I took delivery of my MYLR in December of 2022…so a bit over a year, and a bit over 16,000 miles.
A little background: Years ago I had a Civic hybrid, but I had never owned a pure EV of any kind. My first thoughts of Tesla, back in the early 2010s were: "Too exotic and expensive for me, and that Musk guy is kinda weird." Later, when Tesla announced the Model 3 and began production, I still wasn’t paying much attention — we are a big family and weren’t in the market for a sedan. We still weren’t in the market for anything when Tesla introduced the MY. I took more notice when they broke ground on the factory in Austin — probably because it’s up the road from me in my adopted home town of San Antonio (I wasn’t born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could).
About a year and a half prior to MY purchase, our old family minivan (2011 Honda Odyssey) began having some minor issues. This motivated me to start my research on a possible replacement. We test drove some new minivans, but I was unimpressed with the relatively limited step up in appearance, performance or technology compared to our decade-old vehicle. We checked out some larger SUVs, but the prices were/are stupid and the kids didn’t like any of them anyway. So I began to scrutinize the MY.
Flash forward to late summer 2022 and the minivan had to have a cylinder coil replacement. It’s a common occurrence on that type of Honda engine as it ages…and the fix ain’t cheap! And of course there is more than one coil — when one coil goes, the others may not be far behind. So we decided to take the plunge and order a 7-seater MYLR.
Delivery day was fun. I don’t have anything particularly interesting or unique to tell about it, compared to those who have posted their stories here.
The car is typically my daily commuter, and I’ve used it for four long road trips to visit family.
The good: Home charging and overall ease of use. When I pull into the garage at the end of the day, I can take a quick glance at the charge percentage remaining, think about what’s on my agenda the next day (client site, corporate site, work from home, a mix?), and decide if I need to plug in or not. The sound system is much better and more intuitive than our 2018 pickup. I don’t even miss android auto. It’s also got great storage, especially when I fold down the 3rd row seats.
I adapted very easily to one-peddle driving. I love the instant acceleration, to the point where I get spoiled. On the occasions when I drive the truck, I sometimes catch myself trying to zip into a merge lane and suddenly realizing I do not have that instant acceleration available.
The bad: The auto windshield wipers. They are just not ready for prime time, and it’s the one part of my experience where I really, really detest not having physical controls — other than the single sweep from the left stalk button. Each person has their own preferences for where they want the wiper speed to be in relation to the amount and type of precipitation at any moment. My preferences and the auto-wiper action frequently do not align.
I also had an event when the auto wipers were downright hazardous. It was a medium level rain event and I was going down a ramp to merge onto the freeway. The auto wipers were not on high. I had vehicles behind me and a vehicle immediately to my left in the lane to which I needed to merge, because my on-ramp lane was ending. The rain suddenly picked up considerably, but the wiper speed did not change. “Just slow the car down, you idiot.” I did slow some, but did I mention the cars behind me? Also, there were vehicles behind that one to my left, and vehicles in front of it. I was attempting to gauge if the car to my left was speeding up or slowing down, and correspondingly whether I could slip in behind it or accelerate ahead of it and get over. Suddenly, absolutely zooming through the center lane (to the left of the car to my left) came a semi-truck moving far too fast for the road conditions and blasting spray water EVERYWHERE. My windshield was completely washed out. And the Telsa auto wipers STILL…STILL did not increase speed. No way could I take my eyes off the road to speed them up manually via the touch screen. I pressed the right scroll wheel, BLIP “Windshield wipers high speed!” Command not understood. “*%&^ING Tesla!!!”
I also really do not like the latest auto-pilot update. I wish they hadn’t done away with the regular old cruise control (single down pull on right stalk), without lane hold. I hardly ever used the lane-hold functions except occasionally on the freeway in light-to-no traffic. Yes, I understand the lane-holding function dropping out when I put my blinker on to change lanes, but why in the heck does the set-speed have to drop out too? Just give me control of the wheel when I hit the blinker, and maintain speed (slowing if it needs to for safe distancing from other cars). Then resume lane hold when I establish in the new lane (or not, if I just want regular old cruise control) — shouldn’t be difficult. That AP update means my mom’s 2018 Honda CRV has a better highway cruising set up than any non-FSD Tesla (and yes it slows when approaching slower vehicles in lane).
I subscribed to FSD for a month, just to try it. It was a novelty. The kids and other family members thought it was cool. I did make use of it for one of the road trips mentioned above and it certainly helps with driver fatigue. I’m guessing it has improved since I last had it (July 2023), but I found it to be faaaaar too slow and timid coming in and out of braking at certain (not all) 4-way stops. There’s a 4-way near my house wherein I could’ve eaten a multi-course meal before the Tesla got through the stop on its own. If I were doing road trips on a steady basis I would have considered keeping FSD. But I don’t and it’s too much $$$ for how little I would truly make good use of it.
So as to not end on a negative note: My children and all their friends love the light shows and the fart sounds. Also, shortly after we took delivery, I let my elderly father drive it. I was sitting in the passenger’s seat when we hit a stretch of open road and he floored the accelerator. Hearing an old man giggle like a little kid was so much fun.
Would I do it all again, and will I purchase another EV? Yes and almost certainly Yes -- though I will stick with an EV that has a native NACS port. I know resale values of CCS EVs is already not great and I foresee them dropping even more once NACS is in widespread use.
A little background: Years ago I had a Civic hybrid, but I had never owned a pure EV of any kind. My first thoughts of Tesla, back in the early 2010s were: "Too exotic and expensive for me, and that Musk guy is kinda weird." Later, when Tesla announced the Model 3 and began production, I still wasn’t paying much attention — we are a big family and weren’t in the market for a sedan. We still weren’t in the market for anything when Tesla introduced the MY. I took more notice when they broke ground on the factory in Austin — probably because it’s up the road from me in my adopted home town of San Antonio (I wasn’t born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could).
About a year and a half prior to MY purchase, our old family minivan (2011 Honda Odyssey) began having some minor issues. This motivated me to start my research on a possible replacement. We test drove some new minivans, but I was unimpressed with the relatively limited step up in appearance, performance or technology compared to our decade-old vehicle. We checked out some larger SUVs, but the prices were/are stupid and the kids didn’t like any of them anyway. So I began to scrutinize the MY.
Flash forward to late summer 2022 and the minivan had to have a cylinder coil replacement. It’s a common occurrence on that type of Honda engine as it ages…and the fix ain’t cheap! And of course there is more than one coil — when one coil goes, the others may not be far behind. So we decided to take the plunge and order a 7-seater MYLR.
Delivery day was fun. I don’t have anything particularly interesting or unique to tell about it, compared to those who have posted their stories here.
The car is typically my daily commuter, and I’ve used it for four long road trips to visit family.
The good: Home charging and overall ease of use. When I pull into the garage at the end of the day, I can take a quick glance at the charge percentage remaining, think about what’s on my agenda the next day (client site, corporate site, work from home, a mix?), and decide if I need to plug in or not. The sound system is much better and more intuitive than our 2018 pickup. I don’t even miss android auto. It’s also got great storage, especially when I fold down the 3rd row seats.
I adapted very easily to one-peddle driving. I love the instant acceleration, to the point where I get spoiled. On the occasions when I drive the truck, I sometimes catch myself trying to zip into a merge lane and suddenly realizing I do not have that instant acceleration available.
The bad: The auto windshield wipers. They are just not ready for prime time, and it’s the one part of my experience where I really, really detest not having physical controls — other than the single sweep from the left stalk button. Each person has their own preferences for where they want the wiper speed to be in relation to the amount and type of precipitation at any moment. My preferences and the auto-wiper action frequently do not align.
I also had an event when the auto wipers were downright hazardous. It was a medium level rain event and I was going down a ramp to merge onto the freeway. The auto wipers were not on high. I had vehicles behind me and a vehicle immediately to my left in the lane to which I needed to merge, because my on-ramp lane was ending. The rain suddenly picked up considerably, but the wiper speed did not change. “Just slow the car down, you idiot.” I did slow some, but did I mention the cars behind me? Also, there were vehicles behind that one to my left, and vehicles in front of it. I was attempting to gauge if the car to my left was speeding up or slowing down, and correspondingly whether I could slip in behind it or accelerate ahead of it and get over. Suddenly, absolutely zooming through the center lane (to the left of the car to my left) came a semi-truck moving far too fast for the road conditions and blasting spray water EVERYWHERE. My windshield was completely washed out. And the Telsa auto wipers STILL…STILL did not increase speed. No way could I take my eyes off the road to speed them up manually via the touch screen. I pressed the right scroll wheel, BLIP “Windshield wipers high speed!” Command not understood. “*%&^ING Tesla!!!”
I also really do not like the latest auto-pilot update. I wish they hadn’t done away with the regular old cruise control (single down pull on right stalk), without lane hold. I hardly ever used the lane-hold functions except occasionally on the freeway in light-to-no traffic. Yes, I understand the lane-holding function dropping out when I put my blinker on to change lanes, but why in the heck does the set-speed have to drop out too? Just give me control of the wheel when I hit the blinker, and maintain speed (slowing if it needs to for safe distancing from other cars). Then resume lane hold when I establish in the new lane (or not, if I just want regular old cruise control) — shouldn’t be difficult. That AP update means my mom’s 2018 Honda CRV has a better highway cruising set up than any non-FSD Tesla (and yes it slows when approaching slower vehicles in lane).
I subscribed to FSD for a month, just to try it. It was a novelty. The kids and other family members thought it was cool. I did make use of it for one of the road trips mentioned above and it certainly helps with driver fatigue. I’m guessing it has improved since I last had it (July 2023), but I found it to be faaaaar too slow and timid coming in and out of braking at certain (not all) 4-way stops. There’s a 4-way near my house wherein I could’ve eaten a multi-course meal before the Tesla got through the stop on its own. If I were doing road trips on a steady basis I would have considered keeping FSD. But I don’t and it’s too much $$$ for how little I would truly make good use of it.
So as to not end on a negative note: My children and all their friends love the light shows and the fart sounds. Also, shortly after we took delivery, I let my elderly father drive it. I was sitting in the passenger’s seat when we hit a stretch of open road and he floored the accelerator. Hearing an old man giggle like a little kid was so much fun.
Would I do it all again, and will I purchase another EV? Yes and almost certainly Yes -- though I will stick with an EV that has a native NACS port. I know resale values of CCS EVs is already not great and I foresee them dropping even more once NACS is in widespread use.
Not recommending you buy a CCS EV. Just saying that you shouldn’t worry about the value of the car unless you tend to flip your vehicles as a way of earnings. Good news is that J3400 and SuperCharger support will be showing up on all manufacturer’s EVs within a year from now and going forward, so unless you’re buying another EV in the immediate future, it’s not even a concern 
