The Tesla After 3 Months: Still Worth It?

In March, I picked up my long-range Tesla Model 3 in St. Louis, almost immediately earning a speeding ticket because of the car’s effortless acceleration. Fortunately, I figured it out (the switch to “chill” mode is super helpful), and I’ve been in awe of the car ever since. I wrote an article soon after that about my early experiences with the car, followed by an article about taking a Tesla on a long road trip.

A few of you asked me to check in after a few months to see if I was still happy with the purchase, and I think it’s a good time to do that…because we didn’t take the Tesla on our recent trip to Shawnee National Forest even though the car drives itself on highways.

To be clear, I wanted to take the Tesla, and there was a supercharger on the way about an hour out of St. Louis. But there were no places to charge after that, and Shawnee is massive, so we would have had 350 miles to work with. It may have been enough, but our Airbnb didn’t have an outdoor outlet–the lack of overnight charging made the difference.

I’ve been so spoiled by the Tesla that I thought that riding in a non-electric car would feel absurdly antiquated. But despite a Tesla’s fancy features, a car is still a car, and I had a pleasant ride in Megan’s VW Golf.

Beyond that trip and things I’ve noted in previous articles, here are a few other observations I’ve had about the Tesla over the last few months:

• I’m still discovering new features. There’s plenty to discover within the big touchscreen, but there are also other little buttons and gadgets throughout the car. For example, I found a round button on the side of my seat that adjusts lumbar support (I’m all about the lumbar).
• It helps time pass. Megan and I went to pick up a pizza at Union Loafers last month, and they ended up running around 20 minutes late (which they were very kind to make up for by including some extra bread and dip in the bag). Normally this would have felt like forever, especially when we’re hungrily waiting for delicious pizza, but instead we played the Mario Kart-style game built into the car. In no time at all, the pizza was ready.
• Wifi updates are still super annoying. This is probably my biggest complaint about the car at this point. The car needs frequent software updates, but it needs wifi to get them. I live in a condo, not a house, so there is no wifi signal near the car. Instead, I need to use my phone as a hotspot, which I can typically only do when the signal is really strong. I don’t think there’s a great solution for this, but I wish Tesla would all over-the-air updates for those who don’t park in range of their home’s wifi.

The biggest thing I’ve learned about the car and myself since getting the Tesla is that even with the novelty of newness gone, I’m genuinely excited to drive the car, which makes me more willing to go to people instead of asking them to come to me. In this way, it’s helped me become more considerate of other peoples’ time. I never expected that, as driving was always a means to an end, not an activity that made me happy.

So the answer to my question is a resounding YES. In almost every way, the long-range Tesla Model 3 was absolutely worth it. Even if you’re not looking for a new car, I highly recommend driving a Tesla to see how it feels. And in case you decide to get one, we can both get 1000 miles of supercharging if you use this link.