Tesla Model S - My first experience with a fully electric car

Originally Posted by The X Men

The 335i gets 30 MPG highway and 20 city, its not the most efficient car, but technically not a gas guzzler. I agree that there are almost always more efficient options out there. Even if you drive a Prius, you can do better. Again, we are not talking about big SUV owners who have a need for towing, we are talking about all the trophy wives who drive around in there 3 ton SUV all by themself.
So what does daily driving distance have to do with the size of the car?

Oh I don't disagree, my point was mainly that pretty much every one of us is committing the same crime as those trophy wives to one degree or another. We've pretty much all got more car than we need.

Mrs D has spent the last 45kmi getting 35+ mpgs and for the next 45kmi she plans to get 15mpgs. That should average out to 25mpgs, so that's just like driving a 335 for 90kmi, right?

As a side note, the US gas guzzler tax is applied on car purchases, but not trucks or SUVs.

Originally Posted by AggieKnight

Indeed. There are some of us very interested in them (myself included).

I looked at a Tesla S on a trip to San Jose earlier this year and was pretty blown away. Didn't drive one though. If they had a dealer closer to Atlanta, I may have bought one.

What i really need is a car that can drive 120-150 miles per day. That would cover commuting and (most of) the wife's shopping trips.

Glancing at their website, I see that they are opening a dealership in the ATL next march. Should make things interesting in a few years.

My Tesla will be delivered at the Atlanta store and garaged at our Atlanta home.

I drove the Tesla 2.5 coupe on track. Very impressive form 0 to 112mph. Ohhh it uses electric as do our gas cars use gas driven hard.
112+ is is pretty doggy on track. Pretty nice car if you have the ability to power up/plug in.
Hope the battery lasts becuase you won't get replacement at batteries plus or Walmart.

I would very much prefer free market forces to change people's minds about buying huge SUV's than government influencing the market with some kind of a tax.

If the availability of oil weakens, the price will go up. If it goes up high enough, people will change their spending habits. There is no need for government to intervene.

-Corey

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

My Tesla will be delivered at the Atlanta store and garaged at our Atlanta home.

So, uhh...is that an offer to show her off when she arrives?

Originally Posted by AggieKnight

So, uhh...is that an offer to show her off when she arrives?

Yeah sure.

Originally Posted by cordoor

I would very much prefer free market forces to change people's minds about buying huge SUV's than government influencing the market with some kind of a tax.

If the availability of oil weakens, the price will go up. If it goes up high enough, people will change their spending habits. There is no need for government to intervene.

-Corey

I'm surrounded by mouthbreathers in lifted F250's that maybe actually tow something once per year and I'm sure just blame everyone else if fuel prices creep up, there is no freaking way on earth these people would ever ever freaking ever buy a "gay" Toyota Prius or any other economical car. Good luck.

Originally Posted by cordoor

I would very much prefer free market forces to change people's minds about buying huge SUV's than government influencing the market with some kind of a tax.

If the availability of oil weakens, the price will go up. If it goes up high enough, people will change their spending habits. There is no need for government to intervene.

-Corey

My concern is that, if we wait for market forces to unfold, we won't be left with any choice. We know there's a finite amount of oil available. We know that the world population, mainly India and China, will become heavier oil consumers than the U.S. if we don't have an alternative scaled up, we'll be stuck with diesel Fiats.

I bought my V12 knowing full well what has mileage it achieved and that's the price I'm willing to pay to drive the car. I, along with the guys in the jacked up F250s have no room to complain about the price if gasoline. But give me a cool, useful alternative and I'll be ecstatic. That's why I do plan to replace my 760Li with a Tesla Model S in the next 12-18 months.

OP, when are you supposed to get the S?

They just opened a store at my local mall. Pretty cool car.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

OP, when are you supposed to get the S?

They just opened a store at my local mall. Pretty cool car.

I don't know. I would guess the summer. They will give me a heads up when the production date is closer. Wdimagineer is getting his in the spring which is much sooner.

Did you drive the Tesla?

I spent a good half hour with the salesperson on the Tesla S. She tells me they are planning to come out with a lease option soon, early 2013. She also told me the batteries carry an 8 year warranty. She claimed that the even after many years of use, the batteries will retain 95% of their charge so the range will not be compromised.

Now if all this is indeed tru then the car is an easy dcision. If there is a lease offered, the residual % will be very telling.

I liked the outside of the car more than the inside. I think that huge screen in the middle of the dash is distracting. Shutting the door on the Tesla does not make as satisfying a noise as the F10. Maybe it was the color scheme or the materials used but I could not warm up to the interior of the car.

Btw, if anyone cares, they hand out the coolest crayon to the kids....

That's interesting. I do know that there are Prius cars which are more than ten years old and very few of them have needed new batteries.

You should have done the test drive. It's fun and fascinating.

Would love to do a test drive but I cannot get comfortable with the idea that I have to let them hold 5k of my cash in order to do so. Yes, it is fully refundable but still....

Catch-22, no test drive until I put down a deposit and no deposit until I test drive it...

I will let you guys continue to pioneer and stick with gas for now. I only drive 6000 miles per year so I don't mind forking out the gas. I anxiously await a 911 hybrid as the 918 looks to be a world beater.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

OP, when are you supposed to get the S?

They just opened a store at my local mall. Pretty cool car.

I agree.
Cool car, but is it practical?
A well configured S5 seems a better choice for the money spent.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

Did you drive the Tesla?

I was going to, but the demonstrators were out and there were a couple other people also waiting. I will try to go in again soon. I've been quite intrigued with Tesla recently.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

I was going to, but the demonstrators were out and there were a couple other people also waiting. I will try to go in again soon. I've been quite intrigued with Tesla recently.

Please share your experience after you do. I'm crazy interested in them as a commuter.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

I was going to, but the demonstrators were out and there were a couple other people also waiting. I will try to go in again soon. I've been quite intrigued with Tesla recently.

I would suggest making an appointment. They normally book the test drives in 1 hour slots which usually encompasses a 15 minute intro, 30 minute test drive, and another 15 minutes contingency time in case you want to place a deposit.

Can you tell me the phone number of the location where you drove the car?

Originally Posted by LIL RAJA

Can you tell me the phone number of the location where you drove the car?

You can look it up yourself. Go to the tesla website and look up their Lincoln Road store in Miami Beach.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

You can look it up yourself. Go to the tesla website and look up their Lincoln Road store in Miami Beach.

I just might have to look into this as a replacement for the 535i. If you liked it enough to buy one with your own money then it must be pretty darn good.

Originally Posted by wdimagineer

LOL. You too!? I take delivery of my Model S Signature Performance in March. Whether I keep the M5 is still up in the air.

You guys are bananas.

I test drove the Model S. Similar opinions as the OP. Would love one as my second car. But could never own one if it was my only vehicle. And that decision has nothing to do with the range either, since Tesla is building an impressive Supercharging network. It has solely to do with the fact that there's no sound. I drove the Model S Performance model and it actually felt slow. I knew I was doing 0-60 in 4 seconds so I wondered why it felt that way. The conclusion I came to: no engine soundtrack. It completely took away the immersive driving experience for me. I like hearing the engine roar as I punch the throttle, not hear crickets. It's only one issue that I have with the Model S, but it's enough to make me never own one as my only car.

I love the heck out of what Musk is doing with Tesla though and I'm definitely not a hater.

I'm not disciplined enough to ever consider driving one of those things. I'd have to strap a bike to the car.

Originally Posted by bmwexecutive

You guys are bananas.

I test drove the Model S. Similar opinions as the OP. Would love one as my second car. But could never own one if it was my only vehicle. And that decision has nothing to do with the range either, since Tesla is building an impressive Supercharging network. It has solely to do with the fact that there's no sound. I drove the Model S Performance model and it actually felt slow. I knew I was doing 0-60 in 4 seconds so I wondered why it felt that way. The conclusion I came to: no engine soundtrack. It completely took away the immersive driving experience for me. I like hearing the engine roar as I punch the throttle, not hear crickets. It's only one issue that I have with the Model S, but it's enough to make me never own one as my only car.

I love the heck out of what Musk is doing with Tesla though and I'm definitely not a hater.

Lol I feel the same way about the f10 550xi.

The most drama free 0-60 runs in history. I love and I hate it but I love it more.

At least my m5 and 135 let you know they're pounding it out. lol.