The Tesla

In July, Al and I retired my 22-year-old Honda and bought a Tesla Model 3.

I’d ridden, briefly, in a Model S several years ago. Al has a friend who owns both a Tesla Model S (large sedan) and a Tesla Model X (SUV), and has ridden extensively in the X.

But neither of us had seen, driven, or ridden in a Model 3, the smaller, less expensive, mass-market sedan. I put a deposit down when they were first announced, sight-unseen. This July, we got the call to come pick it up.

Wow, what a car. Speed, dexterity, handling, second to none that I’ve ever driven. It’s a stunner. It’s a game changer. It’s revolutionary in the auto industry, and I’m not kidding about that.

There are so many glowing things that I can say about it, but all that information is readily available. I can tell you a few things that are important to me.

1. I can just plug it into the wall. We had a 240v outlet installed in the garage, but before that, I just plugged it into the 110. Slow charge to be sure, but it still charged.
2. Tesla’s network of superchargers (over 10,000 of them) will charge my car from 0 miles (it never falls anywhere near that low) to 100% in 40 minutes, or while I have a cup of coffee if I’m traveling. My car will go 320 miles on a charge. That’s Portland and back with plenty of mileage to spare.
3. The car came with a plug adapter so I can use any of thousands of EV chargers around the world.
4. There is virtually no maintenance to this car. The drive train is engineered to go a million miles. Some early receivers of the Model 3s have already driven 450,000 miles on theirs. Goodbye gasoline, oil changes, transmission problems, belts, air filters, noisy engines, and overpriced service centers.
5. The car is a better car than the day I brought it home because of frequent software updates, done via wifi in the middle of the night. They are always making improvements.
6. The closest service center is currently 110 miles away, but if I have a problem, they will send a Ranger to my home. Tesla has realized that it is cheaper to have a fleet of Rangers than it is to open service centers.
7. I believe in the company’s mission. All their patents are open-source, meaning anybody who makes an electric car can use their technology. Elon Musk, regardless of what you may have heard or think of him, is not only a genius, but he is interested in making the world a better place.

If you’re interested in buying a Tesla, I’m happy to offer you a tour and a ride in mine.

Google all the information you need, even download the owner’s manual if you want and read about all the amazing things this car does automatically. Watch some YouTube videos. Join a Facebook group.

For a while, I said that this would be the last car I buy. Now I say “until I upgrade.” I am a Tesla customer for life.

And if you want extra goodies (what they offer depends on what you buy), use my referral code: https://ts.la/liz54352