Mar 23, 2015
SW2Fiddler Texas Auto Dealership owner* rode in the front passenger seat, as one of an Uber party of three (Whiskey Festival. Lots of drop-offs and pick-ups there, LOL) this weekend.
I first gave him a warm handshake. He had several very astute questions, a notch above the usual ones so he had already done his homework about range, charge time, etc.
The ride was long enough for them to get a good experience of the Nav, acceleration, cornering... and he admitted to being "very impressed."
As to the Texas laws and general auto-industry attitude towards TM, I kept my statements to the context of "opportunities" that the rest of the industry has at this exciting, change-charged moment in history.
Rear passenger (the Uber was on her dime) stated the irony of her hailing from California yet not yet ridden in a Tesla until visiting Houston, Texas.
LOL again.
*Geez, I wish now I'd asked his name. From his maturity, I'd guesstimate he owns at least 4-5 established dealerships... and that's probably underguesstimating, given the trend toward Car Dynasties here.�
Mar 23, 2015
belltown99 I just took delivery of my Model S a few days ago so my wife would have a safer and 10x funner commuter car. We drove to her office together today so I could walk her through how to operate the car. We plug into a J1772 charger and I take off for the day using a different car we had previously stashed at the office.
She messages me saying she forgot she had a lunch appt and wanted to know how to remove the charger. I sent her instructions via text message and didn't hear back for awhile, so decided to open up the Tesla app. Had a big grin when I saw the car's location moving in real time and pleased to see the battery charged to the limit.
Man, this company just does things differently and I love it. :biggrin:�
Mar 23, 2015
LoL Rick Me: "Why is it so hot in here? Oh geez, why is the temperature set there?!"
Partner: "Oops, I was showing someone the mobile app."�
Mar 23, 2015
Btrflyl8e Oh, Brad...�
Mar 23, 2015
ggr Dammit, Janet!�
Mar 23, 2015
caddieo ........was she having fun/speeding? LOL.:biggrin:�
Mar 23, 2015
ecarfan I would like to see Dr. Frank N. Furter behind the wheel of a P85D. That would be a Tesla moment!�
Mar 23, 2015
belltown99 Lol, I didn't watch too long but when I got the car back, her average was well over 400 watt-hr/mile!�
Mar 24, 2015
PlanoPat I had a couple of moments last week which was my first week of ownership of a red S85.
I always arrive early to the office and as such have my choice of parking spots. I typically take the first spot by a crosswalk leading to the door so I only have to worry about door dings on one side. So anyway, the very first morning I arrive in "Tess" and take my usual spot. A short while later my boss appears in my doorway with a huge grin on his face. Boss:"Seriously!?!?! A TESLA!?!?!?". He came by again about an hour later and asked to go out for the tour.
A couple days later, I was giving the tour to 3 engineers one of whom drives a motor cycle or his pickup and is a little bit of a redneck. He was very interested and when we went for a drive and I hit the accelerator his eyes were huge!
Him: "This is an electric car?"
That changed everything he had previously thought about green vehicles. Maybe 3 hours later, he comes back to my office:
Him: "How much horsepower does that car have?"
Me: "About 362."
Him: "And it's all electric..." Obviously, he was still scratching his head and trying to reconcile that with what he thought he knew! :biggrin:�
Mar 24, 2015
Ugliest1 I had to do a U-turn at a 3-way stop intersection. I could see a car coming from my left but had already started, so I just continued slowly to allow the other car to complete their stop and right turn before me. It was nice out and we both had our windows down. I motioned for him to go ahead, but he kind of waited, kind of inched ahead so that I didn't think I could complete my turn without coming uncomfortably close to him.
Me: "Go ahead"
Him: "That's all right, you go ahead"
Me: "Ummm, I don't think I can make the turn"
So he nods and continues to the stop sign. Just as he gets there he says, explaining why he was reticent to move:
"I just really like watching Tesla's in motion!"�
Mar 24, 2015
neko Kids playing on their lawn: "A Tesla!"
Tech at the Apple Store helping me with my cell-phone: "Hey you have the Tesla App. Do you have a Tesla?" Conversation ensues.�
Mar 27, 2015
Rheazombi I had to file a police report today (some jerk scratched our bumper but we caught it on our dashcam!)
The reporting officer who was taking my details asked me some questions�
(This whole conversation was very friendly and casual. She seemed both amused and curious.)
"What kind of car do you have?"
"A Tesla Model S"
"Model S?...what the hell kinda car is that?"
"It's an electric car. Never need to buy gas again"
"...How do you charge it?"
"Oh, you can plug it into any outlet, even a wall outlet."
"Ah, I see, although you couldn't do that on the street right?"
"You can also charge it at a public charging station, there's one a few blocks from here."
"Hmm! An electric car, huh�"
Five minutes later she gives me back a copy of the report... lol
�
Mar 27, 2015
brianman She's a keeper.�
Mar 27, 2015
CraigS Five minutes later she gives me back a copy of the report... lol
[/QUOTE]
AWESOME!�
Mar 27, 2015
caddieo Literal transcription of the Boston/New England accent (I remember "carcinomer" from past conversations). :biggrin:�
Mar 27, 2015
1208 As an Englishman I have gotten to know Boston accents from your program "This Old House", I now read the comments of all people from Boston and Massachusetts with Roger Cooks accent :biggrin:
�
Mar 27, 2015
Andyw2100 Driving on a two-lane country highway early this evening my attention was grabbed by a white Pontiac coming towards me that looked like it was veering hard to its left and about to cross the divided highway, into my lane. Before it crossed, it turned hard back the other way, and then did that again, several more times. I realized the driver was signaling me. He definitely got my attention! I acknowledged the same way, though not nearly as violently.�
Mar 27, 2015
TesAus he'd never heard of waving or flashing his lights....? Sounds like a pretty dangerous way to say "hi".�
Mar 29, 2015
Aussie Bob My wife and I had a great Tesla moment on Sunday in Melbourne Australia when we had a brunch in hill country with some of new Tesla owners in Australia. We are spending a few warmer months in Australia avoiding the Canadian winter.
Of 42 Model S owners in all of Australia as of yesterday, 6 were at event. It was good to share views with new owners and to see faces of those in parking lot point out "that's a Tesla". Several people came over to have a look!!
Keep in mind price of Model S in Australia is nearly twice price in North America, a lot due to govt luxury car taxes. Discovered that Model S owners in Australia receive their home wall charger from Tesla as part of price but no charging adapters are provided. Most of charging is done at home with chargers slowly being introduced throughout the region. The govt also does not allow the Internet to be connected to the cars as we have in NA. Two superchargers are in Sydney but none in Melbourne yet. Electric cars also do not receive a govt rebate here. It is the true electric car buff who orders the "S" here. We are spoiled in North America with our electric car infrastructure compared to here.
Seeing wll the "S's" parked close to each other made us want to return home so that we could drive our own "S".�
Mar 29, 2015
Brass Guy Wow, how do they find superchargers, or get updates? Are they allowed to tether to a smart phone? No big map!�
Mar 29, 2015
evme So if you are not allowed to have internet connect to the cars does that mean no updates or live navigation data? Can that be gotten around by having a device that connects to the internet, writes to a flash drive and then loaded on the car? Can the car use analog cellular?�
Mar 29, 2015
jimmyz80 Maybe this one counts... A couple days ago I was waiting to pull out of a restaurant driveway onto the main road in my roadster, and a passing driver flips me off and mouths "f%$# you" to me. Not the type of Tesla Moment I like. :/�
Mar 29, 2015
Peter_M Just guessing, but maybe they have Internet connections but no browser.�
Mar 29, 2015
Vip Most likely jealous because you work hard and earn money to able to buy nice things!!
One day some idiot was working real hard to prevent me from merging and nearly ran me into the curb. Some people are childish and this is the way they act out. No skin off my back as I am driving an awesome car!!�
Mar 29, 2015
jimmyz80 Pretty much my take on the occurrence as well. My only regret is not having enough time to motion back an inappropriate universal hand signal.
�
Mar 29, 2015
meloccom It's only the Web browser 'App' that is removed from the screen, you can search for all 2 Australian Supercharger locations using the 'Places' feature of the Navigation app. 3G Internet connectivity and updates all work as normal.
We're currently lobbying Tesla to have the Web Browser enabled whilst in Park as our reading of the legislation indicates that this is allowed.�
Mar 30, 2015
DITB Same as in Hong Kong, except we don't even have navigation YET. That is a TM issue, though, not regulatory (Navigon who provides navigation for Tesla Motors don't cover Hong Kong, Japan and China)
Apart from the web browser, we also cannot have the extra children seats (I would have gotten them for sure). A lot of way outdated laws still in force - but that's Hong Kong. At least there is no registration tax on these cars, not even sales tax (no sales tax in Hong Kong). I paid something like 5 USD for import taxes of the car. Yearly road tax just over 100 USD.�
Mar 30, 2015
mknox This one's a first for me. Had a guy approach me in a coffee shop (saw me pull in) and all he wanted to know was whether the car was "comfortable" or not.�
Mar 30, 2015
EVenthusiast He was baiting you into saying "why don't you come sit in my vehicle"�
Mar 30, 2015
mknox Who knows. I did notice him get into a late model Chrysler 300 as he left.�
Mar 31, 2015
sickfox At work, I have a small vision board. Early 2014, i added a picture of a P85, not knowing I will purchase it on Dec, 2014.
Fast forward to Jan, 2015. Two lawyers stop by my office and saw my old vision board.
Lawyer 1: So, did you get your Tesla? (laughs)
Me: Yup (responded casually)
Lawyer 2: You got a Tesla???
Me: Yes.
Lawyer 1: You got a Tesla??? (with disbelief)
Me: Took out my keyfob
The look on their eyes was awesome! So, I answered all of their question regarding the company and the car itself.
Here comes the best part.
Same day. Lunch time, I went down to the parking lot. As I was walking towards my car, the same gentlemen were waiting for their cab and they were checking out my car.
As they saw me..
Lawyer 2: Let me guess, THATS YOUR CAR!
me: Yes. (And i said it with a big smile.)
As I walk closer to the car, the handles presented itself and I heard both of them said, "WHOOAA".
Right before I closed my door, I overheard one of the lawyer say, "I HAVE TO GET ME A VISION BOARD AND PUT A PICTURE OF THIS CAR."
BOOM!!! Felt really good. :tongue:�
Mar 31, 2015
bp1000 They aren't charging your enough, they are keepers!�
Mar 31, 2015
caps04 Quiet a few moments already in less than a month but a few stand out:
1) While I was waiting to join a major road from a strip mall, saw a Panamera driver rubber-necking and staring at my loaner so hard I was afraid he would collide with cars stopped ahead at a light. Interestingly I noticed his car from a distance too but I thought it was another Model S. Maybe I need to get my eyes checked but it did look similar.
2) Neighborhood kids are telling my son that he has the coolest car they've ever seen. In fact, a lot of kids or young people have given me the thumbs up or waved at me on the road.. many more than adults. It could be a Youtube thing or they have better environment consciousness than a lot of us adults.
3) My wife took the car to work one day and when she was walking towards the car at lunch, a bunch of senior executives she knew were hovering over the car checking it out. She decided to wait till they left as she didn't want anyone to know what she drove for whatever reason. I don't ask.
4) The rear facing jump seat is a hit with my son's friends and cousins. They all want to sit in the back, at least as of now while the weather is cool. One kid did ask me not to accelerate hard as he was scared. And I don't even have the P.�
Mar 31, 2015
FLDarren It's these kinds of moments that give me hope that EVs will ultimately prevail. Just think, some of those kids will never know what it's like to drive an ICE.�
Mar 31, 2015
Btrflyl8e I love this story!
- - - Updated - - -
Like you? Lol!�
Apr 1, 2015
stevem I had a small moment and I don't even have my car yet. I ordered it about 5 days ago and my wait begins, but people have been finding out that I ordered one. And I live in a very rural farm country area of NJ (yes they do exist). And a friend come over with his 10 year old son, congratulated me on my new car. His son asked me what car I bought. My friend said "Mr M is going to own the coolest car in town."�
Apr 1, 2015
Andyw2100 Smart kid!
Welcome to the forums!�
Apr 7, 2015
Dbitter1 (I'm very sorry to the majority of the people out there, as if you aren't a software developer, you likely will not get this one)
My first true "moment" happened today. Was reviewing some changes to commit to source control for one of our company's products, and had a running list in my head. Was interrupted by a very pleasant phone call... my SC scheduling Next-Gen seat install... and when I went to actually type them, the first item my brain spit out was "+ Next gen seats".
WTF brain? I guess I'm past all hope now, and a Tesla owner for life.�
Apr 7, 2015
Half Dollar Bill So you're saying that the hold-up for other owners to get their seats has been because you've only coded it for yourself? :wink:�
Apr 7, 2015
bmah Twenty-ish years in software R&D...I "got it".
Enjoy!�
Apr 8, 2015
DrGuest I was walking up to the door of a restaurant for lunch and I hear someone behind me holler, "Hey are you a Chiropractor?" I turned and said "yes", he then said, "so that Tesla must be yours, I heard a Chiro had the first model S in town". I then said, have you been following Tesla Motors? He said he was getting a Blue P85 D any day now. 6 days later I am driving out of town on a beautiful road, checking out the river water flows and what do I see coming the other way, A Blue P85D! We both stop and share compliments on how gorgeous our cars are. He had his 10 year old son in the car. I asked him how he liked his new car. He smiled. I asked him how much his friends like his new Tesla, He really lite up then and said, "they all think it is totally awesome!", grinning ear to ear. That make 3 Model S in Bozeman, with a fourth one to be delivered in a couple weeks to another Tesla Buddy who cancelled his X reservation and is getting a Pearl White P85D. The Tesla presence and the Tesla Moments are growing in Montana!�
Apr 8, 2015
chuckd I've been fortunate to have had quite a few cars that attract a bit of attention, however the S has been the funniest by far. Just last night someone was asking about the car, and we mentioned that it was completely electric. They then proceeded to ask how many miles to the gallon it got......�
Apr 8, 2015
hiroshiy Actually I worry that still many car owners do not fully understand 'electric'. I've had that question a few times, and heard people say 'hey it's a Tesla, an expensive hybrid car'...�
Apr 9, 2015
chuckd That's true! Around here in Oklahoma, I'm not sure many people even know there are 'fully electric' vehicles. Everybody assumes it's a hybrid. Of course, you also get frowned on for an electric vehicle, being in an 'oil state'.�
Apr 11, 2015
patrick42h I drive a car with a 5-speed manual transmission and I do that every time I drive a car with an automatic. Also, I reflexively reach out with my right hand for the shifter when I come up to a stoplight. It's a big leap from a Scion tC to a Chevy Suburban.�
Apr 11, 2015
patrick42h That's weird. I always figured the concept of a pure electric vehicle was fairly straightforward.�
Apr 11, 2015
solden Took my freshly washed sig red P85 to the local Honda dealership to buy a new battery for wife's odyssey. Since it was -20C outside and I had the dead battery in my trunk I pulled into the heated glass covered service check-in area, an aquarium of sorts. Took the battery out of the trunk and went to the parts counter, asked for a replacement, heard a fella in the back come out, look over the shoulder of the tech I wast talking to..."hey what kind of car is that?" and rush out to the check-in area. 5 minutes later I return to my car to find 4 mechanics walking around the car, I did my 'brand ambassador' shpeel with them for about 10 minutes, a lot of fun, these were car guys and it was the first time they seen one up close. Frunk was a big hit, and one of the guys said his brother in law was trading his Panamera in for a MS.�
Apr 11, 2015
mhpr262 It goes to show what a huge, huge potential electric cars still have, when so many people are not only not aware of their advantages, but not even of their existence.�
Apr 12, 2015
Aussie Bob Saw this in a non TMC forum that I thought was quite interesting. The Labrador retriever puppy of the Model S owner used the car's remote as his chewy toy. Well when the owner went to use his car he found both the frunk and trunk were open!!
�
Apr 12, 2015
Theshadows We have had our tesla for almost 2 years now and it's usually the only thing I drive. Last week I drove our 6 speed golf three days and when I left our street I stabbed the floor with my left foot at the stop sign and just chuckled to myself.
The more dangerous part though is letting the golf run when I park it and just getting out. Thankfully the parking lot was flat because I left it in netural with no parking brake.�
Apr 12, 2015
1208 Haha :biggrin:. I wonder how many model s owners have dogs that have chewed their fob? I know my dog would probably break it into lots of pieces if I had one.�
Apr 12, 2015
LoL Rick Tiny Tesla moment yesterday when I parked at the Brooksville Blueberry Festival. As I handed the money to the teenager attending the lot, he said "Nice car dude. The door handles are cool."
I'm 50 years old and he called me dude!�
Apr 12, 2015
Btrflyl8e Listen, Sally O'Malley, why didn't you invite me to a BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL?
Sorry, everyone at work has been calling me that since MY birthday last month�
Apr 12, 2015
LoL Rick I wanted to be a rock star with the only Tesla there and your Blueberry Persuasion would have ruined my moment. Seriously it wasn't that fun and it was hot. OhBrad just wanted to buy blueberries and leave, but they were too expensive so we didn't even buy any. /BlueberryBust.�
Apr 12, 2015
Btrflyl8e Jim just came home from Sam's with a huge flat of them. :biggrin:�
Apr 13, 2015
beeeerock Given the things that have gone right through my Labradonkey, I wouldn't be worried about it getting chewed... I'm sure he can dislocate his jaws like a snake to swallow stuff bigger than his throat...�
Apr 13, 2015
kevinf311 I guess I have two Tesla Moments I can share so far (almost a month with my S85). One unforced and one orchestrated.
First: The Wedding.
My cousin got married down in NC over Easter weekend. The location was beautiful, the ceremony was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, the open bar was beautiful
While folks are starting to arrive, my other cousin (the groom's sister) came over and chastised me for not driving the Model S down to the wedding! My excuse was that I had already booked plane tickets before I knew that my car would be arriving in March (originally scheduled for the end of this month). Then during the reception when I went over to congratulate the happy couple, all they wanted to do was ask me about the car. I showed them the phone app and they were blown away. The groom, bride, and several groomsmen had fun flashing my lights and honking my horn from a few states away. The next morning as everyone was checking out of the hotel the bride came over and exclaimed "Thanks for letting me honk your horn last night!"
Second: Coffee and Cars (these are kinda set up for [Car] Moments, Tesla or otherwise)
A friend of mine had been going to the Annapolis Coffee and Cars for some time now and always has wanted me to come out and see all the cars (it is far too early on a Sunday for me). Finally, after getting the Tesla, I caved and said I'd bring it out this last Sunday. As it happens, this was the first real nice weekend of the season and the lot we take over was PACKED with classic, rare, and exotic cars. Truly a good weekend to attend. Multiple Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Corvettes, and Porsches as well as a smattering of antique and classic cars. There was even an i8 that parked across from me. Best of all, there was not one, not two, but THREE Tesla Model S in attendance. Mine, another freshly delivered Black one (85D, shout out to Bob and Bobbi!), and an early White one (wasn't able to track down the owners to say hi). My friends spent the couple hours that we were in that lot walking around and taking in the sights (cars) but I ended up never moving more than 4 feet away from my car as an endless stream of onlookers flowed through asking me questions about the Tesla. I even had one offer to buy it off me! I of course turned him down. I let several young kids sit in the driver's seat for photo ops and had both the trunk and the frunk open to showcase the storage.
Looking forward to more of these types of events. Loving every minute I'm in the car, too (even traffic!).�
Apr 15, 2015
morbot Was giving a colleague a ride home last night so she wouldn't have to take the bus after staying late in the office. As we were driving down the middle lane of the freeway, she mentions: "I think someone is taking pictures of your car." to which I replied "Yeah, that happens sometimes." I've noticed people in my rear view mirror sneaking shots occasionally, but this was a bit different.
I think there were 3 people in the car, it was a black hatchback like a Golf. As they passed by on my left, I could see two cameras on the windows, then as they passed they opened the windows to turn the cameras back, then a camera popped out of the sunroof with two hands on it... I'm hoping that was not the driver but someone in the back seat because I could still see the passengers hands out the side window.
This went on for a good 5-10 minutes as they paced me in the next lane over, slowing down to get angled shots and speeding up to get front shots and probably upsetting everyone because they were in the passing lane. Due to the flow of traffic and being polite to my guest in the car I was cruising at a comfortable 65 (speed limit 60) as I didn't want to presume she was ok with my usual speed habits. All I could do was laugh, it was a bit of a scene. One frustrated truck in the left lane dropped back, went around behind me in the middle lane and passed on my right. I guess I could've got over another lane to encourage them to get out of the passing lane, but it didn't occur to me at the time.�
Apr 15, 2015
breser morbot, I had something like that happen last week. Was an Audi they passed me on the left around I-90 around Preston on the way in to Seattle. Passenger was obviously looking, after they'd passed me out came the phone to take a picture. But I'm sure they didn't get a very good picture because they didn't think about it till later. They speed away and I lost track of them. Get passed Issaquah and again same Audi comes up along my left. This time the passenger lowers the window and leans way out with his cell phone. I swear the things people do to take a picture on the Interstate amazes me. You'd think these people would just stop by a store and take as many pictures as they want.�
Apr 15, 2015
beeeerock But it's not nearly as much fun taking a photo of a tiger in the zoo as it is in the wild... ;-)�
Apr 16, 2015
LakeForest Not my picture or instagram but I had to share... gotta protect your baby
�
Apr 17, 2015
morbot Hate to say it... but I think I'd rather have door dings than blue noodles hangin on my car...
Or, ya know.. park further away with less cars. That works too.�
Apr 17, 2015
cmu5p First noteworthy Tesla moment in 3 weeks of ownership:
Teen-aged boy sidles up next to me at a stoplight driving what looks like his grandfather's beater Dodge farm truck, rolls down window:
Boy: "What's your advice for buying one of those cars?"
Me: "Stay in school." (Grin)
Light turns green, I pull away. Grinning still.�
Apr 17, 2015
swengl Haha...true! I had a lady tell me that the car was "tight" the other day. I agreed wholeheartedly.�
Apr 17, 2015
Pilot_51 Had a Tesla moment in slow traffic on my way home today. This would be my 3rd or 4th random Tesla moment. I don't really drive where there are many opportunities (e.g. high foot-traffic areas).
Car to my left honks, guy motions with hand, I roll down window.
Guy: What kind of car is that?
Me: Tesla.
Guy: Tesla. I saw one in San Diego and I'm like, "What is that?" It's a Tesla Model S. [some words I didn't quite get]
Me: Alright (mumbled since I wasn't sure if it was the right response to what I didn't understand)
Guy: It runs on gas, right?
Me: Electric.
Guy: Yeah. Nice car.
Me: Thanks.
Note to self: Pause the podcast before rolling down my window next time so it's not blaring during our conversation.�
Apr 17, 2015
Lloyd Driving with the personalized plate "LOL4OIL" can be dangerous!
I'm driving early in the morning north of Santa barbara, on 101N and I pass an oil service van filled with roughnecks. They see my plate as I pass, and I am given the single finger salute by the 8 guys in the van as I look in my rear view mirror. I'm doing about 75, and I see them accelerating to catch up. Not wanting a confrontation I go about 90. They are trying to catch up, but I keep them about 1/4 mile behind. I chuckle when they finally give up.�
Apr 17, 2015
AoneOne Then there was the time, while supercharging in Dayton, a woman approached and asked what type of gas I was pumping. We had a fine chat.�
Apr 17, 2015
mhpr262 I wonder what would happen if those guys saw Leilani Munter's car with her EFF OIL plates in a parking lot ...�
Apr 18, 2015
brianman I'm betting they'd be more interested in the driver than the plates.�
Apr 18, 2015
Andyw2100 mhpr262 explicitly said "in a parking lot." I think he was implying that she wouldn't be around, and wondering what might happen if they chose to mess with her car, since she is a bit of a public figure. (I could be wrong. I often am.)�
Apr 18, 2015
Ugliest1 I have the answer:
�
Apr 18, 2015
Rockster My wife vetoed me when I wanted to get "FU OPEC".�
Apr 19, 2015
gg_got_a_tesla Wise move. My wife made me give up the plate "OILSTNX" after we had that on our Mini for several months just before our first Model S arrived; the risk of getting keyed and such was deemed to be too much.�
Apr 19, 2015
freds I had a lady approach me as I was leaving a place I had dinner and she said that is the coolest car I have ever seen, what is it? I just said "Tesla" and she was speechless for a bit and then said I sure wish I could afford one(grin)!
Told her about the upcoming model 3.�
Apr 20, 2015
kevinf311 Had another moment in my own driveway of all places last week!
I had swung through a fast food place on the way home from work and had just plugged in (garage door still open). As I was moving towards my side door with some food for myself I noticed a guy with a clipboard walking up my driveway smiling.
Oh boy.
He starts in with his spiel about how his company is going around the neighborhood giving out free quotes on window replacement but quickly changes the subject to my car. He asks if that really is a Tesla and seems to know quite a bit about the company. He has a Merc S Class that's a few years old and he tells me that he was trying to decide between a newer S550 or the Tesla Model S. Obviously, I recommend the Tesla (with the caveat of "unless you want a super plush interior, then S550 all the way) and we run through all the standard questions about range and charging and purchase experience. I invite him to sit inside the car and let him play with the screen and get a feel for the interior.
He thanks me and we chat a bit more about the company and he goes on his way. He failed to sell me new windows, but I might just have sold him on a Tesla.
Unfortunately, by the time I got inside my sandwiches and chili were cold :crying:�
Apr 20, 2015
DCinDC Man! Sounds like the replacement window industry is doing okay! I remember people telling me that my products must be overpriced if I was driving a new Acura when I was in sales...�
Apr 20, 2015
SteveS0353 The guy who installed my solar array really wanted a Model S, but was worried about the "optics" of arriving in such an expensive vehicle to quote a new installation, despite the obvious environmental connotation.�
Apr 20, 2015
Theshadows I sell solar in a Model S sometimes. I often wonder if some of the people don't buy because of it. When people comment on the price of it I just say "I got lucky and bought their stock at $26/ share". Then I sometimes follow it up with, "It'll be our million dollar car in 5 years." Depending on their reaction to my first comment.�
Apr 20, 2015
kevinf311 Heh, yeah. I was a little taken aback that he was walking the beat but looking into an S550. He even pulled up a picture of his current S class on his phone!
I figured it really was his company and he was just out selling windows like the rest of his employees. He was very nice **shrug**�
Apr 20, 2015
beeeerock People see what they want to see.
20+ years ago, I had a full load spanking new Nissan Pathfinder... looked really sharp. I also had a 10 year old BMW 733i that I'd bought used as my beater car. It looked nice enough, but clearly had seen some miles and bright sun. If I pulled onto a job site (I'm an engineer) with the Pathfinder, I didn't hear a word. Pull up in the beater BMW and I'd be assaulted with comments about billing rates and how I was obviously rolling in cash. Go figure...�
Apr 20, 2015
SteveS0353 I had a neighbor once who associated BMW as the acronym for "Bloody Money Waster", ironically despite him owning a Jaguar that was rather often at the dealer for out of warranty repairs. Perceptions die hard.�
Apr 20, 2015
beeeerock My acronym was "Bavarian Money Well"... because it truly was. Jag... LOL... the ridiculous irony of that pot calling the kettle black is not lost, believe me!!! :biggrin:�
Apr 20, 2015
roblab I spent part of my weekend slowly driving in the electric car section of a small town parade. Although there were 25 electric cars, ours was the only Tesla, but although the announcers kept asking the cars in front and behind what they were (Volt and Fiat), EVERYBODY knew what a Tesla was, and we were met with numberless cheers, shouts of, "My dream car!", and thumbs up from around 5000 parade watchers.
This is earth week, and Wednesday is earth day. There are hundreds of celebrations going on. It takes a few minutes, but it was time well spent. I would encourage all of you who are not connected to find your local EAA and ask them if they need anyone to bring a Tesla to an event. I have gotten a dozen emails in the last week, but can only go to a very few, yet I know there are hundreds of cars in my area. You folk are missing out. Sitting on the couch watching the game does not save the world. Watching a video by Leilani Munter does not save the world. It takes a village. And it is worth it.
�
Apr 21, 2015
Footbag I was in the checkout line at the grocery store today when I felt a tap on the shoulder and a loud "you're the guy". I turn around and the guy continues "you're the guy driving that Tesla Roadster <sic>!" (I had on a Tesla jacket). "Tell me what it is like to be you" to which I replied "what do you mean" "What is it like to drive the best car on the planet". At first (until the 'best car' comment), I wasn't sure quite how to read the fellow, whether he might be looking to be trying to start something, but it was quickly apparent he was just very very excited. I answered a few questions while in line (the checkout clerk had a big smile on her face, I think she thought the whole thing was a bit odd/humorous), and invited him to come check out the car outside. It was a nice pleasant way to wrap up the day.�
Apr 21, 2015
jimmyz80 After being a good tree hugger tonight and driving the EV to Whole Foods (lol), I decided to stop at Goodberry's Frozen Custard. Anyone in NC probably knows about Goodberry's and knows how many people can be standing around outside waiting for their ice cream.
Well I pull the roadster into a parking spot right in front, and immediately I see the heads of about a half dozen kids swing over in my direction. I figure I'll have some explaining to do before I leave. As soon as I get out, an older gentleman who just parked next to me commented "nice wheels!" and he and I had a good chat while ordering and waiting for our orders. Meanwhile I see the kids over by the car snapping photos and looking all around it. When I head back over to hop in and drive away, one of the kids asks what kind of car it is. I explain that it's a Tesla, and he replies that he thought it was a Lotus. So I had to tell him he was mostly correct, since it was based on a Lotus, and he quickly yells to his sister "see, I was right", haha.
Two comments...
1. I don't think I've EVER previously met a kid who knew what a Lotus was. That was a little weird.
2. The older gentleman and almost everyone else I speak to about the car, are under the impression that Tesla still manufactures the roadster. It's funny to have people going so cuckoo-bananas over a car they think is so futuristic, and then having to explain it's actually out of production and is five years old!�
Apr 22, 2015
andydoty I find (at least here in MA), that the younger generation is pretty well informed. I have no idea why. As of late, I find that I'm getting almost as many car girls as car guys. I spoke to a friend and he said that Tesla tends to be a topic of discussion while playing video games, etc. Not to mention, Youtube is the new Google when it comes to performing research.
I see more kids and 40-50 year old working class guys (carpenters, plumbers, etc.). Up here, I find the young car guys (and girls) extremely well informed.�
Apr 22, 2015
shelbri Wife and I went to the Tesla Double Black Diamond event in Greenwich, CT. We drove there in my S85 which she bought for me in Sept. '14. Our car has just over 15k already with nearly all those miles put on by me as my wife finds technology a bit intimidating. However, she is a bit of a lead foot and I've been pushing her to drive it more often.
So at the event, we took the P85D for a nice drive and I warned the Tesla rep that my wife was an aggressive driver. Well true to form, she put the P85D through her paces and even got a "wow" from the Tesla guy. Needless to say, she loved driving the P85D.
So on the ride home she says she wants to drive. I'm thinking great, we've got her ready for the Tesla. Yet all she could say about our S85 was "this thing is a SNAIL!"
She's still resisting the technology (doesn't like the touch screen controls and says the car is a like difficult to get in and out of) but in still hopeful we'll become an all electric household. Stay tuned!�
Apr 22, 2015
SW2Fiddler Maybe so, but Look At That S Car Go!
:wink:�
Apr 22, 2015
Andyw2100 How long have you been waiting to be set up that well for that joke?�
Apr 22, 2015
shelbri Very well played!�
Apr 22, 2015
Sad Genius!�
Apr 22, 2015
ItsNotAboutTheMoney Probably a long time. The irony is that the original joke is very contrived.�
Apr 22, 2015
SW2Fiddler Purt' near my whole life, Andy.
Still feelin' the afterglow!�
Apr 22, 2015
PaulusdB Wasn't there a vanity plate with "S CAR GO" ?�
Apr 22, 2015
DJung I've heard that S-CAR GO joke before, from the Elon Musk interview with the Valley Girl. Goodness that was one hard interview to watch, it was hilarious but made me cringe a million times.�
Apr 22, 2015
Andyw2100 I know the feeling.
Some years back I had taken my teenage daughter and her friend, who is sure to be a veterinarian some day, out to dinner. He was trying to count his animals--dogs, cats, sheep, goats, etc., and was up to the twenties or thirties when he paused, looked at my daughter, and said, "Do I count the goose eggs? They should hatch on Sunday." I almost fell out of my chair to answer before my daughter did, with "Don't count your goslings before they're hatched."
No one thought it was nearly as funny as I did.�
Apr 22, 2015
Randy Dunton Tesla moment # 1 for me: at a red light with family in car, just sold my beloved BMW M3 to buy the Model S which I have had for about a week. Deep down I am wondering if I sacrificed something to get the Model S... the M3 was a wonderful wild beast that I dare not drive at it's full limits. A new M3 pulls up next to me, I have a full car, and the rational part of me says, no need for a drag race here. The light turns green, I hesitate for a split second and then I floor it. The M3 is howling trying to catch up, I hear it next to me falling back - and it can not. Then I know I sacrificed nothing. never looked back since.�
Apr 23, 2015
CHGolferJim Video of kids next time!�
Apr 23, 2015
kevinf311 Another moment in motion:
Driving home in traffic yesterday, focusing mainly on keeping the cars in front and behind me from occupying the same time-space coordinates as myself, I look over to see an older gentleman in an older Mercury Grand Marquis with his window down (it was raining) giving me an emphatic thumbs up. This took me a little off-guard so I only managed to half acknowledge/smile as traffic in his lane moved past mine. Since I had driven exclusively Lincoln Town Cars, I have a soft spot for the Panther platform so I rolled down my window when my lane was creeping past his to yell that "I used to have one of those!" but he was in the process of yelling "How do you like it?!" as we passed each other. Finally on the last meeting, I paced his lane and let him know how much I loved driving my Model S before returning to the appropriate heavy traffic in MD following distance of "none"
I do hope that he took my telling him that I used to drive a Grand Marquis/Town Car as excitement and not disparagement...�
Apr 24, 2015
gavine I met with my financial adviser at the bank the other day. He saw me pull-up and was curious about the car. He's a "car guy" and a BMW driver. I showed him the car and took him for a ride. He was amazed and said it was the best test drive he ever took, and he didn't drive it. The best part.....when we get back to the bank, I'm showing him the touch screen and a customer walks up signalling me to roll-down the window. I looked-over at the adviser and said, "this happens all the time". I rolled down the window and the customer shook my hand and raved about the car. Like they say, timing is everything. I spoke to the adviser today and he said he told 15 of his clients about the car already this week. I think he's going to buy one himself and hopefully some of his other clients will too. I love selling this car to people.�
Apr 24, 2015
DrGuest Yesterday I was invited to Montana State University for a 3rd annual EV car show. I had more Tesla Moments than I can count with all the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering students going Bonkers at seeing a Tesla Model S Up Close. I had a young man on a skateboard say , "I am a total devotee of Elon Musk, I have seen all of his YouTube videos, would you mind if I take a selfie with your car. I said hop in the drivers seat, He about fainted!" I had so many students tell me how inspired they were by seeing Elon when he came to Butte, MT for an Economic conference. They said seeing him changed their life! It was so much fun being with all that vitality and promise, being with our youth of Tomorrow! Speaking of tomorrow, I was invited by our City Sustainability Manager to show my Model S from 10-noon at our local Sustainability Fair, so I am looking forward to Having my car named "Inspiration" work it's Tesla magic with the locals.�
Apr 27, 2015
DrGuest After work on Friday afternoon, I was taking a drive in my Model S85 and as I approached a red light in the left lane, suddenly a Silver Lotus Exige S pulls out of a driveway and pulls up in the right lane next to me. I rolled my passenger window down to tell him what an amazing car he has.
I regress, My love for the Lotus goes back to 1974 while walking home from High School a Lotus Europa would drive by 3-4 days a week making my friend and I jump up and down giving the guy a double thumbs up. Last week I literally heard this Lotus Exige come off the highway ramp and pulled right in front of me. I followed him, checking him out till I had to turn.
So now, I find myself, exactly one week after my first sighting and we are right next to each other, stopped at a red light that will allow us to go 0-45 mph when it turns green. He never looked over at me when I had rolled down my window so, I rolled it back up and slammed my foot to the floor when the light turned green, leaving him as a tiny speck in my rear view mirror. I had my cruise set at 45 mph so he eventually came up on my right side. The speed limit increases to 70 mph and he pointed to the sign as we approached it. I hit the "go" button and zoomed from 45- to 70 in a heart beat or two leaving him as a speck once again. At the next light he waved as he turned right and gave me a Big Double Thumbs up, which actually made me let out a larger than life holler and put a huge Tesla Grin on my face. To spontaneously and legally beat a Lotus from 0-45 and again from 45-70 mph is something I never could have imagined happening. A thrilling Tesla moment for sure! I sure love the looks of a Lotus but I love owning my Model S even more!
�
Apr 28, 2015
DITB It's from that 1983 movie where Eddie Murphy plays a bum that's picked up by two stock brokers. Ah, it's called "Trading Places" - Trading Places (1983) - IMDb
EDIT: So I was told that the joke is even older than that, back to the 60s. Maybe even earlier than that?
Works even better for a Model S though.
In case someone don't get it and are embarrassed to ask:
"Escargot" is snail (in French?) or some special kind of snail, and pronounced "S Car Go" if you like (the t is silent).�
Apr 28, 2015
Brass Guy After work yesterday, I was getting some 8' boards for a repair project. We'll call it the "orange" store. I came out of the store to see a gentleman circling my car. He said he knew it wasn't a Maserati or Jaguar, but couldn't figure out what it is. So once again the "Tesla" "Who makes that?" conversation. I'm a little surprised that there are still quite a few people that have never heard of Tesla Motors.
He wasn't especially busy, and I was not looking forward to my project, so I showed him the car, front trunk, etc. He was astounded, and impressed by the design. I showed him Tesla's web site on the screen, we talked about skateboard platform, center of gravity, safety, charging, superchargers, the order process, incentives, service... We talked about how they don't really have a traditional sales force, then agreed that owners sell the car.
Then we went for a short ride, when I gave him one of my favorite lines, "This is the slowest one they make."
Then we discussed the roadster, upcoming Model X and eventual Model 3. He commented on what kind of person it must take to start a company like this. He'd never heard of Space-X either, so space station supply missions, re-usable rockets...
What a great way to delay my repair job another hour!�
Apr 28, 2015
Ugliest1 Out of the several thousand reasons I habitually, regularly use, yours is the absolute best.�
Apr 28, 2015
DITB Oh I love this kind of scenario.
I wonder how many cars I have sold, often I don't even remember if I gave a "test ride", a "full demo" or both, to certain colleagues/friends/family. So now I simply say "so many people tried my car, did I take you for a test drive already?"
Regarding brand knowledge: Despite the immense focus on the Model S (both by enthusiasts and haters), remember that TM doesn't spend much for advertisement. You can't blame John Doe for not knowing what this car is, and hence we need to keep being proactive in helping this marvellous car being in demand. Although you have to wait for your Model S, Tesla Motors and the TSLA stock is often hit by "demand is falling" rumours (on top of the "gas prices / Audi / BMW / lack of chargers / etc-etc-etc will kill Tesla" nonsense)
I don't know how many cars I have sold, in Hong Kong or elsewhere (I travel a lot and my colleagues live all over the world). But in Hong Kong some people call me "Head of Sales, Hong Kong", wonder why
A few of us in Hong Kong started Charged Hong Kong | Hong Kong Electric Vehicle Association (charged dot hk) - and we will fight for the conditions of EVs in Hong Kong, mainly charging infrastructure but also many other items related to EVs and clean air. And actually, any car that plugs in electric (plain hybrids without a plug are not inside our scope of interest). You can see me on that page, bang in the middle looking like a sports fisherman showing the size of the fish he caught last week�
Apr 28, 2015
Knobby The most frequent question I get now from random strangers is: Does it have Insane mode?�
Apr 28, 2015
brianman +1
Proof that you don't always need to "advertise" in the traditional sense to get people's attention.�
Apr 28, 2015
gavine Walking out of the store, I see a women who parked behind me in a BMW walking around the car. She started walking into the store and we crossed paths. She must have realized it was my car because I was walking towards it and there weren't many other cars around. I assumed she went on her way but she followed me back to the car and said "I was admiring your car. I used to have an S-Type and I loved it. I didn't know Jaguar came-out with a new S-Type. It's really nice". I told her that it's not a Jaguar and that it's a Tesla. I didn't have time to talk to her about it but I told her it was electric and she looked surprised.
Imagine if I didn't run into her....she may have gone to a Jaguar dealer asking to see the new S-type, lol.�
Apr 28, 2015
caddieo Contrasting reactions within one week:
1. A fellow golfer and I were about to get into our cars to leave, when he "detoured" to come over and ask about specific details of the MS (he knew some basics). This culminated in a 10 minute demo ride during which the only thing he could say was "Wow!"
2. A visiting classmate from out of state expressed interest in the car and a ride so I obliged him. I knew he was a timid type but not how timid until my first launch. I hadn't even reached 60 (couldn't because it was on a curve) when he yelled "Enough, enough!".
And so it went for the rest of the ride.�
Apr 28, 2015
beeeerock Haven't even taken delivery yet but have had some moments already... at my garage having some minor work done on my wife's Audi and the discussion with the guys turned to the car I'm expecting.
One of them didn't know what we were talking about (a little surprising in itself).
Another of the guys said "you know, the new Electric Supercar!"
'Supercar'? Niiiiiiice...�
Apr 28, 2015
Lloyd I have given rides and test drives about 25 or more times. Of the rides/drives I have given, about 75% have bought a car. The remaining 25% are trying to afford to buy one at some time, or are waiting for Model 3.
The last few rides/drives I have given, I preface it with "this is going to be an expensive ride!" When they question why, I answer that is because you will want one when you are done!! Everyone has agreed!!�
Apr 28, 2015
mhpr262 It's quite amazing how long it can take for a brand name to become really well known. KTM and Aprilia have been selling motorcycles in the US for way longer than Tesla and members of my motorcycle forum who ride these bikes regularly report conversation of exactly this kind ... "is that the new Honda? No it's an Aprilia/KTM. Yeah, but who MAKES it?" Another guy who rides a BMW GS once told of a lady in an expensive BMW who was outraged and shouted at him in freeway traffic because of the BMW roundels on his bike. She thought he was riding some japanese bike and had just stuck them on the tank to make it look more "expensive". She didn't have a clue that BMW built motorcycles too.�
Apr 29, 2015
Captain Ducman And before their first motorcycle in 1929, it was airplane engines...
The BMW Roundels True History and Origin - YouTube
Im with ya MHPR262, I rode a K100RS over 100k miles before selling it, and an R80Rt, Ducati 998. I guess I've never been in the mainstream of manufacturers of transportation.�
Apr 29, 2015
WillAustin I picked up our 85D this afternoon. I took my daughter out for dinner at a restaurant that has a charger nearby so I could try it out. After dinner as I was disconnecting the charger, I heard someone yell, "Is that the most fun car you've ever had?" I spent the next 10 minutes showing the car to a guy and his kids in the parking lot and answering as many questions as I could.�
Apr 29, 2015
andrewket Tesla doesn't tell you this during the order process, but you're also agreeing to act as an ambassador and sales rep when you submit your order.
We can this tesla time.
Congrats and enjoy!�
Apr 30, 2015
andydoty I prefer to think of us as Tesla Evangelists...�
Apr 30, 2015
rpo I've got a couple from my road trip this past week from Seattle to Northern California and back. 2,300 miles in a week. This is my fourth time doing this trip since I got the car in September.
1. On the trip south, a gentleman followed me off the freeway to the supercharger in Corning, CA (rural farming town). He began asking questions about the car and said his son has been begging him to buy one, but he didn't know much about them, and he was surprised when I flew past going 90 MPH or so. I answered his questions, and then offered him a test drive. Let's just say he seemed very interested in buying one after that! This guy appeared to be a farmer and was driving a big truck. Not your typical clientele!
2. I got my new license plate recently (SILENCE), and saw 4 people take pics of it on the drive south and 2 more on the way back north yesterday. At least a dozen others gave me thumbs up over the course of the week as well.
3. The last one took plate at the Vacaville supercharger. A guy driving a BMW 3 series pulled up and said he likes "the style of the car, but it just isn't practical". I asked why not, and his response was "The snow." So..."What about the snow?" I asked. His response was "What happens if you get caught in a blizzard?" I responded with "Probably would stay in the car since blizzards are, uh, cold outside" He muttered something quietly and then drove off.�
Apr 30, 2015
Rockster I was at the Corsicana, TX Supercharger Saturday evening on the way back to Dallas from College Station and a family in a pickup truck stopped and asked "What are those things? We've driven by them for months and have no idea what they are." It turned into a 10 minute discussion about Tesla, all electric, free charging, etc.
Being so involved in this Tesla community it's easy to forget just how little the lay public knows about our cars, or even Tesla in general.�
Apr 30, 2015
ThosEM Ice cream run to downtown Annapolis last night. As I pulled up to a parallel parking spot on the right, a couple emerged from between the cars parked on the left side of the one way street, saw me just in time to stop. As I backed into the spot, the guy now crossing the street in front of me said: "I couldn't even hear your car, dude." He sounded annoyed that he had almost walked out in front of me. My son-in law in the back seat pipes up: "You could try a crosswalk." Well, yes, he could have tried a crosswalk instead of jumping out in front of traffic. Or he could have looked both ways before crossing the street.
Anyhow, a half hour later, after ice cream at Kilwin's, we are getting back in the car when the same guy (still there?) says: "there's that dickhead with the Tesla." I didn't hear that, but my wife did and says in reply: "we never said anything to you and have no need of your foul language." End of episode. Son-in-law apologizes for inciting the guy...
Not sure what this means except that there are certain resentments out there, of the good fortune to own a Tesla, and-or of its silence and the silence of EVs in general. I guess that really cramps one's jaywalking style.�
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