I've never driven a Tesla before, am I out of my mind?
Everything about this experiment is the exact opposite of my car business education. First, the process is 100% online, which is great for a new car, but a preowned is loaded with variables and potential landmines. You put down a non-refundable $500 deposit to roll the dice on the car before you see it. I did some basic research, but not a serious deep dive, the internet is very noisy on Teslas, lots of love, and lots of hate, not much in-between. I'm data driven, so the math was convincing on the fuel and maintenance savings, which was the main reason my wife didn't veto the project early on. Neither of us want the .gov "mandating" us to own an EV, which is probably why we delayed this long. To keep my palate clean, I didn't test drive any. I didn't know how the buttons worked, and I had ridden in exactly two Teslas before picking up Major Tom.
What's it like driving a rolling computer for the first time?
My best friend Neil picked up a 2026 Model Y a few weeks before I picked mine up. His advice was simple, be smooth with the "gas" and you won't use the brakes much. The internet term is "one pedal driving." You really don't need the brakes if you're paying attention. Great advice. The advisor at the High Point Tesla dealership walked me through the buttons. Everything is done on the huge screen and the two buttons/ stalks on the steering wheel/ column. Mirrors, steering wheel, seats...check. You use the app on your phone for everything, including your key. Its a big adjustment, but you adapt really quickly. No more forgetting your phone or your car keys.
But, the driving is very different. Firstly, there's no engine noise. The torque is instant and overwhelming. Mine has the "Acceleration Boost" option which puts its 0-60 time in the low 4 second range. Thats world class performance by anyone's standard. If you let off the accelerator quickly, the regenerative braking will throw you forward. The four wheel disc brakes are very aggressive should you need them. This innocent looking four door hatchback is honestly a wolf in sheep's clothing. I'm a car guy so this was really a great bonus, this car is a sleeper for sure..
The downside is that there are so many hidden software menus and hidden "Easter eggs" that you're always finding something new to play with. My wife's comment was that "men will love this since there are so many buttons to push."
Keeping in mind that this is a $371/ month payment for my 15k mile lease, I'm essentially driving a luxury performance sedan for less than a base Toyota Corolla payment. The car has leather, an amazing sound system (17 speakers?) heated seats, heated steering wheel, an autopilot (more on that later) and it has really thoughtful features like preheating the car based on your schedule. I was not expecting all of this, and it began winning my wife over almost immediately, she’s now getting jealous.
The R word- Range Anxiety
I picked my car up on a Thursday, and THEN ordered a charger. I didn't want to commit until I had the car home. I work near a Sheetz with a supercharger, so I figured I wouldn't run out before the Amazon truck rolled in with my charger. I'm going to deep dive into analytics on charging and efficiency, but for a quick overview, you get over range anxiety in about 2-3 days. You can tap the battery icon on the display in the car and switch from % to miles, which you will do, obsessively, for a few days, but then you pretty much leave it on one or the other. My 34 mile one way drive to work takes roughly 15% of my charge. Another 15% on the way home. Give or take a percent or two if its raining or dark. Tesla recommends keeping the battery between 20-80% on my model for the best longevity and performance, so that's my routine. Charge to 80 in the evening when electricity is cheap, and don't think about it unless you're going on a trip and need to plan charging. If this was purely a commuter car and nothing else, I'd be done writing. My wife recently took a trip to Virginia and came back with a question..."how would we do that long uphill drive (1800 ft climb in 8 miles) differently with the Tesla?" More to come on this one.
First Service Visit
At the 3 week mark, I got an error on my display that said "Autopilot Camera Unavailable" which cut short my one month free trial of FSD-supervised. (Self driving software). FSD is its own future chapter, but I'm going to tease by saying its one of those things I didn't think I'd really want (especially if I had to pay for it.) Since the car is under warranty, I went into the app and used the "Schedule Service" tab. Coming from the old school car world, its pretty concerning not being able to just pick up the phone, but I'm documenting the process. It actually worked fairly well. I uploaded pics of the error, the stored error codes, and a video of the camera glitching. I scheduled my appointment, showed up on time, got a Model 3 loaner, and picked my car up a few hours later with a new left pillar camera installed. The process is unnerving at first, but worked flawlessly in this case.
Now What? Where are we today?
I've been trying various camera mounts and audio ideas so I can do proper in-car videos/ commentary. We're through the holidays, and the weather hasn't been cooperating for photo and video work. My next steps are to document the tire noise from the original front Continentals (just turned 20K miles). The rears are mismatching year Continentals also. I bought a durometer to measure the hardness of the rubber on the tires, it'll be interesting to see how age affects the tire hardness (at least to my nerd brain) and noise. I'm not going to instrument the car and do track tests, just some observations on what its like to drive on different surfaces. The car is so quiet that you really hear environmental noises like tires. I arranged with Vredestein/ Apollo tires to review some All Season tires from them, and will have lots to write about on those shortly. Disclosure: Tires kindly provided for evaluation.
Short take- Hows all of this shaping up?
So far, this 2022 Model Y is extremely efficient/ low cost to operate. Its comfortable, its packed with cool tech and comfort features, and its beginning to feel like a part of the family. I didn't plan on enjoying the car as much as I do, so I'm looking forward to continuing the journey.
Feel free to email/ comment/ ask questions, I'm here for you also!
