Have You Driven A Tesla? Holy Crap

I've had an F430 for seven years, love Ferrari and all things Ferrari. But I drove a Tesla last September when a fellow Ferrarista and F1 fan told me he bought one. "It's the best car I've ever had." So I arranged for a test drive. As we left the gallery she said "Go ahead and mash the pedal". No problem, and I did. Less than 4 seconds later I knew I had to have one. I imposed the 24 hour rule, went home and researched and slept on it. The next day I was convinced to buy and did. Without question it's the best car I've ever had. No question whatsoever. None.

Faster (limited to relevant top speeds), safer, more fun to drive (in most circumstances), better built...

Clearly it's a paradigm shift. So does Ferrari shift or stick to building cars that have to carry an engine and fuel around plus hundreds of moving parts that produce lesser performance?

Most interested in informed, insightful comments from those who have actually driven both.

Thanks

 

I've never driven one but I would love to. They look pretty cool too.

 

I agree, they are truly amazing cars to drive, the power is instant and the car handles great - very flat. Congrats on your purchase, did you get a P85D?

 

I have driven the tesla. Makes any other car seem like a horse and buggy.

 

Yes, the haul a$$ and they are only getting faster. I really like them too. They have a ways to go with regards to interior fit and finish, but they are still nice nonetheless. I'm not there yet and still prefer german sedans with big gas motors, but I do see the appeal.

In my opinion it would great compliment to a slow, loud, ancient three-pedal Ferrari.

 

We (my wife and I) have friends who have a Tesla sedan, and they love it. They have put solar panels on their house (in Las Vegas), so their Tesla runs on the Sun. But most Teslas nowadays really run on coal. Also, their range is pretty limited. Our friends rarely go far from home, but for us it would have to be for shorter trips and backed up by something for longer excursions.

When (and it's probably when, not if) they can go 300 highway miles on a charge and recharge in an hour, we'll re-evaluate.

 

If Telsa could only record the exhaust note from my 360 fitted with Ferrari racing exhaust, new headers and free-flow cats and playback the soundtrack as the car was driven.....it still wouldn't be a Ferrari or as my friends commonly refer to it as "screaming sex on wheels."

 

I have driven one several times and yes it accelerates fast but ultimately doesnt provide the visceral thrill of a ferrari and won't nearly handle as well. I love the technology and bought a bunch of tesla stocks while back as I do believe they are on to something long term, but find it comical when people refer to them as 'faster'. It is not all about 0 to 60 times for me.

Comparing a tesla versus a ferrari is apples to oranges.

 

Remember the alamo, thanks for the reality check. I wonder how many Ferrari owners would trade their car for a Tesla.

 

Driven both models and I'd rather take public transport.... and I won't take a bus or train.

 

Need to update my friend. 275 miles on a charge. Tesla Superchargers add 200 miles in 20 minutes. If you drive less than 200 miles a day you needn't ever think about range because you quickly recharge overnight. Plug in like plugging i your cell phone. I have both a Ferrari and Tesla and never think about the range on the Tesla.

 

A friend of mine owns a Tesla and I have test driven his car.

Amazing power they can get out of those electric motors.

But I love the sound of Ferrari engines.

 

Driven both...My 16M and CGT are both an event when you take it out for a drive...well a Tesla, not so much. It is fast, but it does not speak to my passion to hear and feel my car as I accelerate or downshift. As a DD, not a bad option and we may end up buying the Tesla SUV for my wife once available.

 

Maybe as a DD I could see a Tesla. But it is not only about getting from point A to B quickly. I need the sound, the smell, the rumble, the sensual lines of the body - the soul of the car to move me. Both can move you down the street but my Ferraris move me in many other ways.

 

Faster take off yes. But its only one gear. A Ferrari can hit the reset button 6 times.

Still, buy as much Tesla stock as you can.

 

Tesla stock is a little overvalued right now imho. But that doesn't mean it can't rise more (see AMZN, NFLX).
Back on topic, yes the Tesla drives very well and fast. Electric is also the future of day-to-day motoring imho. Note the day-to-day. And that's both a gain and a loss. A gain in acceleration, perhaps comfort, and a loss of involvement and mechanical beauty, and also practicality in terms of speed of fill up and the self-discharge problem I never hear anybody about... what is the standby time of a Tesla?

Before you say is that relevant? Yes it is. To a lot of people. The standby top up need may not be that much but I am sure it will add up over 24 hours, 365 days in terms of electricity cost and CO2.
For instance I am interested in classic cars, I love having lots of cars around and that also means I store them, for months sometimes years, between uses. I don't see that happening with a Tesla, or any electric car for that matter.

Driving experience, personally I found the difference in noise between standstill and driving very high, tire roar and wind noise becomes very apparent. Tesla should improve the insulation on the current models (or perhaps they already have).
A trip to the Alps took 17 hours because of the charging requirement, instead of what normally would have taken about 10 hours. You will also learn that "turtle mode" at 90km/h without heating while stressing to find that charging location is a very hateful thing you will want to avoid. It is unwise and stressful to aim for range in such trips, regular top-ups are better also in terms of recharging speed. That does mean a lot of time wasted along the way for stops and the realistic range is a lot shorter.

 

I'm skeptical of true electric cars ever becoming even somewhat widespread. Just a few years ago California couldn't handle the load of electricity to run air conditioning all day. I don't know much about the subject but I remember hearing our infrastructure is becoming too small for population growth.

 

The networks will evolve/grow with the demand. The Californian problem you mention has been largely attributed to (blamed on?) the activities of Enron in those times.

Which, incidentally, is an extra cost to the consumer that nobody is factoring in today. Not to mention the loss of jobs in car engine servicing, parts manufacturing etc.

 

Amazing car. Ferrari should not go the electric route.

Tesla Model S P85D is on my very short list for my next DD car.

 

Probably the best appliance on the market, right there with Miele dishwashers.
If that's what you need....

 

Totally agree. I drove the Roadster several times, which is more of a fair comparison, and was seriously considering buying one. It was hyper fast off the line (with no dropping of the clutch!), but in spirited driving it just didn't stack up for me. I kept telling myself, "don't think about the (lack of) sound, just evaluate the driving experience." I just didn't think it was as fun to drive...I especially remember passing on the highway from 60-90 feeling antiseptic rather than thrilling.

 

We've had a Tesla P85+ (471 hp motor) for 16 months now and have put about 15,000 miles on it. It's been a fabulous car! It's my wife's daily driver, taking dogs to run on the beach, shopping trips and running daily errands. It's also our go to car for an evening out with friends. It's been on out of state trips and overnights and we've never run out of juice. We have the 80 amp / 240 V high capacity charger at home which adds about 60 miles of range per hour. It will go from empty to full charge in about 5 hours. Typical range for us is 250 - 300 miles depending on speed and use of heat or A/C. We've made occasional use of the Tesla Supercharger stations on the road which can fully charge the car in about 20 minutes... for free! It's like getting a free tank of gas.

The performance of the car is truly stunning. You've all seen the "Holy S@*t!" videos. That's basically the reaction of people experiencing the full acceleration for the first time. It actually knocked my father-in-law's glasses off his head! The Tesla's performance defies your minds concept of what a car can do, it's just so fast, smooth and quiet. I call it the "George Jetson Departure". It just feels so much more efficient than a conventional gasoline car. There are no reciprocating pistons and valves, no cam belts or chains, no transmission and clutch. The torque curve of the electric motor perfectly matches the inertia requirements of moving a heavy car, making maximum torque at zero rpm. The Tesla also handles well for its weight as most of the weight is way down low in the battery pack, making for a low center of gravity, and very little body roll.

I find operating costs are almost a third of a gasoline car. The 85kwh battery costs about $10.20 for a "Fill-up" at $.12 per kwh, which will go about 300 miles for an energy cost of 3.4 cents per mile. That compares to say $2.20 per gallon to go 25 miles = 8.8 cents per mile. Another cool thing is the car is almost entirely operated by soft keys on the touch screen, the only actual hard conventional "buttons" are for the glove box and emergency flashers. This allows for most of the cars operational features to be upgradeable via software updates, which occur automatically overnight for free via Wi-Fi. For example, the car has a reverse camera which displays on the touch screen, but lacked the lines which arc as you turn the wheel to help you position the car in reverse. I've become accustomed to those in my other cars and missed that feature in the Tesla. Well low and behold, I recently hopped in and the car it alerted me of the new feature, and there it was!

I purchased the Tesla for my wife, and as a "Car Guy" I was prepared to not like it much thinking it would be just a really expensive golf cart. But it's turned out quite the opposite, I'm extremely impressed with the combination of technology and performance and quality the Tesla offers, there is just nothing else like it.

 

I've had a P85+ for over a year and a half now, simply amazing and worth every penny. People will go kicking and screaming, just like they did with the paddle shifter, but electric is the future and the technology is only getting better.

 

Excellent write up!

 

its a $100k electric golf cart,and yes ive driven it and other el's and hybrids,the only way for these to really work is a diesel 2 cyl eng a gen running 2-4 el motors ,1 at each wheel,then using 2-4 batts as back up,,just like a diesel/electric locomotive