Educating other Model S owners

[GlennAlanBerry]

There are a lot of good ideas about new owner education in this thread. I completely agree that Tesla can probably make a lot of improvements in the information they provide on their web site and during the delivery process. On the other hand, as Tesla "crosses the chasm" going from early adopters and enthusiasts to the mainstream, you are going to have more and more Tesla owners who simply don't care about learning all of the details about their car. They are not going to be coming onto TMC, or doing any other extra research about their vehicle. To many people, a car is simply a means of transportation or perhaps status, but they could care less about how it works.

I am also reminded of what George Carlin supposedly said: "Think about how dumb the average person is, then think about the fact that half of the population is dumber than that". As more and more non-enthusiasts buy Tesla vehicles, there will be more and more people who will have a lower level of knowledge and interest in how their Tesla actually works. As the charging infrastructure is built out in the next few years, people won't have to think about planning road trips. They will just be able to go without thinking about it.

 

[Pilot_51]

I believe this was rare. Mine was delivered and the specialist took the time to explain the various functions to me. In any case, they don’t deliver any more. Picking up from the service center ensures there will be someone knowledgeable about the car around.

Was, yes. Back when deliveries were still going relatively slow, I believe most were accompanied by a DS. Now with hundreds of deliveries a day, it's probably only the high profile deliveries. They do still deliver if you're not near a SC, otherwise they would lose a lot of sales from people unable or unwilling to make the trip.
I live about 230 miles from the nearest SC. I didn't enable supercharging because I wanted to have my car paid off ASAP and had no plans for long trips, so that would have put a kink in a pickup. When I took delivery in June, the truck driver essentially drove it off the covered multi-car carrier, expressed his fascination with the car, had me sign a couple papers, and left me to figure it out. Since I already knew just about everything I had to know after years of closely following Tesla, I had no problem with that. My DS (via email) directed me to the walkthrough video just in case and was always ready to answer any questions.

 

[TechPreacher]

It's great to hear that Tesla owners are helping "newbies" or less educated owners get the most out of their electric wonder. I for myself am waiting for delivery, reading everything I possibly can about the car and its technology but without actually having the car to try it all out yet, I am not sure it all sinks in. I feel that I too will behave like a total d0rk the first time I pull up to a SC

 

[caddieo]

Was, yes. Back when deliveries were still going relatively slow, I believe most were accompanied by a DS. Now with hundreds of deliveries a day, it's probably only the high profile deliveries. They do still deliver if you're not near a SC, otherwise they would lose a lot of sales from people unable or unwilling to make the trip.
I live about 230 miles from the nearest SC. I didn't enable supercharging because I wanted to have my car paid off ASAP and had no plans for long trips, so that would have put a kink in a pickup. When I took delivery in June, the truck driver essentially drove it off the covered multi-car carrier, expressed his fascination with the car, had me sign a couple papers, and left me to figure it out. Since I already knew just about everything I had to know after years of closely following Tesla, I had no problem with that. My DS (via email) directed me to the walkthrough video just in case and was always ready to answer any questions.

Similar experience here. My car was delivered July 2013 which qualifies as ancient history but even then, it was just dropped off. At that time, the nearest service center was 180 miles away but it was just a truck driver that showed up. Fortunately, I had spent considerable time months before playing with the controls and asking questions at the Old Orchard showroom in Chicagoland and I also had a test drive on wintry roads that allowed me to wiggle the rear and check out the traction control.

 

[Chipper]

Similar experience here. My car was delivered July 2013 which qualifies as ancient history but even then, it was just dropped off. At that time, the nearest service center was 180 miles away but it was just a truck driver that showed up. Fortunately, I had spent considerable time months before playing with the controls and asking questions at the Old Orchard showroom in Chicagoland and I also had a test drive on wintry roads that allowed me to wiggle the rear and check out the traction control.

Did your rear end wiggle get you any discounts??? You might want to look into the seat modification that controls some of that rear end wiggle...just sayin'

 

[stevezzzz]

On the way home from TMC Connect I pulled into the Barstow superchargers next to a new S with a CA temporary plate. I struck up a conversation with the owner and learned it was his first time at a supercharger, and that he intended to drive from Barstow to Kingman, direct (which is a longish, uphill, iffy business if you don't know what you're doing); he seemed to believe that if he charged to 220 Rated miles for the 210 mile leg, everything would be peachy. So I made sure he did know what he was doing, gave him the shortened version of how to manage a long leg between charging stops, and told him about TMC. I also gave him my card and asked him to email me when he got to Kingman and let me know how it went. He made it.

 

[brianman]

On the way home from TMC Connect I pulled into the Barstow superchargers next to a new S with a CA temporary plate. I struck up a conversation with the owner and learned it was his first time at a supercharger, and that he intended to drive from Barstow to Kingman, direct (which is a longish, uphill, iffy business if you don't know what you're doing); he seemed to believe that if he charged to 220 Rated miles for the 210 mile leg, everything would be peachy. So I made sure he did know what he was doing, gave him the shortened version of how to manage a long leg between charging stops, and told him about TMC. I also gave him my card and asked him to email me when he got to Kingman and let me know how it went. He made it.

Eastbound from Barstow needs work. They need some midpoints between that location and both NV and AZ options. None of those trips is "comfortable" at 221 mi rated (my 90% at the time). I bet in a 60 kWh it's simply brutal.

 

[Chipper]

On the way home from TMC Connect I pulled into the Barstow superchargers next to a new S with a CA temporary plate. I struck up a conversation with the owner and learned it was his first time at a supercharger, and that he intended to drive from Barstow to Kingman, direct (which is a longish, uphill, iffy business if you don't know what you're doing); he seemed to believe that if he charged to 220 Rated miles for the 210 mile leg, everything would be peachy. So I made sure he did know what he was doing, gave him the shortened version of how to manage a long leg between charging stops, and told him about TMC. I also gave him my card and asked him to email me when he got to Kingman and let me know how it went. He made it.

Yeah, Steve, he made it just fine. When he got there he showed me the business card you had given him and asked me a BUNCH of questions too. It was right after my interaction with him that my drive unit started going out and I had to detour to Phoenix instead of out to Flagstaff.

 

[caddieo]

. It was right after my interaction with him that my drive unit started going out and I had to detour to Phoenix instead of out to Flagstaff.

? Because of rear end wiggle? Hehehehe. Just sayin' :biggrin: