New owners tip

[haroldo]

I've owned my car for 2 weeks, there's a lot to learn, obviously.
I joined Delaware Valley Tesla Owners Club , last night they hosted a Zoom call Ask us Anything aBout your Car (Tesla ABC for Tips and Tricks) which was very helpful and informative. Questions were quickly answered, (most answered in 10 seconds, rather than hours, or more, at a forum) with a Tesla Service Rep available.
The club is for owners in my region (Del-Pa.-NJ), but I assume there are other owner's clubs across the country. The forums are great for learning, but these clubs can provide access to a different form of information (gatherings, Zoom calls, newsletters, etc.)
You might consider looking into clubs so you can gain exposure to as much information as you need to fully enjoy the car, and driving.

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[haroldo]

List of other clubs Tesla Owners Club Directory - Engage Tesla

 

[Ash4216]

List of other clubs Tesla Owners Club Directory - Engage TeslaThank you so much for this information!!! I just requested to join my area!

 

[Ash4216]

Hey there. I pick up my new tesla in 3 days and I have a very dumb question...What does tesla consider a highway? I live in North Myrtle Beach, but I'm from Maryland, so a highway to me is I-95...but here our highways are much smaller, like 2-lanes. Wondering how often I'll be able to use FSD. Thank you in advance.

 

[haroldo]

Painted lines. Autopilot (lower level of autonomous driving, available in all cars) is unavailable if car can’t see lines on both sides. Then, depending on a lot of factors , Navigation (FSD) might but available, but can be disabled if car deems it unsafe. I believe it might become unable in a heavy rainstorm, etc.

Car forces you to stay alert with hands firmly on wheel so if it turns off, you’re ready to take over, car begins to slow down, so naturally you’ll be 100% in control quickly

 

[haroldo]

I believe it also needs to know the speed limit. You can't access Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC), nor AutoPilot (precursors to Full Service Driving), unless the speed limit shows on your view screen. Also, in case you're not aware, non of the fun stuff is available until your car completes calibration, and you enable the features in the control menu (they're set to off by default)

 

[haroldo]

Another tip...
If you go into charging on the Tesla Mobile app and tap the icon next to one of the nearby Supercharger locations, the location will be on top of your map navigation and you might be following directions that you hadn't intended to follow.
Also, to clear recent navigation locations, swipe left.

 

[haroldo]

the location will be on top of your map navigation and you might be following directions that you hadn't intended to follow.

Clarification…
the car can automatically display directions home if you’re at work, etc., but if you inadvertently tap a charging station in the app, instead of heading home you’ll be navigating to the supercharging location. The navigation screen shows two views, compact (the next turn) and full (as many turns that will fit top to bottom). The full view will list the final destination, compact view will not. To see where you’re going, extend the list, especially if you’ve been looking at charging in mobile app.

If using a supercharger, and reasonably close to where you regularly charge (home, etc.,) plan on charging with as little battery (10-20%) as you’re comfortable driving with, and only charge as much as you’ll comfortably need to get to your destination charger (home, etc.). Charging an empty battery is very quick, but once battery hits higher levels, it slows down, and continues to do so.
For example, if you’re at 15%, and 60 miles from home, charge from 15->30%,unless you have plenty of time to waste (taking a longer break, eating a meal). At home do your regular overnight charge.

New drivers on highway might feel the need to hit the first supercharger they see once below 50%, (especially if family is in the car) best to shoot for the location with as little battery as possible (something new owners definitely will not feel comfortable doing).

 

[haroldo]

Prospective owners please see Survey: Is Full Self-Driving Capability worth the cost?

 

[haroldo]

Any new, or prospective, owner might consider watching this

Supercharger stations can be an little intimidating, especially when crowded.

Also, one more tip (okay it’s a pet peeve of mine), try to resist the urge to get cutesy, personalized license plates, such as “Kicking gas“ or “ no xhaust” (many Tesla’s get electricity that was produced at either a natural gas or coal fired plant)

They might seem funny, but non EV drivers can/might/will see it as a condescending, snarky, and elitist dig. I cringe whenever I see them.

You may feel superior (remember, their tax dollars might have helped pay for your car, or charging) but overt displays, such as cute ev license plates - Bing images show others that you feel they’re inferior.

Rubbing it in their face adds to resentment, and guess which cars get keyed, abused, or vandalized.

Get a standard plate

/end of rant


bizarre thought… will EV charging signage soon show ”power produced responsibly from renewable sources”, so drivers who promote clean energy can choose the right charging station?

 

[Jimmologist]

Regarding the “cutesy” license plates, what about the these? Are they?
Tennessee EV Specialty License Plate