The weirdest thing to me by far is there are no keys/ignition. I’ve had cars with push to start and such, but this is just another level. You walk up, the car unlocks and recognizes you, you get in and it “starts” and you just drive. Then when you are done, you hit park, and just get out. Everything is still running, and you just walk away, the car detects you are leaving, locks itself and turns off.
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oh good.
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I haven’t been in a prius, what don’t you like about it?
Well… It’s not fun to drive.
The steering gives very little feedback. The stock low-rolling-resistance tires have horrible grip and are prone to hydroplaning. The regenerative braking is quite aggressive, and makes me feel… less than safe in situations where I need to gently decelerate with traffic (especially with the tailgaters around here). The interior and plastics feel cheap. The transmission requires me to push forward to back up and pull back to go forward, and I can’t figure out why Park is a button by itself. The tranny lever itself is not self-illuminating, instead there is a small spotlight in the ceiling that shines down instead, which is obscured by your arm when you reach for the lever. Over-engineered cubbies within cubbies. Can be agonizing trying to find it in a parking lot here in CA.
I do like passing gas stations that I would have had to stop at with my truck. The cargo area is surprising large for such a small vehicle, especially with the seats folded down (which is also very easy). The steering wheel is pleasantly thick. Fairly good sight-lines out the back for reversing.
There’s $25K price difference there.
If you’ve ordered anything near a base 3, you’re at the end of the line for delivery. Tesla is facing the tax rebate ceiling so it’s better they use their car delivery slots on the fully optioned ones (& those are more profitable too). That’s also why they’re pushing so many into Canada now - those don’t count against the “delivered vehicle” count that’s used to determine the Federal tax credit availability.
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There has been some testing amongst the EV Conversion enthusiast market and it’s been found that regenerative braking has very little return as far as energy or range extension, but it does extend the life of mechanical/hydraulic brakes immensely so it’s worth using.
Maybe you can back off the regen just a few ticks to get under that jerkiness threshold without much worry about a hit on range.
I’ve wondered if there really are any environmental savings as some people have pointed out:
batteries- mining(possibly strip) using gas based machines
Charging- power mostly comes from combustables still
And they cost markedly more than going with a 4 cylinder low end model vehicle for 5-10mpg more. How long would it take to recoup the extra $8-10k an electric/hybrid costs?
I would love to be able to afford a Tesla S though… 
I’ve heard debates about the true impact of the cars, personally I am buying it for the technology and the vision, if its better for the planet thats icing to me.
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Oh love the midnight silver. I have a reservation and waiting until AWD and deciding what color. I saw the midnight silver yesterday out in the bright sunlight and took a close up picture. The multi-color sparkles in it is amazing. Hopefully you can see the colors in this picture
Yesterday I was at a service center and now instead of wanting the RED only … I now want the red, the blue, the midnight silver and surprised myself by also liking the light silver!! Now my choices are even harder. LOL I also saw a Model S that appeared to be a midnight silver in a matte (with a bit of a sheen to it) and found out it was a wrap! I asked the guy what color was underneath and he said red, which really surprised us. They had done a good job on that wrap. Congrats on the car!
Model 3 starts at $35K (but they haven’t released the base priced unit yet) and you can get CPO (Certified Pre-owned) Model S but be prepared to press that buy button immediately because they fly with good prices.
If someone wants a new Model S or a new Model X, right now you can get free unlimited super charging at their Super Chargers (promotioni is subject to change at any time) or 5 year extended warranty on Solar Panels …and the only way you can get it is if you get a referral from a current Tesla owner. Tesla Owner Referral Basically you can travel coast to coast stopping at Super Chargers and never pay for the energy as long as you own the car. They change the promotions periodically. I wish I could afford a new Model S, but I’m a contractor and I can’t commit to something just yet. 
I love Teslas! My son has had his for 2 years (as of this September) and plans on upgrading when they come out with a few specific new features. Road tripping is FUN!
There are owners that have solar panels and potentially the Tesla Power Walls can store the energy and fully run your cars off of that! I spoke to a man at the super charger last weekend and he said he drove his Model 3 from Colorado to Florida (Model 3 doesn’t get free super charging) and it cost him $45 total. 
I don’t know about you, but my ICE cannot drive me from Colorado to Florida on $45 worth of gasoline.
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I was very close to going light silver, it looks really nice. I am also debating wrapping it in matte dark grey similar to the color in the unveiling, though my wallet is upset with me right now.
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I dont know if there are any savings right now in that regard, but the power grid can get cleaner and Tesla’s SuperChargers do use solar.
My personal belief is that pretty much all cars, not just electrics, are heavy, bloated, waste construction materials and because of the weight, they also waste more fuel or electricity than needed and thus the entire support system is inefficient. Because there are already millions of heavy cars on the roads, nobody wants to take the risk of going lighter since they obviously will offer less protection in an accident.
I was spending $2500/yr on fuel for a 30MPG vehicle so depending how much someone drives, they could recoup the costs relatively quickly, plus EV credits from Fed and State help out there. Factor in things like oil changes and repairs/maintenance on ICE systems that EVs simply do not have, it all adds up too. Although an ICE overhaul or transmission replacement could be offset by battery pack replacement for drivers that tend to keep a vehicle a long time.
Cant wait to get my EV done though, but it’s an 800lb hot rod custom from the ground up.
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Yeah. My in laws love their priuses? Priusi? Anyway, but my then girlfriend had a Honda hybrid after a deer ran in front of her old one and the main battery was going bad. It was a major issue with all those cars. Hondas fix? They lowered the alert trigger and claimed the battery was now good as it wasn’t triggering the alarm, that it was policy that people were expected to drive at least 30 miles a day, and it was 8k for a new battery. It’ll deplete overnight. Don’t think it’s been replaced yet.
Indeed. It seems ludicrous that we use 4+ seat vehicles weighing close to a ton as our default method of transport. Do we really need to lug 800 kg of car around just to get to work? A 10 kg bike or scooter would be much more efficient in terms of energy use, materials required, space taken on the road and so on.
The idea that electric cars will help minimise climate change is common, but it seems misguided to me. Is writing off a significant proportion of the worlds vehicles and replacing them with new electrics really going to have a net positive impact? There are a lot of emissions involved in sourcing the material, assembling new cars and shipping them to people.
Bike-sized vehicles seem like a much better idea in that regard. They are cheap and easy to make, require very little in the way of raw materials, and only require tiny batteries since they don’t include 800 kg of unnecessary mass. Being able to ride it to the door of your destination is also a nice bonus 
I got to ride in my son’s Model 3 a couple of weeks ago. Amazing! I’m normally not really a car person (mostly if it has 4 wheels and will carry my stuff and take me where I want to go, and the color isn’t ugly, I’m happy), but this isn’t a car, this is a computer with wheels. That’s a whole 'nother thing!
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A culture of teleworking whenever possible would be even better.
I don’t think I have ever had a job that I could reach by bike, at least not in any reasonable amount of time.
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I am riding in my son’s Model S at this moment. It is awesome. About the time we need to charge, I need to stretch my legs, eat or use the facilities. The Tesla routes us to the destination via Super Chargers to decrease charging times.
I would imagine that conversion market DIY in comparison to an auto mfr Regen braking there would be a difference. My son’s Tesla Regen braking on the highway with auto pilot 1 set on normal is smooth (do not confuse with autonomous; this is a driver assist—similar to how cruise control is not autonomous—just fyi to others reading in case of confusion) there is low and normal on his Model S that is a 2016 model. It brakes smoother than I do.
Second that. My son demonstrated how it scolds him if he takes his hands off the wheel. The human driver is still in charge.