen Tesla owners share their thoughts here and there on ER.org - just thought I'd solicit input from actual Tesla owners all in one place as I make a MYLR buy/not decision. What I think I know...

• I know Tesla build quality has been awful, I'm told it's improved significantly, but still not perfect.
• I know the Model Y was known for surprisingly rough ride quality even rattles, I'm told that has improved considerably.
• I know insurance is significantly more than an equivalent ICE or hybrid, I'll have to accept that, or not.
• I know Teslas go through tires faster than most vehicles, as they're relatively heavy.
• I know while maintenance is less, when there are maintenance issues out of warranty, they are not cheap and options are limited (you can't go to most mechanics like an ICE vehicle). I do expect lifetime maintenance costs to be lower than ICE, along with charging vs gasoline.
• I know I will never achieve the 330 mile published range, but I will be charging at home almost entirely, and plan on 200 miles max mostly. We will still have one ICE-hybrid vehicle.
• I'm open to the idea but I wonder how I'll feel about having almost everything controlled via touchscreen, with almost no conventional buttons/controls. IME many of the controls in conventional cars are set and rarely touched again, so a touchscreen might not be a big adjustment.
• I know the window for a $7500 tax credit may have already closed (if they already have orders through Feb). Might extend into March, but might be reduced by half when they clarify battery production requirements.
• I wouldn't be surprised if FSD takes another 10 years or more. I am not buying with any hope of FSD. Not sure Enhanced AutoPilot is even on my radar.
• Cool as they look, I don't want the larger wheels (rougher ride and more curb rash).
• I plan to have a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed in our garage, and use a mobile connector (vs a Tesla wall connector). There's room in our 200 amp service.
• And yes I know they are not zero emissions vehicles, I know and accept those tradeoffs.

Any comments, preferably from owners and other non-haters, about things you wished you'd known and didn't before you bought one.

 

[braumeister]

I hear you. I rented one for several days back in 2021 and didn't like it very much. A variety of reasons, and I posted here about them.

But like you I've heard they have ironed out many of their weaknesses so I have reserved one for a five day rental in February to try it out again. I'm keeping an open mind.

 

[gcgang]

My three year lease on my Model Y will be up in November.

Absolutely love the vehicle. Have had no issues other than rear window malfunction for which they sent a repairman to my house to resolve.

For me, the extra space Y’s trunk offers vs X allows me to put my golf cart and clubs comfortably in.

Re: everything on console. It is a bit of a joke to have to find the right screen in order to open the glovebox, but you get the hang of things very quickly and I find most things very intuitive.

 

[Midpack]

My three year lease on my Model Y will be up in November.

Absolutely love the vehicle.

For me, the extra space Y’s trunk offers vs X allows me to put me golf cart and clubs comfortably in.

That's a serious consideration for me too.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Why wouldn't you get the published range?

I've owned 4 Tesla's and they all got their expected range, one exceeded it by 12 miles.

 

[audreyh1]

I think that Tesla build quality awfulness has been greatly exaggerated. Yes, occasionally there is a lemon/dud. I guess we got lucky as paint was pristine and fit very good maybe not absolutely perfect. Haven’t taken in for service yet, but finally getting around to dealing with a couple of very minor things covered under warranty.

Test driving will answer a lot of questions. The Performance Model Y will be a rougher ride than the Long Range.

I went from a cheap and old car to a new very expensive one. My insurance did not double. Maybe 1.5x. I shopped around. Tesla Insurance as a company is now an option in many states. It wasn’t the best value for us. It does monitor your driving assigning a score that determines the following month rate.

We blew off FSD. Haven’t even gotten Enhanced Autopilot and likely won’t. You can rent FSD by the month if you like, $199 per month.

Lots of things to learn and get used to. I enjoyed the process. I also enjoyed test driving a Model Y Long Range.

Mile range very much depends on driving conditions especially speed and weather especially wind although even rain increases air resistance. We’ve driven 4 hours straight - 235 miles I think via small highways over TX hill country. That’s probably the longest we’ll do. Arrive at charger just under 20% so could’ve pushed it farther but why bother? I like to have a good cushion.

 

[joesxm3]

I am not an owner, but I have an order in for a Model Y. I have been watching the pre-delivery videos.

The videos claim that most any thing can be controlled by voice commands instead of digging through the tablet. For example, "Open glove box.", "Open trunk", "Display climate control screen". Are these voice commands actually useful?

Regarding the battery requirements for the credit, I used to think it was half off if they do not qualify, but it seems that it could be loss of the full credit. One $3500 credit is based on the percentage of minerals in the battery and another $3500 credit is based on the parts and assembly of the battery. So I am guessing that at least the Model 3 RWD will not qualify for either if it is using LFP batteries made in China.

My account says 2/8 to 3/8 as my delivery window, but I have been given no further info. So fingers crossed.

They seem to have lots of model 3 RWD in inventory and I have been toying about switching to one of those. I was told that I could not switch my Y order to a 3, so I would lose the $250 order fee and have to open a new order.

A friend from church is supposed to bring her model Y over for me to look at sometime soon. I asked her husband about build quality and he had no issues. The 5 or 10 Tesla owners I asked in parking lots had nothing bad to say. The family from church bought a second model Y this summer, so I guess they like them.

I jumped the gun and ordered the wall connector, but then realized that the 14-50 circuit is fine for me. I ordered the mobile connector package and plan to return the wall connector (60 day window) for a refund minus the return shipping cost.

 

[audreyh1]

I do use voice commands quite a lot.

The X is different as we do have a display above the yoke steering. So the center console is just for navigation and music selection while driving. It also shows the turn signal camera video when on. This big display is often managed by my copilot. I do use voice commands pretty often for both navigation and music.

The Model X yoke has no stalks at all on the steering column, you do everything via buttons or thumb wheels on the yoke. I got used to this quite quickly.

Here is a photo of the driver front display. We are on the interstate and autosteer and cruise are active. Navigation is on and shown left part of this “instrument” display just above the yoke. It shows next turn information, whereas the big center console shows a large map of the navigation. Also displayed are lanes and other cars, blue lane stripes indicates autosteer is on. Right part shows speed, cruise set speed, the recently seen speed limit sign, etc.

 

[wolf]

Do not own. But have friends/relatives who do. Seems to be more a "personality, self image" decision. Not reliability, or long waits for repairs (parts shortage) when in accident.

Tesla owners, (especially in California) seem to all be happy with their purchase.

Me. Old fashioned. I like time saving "gas" fill ups. And ability to have auto repairs
done anywhere. Good Luck. Enjoy your new Tesla....

 

[MRG]

I've owned a Model Y since June 2020. Mine is a performance that looks like a long range, no longer available.

Good summary, one thing that helps with the controls are the numerous voice commands available. I have no idea what menu opens the glovebox, but the voice commands do. I don't have FSD it makes no sense where I live. If needed for a trip, I think the monthly lease works fine.

 

[joesxm3]

Tesla just raised model Y price by $500. Now a red one is over the credit limit, unless they dropped the paint price.

 

[cbo111]

I owned a MYLR for a little over one year. Really liked it but could not resist making almost $12K net profit selling at the peak of demand in July 2022.

I know Tesla build quality has been awful, I'm told it's improved significantly, but still not perfect.
I took delivery in June of 2021. The build quality was quite good, including panel gaps. After one year I could not find a single ding or paint chip.
I know the Model Y was known for surprisingly rough ride quality even rattles, I'm told that has improved considerably.
I found the ride similar to previous Subaru Outback and did not consider it to be a negative. Go with the standard wheels and and avoid the upgrade low profile wheels. You will get better ride and range.
I know insurance is significantly more than an equivalent ICE or hybrid, I'll have to accept that, or not.
My 2016 Subaru outback cost about $900/yr to insure (USAA). The 2021 Tesla ran about $1,200/yr, which I considered acceptable
I know Teslas go through tires faster than most vehicles, as they're relatively heavy.
I only put about 6,500 miles on it so hard to assess.
I know while maintenance is less, when there are maintenance issues out of warranty, they are not cheap and options are limited (you can't go to most mechanics like an ICE vehicle). I do expect lifetime maintenance costs to be lower than ICE, along with charging vs gasoline.
In addition to maintenance costs, availability of spare parts is really bad for the past couple years. Tesla is focused on cranking out cars, and not in building a stockpile of parts. I've known several people who lost the use of their Teslas for several months waiting on various parts. They got Uber credits, which I thought would be unacceptable
I know I will never achieve the 330 mile published range, but I will be charging at home almost entirely, and plan on 200 miles max mostly. We will still have one ICE-hybrid vehicle.
With Tesla, speed kills range. If you like to drive over 80mph, you will never come close to 330 range. If you drive 65mph in a temperate climate, you can come close. I had a 14-50 NEMA in the garage and only used superchargers a few times on longer trips. On a 7-hour drive, we stopped every couple hours, which nicely coincided with our full bladders. We usually had ~75 miles of range left and charge for 15-20 minutes to get back to about 85%
I'm open to the idea but I wonder how I'll feel about having almost everything controlled via touchscreen, with almost no conventional buttons/controls. IME many of the controls in conventional cars are set and rarely touched again, so a touchscreen might not be a big adjustment.
The touchscreen takes some getting used to. I found some functions silly, like having to click through two screens to find the button to open the glove box
I know the window for a $7500 tax credit may have already closed (if they already have orders through Feb). Might extend into March, but might be reduced by half when they clarify battery production requirements.
I wouldn't be surprised if FSD takes another 10 years or more. I am not buying with any hope of FSD. Not sure Enhanced AutoPilot is even on my radar.
Cool as they look, I don't want the larger wheels (rougher ride and more curb rash).
You definitely do not need the performance model or FSD. The MYLR is a rocket and I have never drove anything close to this performance. The first couple times you step on it when entering a freeway, you will really be astonished.
I plan to have a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed in our garage, and use a mobile connector (vs a Tesla wall connector). There's room in our 200 amp service.
And yes I know they are not zero emissions vehicles, I know and accept those tradeoffs.
That's the setup I had in my garage. Fortunately the power/fuse box was on the garage wall, so it was cheap to have an electrician install for about $250. Make sure to get a quality outlet that will hold the weight of the mobile connector.
At the current price, I am really tempted to order another MYLR but will probably wait a year or two to see what new EV's become available. I just saw my first Rivian Truck on the road today. Very nice looking.

 

[DayDreaming]

Your list of what you think you know looks really good - you've done your research. I've had a Model Y Long Range for almost 1 year and I really like the car. For me,

• build quality was fine - no problems worth mentioning.
• my auto insurance went up of course, but it's not bad. Call your insurance company and ask them for an estimate of what yours would be
• my AC had some problems in the summer, but it was under warranty and was repaired. No other problems yet.
• the longest drive I've take was 150 miles, in summer, and I remember it used 45% of the battery which is just about the rated range. It definitely gets less range in cold weather but for my needs, it's never even been the slightest concern.
• I was worried that I wouldn't like controlling everything via the touchscreen but I got used to it pretty quickly. There are some things could be made easier if the screen was redesigned, but no show stoppers. For typical driving, I don't find glancing at the touchscreen any worse than glancing at a traditional dashboard. One thing I do miss: physical buttons, knobs or levers for climate control.
• I don't have FSD and have no interest in getting it. I'm really impressed with the standard Auto Pilot (AP) that comes with the car and I use it a lot. This was something I worried about before purchase because I read so may reports of phantom braking and some people saying they can't even use AP because of that. I haven't had a single instance of phantom braking. Driving a busy interstate highway with AP on is almost relaxing

I really love the EV aspect of the Tesla - they nailed it - the battery and motor work great. Many of the things that people complain about with Teslas are not related to EVs, but related to some of the design quirks of the car. Tesla seems to have re-thought everything. I'm not a fan of the door handles - they're hard to find in the dark! The auto-wipers don't always work right because Tesla uses cameras instead of the rain sensor that all other cars use, so I set them to manual if auto decides to act weird. The climate control system vents are unusual and I think I'd prefer vents found in most other cars. Overall it's a great car and I have no regrets getting it.

 

[joesxm3]

I said a video of a guy installing some control buttons on his console. They stick on and are somehow paired to the console and you can assign each button a function.

I think the name is S3XY Button

I tried a link but it acted strangely so I edited it out.

 

[Midpack]

I went from a cheap and old car to a new very expensive one. My insurance did not double. Maybe 1.5x. I shopped around. Tesla Insurance as a company is now an option in many states. It wasn’t the best value for us. It does monitor your driving assigning a score that determines the following month rate.

I know insurance is significantly more than an equivalent ICE or hybrid, I'll have to accept that, or not.
My 2016 Subaru outback cost about $900/yr to insure (USAA). The 2021 Tesla ran about $1,200/yr, which I considered acceptable

Could be I’m too stupid, but my insurance company makes it as difficult as possible IMO to get a quote online without buying a new car first. Best I can tell I’d go from $697/yr for my ‘22 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid to $1275/yr for a MYLR - an increase of 83%. I’ll have to call Geico tomorrow…

 

[gcgang]

On the downside, I have a friend in Chicago where a parking attendant backed his Model S into a post. The dealership has had the car three months and the repairs (mostly insurance covered) just went up another $3k to $31,000!!!

Yikes.

 

[joesxm3]

When I called GEICO for a model 3 LR quote last year I went from $600 or $800 for my 2004 Acura with no collision to $2200 for the Tesla and including the Acura was free.

Not sure why so much. I do have credit report locked and $300k liability required by umbre!la. I will also call on Y so we can compare notes.

 

[joesxm3]

On the downside, I have a friend in Chicago where a parking attendant backed his Model S into a post. The dealership has had the car three months and the repairs (mostly insurance covered) just went up another $3k to $31,000!!!

Yikes.

I do wonder how they replace the two huge body parts on a model Y.

 

[audreyh1]

Could be I’m too stupid, but my insurance company makes it as difficult as possible IMO to get a quote online without buying a new car first. Best I can tell I’d go from $697/yr for my ‘22 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid to $1275/yr for a MYLR - an increase of 83%. I’ll have to call Geico tomorrow…

I pretty much needed a VIN to get a quote, but they were generated in a day or two. I had an insurance agent shopping around - two actually, but the second was only looking at Progressive. I also got an online quote from Tesla Insurance directly.

 

[Christine]

I've been on the fence for years, but with the price decreases I've scheduled a Model Y test drive for later this week. I have seen Tesla owners share their thoughts here and there on ER.org - just thought I'd solicit input from actual Tesla owners all in one place as I make a MYLR buy/not decision. What I think I know...

I haven't read the rest of this thread yet - but here are my $0.02 on Tesla.


I did not understand the charging bit at all. I expected it to be a slight nuisance but one I could learn to live with. But it turned out to be such a big positive for me. Always plugging in when parking at home - always ready to go the next time.



And the supercharger network - it really is super and leaps ahead of the competition. I have occasionally used third party chargers. But it's a mess.


And since I'm not a teenager i usually think the car charges too fast when on longer trips. I want my bathroom break, a bit to eat and a chance to stretch my legs. So I often stop for longer than the car needs to charge.




The other thing that really surprised me was the Autopilot. The old one we get here in Europe - not the new and shiny you have in the US. It's sooo good. As an advanced cruise control. Keeps the lane and the distance to the car in front so perfectly. I have driven many fancy cars like Mercs, Jags and BMWs and they have all scared me. This is the one feature that will make me a repeat Tesla customer.


Yet it's not perfect. Getting speed signs wrong and randomly braking for no reason. Occasionally freaking out like a scared teenager beeping that I must take over. But I love it!

• I know Tesla build quality has been awful, I'm told it's improved significantly, but still not perfect.
• I know the Model Y was known for surprisingly rough ride quality even rattles, I'm told that has improved considerably.

Well they have gone from building almost by hand to a highly automated production line. If you get the Performance model it's got harder suspension so more bumps and rattles I guess.

• I know insurance is significantly more than an equivalent ICE or hybrid, I'll have to accept that, or not.
• I know Teslas go through tires faster than most vehicles, as they're relatively heavy.
• I know while maintenance is less, when there are maintenance issues out of warranty, they are not cheap and options are limited (you can't go to most mechanics like an ICE vehicle). I do expect lifetime maintenance costs to be lower than ICE, along with charging vs gasoline.

I don't pay more for my Model X than for my previous Mercedes. You should shop around for insurance.


I guess the tires thing is true but I never thought much about it. I like to get new ones early anyway.


I've had very low cost maintenance. While battery and motors are best left to Tesla things like wheels, suspension and minor collision repair can be done anywhere.

I'm open to the idea but I wonder how I'll feel about having almost everything controlled via touchscreen, with almost no conventional buttons/controls. IME many of the controls in conventional cars are set and rarely touched again, so a touchscreen might not be a big adjustment.

It was not for me. And I've recently started to use voice commands. And those work surprisingly well. For adjusting heat, skipping songs and such while driving.

• Cool as they look, I don't want the larger wheels (rougher ride and more curb rash).
• I plan to have a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed in our garage, and use a mobile connector (vs a Tesla wall connector). There's room in our 200 amp service.
• And yes I know they are not zero emissions vehicles, I know and accept those tradeoffs.

I went for the smaller comfier wheels too. And I got a dedicated charging box so that it's quick, safe and easy to plug it in when I park.

Any comments, preferably from owners and other non-haters, about things you wished you'd known and didn't before you bought one.

If I had understood the economics of it I would have bought one much earlier.


If I had understood the charge vs break time on long trips I had been perfectly happy with the smallest battery model.




Best of luck with your new car - whatever you end up with!

 

[kgtest]

My friend with the Model 3 dual motor (which he let me borrow for a day) said he didn't buy it for the range, he bought it for the fun factor. I didn't think it was that much more fun than a suped up ICE sports car IMHO. Insanity mode was fun to try out and really puts you back in your seat, but many cars are starting to come out with this, especially other ICE performance cars. I wouldn't buy it for the cost of ownership factor. I bought a Camry and passed on the Model 3. Saved a bunch of up front money, that allowed me to put more into the market today, vs waiting for pay raises tomorrow. I am not FIREd though and still accumulating so I really need to prioritize saving over BTD. It's a balance. I see a lot of them out there so they must be doing something right. Just not my cup of tea is all. I think they look "plain" but its not like the Camry is much better lol.

 

[DayDreaming]

Just in case you haven't already found it, the Tesla Motors Club forums are a great resource for seeing what Tesla owners are talking about these days. Keep in mind that people with complaints tent to be more vocal that people who are happy with their cars.

One current complaint that I agree with: Tesla recently stopped putting ultra-sonic sensors in their cars, so you have no indication of how close you are to objects around the car which makes parking a bit more challenging. I can't actually see the front of my car from the driver's seat, and the back window is small. My car came with the sensors and they're a big help when parking. Tesla claims that Tesla Vision (cameras) will be able to replace the functionality of the ultra sonic sensors, but that's a big question right now.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Clark Hoard says No, at least not yet. He has had one for years.

 

[Midpack]

Clark Hoard says No, at least not yet. He has had one for years.

He does? https://clark.com/cars/best-electric-hybrid-cars/ He bought a Model S in 2017, probably not equivalent to a 2023 MYLR? I couldn't find an article where he wasn't positive on Tesla.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

He does?

Listen to his podcast on EV Purchases.

https://clark.com/podcasts/01-13-23...n-clark-stinks-electric-vehicle-purchase-now/

"It is a lifestyle choice, not a dollars and cents choice."

I have said this before, it does not pay .... yet to own an EV. It is because one wants one, and any implied savings are irrelevant. And, that is OK.