New Tesla Model S Plaid Owner Talks 1 Week Of Ownership (Video)
In her latest video, Tesla Joy had the pleasure of interviewing Marge, who was one of the 25 owners who got to take delivery of her Tesla Plaid Model S at the Fremont Factory earlier this month. Marge shared her thoughts on a week of ownership.
“I was fortunate enough to attend a Tesla Club LA meetup on Saturday, June 19th, and to have a first look of the Model S Plaid,” Joy said in her video. For those who may not know Marge, she is a sweet soul who has a heart for animal rescue. She runs the Dogs of Tesla Instagram account, which often has several cute photos of pups in their Teslas.
“The entire interior is redesigned. It’s absolutely stunning. The car drives like a dream, the yoke is super intuitive. Everything’s redesigned and it’s just so well thought out and I just have no words. I can’t say enough good things about it,” Marge said.
“So far, it’s been a great week of ownership and I’m super grateful to Tesla, Elon Musk and Franz, Julia, Paul and Piero and so many of the really awesome people at corporate that made this a reality and really made me feel special and made me feel like I matter. And I just cannot say enough things to express how excited I am and how honored and humbled I am to be one of the first 25 deliveries.”
Marge explained that this was something she wants to share with others, as she has Teslavangelism in her blood. “I’m happy to share it with others, and hopefully it influences some people to either upgrade or if, they have questions, I’m here to answer them. I feel like this was a really good decision. I was really — kind of — almost sad to let my previous Model S go, and I’m glad that I did because as amazing as the car was, this is just tenfold better. Feel free to connect with Marge on Twitter if you have any questions — she is super friendly.
The Plaid Model S Driving Experience
Joy asked Marge to share some of the differences she noticed when driving her new Plaid Model S.
“It’s got a steering yoke which is basically is no longer a wheel, so you have nothing connecting the top. So, now when you’re holding onto your steering wheel, you’re basically at a 9:00 and 3:00, or maybe like even an 8:00 and 4:00, and it becomes almost intuitive in terms of how you navigate, how you shift. It doesn’t bother me that there’s no shifter now.”
Joy asked Marge how quickly did she get used to driving without the stalks.
“A couple of drives, I think. It took a couple of drives and then — at first, there’s a little bit of, like, where is it, wait a second. Yesterday, I was in my husband’s Model X and I kind of [said] ‘wait a second, we’re going back to the vertical screen and we have the stalks.’ So, it was a little bit different at first, but I feel like it comes right back. It’s like riding a bike.
“With the previous generation of how it was and now with the yoke, I was able to get it in and just drive off.”
Joy got to sit inside Marge’s Plaid, and the first thing she noticed was the yoke. She asked Marge how she dealt with the missing piece while waving her hand over the yoke where the wheel would connect to either side.
“I love it. I’m a short person — I’m 5’2″ — so when I’m driving this and I need to adjust it down to where it’s comfortable for me, I no longer have the issue of anything interfering with my telemetry up front.”
Marge explained that she had a better view and that she felt that it was very clean.
“I like the minimalism of not having anything in the way.”
Joy asked her when she steered if she sometimes missed grabbing something. Marge noted that you learn and that it’s pretty intuitive.
“You can even do it with one hand. You can loop it through here or just use one hand when you’re turning.”
“The turn signals are pretty easy to get used to.”
Marge pointed to a knob on the right side of the yoke to show how to turn Autopilot on/off in the Plaid, demonstrating how to activate it by using the scroll wheel. The horn, voice activation, and windshield water fluid are all on that side as well. On the left side of the yoke is another scroll wheel for music and buttons for bright lights as well as the left and right turn signals.
Mage also demonstrated how Tesla Smart Shift works, pointing out that it was very easy. She and Joy covered many more features and details regarding the car as well.
You can watch Joy’s full interview with Marge here.
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