November 3rd, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
We recently received a Tesla Model 3 trunk organizer and a frunk/trunk cooler from EVANNEX. Aside from floor mats to protect the original Tesla-installed flooring, I consider these the top two Model 3 aftermarket items that just about everyone could benefit from. (Though, pneumatic trunk and frunk hood openers have me drooling, and I do have some other fun aftermarket products to review.)
October 27th, 2019 | by Marika
When you buy a new car, your new car, you want it to stay in a perfect, kind of new way for as long as possible. At the beginning, you wipe each little mark off, get rid of every little spec as soon as you see it, vacuum every piece of sand (as if it was even possible living in Florida after going to the beach…).
But, let’s be honest, sharing this new car with two little kids is not easy at all. The car is not a museum where you are not allowed to touch anything, right? And those kids are not museum visitors
October 24th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said something similar to the headline above on the quarterly Tesla conference call a few hours ago.
It perhaps made me smile and laugh more than anything else on the conference call. The reason is simple, and it's also why I'm keeping this article short
October 22nd, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
Tesla Smart Summon was all the rage for a few days on Tesla Twitter and Tesla YouTube. For obvious reason, too — it's fun! More thoughtfully (putting on my serious face), it's an amazing step forward toward door-to-door fully self-driving Teslas. That's at least half the excitement — what it indicates is coming, much more than what is here today. Nonetheless, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Tesla owners were eager to see what Smart Summon could do and what its limitations were. That included me, a new Tesla buddy, and a friend of his who happened to be in town at the Supercharger where we had decided to meet
October 20th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
I don't have much opportunity to use Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot since I seldom drive on the Interstate. (I'm eagerly awaiting "Navigate the City" or whatever the next iteration is!) However, I recently drove through Tampa, Clearwater, and cities in that vicinity for about 2 hours and had the chance to really spend some time using the beta Navigate on Autopilot feature. It's a fascinating feature and the details of it go beyond what I realized before using it. I genuinely hate driving through Tampa, and the most concise takeaway of this whole experience is that Navigate on Autopilot definitely made that task safer, easier, and less stressful
October 12th, 2019 | by Marika
Okay, so I’m sitting in the car waiting for my whole family (husband and two little girls) to come back from a quick stop for shopping. The car is plugged in and charging at a Tesla Supercharger (thank you to buyers who used our referral code). My husband came up with a funny phrase to describe a "park & plug" state, which is "plark." So, you could say I'm sitting in a "plarked" car in a Tesla "plarking lot."
October 11th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
Since I got the Tesla Model 3 a month and a half ago, I've been trying to figure out a one- or two-sentence summary of the car. It's been tough. I'm plagued by a few issues. For one, I'm used to communicating with people who know a ton about Tesla (you), whereas people in the "real world" are often not such people
October 4th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
If you were around in 2016, 2017, and 2018 (which is quite likely since you can already read), you probably remember reading or hearing about a bunch of inherent "problems" with the Tesla Model 3. Let's revisit some of those
September 28th, 2019 | by Marika
Have you ever wondered where it all comes from and when it starts, the obsession with Tesla? How do all these kids get into Tesla? Does it come from the parents, friends, YouTube videos? Do those kids really care about the environmental aspects of having an electric car, in particular a Tesla? Do they like it because it is a new trend, because it is fast, quick, and quiet? Is it because they see more and more of them around? What do they actually know about the cars beyond the fact that they are sporty and fancy looking
September 26th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
I wrote earlier this week that I would conduct some new 5 year cost of ownership comparisons between the Tesla Model 3 and its top luxury car competitors. I've actually never before conducted an analysis comparing the Model 3's cost of ownership to the cost of ownership of the Mercedes C-Class or Audi A4. I think the main reason is that it was just clear from the Model 3 comparison with the BMW 3 Series and 4 Series that the Model 3 would embarrass these other cars on a cost of ownership basis. Nonetheless, now seemed like a good time for a new round of comparisons
September 25th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
As of today, we've had our Tesla Model 3 for one month. Is the thrill gone? Well, some of the early tingles and excitement have of course worn off, but the core point and core feeling is the same: this is the best car on the market. There are basically just four difficult things for me, which I'll note at the end. First, though, I'll run down the main items
August 31st, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
"It's the little things."
"Stop to smell the roses."
"Don't forget to enjoy life."
There are various phrases that try to remind us that big-picture topics don't always dominate our lives. In fact, little things of daily life can influence us on a grand scale. With many little things, it wouldn't hurt us to pause and appreciate them a little more
August 29th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
One of the most persistent incorrect assumptions about electric vehicles is that they're less convenient than gasmobiles. Actually, as long as you buy a decent modern electric car, "fueling up" will be more convenient in many — if not most — cases. As usual, your own personal details matter. There is no single answer for everyone, but there are a handful of truisms that are the building blocks of each personal story
August 27th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
August 27th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
Yesterday, I wrote about the 4 top reasons we just bought a Tesla Model 3 and decided to say goodbye to a 2015 BMW i3 REx we loved. Below are 3 more reasons — not as big as the core 4 but notable nonetheless. Were any of these critical in deciding to bring home a Model 3? No, but they were big improvements over the i3 that continually came to mind and helped build the case for the switch. In our first day with the car, each of them was already noticed and appreciated
