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Picked up my MS at Fremont factory, with report, thoughts on my choices, & pictures

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After 2.5 impatient months and lots of second-guessing and self-doubt, I frove from Fresno and picked up my S85 at the Fremont factory yesterday. I had lots of doubts after ordering about whether I was ready to make the leap to electric, being a "car guy" all my life and historically enjoying V8 German cars. Easing the transition was the fact that I am keeping my 2013 F150 platinum, at least for now, and my wife has a LR4 for anxiety-free road trips if needed. I brought my two teenage kids with me for the tour, one a car guy like myself and the other, my daughter, largely disinterested on cars other than her honda civic getting her from A to B. As it turns out they both absolutely loved the factory tour. but I'll get to that.

First, my order. S85 in silver with panoramic roof, 19s, black napa leather and premium interior package, obeche gloss wood, black alcantara headliner, dual chargers, tech package with autopilot, smart air, premium sound. I opted against AWD as I am not looking for extreme performance and don't need AWD.

When we first pulled up at the factory I was surprised to see a big white tent out front with about 20 cars arranged in a circle inside. All the factory deliver reports I had read online showed people getting their car in the delivery stalls inside, but I assume they're too big for that now as from what I saw there are only 3 of those inside and they had model cars in there yesterday, not customer cars. We went in and checked in at the front desk which was very efficient. The lounge was about half full of excited customers there to pick up their cars. The vibe was definitely younger, successful, techie. BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche are losing this demographic to Tesla big-time, at least in California.

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Although I was 20 minutes early I was immediately taken back by a Tesla employee and completed a little DMV paperwork. I had already paid for the car (0.61% APR 100% financing via Energy Federal Credit Union, thanks to a tip here) so that whole process took 5 minutes. Then my delivery specialist took me out to the tent and finally I got to see my car. I was excited and a little concerned that I had made the right choices. I needn't have worried, I personally think the stock 19s look great on a silver car and I wasn't prepared to babysit 21s (personal preference). The other concern I had was my option of black alcantara headliner in a black leather car as the majority of people opt for the cream. I loved it. And I was surprised to see part of the dash covered in alcantara, I wasn't expecting that. Perhaps because of the premium interior package?

My DS spent the next 45 minutes reviewing all the features and although I had watched all the videos and had a test drive, I still learned a lot and was kind of overwhelmed with the amount of customization of the software that can be done. It was also my first time seeing the autopilot equipment and the newer mercedes/stalks. There were a few other people in the tent and the whole atmosphere was one of an adult christmas morning.

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My DS then pulled the car out of the tent and parked it out front.

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10 minutes later we were on the tour with about 30 other people. I was so surprised at how interesting the tour was and it really increased my fanboy cool-aid drinking Tesla enthusiasm a lot seeing all the investment in robots and technology and the vast scope and scale of the operation of the factory. To say it's enormous in there is to fall short of the vast scale of the place. My kids completely loved it and were fascinated by the robots and watching them move whole cars around and seeing the cars start out in the huge stampers and end up on the bamboo floor. It was truly an awesome experience and one that I had somewhat discounted in advance, being so focused on the deliver itself. The tour guide was fantastic.

The drive home of course was the best part. I hit the supercharger station in Gilroy along with about 8 other Teslas. At first I was frustrated thinking the charging wasn't working because having never used one before I didn't realize how hard you have to ram that plug into the hole so I was getting a cable error on my dash. A helpful guy next door showed me how. I went and got a quick bite to eat with my kids and came back with a full charge and we headed to Fresno.

Wow all I can say is any doubt I had about making the move to electric complete vanished. What a transformative experience to drive a Tesla. My kids were completely amazed at the silence and the power, having not been in one before. When I pulled up at home I still had 100 miles of range left and realized I could have comfortably skipped the supercharger in Gilroy, but I was glad for the experience.

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i plugged into my recent installed charger and was happy to see 240V and 40A and a charge rate of 29-30 miles/hr. Plenty for my commute of maybe 20-80 miles per day depending on which office I am working at or if I am on call.

I am so glad I didn't cancel my order and get an Audi S6 as I was very close to doing. THis is the right car for me, I am both a car guy and a tech guy and was looking for something different than a long line of german vehicles that have occupied my garage over the years.
 
Congratulations and welcome to the electric car revolution. Once you have a few more miles under your belt, I'm sure you'll come to love your Tesla every bit as much as we all do. Pretty soon, you may even start to think about getting rid of your other ICE cars too. Enjoy! :smile:
 
Great report, @eye.surgeon. I think I spotted your family on the noon tour?! You had a sky blue T-shirt beneath a checkered shirt, I believe.

Yes, it was indeed a great tour; my eight-year-old son loved watching the big robots in action as well. His favorites were Thunderbird and Cyclops as they brought the painted bodies down onto the final assembly conveyor line. :)
 
Congrats on your purchase !

If you ever have to go in on call overnight (wee hours), you'll soon realize how much FUN it is to drive these cars when the roads are deserted.

I've had mine since march 2013, and it still gives me the same enjoyment, extended honeymoon so to speak !

Like you I have had a number of cars, but none have had me coming back wanting to drive somewhere (any excuse will do) like the S.
 
Congrats on your purchase !

If you ever have to go in on call overnight (wee hours), you'll soon realize how much FUN it is to drive these cars when the roads are deserted.

I've had mine since march 2013, and it still gives me the same enjoyment, extended honeymoon so to speak !

Like you I have had a number of cars, but none have had me coming back wanting to drive somewhere (any excuse will do) like the S.

Lol, that's so true. Driving for errands can be such a chore in regular car, but the Model S is always begging to be driven even if it's a quick run to the grocery store or something as burdensome as driving in to the hospital on call.
 
Great report, @eye.surgeon. I think I spotted your family on the noon tour?! You had a sky blue T-shirt beneath a checkered shirt, I believe.

Yes, it was indeed a great tour; my eight-year-old son loved watching the big robots in action as well. His favorites were Thunderbird and Cyclops as they brought the painted bodies down onto the final assembly conveyor line. :)
Oh yeah I saw you and your family there :)
 
Congratulations @eye.surgeon. I am in a similar situation. I have owned only German cars in the past and have always been impressed by the stability and luxury of their vehicles. Tesla P85D will be a quantum leap of faith! Will be picking mine up on Dec 27 and have mixed feelings. Glad to hear your positive experience!
 
a great post from the good surgeon. Thanks for sharing your experience with all your fellow enthusiast friends here. I'm due to have my D delivered in a week or two, to my local Van Nuys SC. I just don't have the time currently to get up to the Fremont factory, but picking it up direct like you did and doing the tour definitely seems like the way to go! Maybe a future roadtrip will bring me to the factory so I can at least get a piece of that experience. Anyway, your car looks beautiful, and I look forward to reading more posts of your new ownership experience in the days and weeks ahead. Cheers!
 
Great write up , sounds like I need to get out for the factory tour!
Then pick up a car and rive it home to Maine!

My understanding is that should you pick the car up in California, you must pay the California state sales tax.
And then probably the sales tax in Maine also.

I do recommend you schedule a trip at some point and take a tour of the factory: nothing like it, and you also have a chance to see a bit of Tesla history with some Roadsters and Alpha and Beta Model Ss.

Excellent write up by the OP about his experience at the tour and the delivery.
Congrats on getting your car for the holidays and sharing the joy with your family.