Evolution Of Tesla Loyalty From A Non-Elon-Fan

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I used to be driving a Toyota Prius for a number of years till I made the transfer to an EV in 2018, shopping for a Tesla Mannequin 3 Mid Vary. Final summer time I traded as much as a Mannequin Y Lengthy Vary. My admiration for Elon Musk has been dinged by his political pronouncements, however his automobiles and dedication to a clear vitality future are highly effective causes to stay with the model. That makes for a painful pressure, so I’ll take pleasure in some nostalgia about shopping for a Tesla within the first place.

My first motive to go electrical was concern about local weather change, so Tesla’s mission “to speed up the world’s transition to sustainable vitality” resonated strongly. It wasn’t sufficient anymore to drive a Prius and tease out probably the most mpg. However transferring to an electrical car meant having the ability to afford one, having the ability to cost it, and truly liking its design. The one inexpensive EVs in the marketplace on the time have been the Leaf, Bolt, and Tesla Mannequin 3. Being a New York Metropolis resident, I don’t use a automotive for day by day life, and virtually all I do is lengthy distance driving. Whereas the Bolt was enticing, the shortage of dependable quick charging was a dealbreaker. Similar drawback with the Leaf, which I additionally discovered irredeemably ugly. So the Supercharger community was the sensible motive to decide on a Tesla.

The opposite motive was the design of the Mannequin 3 itself. It was simply stunning, in and out. When my husband and I sat in a single for the primary time in a Tesla showroom, we fell in love instantly. The inside had all of the options we wished for or had not even imagined: the flat surfaces on the sprint and console the place you’ll be able to place your take-out meals (so good when you are at a Supercharger); no pointless emergency brake lever or silly pseudo-stick shift taking over house between the seats; the flexibility of the passenger to regulate many features on the touchscreen; the sensation that you’re sitting in a front room relatively than a cockpit. I nonetheless suppose that these useful facets of Tesla’s inside design don’t get sufficient credit score.

And naturally, really driving a Tesla is fantastic for all the same old causes that EVs are superior. I even have Full Self Driving and discover it very useful on our lengthy drives, in addition to a superb security function.

So whereas I wince with every new political assertion Elon makes that I disagree with, I can not see myself abandoning the Tesla model. The automobiles are simply too good, and the mission of the corporate is simply too essential.

By Stephanie Doba