I’m going to begin this post by talking briefly about yesterday’s breakfast with other Tesla Owners Club members. This was a first for me since joining the TOCPA and the experience was different than I expected. I thought our discussion would just be about our cars, the company, and maybe even about Elon. What I found was that these are regular people at different stages in life and careers, with varied interests and experiences. And our conversations were about life, and hobbies, and cars (not just EVs), potential club events, and a little bit about Tesla.
At this particular breakfast, a Model 3 (Highland) refresh car was made available to check out and drive if anyone wanted (no takers for a testdrive). Also available were club member cars of every model (S, 3, X and Y). This is where much of the attention went to talk about accessories, things stored in the frunk and trunk, wheels and winter tire choices, etc. All in all, I learned some things, had a great time, and feel this sort of activity is important for Tesla owners to maintain a connection with eachother. Tesla clubs provide an important function within the Tesla owner community, and these meet-ups build personal connections that are the foundation of these clubs.
OK, so what do all EV owners share in common:
- A new driving experience (which is unique for each EV model – a 2023 Model 3 in my case)
- A smile each time you pass a gas station and see that the price of gas has just increased
- Range ‘anxiety’, or at least a constant awareness of available range and charging options
- Torque (and no gears) – these cars are quick and power delivery is very smooth and quiet
- An appreciation of an EV car’s simplicity (battery, electric motor, computer – that’s it)
- And a need to constantly justify your decision to buy an EV with family and friends.
EVs are new and different, and people are curious why you would do such a crazy thing like give up your tried and true gas engine for a car that has all kinds of problems (like what do you do when your car runs out of charge, can you use it when it’s cold outside, why would you spend so much more for a car without an engine, aren’t you afraid it’s going to catch fire and burn your house down, etc.?). If you have been keeping up with the news, all these concerns keep coming up because it captures our attention and sells more ads than something like “EVs are great, buy one and see for yourself”.
How great, you might ask? Just really great! My 2023 Tesla Model 3 is simple, quiet, reliable, fun to drive, powerful (when needed), includes features that make me a safer driver and keep me safe, and it’s VERY efficient!
Let’s climb in and actually drive one. The first thing you’ll notice is it’s not exactly like the car you first learned to drive in. And in many EVs, the controls you need aren’t necessarily in the same place they were in your previous automobile. My car has stalks that do things like activate windshield wipers and turn signals, shift between park and drive, and control headlights. I like my stalks, but does Elon care? Apparently not! Because on the refreshed Model 3 now shipping, he got rid of them. These controls are now buttons on the steering wheel or on the touch screen. And even though stalks are so ’20th century’, I like them and it will take me a few moments of relearning to get used to the new, relocated controls. Effective use of important controls like windshield wipers, lights, shifting, and even temperature and audio controls must be intuitive and become muscle memory so they don’t distract or overly complicate things in emergency situations.
An interesting note, when I switch between my Tesla and Subaru, I still find myself activating the windshield wipers when I think I’m putting the Subaru into drive. This is a fairly harmless (albeit embarrassing) mistake, but it’s a good example of how we build muscle memory and do certain things without really thinking about them. And so long as this sort of mistake isn’t dangerous, I guess it’s not so bad. For years, automobiles in the US put controls in familiar places (mostly), but with EVs it seems like we’re starting over and everybody’s doing things slightly differently. It’s like when infotainment systems began showing up in cars. Everybody designed their systems differently, and in reality every infotainment system was overly complicated and frustrating for mere mortals to use. Which brings me to my next point…
When I bought my Model 3 last year, I thought the large touch screen would be distracting and complicated to use. It turns out, it is neither (though it took Tesla a while to get here). There have been many software and display refinements over the years with Tesla automobiles, and I can honestly say that once you have entered the settings that make the car operate like you want it to, the Telsa display is the most intuitive and non-distracting interface I have seen in any car. Agreed, there are a bunch of features you might want to play with when you’re not driving, but the non-distracted driving experience in a Tesla is exceptional. Let me explain…
- Single pedal driving – for almost ALL your driving, you’ll never have to touch the brake pedal
- Voice commands – just about everything you need to adjust while driving can be controlled with your voice
- Situational awareness – the left side of display shows vehicles and other obstacles around you, and when turn signals are activated you have a blind spot camera (and warnings) to assist. There is also now a 360-degree view of your surroundings when backing or parking, which is very helpful and accurate.
- Speed sign, stop sign, construction cone, and traffic light detection are there mostly for full self driving, though speed sign detection helps regulate TACC speeds when enabled
- Lane keeping (using lane marking detection), assisted cruise control (TACC) and autosteer features improve driver safety when used properly
- Maps and navigation aids – Tesla used Google maps which I think is the best navigation aid for cars. including real-time traffic monitoring and accurate supercharger routing.
- Automatic headlights and windshield wipers, and more…
Everything about the car is designed to help you do what you do best, and that’s to ‘drive the car’. You’re in control and when you allow the car to help you do that job better, the Tesla can be a fairly safe place to be in this crazy, distracted world we drive in. Get to know your car early on, get your settings right (this might require the assistance of a grandchild just like when you bought your last smartphone or PC), and let your car help you. Know your controls, practice voice commands, know how the car is going to behave in certain situations (and how to override the car’s decision when necessary), and don’t be overwhelmed. Give it some time and you’ll see just how simple driving an EV (especially a Tesla) can be.