Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Driving the Tesla

My brother wants to buy a Tesla. So we went down to Charlotte today for a test drive.





You look at the dashboard, there are no gauges or dials. No fuel gauge, no hot engine light, no speedometer. All functions for the car are displayed on the computer including speedometer.






You want to adjust the mirrors, you go to the controls on the computer screen. All vehicle functions including speedometer are on the computer screen.




This vehicle is a delight to drive. Handling is great, and it is smooth and quiet. The power is unbelievable. I have a lightweight pickup with a 235HP V6, this Tesla would blow my pickup out of the water. Sticker is about $45K, no dickering.

The power of the vehicle is unbelievable. We were doing 65 on the interstate, and brother hit the throttle, and it slammed my head back into the head rest.

How far can it go before it needs to be plugged in?

Drove one when the only showroom was still in Palo Alto ca.

Is a fire extinguisher included?

When we were driving today the vehicle displayed, on the computer screen of course, that it could still go 238 miles. I think it said it had a 65 percent charge.

Great, you have to take your eyes off the road everytime you have to change something. No tactile feel switches knobs etc. I'll remember that next time a Tesla is near me on the road. Distracted drivers make me nervous.

The electric drive does facinate me though.

What I was thinking too.
Human physiology and kinesthetics haven't suddenly change. Been the same for 100's of k's of years

There is a shift lever on the right side of the column, like you would have for an old time automatic transmission. With this you put it in "Drive" or "Reverse" or "Park."
And there is another setting on the shift lever, "Autopilot." Set it there and it drives itself. That was really weird, driving in traffic on an interstate at 75 mph, my brother had his hands off the wheel. The Tesla keeps you in your lane, and keeps the proper distance from the vehicle in front of you. We ran on autopilot for 3 minutes that really felt weird. I was channeling Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon, "I'm too old for this s**t."

This single shift lever is the only control similar to the old time cars. There is no parking brake.
When you are driving, the big computer screen turns automatically into a GPS, really good GPS.

I would rather have the gauges in front of me personally.

Just remember you ABSOLUTELY can not buy any parts for it or repair it yourself. You can buy black market second hand but you in no way shape or form buy them from Tesla themselves.They will blackball your car and wont repair it anymore AND not sell you any parts. No matter what your renting that car and they can shut it off or refuse service or repair at any time at their whim. One guy online couldn't get them to sell him lugnut covers. They wanted him to set up an appt to take it to a service center to ahve the lugnut covers replaced.

How long does the battery last and how much to replace it?

Tesla's still working on a car that will drive itself while you watch tv or read a book.

I would consider one if they ever got to where I could drive about 400 miles and rejuice the battery in the same time it takes to fill my gas tank now. Also there would have to be a lot of "juice" stations.

How far will it go with the heat on when the weather is 20F and you are driving 80mph?

Yeah, that's pretty cheesy. A lot going on in that small space that isn't the direction you need to be looking.

A guy I know bought one for his wife and took me for a ride in it. That thing was unbelievably fast. Lots of good YouTube videos of them smoking street drag cars. I do concur with others, I would be concerned to own one due to the technology.

Daughter has the Tesla X. It is a blast to drive. Power is unbelievable. Fit and finish is just as nice as Mercedes. There are a lot of well though out features on those cars, and the voice system actually understands when I ask it particular questions unlike my wife's Toyota that never understands what I am asking for.

That is what I am saying. According to what I saw in 3 minutes today on the Charlotte Perimeter, you could get in the back seat and bang your girlfriend while the Tesla cruised around Charlotte at 75 mph on Autopilot. The Tesla reads the lanes and keeps you in your lane, and it has a radar that reads the car before you, and keeps proper distance.

Of course there are some important questions. How long do the batteries last? We don't know.
Gas is about $1.20 a gallon. My brother's pickup gets 20 mpg. He pays 6 cents the mile for driving. For the moment, we will leave out costs of spark plug replacement, oil changes and air filter replacement. The Tesla doesn't have oil, or spark plugs, or air filters.
But today, cheapo for 6 cents a mile. That will be back up to 12 cents a mile once the Dempanic is over in a few months.
So, how much does it cost per mile to charge up the Tesla? Brother doesn't know.

If they weren't getting gov't subsidies, Tesla wouldn't exist. Make sure to turn in your mancard if you get one.