I was thinking of buying a Tesla Model S, and wanted to try it out for a multi-city, mulit-destination trip, so I rented one with the specs I wanted off Turo (I would’ve preferred a black one but couldn’t find that with my specs).
Almost all my friends have variations of Teslas, and the only one I really love the look of is the Model S:
The only reasons I’d want to switch cars is: FULL AUTO DRIVING.
That’s it.
That’s the killer feature to me.
Pro’s:
- Stupid fast. Like….so fast you don’t really need all that speed. It’s unreal.
- Everything is controlled by phone, it’s kinda neat to cool the car or heat it up remotely, or just not have to have a key (just your phone) to operate everything.
- You can see all the cameras from the phone app..it’s like having an 8-camera security system wherever you’re parked!
- FSD (Full Self Driving) is amazing….I have some gripes with it, but it’s an awesome safety feature to have, and is really relaxing to drive on.
- FSD is so good at directions, if I was ever in doubt of which freeway or exit to take, FSD nailed it every time.
- I love + don’t love that everything needs to be controlled from the screen. Like changing directions of the air vents requires a few clicks to do.
Con’s:
- For passengers the Full Self Driving is kinda jerky when slowing down….even with “Chill Mode” on the way it breaks sometimes is like a bad Uber driver.
- You kind of have to babysit the FSD….it definitely does the job, but you’re not totally doing nothing, you still have to pay some attention.
- It’s a total lane hog. On the highway the Tesla will very frequently try to move into the left lane then just stay there, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.
- The yoke steering wheel looks cool, and is nice for visibility (you can see right over it which is neat), and for the most part feels good….but the buttons stink. The turn signals are not intuitive, and you have to reach your thumb to touch them each time. Same with the horn, definitely not in an intuitive spot.
Hope for the future:
I frequently go back and forth between Austin and Houston for family stuff, and I think of the countless hours of driving I’ve done that could’ve been used for something more productive or fun.
I wish I could do work, or read, or listen to podcasts AND take notes while driving….currently you can just passively consume information in a car and not much more.
My goal is that I can drowsily hop in the car, fall asleep, and safely wake up in a different city. This seems roughly 5 years away.