Tesla Model S - the car that started it all…

[F1Ruaraidh]

Not run by Porsche Germany.
Dealerships are mostly 3rd party here.
I guessed already, that I just could've been lucky with my dealership.
In Germany there are also quite a few, complaining about lack of interest and arrogance by their shop.
In the first place, I tend to say: One has to endure the echo to what one is sending across.
But with my shop specialist, I also met a real nice human-being.

Oh absolutely, I'm always unfailingly polite with the service team but they are also pretty awful!! Nevertheless, you do your best to keep them onside!

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[69Mach390]

You didn't read my post then, I own both and complement/criticise both in equal measure!

It’s not enough just to own a Tesla. You must act as a missionary and convert the masses whenever possible!

 

[F1Ruaraidh]

It’s not enough just to own a Tesla. You must act as a missionary and convert the masses whenever possible!

That was probably true back in 2018!!!

 

[BjörnfromHamburg]

Nah, didn't do that at any time.
People should just drive, what they can/ want/ like.

 

[F1Ruaraidh]

Nah, didn't do that at any time.
People should just drive, what they can/ want/ like.

We'd still be riding horses then....

 

[BjörnfromHamburg]

Hearing petrol-heads ranting, hating and complaining about e-cars...probably yes.

 

[whitex]

I owned 4 Model S'es between 2013 and 2024. The first one I bought on the spot after test driving it out of boredom waiting for my wife to finish shopping. I literally bought the the one I test drove, but it turns out I missed it by about the length of the test drive, so they had to cancel my order and I put in a custom order for one instead, which arrived 5 or 6 weeks later (compare that to my Taycan experience, 86 weeks from the time I was ready to hand them the money to the time I got the car, and had to cold call almost every dealer in the US to even find an allocation). Prior to the Model S I always considered a 911C4 I owned before (also a custom order on day I test drove it, that one arrived in ~50 weeks) as the best car I ever drove. Model S made a great impression on me, though it was worth noting that I had the 911 while I was single, while by the time Model S came out I had family and kids, so my needs changed a bit (considered the Cayenne a couple of times, but it never wowed me, I ended up with Lexus RX for a couple of cars before moving to Model S).

I would have probably owned another 2 Model S'es had it not been for their stalkless yoke and dropping of premium interior. I love driving the Taycan, still would choose it over Model S today, but I also recognize that Model S really was a lot more revolutionary than the Taycan. Early adopter experience from Model S was vastly superior to Taycan - issues were addressed at lightening speed compared to Porsche, and most of them over-the-air. Neither of the 4 Model S'es (one of which I owned for almost 8 years) left me stranded with car unable to drive (the worst was trunk would not open), Taycan did it three times already, once electric error leaving the car undrivable at all (which fixed itself couple of hours later, Porsche service found the logs but found nothing actionable to fix, so I guess just temperamental design which doesn't allow for driving once in a while?), once car unable to charge (so only remaining charge left to drive), and another time car unable to heat (so no defogging either). So definitely Taycan is still in early adopter stage, despite me buying the 4th year of production.

 

[69Mach390]

We'd still be riding horses then....

Nah, why settle for 1 horse power?

And gas cars were late to the party.

First steam carriage was in 1769. First electric car was 1832. Gas powered cars didn’t start until decades later in 1885!

The history of the electric car is quite fascinating. Despite being early to the party, it’s been losing to gas for quite a long time…. For the same reasons too!

Cost, range, charging speed, charging infrastructure……. Sound familiar? New York City even had an entire fleet of EV taxis back in the 1920s.

 

[AutoX]

It’s not enough just to own a Tesla. You must act as a missionary and convert the masses whenever possible!

I think it's more annoyance of the regurgitation of negative talking points attributed to the car from people that have an issue with Elon, but have no actual experience with the car itself.

Tesla cars are not perfect, their build quality, although improving, still lag behind the industry. Until the current Model Y and 3, the suspension was overly harsh, NVH is not up to par for it's segment. On the other hand, they're not death traps that will burst into flames at the first opportunity like many Elon haters would like you to believe.

 

[69Mach390]

I think it's more annoyance of the regurgitation of negative talking points attributed to the car from people that have an issue with Elon, but have no actual experience with the car itself.

Tesla cars are not perfect, their build quality, although improving, still lag behind the industry. Until the current Model Y and 3, the suspension was overly harsh, NVH is not up to par for it's segment. On the other hand, they're not death traps that will burst into flames at the first opportunity like many Elon haters would like you to believe.

Loving or hating the car and loving or hating Elon can go hand in hand or can be mutually exclusive.

I’m all over the place on this one. Always hated him. Respect what he’s accomplished. Respect the performance aspects of the cars, hate the look of the cars. Don’t like 1 pedal drive so wouldn’t buy one (even though I’ve been tempted more than once by an X plaid….. if only it looked better and had 2PD). Criticize the fit and finish and reliability, like the manufacturer direct option and made in USA.

And lastly….. get totally annoyed by the direction that the threads go on any car forum when you mention brand T by the loyalists who can see no fault in any of it.

 

[SoccerMan94043]

You gotta separate the art from the artist.

 

[whitex]

Don’t like 1 pedal drive so wouldn’t buy one

No longer a thing. Even in older Teslas you could turn it off (in later ones you had to hack it, but easy hack you could buy for few $), but the latest Model Y supports blended braking from what I've read (haven't driven one yet). Cybertruck has been complete drive-by-wire (including steering wheel) since the get-go, so I suspect it can also be configured for two pedal driving. Not sure about Model 3, but if Model Y got it, it's not far behind.

 

[PorscheTaycan]

My wife and I came to Tesla late - 2022 - so we were "late" EV adopters - Tesla was our gateway drug to the EV world. I had a boosted M3LR and my wife a Y.

We have since left Tesla, but miss their software, and for my wife, the handling (Model Y handles a bit better than the Mercedes EQB) - but I do prefer the handling of the Taycan.

 

[F1Ruaraidh]

I think it's more annoyance of the regurgitation of negative talking points attributed to the car from people that have an issue with Elon, but have no actual experience with the car itself.

Tesla cars are not perfect, their build quality, although improving, still lag behind the industry. Until the current Model Y and 3, the suspension was overly harsh, NVH is not up to par for it's segment. On the other hand, they're not death traps that will burst into flames at the first opportunity like many Elon haters would like you to believe.

You say that but the Taycan takes that build quality crown and runs with it, straight down the toilet.

My Model S still has the original cooling fans at 150k miles.

The Taycant cooling fans were dead at 60k. Same location in front wheel well. Utter drek from Porsche. Zero build quality points.

Same heater failure as Model S. Draw.

OBC and DCDC converter on Taycant both failed and replaced.

The 18kW 3 phase charger on my 8yo Model S still functions perfectly.

 

[whitex]

You say that but the Taycan takes that build quality crown and runs with it, straight down the toilet.

My Model S still has the original cooling fans at 150k miles.

The Taycant cooling fans were dead at 60k. Same location in front wheel well. Utter drek from Porsche. Zero build quality points.

Same heater failure as Model S. Draw.

OBC and DCDC converter on Taycant both failed and replaced.

The 18kW 3 phase charger on my 8yo Model S still functions perfectly.

In my experience (4 Model S, 2 at a time, longest was nearly 8 years old when sold) is that Taycan had slightly better INITIAL BUILD QUALITY. But, after a few adjustments after delivery, Model S'es were very robust for years after that. None of the Model S left us unable to drive, Taycan has already left me stranded (red electrical error, dead heater, dead OBC unable to charge AC or DC) and I've only had it for 3 years. Model S'es had rattles since day one, Taycan developed them after 10 months (hence my assessment of INITIAL build quality), but same type of problems actually, the dealer can fix it, but only temporarily, as it comes back. I ended up permanently fixing rattles on Model S'es, started to with the Taycan, but then my HVAC servos died, so they had to remove the entire interior to get to them:

so the rattles came back within 2 weeks (but slightly different, for example one similar to an old rattle, but old remedy of shoving foam behind the instrument cluster did not work anymore).

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