Tesla Model 3 Review Thread

I put more faith in actual owner's reviews than car magazines that might have a specific bias or hidden agenda. So far, owner reviews have been overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. Tesla continues to get overwhelming pre-orders as a result of more people actually seeing and driving the car. Rather than spam Prius Chat with actual owner reviews, I urge those interested to join a Tesla model 3 forum for real reviews from real owners. Tesla will release their base price $35,000 later in 2018, ahead of schedule. With Federal and State and utility tax credits and rebates, that model 3 will net for $24,550 in California! The fun is just beginning.

 

by the time i can walk into a showroom nd buy a 35k model, they will be perfect.

 

Tesla sent this invite to me today, I just may go and test drive the S and X.

We are excited to invite you to a Tesla Showcase event in Costa Mesa.

During the event, you will have the opportunity to test drive Model S or Model X, compare a variety of interior and exterior vehicle options and select the Tesla that best suits your lifestyle. Our team of product experts will be available to help answer your questions, including how to trade-in your current vehicle or arrange financing.

Schedule your test drive with Model S or Model X below.

 

DO IT! It will either confirm or invalidate your concerns. Then come back to this sub-forum and list the pros and cons of what you experienced.

Remember the model 3 is smaller and lighter and gives the impression of being faster than either of the two cars offered for test drive. They don't have any model 3's for test drives because every production car is being used to fill the backlog of orders. But I expect you will be able to see and sit in a model 3 at the Costa Mesa store.

 

have i just entered the twilight zone?

kidding aside, heck! send a pm - take ours out for a spin & we can talk all the good, bad, & the ugly. That way, you get 2 drives .... ours & a factory test.
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Here is a long article about a guy that bought a model 3.

 

Most reviews by magazines or professional organizations are written by people who are unfamiliar with Tesla technology, systems, or even the owner's manual. To those of us who are committed to the Tesla concept, these reviews are often incorrect or misleading and therefore cringe worthy. The best reviews are written by actual owners who have several hundred or thousand miles under their belt, like the one above, which is typical. Certainly there are a few negative reviews by owners, and it is possible to cherry pick those reviews and post here, but the overwhelming response is positive and Tesla will sell millions of their cars and make a ton of money while changing the concept of personal transportation forever.

 

What is up with the Autopilot system, maybe more testing is needed? Another local accident in Laguna Beach.

 

Yeah, do you have a link for that?

What is up with autopilot is that a few owners are using it as full self driving. It is not. Some people are using it to text, watch videos, eat with food in their lap, and even sleeping while driving. Tesla advises that autopilot requires that both hands be on the steering wheel and the driver be in full control of the car at all times. Basically autopilot is a combination of ACC and Lane Keep Assist in its current iteration. Some owners are ignoring Tesla's warnings and using it beyond its capabilities and thus getting into accidents.

 

Tesla in Autopilot mode crashes into parked Laguna Beach police cruiser

 

On a good note, Model 3 saves all inside....
Tesla Model 3 saves family from serious injury after being rear-ended at high speed

 

Much of the autopilot bad PR comes from the same drama as the skewing of ev battery fires. Raw data apart from whether battery fire ratios are more or less than gas fires are put forth typically, to serve the purpose of the author - easy drama, & a pat on the back for so called great investigative journalism.
Maybe cars SHOULDN'T have a driver assist feature - w/out drivers passing a test. After all, amateur & commercial pilots have to run the plane's autopilot feature proficiently.
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saw a suburb ad claiming their safety device will stop the car for a stopped object.

 

Maybe DRIVERS shouldn't be allowed to USE a driver assist feature without passing a test [fixed it for ya)

Yes, if you read the fine print, it is only available at speeds less than 25 mph.

 

I think Mercedes has a system to help stop before a collision.

 

Not much in the way of detail. Why would a driver allow his car to plow straight into the back of a parked vehicle? Sounds like an inattentive driver to me.

This accident is very similar to one a couple of months ago. A Tesla driver was driving in the carpool lane with his ACC on behind a large pickup. The pickup swerved out of the car pool lane to avid an emergency vehicle stopped in that lane. The Tesla continued onward and rearended the emergency vehicle at 65 mph. The Tesla driver was unhurt. The driver said it was not the car's fault. He admitted he had been inattentive and he was 100% at fault. The facts are the Tesla driver had the ACC set for too close a following distance at the speed he was travelling. In essence he was tailgating. He was distracted by his phone and not keeping his eyes on the road. That accident had nothing to do with the car being a Tesla. Had the driver been driving a Prius, the results and outcome would have been the same but probably would have resulted in a trip to the hospital or worse.

I will repeat again and will do so every time these Tesla accident reports are posted here, TESLA AUTOPILOT IS NOT FULL SELF DRIVING. ULTIMATELY WITH AUTOPILOT THE DRIVER IS CAUTIONED THAT HE IS FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CAR AT ALL TIMES. If a Tesla hits a parked car, so far it has been driver error.

 

So does Tesla, it is called EAB (Emergency Automatic Braking). t will slow the car by 25 mph but it is disabled as well as Autopilot at speeds over 80 mph.

Since you brought MBZ, how does their system work?

 

I think everybody now has a collision avoidance/mitigation system among their car features.

 

at least on higher priced option models - similarly - NO auto braking features, if you don't pay for it in a Tesla. The better ½ is in a Model S loaner right now & surprisingly while using cruise control on the freeway, we started coming up on slower traffic & fortunately I wasn't one of those fools that doesn't pay attention to the surroundings.
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