2013 Tesla S Review and Price

January 10, 2019

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It is the best car I have ever been in, let alone driven. It is difficult to explain how much better this car is from an internal combustion engine car without actually driving in one. Even the lowest trim model, the S60 is faster and smoother than comparably priced cars from BMW, Lexus and Mercedes.

The top three questions I get are:
How far does it go on a charge? (about 180 miles at 80 MPH, up to 260 miles at 65 MPH)
Where do you charge it? (at home, in my garage. The effect on my electric bill was negligible. It is far more convenient than gas stations)
How fast does it go? (mine goes 0-60 in about 4.2 seconds, and there are much faster versions than that)

I have driven over 75,000 miles so far in 3 years. Based in Florida, I have driven to Reno, Las Vegas, Denver, Washington DC and Atlanta all for $0 in fuel charges at about the same daily range as an ordinary ICE vehicle. There is no such thing as “range anxiety” with a Tesla.

I will never buy a non-EV again. It is simply better in every way than every other car I’ve owned or even driven by a very wide margin.

Do not test drive a Tesla Model S or Model X if you don’t want to buy one. It is not an exaggeration to say that it will completely change how you feel about electric transportation.

Frankly, I wasn’t much of a tree-hugger before getting the Tesla. But now that I’ve lived with it and studied the problem of global warming, I am convinced that the electric transportation revolution is upon is, and will happen much faster than most people believe. Every single person who takes a ride in my Model S wants one. The only hurdle is price – and Tesla as well as other enlightened auto manufacturers are working hard on that problem.

I would hate to be an automotive engineer who works on internal combustion engines or transmissions. It’ like being a cathode ray tube designer in 1998. Better bone up on polyphase alternating current motors and battery manufacturing instead.

But even if you test drive a Model S, you won’t understand the full greatness of a Model S. The problem is, until you start using some of the unique features and get used to them and the other superior qualities of the car, you’ll just notice that it’s a LITTLE better in many respects and a LITTLE worse in others (the interior quality is not up to par with other cars in its price range, for instance). But you won’t understand the joy of not having to worry about filling up because you’ve always got a full tank in the morning (the REAL range anxiety comes from always looking at the fuel gauge and wondering when you are going to have to fill up as a gas station). You won’t know the pleasure of calling out songs by name while you are driving at 80mph and having the car play it for you. You won’t know the pleasure of getting groceries and realizing that you forgot to unload the car after your last trip to costco/the beach and remembering that you have a ‘frunk’ ready to accept your cart full of groceries. You won’t know the pleasure of being able to use all that instant torque and speed without the roar of an engine announcing to the whole neighborhood that you are either an obnoxious teen or a guy who just bought a high-powered car. And many other things. You’ll either be sold on the promise and will buy one and most likely join the ranks of Tesla owners who are now ‘living in the future’, or you’ll just think the Model S is “just another car” but with an electric motor.