Tesla

Just wanted to share some thoughts on my two years of owning a Model 3 SR+. This was my second EV after a little Chevy Bolt which I liked. My car was the Goldilocks of Model 3 LFP, it had the performance motor, USS, and matrix headlights from the earlier production run in 2021. I put about 20,000 from commuting and some road trips to the mountains.

Things I Liked

• Not waiting for oil to warm up, or engines to start. You can just hop in and go and not worry about punching it.

• The app works well to heat or cool down the car before hopping in

• Autopilot works decently now for highway use. The phantom breaking from a year or so ago is gone.

• Storage is pretty good with the sub trunk, flat floor inside the cabin, frunk etc.

• Phone key is great being able to just walk up or walk away.

• Regen and one petal driving is super easy to commute in.

Things I disliked

• Build quality is just like how everyone says. Some of my panels were a bit gapped, which I don’t care about really, but the rear doors never closed well.

• The rear defroster never worked from day one, and required a week long service, where they replaced the rear glass with the wrong part, extending the repair further

• Buying process wasn't the best. I lost a $250 deposit due to some bad info from the local sales person, and also was refused supercharging referral miles I had expected to get.

• Front glass is extremely thin. I had one windshield replaced and a second crack repair. The Safelite guy said he worked on Teslas constantly.

• I despise the all glass roof. It adds almost nothing in terms of openness for the front occupants, but lets in tons and tons of heat. It’s the worst of both worlds.

• UI is response, sure, but being completely touch screen based is bad no matter how you shake it.

• Lack of CarPlay. I want multiple mapping options and better music support that CarPlay offers.

• Driving experience is meh. You can tell Tesla is a company focused on tech and automation, not a spirited driving experience. The main culprit is the traction control, which cuts in constantly to kill any sort of fun. It would cut power on a straight on ramp I take every morning due to a small bump. This is never a car I’d want to take down a twisty back road.

Overall, I decided to sell it and get a fun to drive manual transmission before they’re gone for good. Manuals connect you to the car and offer a huge grin factor. It’s also great to have CarPlay back. I also figured we’ll all be driving EVs for the coming decades, it may be my last chance to row my own gears and have fun on a back road.

My last point is about this Tesla Subreddit. I’m not quite sure why, but i found it to be one of the least helpful, and most toxic car sub I’ve used. Snarky comments, lack of community, frankly idiotic questions about damage or insurance etc. I just found it to be in stark contrast to other car subreddits where people were cordial and enthusiastic about others in the community. Maybe it will get better with time!

I think that Tesla's are the best EVs out there currently, and I love what they've done to disrupt the car industry. I've been wanting to purchase one since the model 3 came out. That being said, I choose to buy any EV that isn't a Tesla, after Elon Musk's comments on Ukraine. I've always been on the fence about him but this was the final straw. I would buy a worse car over supporting him. Polestar it is.