Tesla

The option of delivery for our area is a wonderful thing, and was a huge relief even though things that I was told would happen didn't actually happen: 1. The driver didn't call to say his arrival time. 2. No registration documents included with car. 3. No bill of lading from the driver. 4. No instruction by the driver on how my wife could drive it if necessary, but nicely, he drove it inside the garage for us. When I got home, I emailed the other customer service guy in Portland and explained our dismay with the delivery process, and asked for the registration documents. He seemed empathetic.

The DMV registration process worked out fine. One little note: do not stick the temporary registration over the defogger elements on back window. In conclusion, I love my car (no gas, quiet, comfortable, high-tech, hauls ass, helping people breathe easier). However, there is a lot to learn... read Tesla's website, watch YouTube tutorials by them and Tesla owners, and see if you get rebates/tax credits. The latest thing I'm doing is getting a ceramic coating on the exterior (the original finish seems soft and scuffs too easily).

This has soured my entire experience. How can you sell a $50,000 vehicle with all the most amazing technology but without the ability to open your garage when you get home? The salesperson did not even mention this or offer it to me when i purchased the car. So in addition to the $300 garage door opener I need to waste two hours of my valuable time taking the car back to Tesla.

The test drive dropped my jaw as the Model X was simply fantastic so we ordered one. I had multiple questions and some worries about buying an electric car such as the charging concept and whether Tesla would be a reliable car. Thus I first bought a used Ford S-Max as a backup/utility car that our gardener also drives around and afterwards I ordered a Model X. I would rather prefer to buy a used Model X but I could not find any reasonably priced Model Xs, all were rather expensive indicating a significant demand. My Model X was delivered in Aix-en-Provence on 27 September so the car is still pretty much new. My review is limited to the first two months of ownership and it is not a long term, multi-year review. I would gladly rank my Model X much higher than any cars I have owned. My rating would be 20 out of 10.

The car is astonishing. Let me tell you why:

1. The design philosophy is totally original so the interior but especially the front panel is super coolly designed. The car is probably the best ever UX design among any car, any time. I would definitely rate my Model X as the "Best vehicle UX design of all-times".

2. The car has far superior performance and range. I was worried about how and where to get the car recharged and so on but these have been no issues. The driving is super cool, silent and feels like you are floating. This car is so advanced that I feel I have my own silent, super fast and comfortable "magnetic levitation" maglev train. I often see Bentleys and Rolls Royce's in Cannes and I feel sad for the owners for spending so much money into those dinosaur vehicles.

3. Tesla has no dealers and you buy directly from the company. There is no haggling or the act of being sold unnecessary accessories at high costs.

4. As you probably know, Tesla cars are awarded the highest safety ratings of any cars, ever built. In France, it is legal to use autosteer on highways and I regularly use this feature with my kids in the car. No one has ever honked at me so far. It has been almost perfect. The autosteering once made an error on the safe side. It braked slightly when I saw no need for it. Autosteering is great not only at high speeds but especially during very slow traffic.

5. The car is expected to have much less maintenance work than ICE cars. Time will show.

6. Tesla has given me good after-sales support. They called me directly to ask if all was fine and I could reach them directly if I have any needs.

7. If you love even a bit of tech, Tesla will make you so happy. The car is tech-wise perfect and offers multiple jaw-dropping features. I have a pin code so my kids can’t accidentally drive the car. If I lose my key, I can start the car with my mobile phone. I can choose how many amperes to charge my car with. The car even has a ‘biological attack protection feature’ explained on its website. Tesla says Model X is “hundreds of times better” than other cars in terms of its ventilation system so they were curious if the car would protect against a military biological attack. So they test it and found that it really does due to the super quality ventilation system. Your Tesla can open and close its doors without you touching them… if you want. This car is the epitome of tech and still it succeeds in giving you a perfectly usable UX with so easy menus. There is so much offered tech wise with zero frustration.

My Model X is two-generations ahead of any other vehicles including my old 2017 Land Rover Discovery. One extra remark, we did not have any problems but still feel a bit cautious about the falcon doors that are rather easy to use especially in tight spaces. Many public garages in France have low ceilings so it is not very easy to use these doors. My overall two-month experience has been fabulous. I have one simple suggestion to potential owners: Have your own test drive and see for yourself. Be cautious with the media coverage. I am grateful to Volvo for delaying their delivery by two months and making me a Tesla owner. Thank you all at Tesla, you have literally created the future of the automobile. Just for information purposes, Tesla has no automobile competitors. Its next target should be to beat the MagLev train :-)

Now, the center console died. The roadside people said to take it in to a local service center before it dies and needs to be flat-towed. We took it in, the people in the back made comments about another center console dying after the 12v battery went (so this is going to be an extremely expensive fix due to some known problem Tesla has and has done nothing about?).

The repair center said they would call us on Tuesday. Tuesday has come and gone, and no word from Tesla. Attempts to call them results in "use our app to schedule appointments." Attempts to leave a message for the service center result in either NO RESPONSE back, or a message about the voice mailbox not accepting calls.

Sending e-mail results in, "I'm in sales, not service." So we're SOL. No car, no way of getting it back from Tesla, no way of getting ahold of Tesla, no idea when or if it'll ever be fixed, no idea how much they much charge us for any of this. Nothing. No car is worth this hassle. Clearly Tesla is not ready for prime time! Simply answering the phone and answering a question would be a fantastic first step, but instead you get NOTHING. You get a car that you cannot drive, no idea if it can be fixed, and no idea how to even get it back. Terrible!

The week before our lease termination we purchased brand new tires and had the car detailed. Our final invoice charged us $1,654 for mileage consumed over the lease amount. I contacted Tesla Finance to get some relief on the over mileage charges and was told that's a Service Department problem not a Finance Department problem. Hmmmm. Seems to me they are the same company. The Finance and Service personnel were all very pleasant but it's frustrating to have to deal with software glitches with no compensation for the customer's time and inconvenience.

Had these problems occured within the first six months of the lease, the lemon laws would have applied and we would have been entitled to a new vehicle. Unfortunately they happened in the second year of the lease. As vehicles contain more and more software, which gets routinely over time, the lemon laws will need to be adjusted to account for bugs in software releases to provide the consumer with effective protection.