2023-04-08 On electric vehicles

The time I saw one

I think it was 2012 when I saw my first electric vehicle. I remember seeing a couple on the road in Northern California. I was fortunate to be in an area where I could see those bright, red or bright blue Tesla Roadsters - not the new promised ones that never really made it to production even up to this day, but those old ones that no one really ever talked about.

The time I saw one in a showroom

By this point, it was around 2013, when I finally got to see electric vehicle in the Tesla show room. Remember, sitting down in one, I'm really enjoying that big vertically, oriented touchscreen, with the electronic dashboard as well. They certainly were things I had never seen before in a car. Of course, the car was priced well beyond anything I could ever afford at the time, or even in the future when I grow up.

The time I drove one

I recall when I moved to a different country, in Australia, I had the privilege of test driving a Tesla Model S P85+ in 2014. Oh, my God, to actually sit behind the back of a production electric vehicle, with fully loaded performance package, was a thrill. I remember feeling that instant torque as a floor, the accelerator pedal in the back of a golfing area in Australia. I'm pretty sure at this point, this was the second time of my life I made it a goal to own an electric vehicle.

The time I considered buying one

Passed by this point. It was finally around 2022, when I saw the prices for Tesla Model 3. Certainly the prices were climbing, so I thought , inflation was going to make the price of this car out of reach. Thanks to some fortunate investments, I decided I probably need to seriously consider this car.

The time I actually ordered one

Around early 2022, I actually placed a deposit for the Tesla Model 3 "dual motor long-range."
Unfortunately, the delivery date kept getting pushed back. By the time the car would be delivered, I would have had to spend so much time just renting a car.

I calculated the price difference between renting a car and waiting for the dual motor long range, versus just upgrading to the Performance model. I realize that upgrading to the Performance model would actually save me more money, and be a better driving experience, so of course I upgraded.

The time I took delivery of one

June 2022, I finally had my Tesla Model 3 Performance.
My god, it is a blast driving this car. The instant torque that I had felt back in 2014, was even greater now in this much smaller car.
Being able to connect my phone and play music easily, or just logging into my online music accounts, made the experience quite seamless.
While there certainly can be a gripe about the long charging times, eventually I got over this. I realized I'm probably only charging about once a week anyway, even by driving 110 miles one way just to get food in Orange County.
With home charging, I wouldn't really have to deal with the whole long charging time issue, but for now, I shall survive.

Overall thoughts

I do feel like this is truly the Apple of electric cars - one gets sucked into the ecosystem, the car is brainless to use, and the drive and design experience in general are easily polished right out of the box.
Would I buy another Tesla again, definitely.