Tesla -- My First 30 Days with the Model S -- A Review

I recently became a proud owner of the Tesla Model S.  At that time, I wrote a post about my overall Tesla buying experience (from initial contact to delivery 6 weeks later), as well as my first impressions of my initial drives of the car.  Here is that post -- which has become one of my more widely-shared posts ever, underscoring the tremendous interest in what Tesla is doing -- and how they are doing it.

For that reason, I thought it would be of great general interest to check back in and give my impressions of my overall Tesla Model S experience after my first 30 days with the car, especially because I typically drive long distances -- live in San Diego, work in LA.  That means that my typical commute in the week is about 225 miles round-trip (in addition to local miles in the LA area) -- a trip I typically do once per week.

So, here it is:

First, love the car.  Love it.  Drives more smoothly than any car I have ever driven (and I previously drove a BMW 750 Li).  Shockingly -- perhaps to some (including me) -- its acceleration matches that of my former BMW (which my kids and I had nicknamed the "rocket ship").  So, that says a lot -- especially because my Tesla is the "Model S", not the "Model S Performance."  My advice?  Don't think you need the Model S Performance -- the good old base Model S gives plenty of punch.  Save that cash.

What else?  I have never worried about having sufficient "charge" in my battery for my long trips.  But, then again, I am a planner (which you need to be).  My range (with the 85 kWh battery -- i.e., the bigger one, which I definitely recommend for resale reasons alone) is about 275 miles.  So, I definitely need to charge my car when up in LA -- but, I am a fortunate one.  I have a "ChargePoint" charging station right in my office building's parking lot (which is increasingly becoming a common occurrence).   That gives me the ability to "juice up" on demand -- which I do.  More on that later ....

BUT, although I absolutely believe that Consumer Report's unprecedented "best car ever" review is well-deserved (for all the reasons I state in my initial review) -- and although I am absolutely a Tesla "believer" and love my car -- nothing is perfect.  And, certainly my Tesla Model S is not perfect, even as it strives for perfection.  I gotta keep it real after all.  After driving the car for 30 days -- frequently literally with a smile on my face (a friend of mine in the neighborhood said he drove past me over the weekend and saw me smiling) -- I have identified several issues (a few of which deserve immediate attention).  Here they are (a few of which I identified in my initial review):

(1) soft close "comfort doors" -- I wrote about this in my initial review -- this is an absolute "must" for this luxury car, particularly because the Tesla's doors are heavy and require real muscle to close them; the Model S does not have them; but the Model S needs them; it's that simple;

(2) rear "sensor" when backing up -- yes, the Model S has a great fish-eyed view rear camera; but, shockingly (for me), there are no sensors that give you the expected (and now-standard on all vehicles) "beep beep beep" as you approach anything as you back-up.  That is a big safety "miss" in my book -- and I confirmed this with a Tesla technician who said that this feature was sacrificed in order to get the car out to market.  Because there is no sensor, I essentially feel that I cannot rely upon the rear camera -- without beeps, it doesn't give me the assurance I need; this is another "must have" -- pronto;

(3) sound/audio system that never "sleeps" -- I love the audio in my car.  It is an absolute MUST to get the "Sound Studio Package."  It will blow your mind (in the best possible way).  My 13 year old girl, Hunter, who always tells me to crank up the volume, actually tells me to turn it down in the Tesla!  But, there is no on/off switch.  I confirmed that.  Yes, you can turn down the volume to "0" or mute the volume, but you can't turn it off.  That's just weird to me (although there is no real meaningful adverse impact to the customer experience);  this isn't a "must fix," it's just a surprising quirky thing;

(4) center oversized tablet control panel -- love the industry-changing tablet that is the showpiece of the Tesla's interior (I gushed at length about it in my initial review).  All the controls are on an over sized iPad -- amazing.  All cars from everyone -- every car company -- will go this way soon, very soon.  This will be standard equipment in the next 2-3 years.  BUT, touching touch screens all the time leads to fingerprints.  And, cleaning the console ain't easy to do without triggering all kinds of actions, because the console does not turn off when you wipe it -- at least when you sit in the driver's seat doing it.  You see, the driver's seat is the on/off switch for the car, so anytime you sit down, the car turns on.  That means that all controls become active when you touch the console -- even if you are only trying to clean it!  And, it is a bit disconcerting to have music, navigation, climate, controls, etc. all being activated when you wipe.  I was told that an unsophisticated way to get around this -- a "quick fix" if you will -- is to sit in the passenger seat with the power off as you wipe.  So, try that.

THE BIGGER ISSUE with this amazing center over sized tablet console flows from the fact that it IS so amazing.  Everything -- every action -- requires touching.  You want music?  You touch it.  Navigation?  Touch it again.  Open the retractable roof?  Touch.  Adjust the fan or defrost?  Touch touch touch.  And, oh yes, then there is web search -- right there -- in your face as you drive the car!  It is amazing technology -- but it can be overwhelming (don't do search on Google while you drive, please!).  I frequently found myself looking down at the screen -- being mesmerized by it -- as I drove the car.  And, that can be a dangerous thing.  A very dangerous thing.  This will ultimately become a very significant traffic safety issue for the automobile industry as all auto makers introduce similar over sized tablets into their cars, which they most certainly will.  Tesla -- and all others -- will need to track this closely.  After all, I do believe that we must keep our eyes on the road.

(5) retractable side mirrors -- this one doesn't bother me, but I was told by a proud Tesla technician (yes, they absolutely are proud to be with Tesla -- as they should be) that the lack of retractable side mirrors is one of the most identified issues current Tesla owners have with the car; again, this is standard equipment on most luxury cars;

(6) missing vanity mirror light -- this is another one that doesn't bother me at all; but, in our world of vanity, apparently it bothers others.  My Tesla technician friend indicated that the lack of lighting in the passenger vanity mirror is one of the most requested features;

(7) center driver's arm-rest has not lift-up storage -- this one is a bit odd; there seems like there should be plenty of room under that arm-rest (most cars have that, of course) -- but, try as you may to lift it, it doesn't.  So, at this point, the only place to put your in-car "stuff" (wallet, etc.) is out in the open on the center floor divider between the driver and front seat passenger;

(8) no rear cup holders, really?  Yes, 'tis true -- my "frequently-holding-some-sort-of-drink" kids have absolutely nothing in which to place them.  Hey kids -- NO CUP-HOLDERS FOR YOU!  (channeling the Seinfeld Soup Nazi as I say that).

Anything else?  Well, there was that initial recall (which I took care of this weekend).  An adjustment needed to be made in the rear seat for stability reasons apparently.  But, Tesla did the right thing here.  They were ahead of the curve -- they announced it to the faithful prior to any real meaningful issues in the real world.  And, THAT is why we become faithful in the first place.  Tesla chooses to do the right thing.

A couple other things.  Although I electronically signed my final purchase agreement online about one month ago, I still receive new "DocuSign" e-mailed to me every 2-4 days -- urging me to sign that same documentation that I signed one month ago.  A rare bug in the system.  One more thing -- I am fortunate to have convenient "ChargePoint" stations at my disposal.  But, these cost more to use -- and charge the Tesla's battery significantly less -- than I had anticipated.  As one example, when I got to LA this past week, it cost me nearly $18 to charge my car back up to baseline.  So, it isn't really accurate to say that you can deduct all gas costs from your Tesla's "actual cost of ownership" analysis.  Yes, you save massively on gas.  But, you do pay for electricity.  And, those charges can be meaningful, particularly if you charge your car at home during "peak" hours.  Stick to 12 midnight to 5 am!

FINAL VERDICT AFTER MY FIRST 30 DAYS?  Same as my initial verdict.  Tesla hit it out of the park with the Model S.  The Model S is like Ford's original Model T (that analogy came from my friend the Tesla technician, and he is absolutely right).  The Tesla is a game-changer.  Plain and simple.  It is one for the ages.  Yes, it is not perfect.  But, especially for a first model, it is pretty damn close.  And, there is no doubt that it will be a collector's item some day.

But, why wait?  Drive it now.  Don't garage it.  Discover what driving a car -- and buying a car -- is meant to be.  And, feel really good about it too, as you blow past gas-guzzling snarled traffic whilst driving in the HOV lane -- and breathing clean, very clean, air.