Plumes of smoke from Canadian wildfires have hung out over Wisconsin and often extended across the upper Eastern US for over a week. The fires have been worsened by the effects of heat and drought resulting from global warming. The photograph above shows the concentration of unhealthy air over Wisconsin … [continued]
I remember getting into my new 2019 Tesla six years ago. While basic driving controls were familiar, Tesla’s approach of having many control functions available only on the display screen was somewhat bewildering. There were also numerous new features that no one had thought of for cars previously. We were … [continued]
On February 31, 2014, twelve years and four months ago, I took the plunge and leased my first battery electric car, a 2014 Nissan Leaf. As you can see from the 100% electric sticker, I immediately became an EV evangelist. At $200/month, I figured that I would easily save that … [continued]
You’ve decided to buy the car that for the last few years has been the top sold model in the world, gas or electric, the Tesla Model Y. Tesla has factories in California (Fremont), China (Shanghai), Texas (Austin), and Germany (Berlin) that have been churning them out for the US, … [continued]
Full Self Driving V14 navigation screen, 2026 Tesla Model Y. Camp Hasler, Three Lakes, Wisconsin. June 11, 2026. Fritz Hasler photo.
I’ve been kind of a techno nerd since I was a teenager. When I was 17 in 1957, I talked my dad into buying a 16mm film Bolex movie camera as well as the cutting and gluing machine to use for editing, for his research lab at the University Wisconsin. … [continued]
We took our second daughter to Paris for 6 months when she was 5 years old. After she grew up, we have been chasing her around the world ever since: Barcelona, Prague, Munich, London twice, Bangkok twice, Sydney 4 times, and back to Paris several times. She is a force … [continued]
2026 Tesla Model Y with HW4 and FSD V14. As suggested in the upper left: Tap the brake and then push the blue Start Self-Driving button or push the right scroll wheel and off you go. In this case, the car then automatically left my garage. June 11, 2026. Photo by Fritz Hasler.
I lived through almost 7 years of numerous releases of Tesla’s Full Self Driving (FSD) as it progressed in my 2019 Model 3 using “Hardware 3” (HW3), finally reaching FSD V12. Elon Musk promised every year that all of us Tesla owners with HW3 would see Level 4 self-driving in … [continued]
In 2024, the Tesla Model Y was the most sold automobile in the world. In 2025, it was a close second. It sold more than the Ford F-Series, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and BYD Song. The grey 2026 Model Y Rear Wheel Drive is the least expensive version at $39,990. … [continued]
May 9th 2026 was our grandson’s graduation day at UW Madison, and I had my first intersection accident in 70 years of driving. For those of you who read my previous article leading into this one: Yes, I was driving my 2019 Tesla Model 3 using Full Self Driving V12 … [continued]
In over 70 years of driving, I had never had an intersection accident. A few minor fender benders, but that’s it. My wife and I had just driven from our summer home in Northern Wisconsin to Madison for the University of Wisconsin graduation of our grandson. Saturday morning, May 9th, … [continued]
