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.

I fail the tire test

Yesterday, the rear passenger-side tire of my Tesla Model S picked up a very large screw that quickly turned the tire flat.  Though I was sad to see it and more sad to have to buy a new tire, this sort of thing happens.  It was late, so I got a ride home and emailed Tesla Motor's local service manager om the wee hours of the evening.

Today, in the wonderful Tesla style, they brought me a loaner on a truck, parked it, put my car on the truck, and took it off for repair.  Total time cost to me of this encounter:  four minutes.  Wonderful.

After picking up the key fob for the loaner, it occurred to me that I had not gotten new tires in quite a while, and given that my car has sports performance tires and I do drive the thing like a sports car, I should have needed new tires.  I mentioned this to the guy who picked up my car and asked that he have the service manager check out my tires.

A couple of hours later, the service manager, a woman who's always been incredibly efficient and great to deal with, called me.  She was laughing.  She asked if I had looked at my rear tires closely.  I allowed I had not.  She said that, yes, I did indeed need two new rear tires, because the cord was showing on both.  She was amazed they were still working well--which they were.

I clearly failed the tire test.  I shall endeavor to be more observant in the future, but I am also quite glad to report that the tires managed to keep me driving even when I neglected them.

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.

Tesla redefines great automotive service

When I went to drive my Tesla Model S on Thanksgiving day, I noticed it had not charged overnight.  I figured I had failed to plug it in all the way.  No problem; I had plenty of miles of range left.

That night, though, when I plugged it in, I stayed to make sure it started charging...and it didn't.  I tried several times, but each time the car's display told me it was unable to charge. 

I had a problem:  an electric car that would not charge.  I did some online research and learned that this had happened to at least a few other Model S owners.  I wasn't happy that my six-month-old Model S had a problem, but I also wasn't greatly upset; it's new tech, and I'm willing to live with some debugging in return for the greatness that is the Model S.

This problem also gave me a chance to test Tesla's service, admittedly under warranty--though I paid extra to have the same level of service for the first eight years I own the car.

Very late that night, I emailed my local service center and, for good measure and because I'm that kind of guy, I also left them a voice message.

Late the next morning, I awoke to a phone message from the local service center.  I called back.  The rep offered to have a service tech bring me a loaner, pick up my car, and bring it back when they were done with it, which he guessed would be very late that day or early the next day.  It sounded great to me.

The tech showed up about an hour later.  Describing the problem and filling out the loaner paperwork took about 15 minutes.  The tech said they would fix my problem, check to see if any other fixes were appropriate, install the latest software, and "clean it up" for me.  He drove off in my car, and we headed out for a family lunch in the loaner.

Late that afternoon, the rep called back to say my car was ready.  Before 6:00 p.m., they brought it back.  They had fixed my issue; the tech stayed to verify that fact.  They had installed the software update, as the tech had promised.  They had checked the tires to make sure they were wearing well--I have sport tires, and I do drive the car like a sports car--and gave me an estimate of when I would probably want to replace them.  They had also scanned all the other Model S owner complaints and made about eight small changes to the car to reduce noise on turns, eliminate a potential click in certain situations, and so on.  They replaced my front brake rotors because newer, better ones were now available.  Finally, they completely hand-detailed the car, inside and out.

Cost to me:  zero. 

The tech noted that the software update had not captured the correct tire type for my car.  He also asked if my dual charger was using Tesla fuses.  It was not.  He recommended them as being the best.  He offered to come out the next morning to update the software with the right tire type and to put in Tesla fuses.  I said, sure. 

He did those things the next morning. 

Cost to me:  zero.

I once owned a Lexus LS400, which was a superb car.  The Lexus dealership's service was fantastic, easily the best I'd ever experienced. 

Tesla's service simply blows away Lexus' service. 

I already loved the car, which is amazing.  Now, I love the service, too.




Disclosure:  I own a Tesla Model S (duh) and Tesla stock.

Tesla Motors is haunting me

I almost bought a Tesla Model S Signature electric car last November.  I had decided that if I could get one of the first batch, I would do it, insane as the purchase would be.  Gina worked long and hard to make it happen, and she and a Tesla rep in California finally did. 

I backed out.

I did so for lots of reasons, but quite a few had to do with concerns about the company.

I did my best to make peace with the decision.  I was doing okay until I first saw one on the road in Silicon Valley, and then a few months later got to sit in my friend Ralph's.  Damn, that is a sweet, sweet car.

Still, I resisted. The wait time shot up to multiple months, and I made peace again with the decision. 

On the last night of TEDActive, Bill and I stood around a small outdoor dinner table with several fine folks, including a Tesla rep from Denver.  He offered great responses to all of my concerns.  He even said the wait time for a Model S Performance--basically, the Signature model without the name plate and the maroon color, which I did not want--was down to a month. 

Foolishly, tonight I configured one online.  Even with the recent price increase, it was cheaper than the Signature model (though still insanely expensive, of course), and it is now available in blue, my favorite car color.

I continue to resist.  I continue to try to make peace with the decision.

Wow, though, is that an amazing car.