I just got my renewals for two of my cars. $190 a year now and it used to be $140-$180 for two years I think. More than doubled recently. Still not expensive but annoying it went up so much in such a short period of time.

On another note, it rained yesterday and the auto wipers on my Plaid are still hilariously bad. I had to change it to the lowest intermittent setting.

 

My Premium just went up almost $400 for both my Tesla's (combined), so welcome to the club 👍

 

Exactly, not expensive but just annoying.

 

My truck was about $140 the year and the BMW was $300ish.

Annoying but beats the hell out of paying state income tax.

 

So in Texas there is no income tax, but they get it elsewhere by increasing taxes elsewhere, like property tax, which is higher than California. But overall it's cheaper to live in Nevada for sure

 

We have a higher than average sales tax, but get a lot of revenue from gaming taxes and severance taxes in mining.

My property taxes are pretty cheap

 

And cheaper amo . I've made several trips with a friend who lives near the Cal/Nevada border to Nevada to pick up.40 cal hollow points for my Glock. California now has a waiting period on amo and it's way more expensive here 😞

 

OK, so I can officially say that the way Tesla's implementation of their glove compartment sucks. My wife jammed a bunch of junk into the glove compartment when she borrowed my car, and it wouldn't open due to something lodged where it wouldn't release (I believe it uses a magnet). I had to hit the "open button" several times while pulling on it to get it open. So it's actually like a toilet without a physical flush . Tesla gets a D- minus on this one for not just using a simple latch mechanism

 

Same person that designed the interior door latch release is responsible for the glove box. I'm betting they used to work for Apple.

 

You mean the guy who designed the CD/DVD player to open only when you drag it to the trash? That guy?

 

lol yea THAT guy.

He trained the guy that refused to implement a front bumper camera for 5+ years.

 

yeah the tesla glove box is pretty useless... not only because you have to go to the screen to open it, but because it's tiny. good job there's freaking tons of space between the seats, in the door pockets. frunk, trunk or cargo areas, etc.

 

Well the glove box is something I never really use, this is actually only the second time I've access it since owning the car which is why I never really cared much about it. Still don't but since this is just such a stupid implementation, I thought I would bring it up and out in the open

 

I'd love to know how this glove box design got approved. Not a single person stood up and said, yea this royally sucks.

 

I'm coming on one year and 15k miles on my Model 3. It's been on 4 trips to SoCal, and it's been my daily driver since I brought it home last December. Now that I've had it about a year, it's time to do a review on it's strengths, as well as shortcomings. But before I start, I'm not here to sell or push EV's in general and Tesla's in particular, that's not my job or responsibility. Everything I write here is my experiences, I don't represent anybody else but 'me'. I don't speak for some collective hive called 'We'. My experiences, my opinions alone. OK, so let's move on to the review.

The Awesome

The buying and financing process was just simply amazing. Since it was year end, I decided to go through inventory, and found a couple of discounted Model 3's. This one had everything I wanted (color, wheels, interior color) and was discounted enough where I didn't even hesitate. The whole process of buying and financing took about 10 minutes. The hardest part was transferring the down payment from the credit union, which at the time didn't support the payment gateway Tesla used, so I had to wire the funds. Car was ready to pickup in a few days. No sales people trying to upsell me or get in my way etc.

The car itself is simply amazing to drive. Dual motors @ 394 hp, 0 to 60 in 4.1 seconds, smooth instant torque that feels awesome when you put your foot down. Smoother than any V8 at any speeds. Not putting down V8's, but it's just a fact, any EV owner who owned a V8 will tell you this. Basically a commuter, travel, and fun sporty to drive vehicle all rolled up into one.

I didn't transition personally to EV's to save money, but this thing is efficient. Very efficient. The power and performance of an expensive sports car with better efficiency than an Prius. I'm averaging anywhere from 134 to 138 MPGe. The cost to fuel it is about $50 a month. Turbocharged performance, better than Prius efficiency.

Range. The new Model 3 has a range of 300 miles plus. Trips to SoCal are only one 20 minute stop.

Comfort. The 2024 Model 3 has been revamped to be more comfortable, quieter, with re-tuned suspension, better seats, quieter cabin. Seats are both heated and cooled, and a screen in the back allows rear passengers to control HVAC settings in the back. Taking it on several long trips, I was very comfortable being in the seats for nearly 7 hours. Material quality throughout the vehicle is premium with a lot of soft touch materials, easy to clean faux leather, and lots of storage space. Touch activate cabin lights, and LED strip lighting along the dash and doors.

Tech. This is where Tesla is way ahead of the competition. Amazing software that is intuitive, and always kept up to date. My Tesla's are always getting new features, and both cars are better now then when they first arrived. FSD is just mind boggling good, and I can summon my car, even in a busy parking lot. 8 cameras catch all the action, and phone as a key can't be overstated. Tesla also had the most advanced app for conducting remote actions than any other that exists.

Supercharging network. The best most reliable that exists. If you live in an area where they are built out (like California), you can travel anywhere. They continue to pop up like mushrooms here, so range anxiety is something no one should be concerned about.

Simple cabin, minimal buttons. This is controversial, but not to me. I love the simplicity of Tesla's cabin and lack of most buttons. If I could ask Tesla to make any changes in the cabin, it would be simply to put a physical latch on the glove box. Even the decision of putting the turn signal buttons on the steering wheel, it didn't take long to adopt to them, so I'm totally fine with them being there. Was it an unnecessary decision? Yes, but one I've adopted to, am fine with, and works great for me.

Maintenance. Pretty much none. I've rotated the tires once since owning the car, although I've gone through a bunch of windshield washer fluid . Sorry at @BayeauxLex , it is what it is, I will continue to buy fluid by the case full 🤣. My next big maint event is going to be the cabin filters. I did them myself in the Y, I'll do them myself in the Model 3.

Reliability. In one year of ownership, I've only had one issue with the front camera, which a tech came to my work and fixed by cleaning it. Both my Tesla's have been totally reliable, none have experienced any issues or glitches, breakdowns or instances. None have been in Tesla service for anything mechanical or for warranty and quality issues. They have both been solid vehicles.

Shortcomings

This list for me is small. The first thing is the door handles. I'm fine with them but I think they should have been pop out like the Model S and Model X, and the second thing is they should be lit up at night. I had to put glow in the dark material on them so I can see them at night. The next thing is the glove box, it's just silly to have to open it from the screen. A simple latch mechanism would do. And the third is the Windshield wipers. The auto wipers generally work, but have been 'broken' several times by software updates. A simple sensor would fix this issue once and for all.

There has been talk from people about wanting a HUD, but personally I've never had one and don't really care for one. They should though offer one in the Model 3 Performance, Model S, X and maybe Cybertruck. But I don't think that's ever going to happen, and for me I would still buy another Tesla regardless.

Conclusion

Make no mistake, I consider my Model 3 to be an appliance, but it's the best appliance I've owned. It's a versatile vehicle, serving as my daily commuter, trip car, and occasional Red light bully, besting some pretty expensive sports cars. I'm totally happy with it, and there are no plans to replace it for at least the next 7 to 10 years.