Current Events > My impressions after diving my Tesla for 2.5 weeks

(+) Yeah! (+)

The car is everything I thought it would be and then some. I had been researching do much about the car that there weren't very many surprises when I got it, but it has been amazing nonetheless.

I ordered the Model S Long Range. The day they finished making it, they started advertising a Long Range Plus with slightly higher mileage on a full charge. Mine was coming with 373 miles on a full charge and the long range plus was going to have 390. I thought I was gonna be stuck with what I ordered, but I got a software update last week that have my car 390 miles on a full charge. Pretty awesome. My car is already better than it was when I got it.

Navigation on autopilot isn't perfect, but it's still fantastic. Driving between Austin and San Antonio no longer gives me driver fatigue because the car does most of the work. It will even do lane changes by itself, but I ended up turning that feature off because it will make too many lame changes at times. Right now I have it set to execute a lane change when I use the turn signal. The car reads speed limit signs and still adjust its speed accordingly. It can be a bit weird at times so you definitely have to pay attention and make sure it's adjusting properly. It doesn't seem to slow down on its own for construction zones. It definitely has its quirks, but I'm using it all the time.

Driving this car has been a different experience. It has "one pedal driving," so I don't have to use the brake pedal at all in normal conditions. The standard regenerative braking setting brings the car to a full stop in its own. I only have to use the brake pedal if I'm trying to stop in an emergency or in situations where regenerative braking is limited. From what I've seen so far, regenerative braking is limited when the battery is full or if the battery is too cold. In the latter situation, the battery eventually warms up as you drive the car.

Being able to change so many things about how the car functions is pretty awesome. You can change how responsive the steering is, suspension height, acceleration level, and some other things. The car will also remember locations where you told it to raise the suspension and do it on its own. It also has a location aware garage door opener. My apartment complex has a front gate and a back gate, so I just have it set to open each one based on the location. It can be set to activate within as little as 10 feet of the remembered location. Works great.

The infotainment system is the best thing I've ever seen in a car. Regular radio, satellite radio, streaming music, Spotify... Netflix, hulu, twitch, YouTube, games, Google maps api for navigation... So many things in the center display.

For most of my life, I didn't have much interest in cars at all. I've always been a tech enthusiast and cars just seemed like boring pieces of machinery. I was happy when they started having thick screens in cars, but even then they weren't very good. I was one of those "as long as my car is decent, gets me from point to point b, and doesn't give me any problems, I'm fine" kind of people.

Previous cars:

• 1993 Toyota Camry LE. This was my mom's car and the first one I started driving when I got my license.
• 2009 Toyota Camry LE. The first car I bought. People kept hitting me in this car for some reason. I ended up trading it in for...
• 2013 Toyota Camry XLE Hybrid. I was wanting to go fully electric at this time, but the electric vehicles I could afford had like 80 miles of range. I live in Texas, so I thought that was pretty useless. Tesla only had the Model S at this time, but it was way out of my price range. I felt a hybrid would be a good compromise.

The car is definitely a bad financial decision overall, but it's my dream car and I'm enjoying every bit of it.

AMA

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PrideOfLion posted...

I'm glad you like it. I've considered getting one, but I'm not sure I want to be such an early adopter (I realize that may seem weird given Tesla's have been around for almost a decade)

Yeah, I've definitely been waiting quite a bit before actually making the purchase. I was satisfied once they said the Model S had 373 miles of range and even more delighted with the long range plus update to push it to 390. I think the early Model S had somewhere in the low 200s, which I wasn't OK with even if I could have afforded it back then.

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I don't have any questions, but this was a super thorough write-up and I really appreciate it. I'm also glad for you as a person. I've seen your posting history of working your ass off to get in a good career position and lose a ton of weight. Now you're reaping the rewards.

Good for you man, you're really living the american dream.

Also I reaaaally want a cybertruck someday

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It can go UNDERWATER?! ("...diving my Tesla for 2.5 weeks").

Actually, share that idea with Elon Musk...

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Any pictures of it? Sounds nice.

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Honda Civic finance gurus melting down rn

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How can a software update increase the mileage? I would assume the restriction was hardware based, otherwise this can end up like Apple where I would expect them to limit the mileage when your car is older so you have to upgrade.

How does having Netflix works? Id assume you still have to be on the lookout. How do you get internet in the car?

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Youre diving with a tesla?

sounds like a waste, but to each their own.

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