For some months I drive a Tesla Model S. I was always excited about fueled cars, their sound and engines, so moving to an electrical car was kind of a radical change.
So here I am now and write about my experience with the Tesla. And let me tell you one thing right away: It is awesome and there is now way back!
So what is it exactly what makes the fascination with this car and the kind of Apple-style convincing mechanism it seems to have?
The design of this car is a masterpiece. I can look at it every day and I am still stunned. It has something of a Jaguar F-Type and a Maserati Gran Tourismo combined with a bit of Aston Martin. Just look at the beauty!
The pure electric drive is a game changer. Seriously, I don’t think Hybrids or any kind of range extenders are the proper way of embracing the change in automotive industry. Driving a pure electric car is so much fun and so different. No combustion engine sound, incredible acceleration right away (it‘s mind blowing) and the ability to charge your car everywhere (in nearly every parking garage or at any home even with regular electricity plugs) is just so great. I have to mention though that if you are a road trip person, an EV might not be an ideal car as recharging takes longer than fueling up. For daily commute it works great. Beside all of that EVs are more environment friendly (even considering the additional pollution caused by the construction of the batteries).
The user experience of the car is way beyond any other car. After driving the Tesla for some months, whenever I get a rental car or drive a friends car, I feel like traveling back in time for decades. The Tesla has an amazing touch screen panel with which you can control all settings in an intuitive way. Gone are the day where you feel overwhelmed by hundreds of buttons and where you need to read a manual to understand what they all do. You can even use your Tesla app for parking the car! Even the driving experience itself is better: Traditional cars just keep on rolling when you release the gas pedal, but the Tesla will use it’s engine as a sort of generator to recover energy (this will brake the car automatically). This leads to so called one pedal driving. I only use the brake when I need to stop suddenly. Once used to it, it is so convenient!
Saving money on fuel and maintenance. As the Tesla as a pure electric car, it requires no fuel. Charging the car at home is most likely way cheaper than fueling up a traditional car (depends where you live and how the prices for gas and electricity are). If you bought a Tesla early or if you get a referral from an owner, you will get free usage of Tesla‘s supercharger, which means you can charge your car for free. Ok, the Model S is expensive, but with the Model 3 in the pipeline you will have the choice for a reasonable priced car. Maintenance for a Tesla is nothing compared to a traditional car, just see the comparison this guy did: https://cleantechnica.com/2017/09/05/10492-tesla-model-s-maintenance-charging-costs-300000-miles/
The autopilot. Seriously, this should be the number one reason (at least it is for me now). Daily commuting is annoying for everyone, in particular when you are in traffic. But with a Tesla it gets so convenient. Just pull the cruise control twice and the car goes by itself. It sticks to the lane and keeps distance to the car in front of you. You just keep your hands on the steering wheel (you definitely should...) and monitor the situation. I got so used to the autopilot on highways that I was shocked when I drove without it - I felt nervous to do all the steering, speed limit checking and keeping distance by myself! You can definitely see how driving cars will change within the next decade.
I hope this post gets you interested in the car. I can totally recommend that you just call your local Tesla dealer and they will stop by at your house and bring a car for a test drive! After that there is no way back - at least it was for me... 😜