My Tesla Model S at over 30K miles

(In the interest of transparency, I should note that I own stock in Tesla Motors.)


The other day, my Tesla Model S P85+, which I took home in June 2013, passed 30,000 miles.  A lot of folks have asked me in the past four years how I like or still like the car, so I thought I'd give an update here.

I still love it.  It drives as well as the day I bought it, handles as well as ever, and is simply a pleasure to own.  It's easily the best automobile I've ever driven or owned.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea:  I still love it.

Having said that, the car has a few minor but annoying flaws.  Its paucity of cupholders is a problem for people in the back seat, though not for me.  The floor mat in the rear routinely moves around and bunches up.  Every now and again, the charge port door will pop open after I've closed it.

Getting in and out of the car has always required care, because of the angle of the roof, and tall people find it particularly annoying.  Fortunately, I'm not particularly tall, so I have no problem with it.

In fact, the car has only one real issue:  it is not the newest, top-of-the-line Model S, the 100D with all the trimmings, the one car I truly lust for.

In my opinion, if you can afford a Model S--it is very expensive--and want the best car around, you should buy one.

Tesla service continues to shine

As I pulled out of my driveway Tuesday to go to work, a warning message appeared in the dashboard of my Tesla Model S.  It said my tire pressure was too low and I should pull over safely.  I drove to a gas station that's quite close to my house--the first time I've been in that station in some time--and filled all of my tires to the proper air pressure.  The right rear tire was fairly low, but because I was running late I gave it only a cursory inspection.  I saw nothing wrong and drove to work.

The car was fine until yesterday as I was heading to work, when the same warning appeared.  I called the local Tesla outpost, gave them my name, and explained the problem.  The guy on the phone clearly had my records in front of him almost instantly.  He asked what I'd like to happen.  I said I didn't have time to bring in the car, so I'd prefer they come get it.  I told him I would be available for a short time.  He said that was no problem.

Twenty minutes later, he showed up at my office building with a loaner, had me sign an inspection report, handed me a fob, and took mine.

The service folks called later that day to tell me the bad news:  my tire had picked up a screw, which was in deep, and so I'd need a new tire.  I okayed the expense, and they said they'd fix it and wash and vacuum the car.  I said I'd prefer a detailing--which you do have to pay for--and they said that would be no problem.  I kept the loaner overnight.

Today, they called to say they'd finished the car and asked when they could do the car swap.  I had only a half hour open.  At seven minutes into that half hour, a guy called to say he was in my office building's parking lot.  I missed the call.

By the time I found the phone message and made it downstairs, five minutes had passed.  In that time, he found the loaner, moved it out of its parking space, backed my car into the space, and was waiting beside the loaner.  When I marveled at that, he said, "I figured there was no point in you having to waste time doing the car shuffle."  I signed the approval form and headed back to work.

My car sparkled like new, inside and out, when I checked it.

I paid only for the tire work and the detailing.

The total time the experience cost me, counting all signing, phone calls, and walking, was under 15 minutes.

Yes, I own both a Model S and Tesla stock, but, damn, this was yet another great Tesla service experience.

The combination of the Model S being such an amazing car and the service continuing to be so fantastic makes me want to own only Tesla cars.

The Tesla Model S isn't perfect

After driving my Model S for 1 2/3 years, I still get questions about how I like it.  The short form is that I absolutely love it.  I do have to concede, however, that it is not perfect.

I've done a joke post about the things I hated about the car, but it was just that:  a joke post.  The Model S does, though, have a few failings worth noting.

For one, it's short on cup holders, with two awkwardly placed ones in the front and none in the back.  I'm alone in the car more often than not, so this is not a big issue, but it is real.

My charge port door (the cover over the place you insert the charger) does not always open as it should.  I then have to use the display's controls to open it, a process that requires several button pushes.  Again, this is a small thing, but it's a failing.

Some people in the rear seats have encountered problems with the seat belts being too tight on them. 

Neither the steering wheel nor the rear seats are heated.  Yes, that may sound like a silly gripe, but if you're aiming for perfection, you should address these concerns.  (Tesla offers both of these heating options in one of its packages for the new P85D.)

The biggest problem with the car is not one that matters to me:  It's not good for tall people.  They have trouble getting into the car's front seat, and in the back seat a person over 6'1" tall is likely to have his/her head touch the roof.  Other than encouraging those folks to buy a Model X when it appears, I have no answers for this one.

The oddest characteristic of the car that troubles me regularly is that software updates cause it to change its behavior in ways I can't always control.  For example, for a long time the car would default to one view of the energy usage (instant sample) when I wanted a different one (sample from last 30 miles).  A software update caused it to stay with whatever you had last selected, which was great for me, because now I always see the sample from the last 30 miles.  On the other hand, that same update has caused the car to start playing music when I come to open it, and I would prefer it not do that.

All of these are quibbles for what I still consider to be the world's best car, but for those who are wondering and asking:  I still love the Tesla Model S, and I feel very lucky to be able to own one, but I must admit it's not perfect.

Good on you, Tesla

I was happy to read this announcement from Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, which Lynn brought to my attention.  Though the move is neither entirely altruistic--see this analysis for more on why--nor a surrender of control--"Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology."--it is still a good move for the world.  We need more electric, zero-emissions vehicles, and Tesla's action may help us reach that goal.

I don't expect to see a flood of EVs, but I am hoping this will help other companies create more of them.

I also like it when a company does something that both makes good business sense and helps the world.  In this case, Tesla may well be trying to create a bigger market for the batteries it will one day produce, but in doing so it is helping others.

Well done, Tesla.

Do I believe Apple is going to buy Tesla?

And leave me driving an iCar?

In a word, no.

In two words, no way.

Though I'm not at all sure it would be a bad idea for Apple to diversify in this way, I just can't see Tim Cook making that bold a move.  Plus, Tesla's stock price is so high right now that Apple would be paying a huge premium for the company relative to its income (as all Tesla shareholders are).

Having said all that, I wouldn't be surprised if Tesla and Apple were to partner on battery production and/or technology efforts. 

Just don't expect them to become one company.


Disclosure:  I own both Apple and Tesla stock, and I own some Apple products and a Tesla Model S P85+.  I have zero insider information about either company. 

On the road again: Silicon Valley, day 2

Work dominated almost all of my waking hours, and, as usual, I can't talk about it.

I did get to have lunch at a local favorite of mine, the Pancho Villa taqueria in San Mateo. The food is nothing fancy, but, man, is it delicious.  I particularly love the Al Pastor Super Burrito, which is a thick tube of tasty goodness.  (Hold those dirty jokes.)  This restaurant also makes one of my favorite beverages, the almost-too-sweet, made-fresh-there mandarina.

While driving around the area to meetings, I saw my first Tesla Model S.  Wow, is that a gorgeous car!  I almost wish I hadn't seen it, because I'd made peace with not getting one, and now I'm lusting for it again.

Dinner was at another long-time favorite, a little strip-mall restaurant where I ate monthly for over five years, Tokie's.  The sushi is still good, and the atmosphere is that of a neighborhood bar.  I definitely recommend it if you're in the area.

Tesla won't sell me an electric car

I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted an electric car and was having trouble buying one. My first failure was with Tesla Motors.

Led by celebrity CEO Elon Musk, Tesla has been selling a roadster for some time now. Last year, they announced a sedan, the Model S, that looked like just the ticket for me. Luxurious, easily capable of carrying four passengers in comfort, with a performance edition that would go from zero to sixty in 4.4 seconds and have a 300-mile range, this baby was both a great car and just the ticket for out-smugging Bill in his LEAF.

So, even though the price was crazy high, I tried to order one.

No luck. They're going to sell only 5,000 of these in 2012, and already 8,000 people are on the waiting list for the 2012 units. They told me this in January.

January. That means that between January and August, when the first Model S units are due to appear, they could not figure out how to boost their production capacity. Given the price of the car, they are leaving something on the order of a couple hundred million dollars on the table.

I promise you that if you guaranteed me in January that our company would have 60% more work by August, we would be ready to do that work.

Consider Tesla's financial state. The company has had to go back to investors for more money. Lots more money. It took hundreds of millions of dollars in bail-out money from the U.S. government, i.e., from all of our pockets. Yet it cannot find a way to make more cars.

This is appalling. I'm sure there are many complexities I do not understand, but surely Musk and his team can find a way around them and take our money--and succeed more. Perhaps they need to hire more Americans to build the cars; fine, with all the money from the orders and the bail-out, surely they can do that.

But, no. Instead, thousands sit on a waiting list.

Amazing.

So, no Tesla Model S for me.

By the way, Elon, if you and your team read this post and want to sell me an early unit, I'll consider letting bygones be bygones--but I'll still be right that you should do the same for everyone else on the waiting list.

Why I want an electric car

I've been trying for some time now to buy an electric car. I've been unable to do so, for comical reasons that I will recount in later blog entries. I figured that first, though, I would explain my reasoning for wanting one.

It begins with my strong belief that we're going to run out of oil. That resource simply won't be here indefinitely.

Add in a dash of wanting independence from foreign oil sooner than later. Maybe if we weren't so dependent on certain countries, we wouldn't feel such a desperate urge to mess with them.

Then, stir with my conviction that mass transit simply will not work in time for America. We are too spread out. We are a car culture. Our population, though admittedly increasingly urban, is still also heavily suburban and rural.

The answer is clearly to move to electric cars.

Yes, I know this means we need more power, but we're going to need that anyway as we grow and as power-consuming devices increase in number and in their need for power.

Support for electric cars is in its infancy, and the cars are still more expensive than low-end gas-powered vehicles, but I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is and be an early adopter.

If only I could.

In later entries, I'll recount my amazing encounters with Tesla Motors and with Nissan. Suffice to say for now that I have never in my life worked so hard to try to give companies my money--and failed.

I saw a Tesla roadster yesterday

and it was even sexier than I had imagined it would be, a perfectly contoured black beast of a machine. Wow. If you haven't seen this car, check it out in the Tesla Motors online showroom or drool over it in this video at Jay Leno's Garage. This all-electric monster is as silent as speeding death and will take you from zero to sixty in less than four seconds. I had loved it from afar, but having seen it in person I now must admit that up close it is even better.

Of course, it does have a few drawbacks:

* I'd need to install special charging circuitry in my garage.
* I'd have to take it to New York for service.
* I'd be hard-pressed to fit three large briefcases in the tiny, oddly shaped space that passes for a trunk.

There was something else. What was it? Oh, yeah:

Tricked out the way I'd want it, it runs about $120K.

Sure, you can go cheap with the entry-level model for $101.5K--all prices before tax, of course--but why would you?

I think this is one love of mine that will remain a very long-distance affair.

I can't drive 32

Bill has been kicking my ass in the MPG race. He's averaging over 50 mpg almost every tank in his Prius, while I, in my newer Prius, hang around 39 mpg. Competitive person that I am, I find this rather frustrating. Recently, we had to go on a local client call together, so I drove and he coached me--at my request--on improving my gas mileage.

That very short drive convinced me that I will probably never be able to match his mpg.

Bill orients all of his driving toward improving gas mileage. He takes off slowly, coasts whenever possible, stays at speeds that are giving good mpg readings (the car shows you graphically how you're doing) even when those speeds are under the limit, and doesn't worry about how other drivers react to him. As he jokingly said to me, in what has become a catchphrase in parts of our company, "I'm saving the planet!" At one point, he urged me to stay at 32 in a 35 because I wasn't going to be on that stretch of road for long. "35 is just a number some guy put on a sign," he correctly observed. "You don't have to obey it."

Yes, I do. In fact, I have to drive four miles above that limit--and the safe maximum of nine miles above the limit on highways.

I can't drive 32.

Bill owns me in the mpg race.

There's only one sensible solution: I need a Tesla S (or a Tesla roadster, if I had the money).

The air of smugness

Southpark characters have noted that the air of smugness surrounds hybrid vehicles as they move down the highway. Well, I've joined the people floating in that particular cloud. Some weeks ago, I ordered a 2009 Toyota Prius in what is, according to my salesman, the least popular color--and also the one I like the most by far: bright, metallic blue. I've been considering the change for some time now, and the combination of needing a car for Sarah (she gets my previous vehicle) and wanting to put my money where my mouth is led to this purchase.

For those who've known me for a while, this is obviously a big change. I've long loved sports cars--still do--and have owned several. I'd still own one--the Tesla, to be precise--if I could justify the price and there was a dealer near me. Instead of burning through fuel at a tremendous rate as I push cars to ever faster speeds, however, I'm now working on learning to drive gently and maximizing my MPG.

I'm still learning to take this viewpoint, but I think it's the right thing to do.

What makes the change a great deal easier is that the Prius is full of fun gadgets, computer-based toys that appeal to the geek boy in me. GPS and navigation system, keyless entry, keyless operation, Bluetooth mating with your cell phone--the list goes on and on. I still don't know how to operate most of the goodies, which means I will, to my embarrassment, actually RTFM, but I find all this stuff quite cool.

And, I get to drive in a cloud of smugness.