We've had our new car for less than a week and I think it's fair to say we're in love. This car is pretty much like a rocket ship made for streets, but without flames or rocket fuel. It has the ability to go fast, but it's so confident in it's ability to answer your every driving need, both immediately and effortlessly, that you find yourself driving calmly and more slowly than you normally would. You can't be sad riding in this thing, it gives off happy vibes.
Where is the Engine?
People want to see your Tesla Model S. They've heard about the car because it's won awards and is somewhat of a novelty at this point as only forty-five thousand have been made world-wide. We've shown it to many of our neighbors and we've even been stopped by strangers who were just interested in the car. There are many Tesla's in California, but they're fairly uncommon where we live on the East Coast.
Someone who wants to see the car can get in, sit down and look at the big monitor that represents almost every control for the car other than the steering wheel and pedals. It's neat, but we've all seen touch screen interfaces by now, so let's move on to the more dramatic things...like the frunk.
You pull out your key (which looks like a mini-version of your car) and double click in the front area. People are interested in seeing this cool engine that runs this electric car. The frunk (front trunk) opens and it's completely empty. You can put children in this nicely carpeted place (I have, my two kids loved it). "Where is the engine" they ask? There is no engine. Instead, there's a motor, and it's in the back. There are no tubes and fans and belts and pipes and coolants and oils and all sorts of other things you have with your ICE car (Internal Combustion Engine).
I downloaded a few pictures to my phone to show at this point, because it's much easier to explain that way:
Here's the motor, which lies between the wheels in the back. That's it. That drives the whole car.
The bottom of the car is seven-thousand battery cells. It provides the energy for the motor and it's also the bottom of the car, protected with some armor-grade plating.
Here's the car. sitting on top with it's comfy leather seats and touch-screen controls.
So there's nothing to go in what typically was the engine compartment, so Tesla Motors turned it into a second trunk, as well as a huge crumple zone, thus increasing the car's overall safety rating (they got an unprecedented 5.5 out of 5.0). You can see the front grill in the picture above. Only, it's not a grill. Cars with engines need ventilation to keep cool and the front vent helps in that process. On the Tesla, it's just a stylish piece of plastic.
After showing the Frunk, it's fun to show the Trunk, which is huge and also has a lower-level second trunk for added bonus, extra storage.
What if you run out of energy?
Probably the next question you'll get is "what happens if you run out of charge?" Concerns about range are probably the most common thing we hear. It's true, no matter where you are, you can most likely fill your car up with gas any number of locations within a two-mile radius. In fact, its 's easy to find a gas station that we don't even make a plan for refueling until we get close to empty. Sometimes, people see just how far they can go on tank reserve before getting gas.
The difference with an electric car is that every morning (and sometimes twice a day), we leave our house with a completely full charge. It's not unlike stopping at the closest gas station by your house and topping off your tank after every time you go out. Unless I planned on driving over a hundred-fifty miles to a second location that I planned to remain at overnight, I wouldn't even worry about what to do to recharge the car, because I'm going to be home before I run out of charge.
We've gotten a quick education on the number and availability of charging stations around our area. We had no idea there were as many as there are. There's a web browser in the car and one of our favorites is Plugshare.com. There are over a hundred EV stations close to us. We've looked at what's available in locations we visit regularly, and there are plenty of options. And worst of worst cases, you can always plug your car into a wall outlet at someone's house. It's not a fast charge, but it will charge your car.
I Left My Car Running
I've read about people getting in their other car after driving their Tesla for a while and accidentally walking off with the key in the car and the car running. I laughed when I read about it, but now I understand it. There is no key hole to put your key in in the Tesla. It knows you're there because a key approached the car. It woke up, popped out the door handles so you could get inside, and when it registers you sitting in the seat it knew someone might start driving it. The air-conditioning is running, the music is playing and the web page you were last on has refreshed. The car is doing this to welcome you, but it's not actually "on" yet. It turns on when you put your foot on the brake.
After you silently drive out of your driveway and drive to your location, you don't turn off the car. You can't. Well, actually, I think there's a way, but it's not straightforward. You don't turn the car off, it turns itself off when you're no longer there. You put the car in park, open the door and get out. When the door closes, the car notes that the key is no longer inside the car, so it turns off everything. When you get about ten paces away from the car, it pulls in the door handles and locks itself up.
After having a car take care of itself without your help, I can completely see myself walking away from the minivan one day with the keys in it still running.
The Creep Consideration
When you're driving in an electric car, there is no idle happening in a combustion engine that needs to keep happening at a slow pace so that the engine doesn't stall and turn off. That idle converts to a small force forward, known as "creep". When you get to a stop light, unless you're on a hill, the car just stays there, not moving.
Some owners wanted that "creep" feature and asked Tesla Motors if they could put in such a feature. In one of their software patches (which your car downloads automatically while you sleep at night) this feature was added. Now, you can change a setting on your car so it creeps forward when you're at a full stop. So current owners got a new feature on their cars while it was in their garage. Very nice.
Did I Brake Today?
You consume energy when you press the acceleration pedal. But you regain energy when you're not pressing the acceleration pedal while moving. The car regains energy through regenerative braking. This is a great feature, and it will take you about twelve minutes to get used to it, and then you'll probably love it. (I did.)
You don't have to press the breaks to stop, you just have to stop accelerating. The car slows down at a rate that would be about what you would do if you were coming up to a stop sign. You might need to brake a bit if you want to come to a complete stop, but that's about it. I don't know how long brake pads last on these cars, but I'd venture to guess a long time. I expect there to be a lot less brake dust to clean off the wheels when I take it in to be cleaned.
Something Safe About It
I can't explain it, but feels like it's the safest car I've ever ridden in. It has a very low center of gravity. When the NHTSA was doing a roll test on the car for it's safety rating, it broke the machine. They determined the roof of the car (which contains the biggest sunroof/glass port you've seen) could support the weight of another four Tesla Model S cars. I can't say what it is about the car but I'd guess that it sways less than other cars do on their suspension. There's something about it I can't pinpoint just yet.
Name That Car
My husband and I talked about what to call the car. He was considering a vanity plate, but we decided to skip that. After driving it and seeing how fast it could be, I told my husband, "I'm naming the car Blackbolt, but I'm calling it the 'Temple of Zoom'". Knowing me, I'll never get around to using the names, but they both feel appropriate for the car.
The Big Boy Update: My son got a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sleeper two days ago. He didn't know what they were, but they looked cool. Uncle Jonathan told him their names this morning and tonight, I asked him which one he wanted to be. He says he's Donatello.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She lost her lunch today. She lost it by throwing it on the ground in the restaurant. So she got no lunch. Consequences are good lessons. She threw a fit and I took her out of the restaurant. She flung her body on the ground and cried out front and suddenly, with no warning, she stood up and said, "I hear a bird", followed by, "why does that cone have tape on it?" She was intentionally throwing a tantrum and she could control it. She came back inside with us and still got no lunch. Tomorrow I hope she remembers the lesson.
Fitness Update: 115 burpees at the gym. Each. Amongst other things. And it's only Monday.
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