I spent days and years dreaming about owning a Tesla long before I bought one.
I always wanted a Tesla. I remember all the headlines back in the day when the roadster came out. All the celebrities had them, Jay Leno had/has one, it was a big deal and a little controversial. At the time, the Roadster just seemed like a cool toy, a novelty, but then they dropped the Model S on the market, and everything changed.
Drag Racing with the Family
Every 6 months or so, since they released the Model S, I would go on the Tesla website and daydream about the color and options I would have on my 4 door, family sedan, super/hyper car. Just the idea that you could pay $100k for a super/hyper car with 600 or 700 horsepower was mind blowing. And, that you could pull up next to some rich dude in a $450k Lambo and dust them, with your wife in the passenger seat, 2 kids and a dog in the backseat, and the mother in law in the jump seat flipping the rich dude off as you disappeared into the distance…was insane.
Defying Physics
Every time I built a car on their website it came out the same way, Triple Coat Pearl Red, black interior, spoiler, with every option. I remember building a car in 2015/16 to full specs and the total coming out to $147,000. Crazy…haha, I could never afford a $147k for a car. I mean, I could live in it I guess, but it probably wouldn’t be great for my social life or financial situation. At that price, still way cheaper than a Ferrari or Lamborghini if you’re looking for a 0-60, 2.6 second, 762 HP/713 Ft-lb super car. I’m not a big fan of turning or stopping, and going over 165 MPH is something I rarely do on 4 wheels. So, this 5,000lb physics defying thug seemed perfect for me. Of course, at around $150k, it remained a distant dream.
Same as a Tesla
Years passed, life changed a little, jobs changed, and Tesla prices dropped, but there still wasn’t anything out there in my price range. The dirty unkempt hippy in the back of mind, always felt a little guilty driving my gas guzzling 2011 Dodge Challenger RT around everywhere so I decided to buy the next best thing to a Tesla, a 2014 Fiat 500 Electric. Basically, the same car.
Please Drive on the Right Side of the Road
Technically I didn’t buy it, I leased it, but it was the first fully electric car I ever drove for more than 5 minutes and I was hooked. Back in 2014 I test drove a Model S 70 in a beach city near me and was politely asked to “keep the car on one side of the rode,” the test drive didn’t last much more than about 5 minutes before I was asked to return to the dealer. I’ll talk more about my Fiat in other posts, but I kept the Fiat for the 3 year lease and started seriously Tesla Dreamin’ again in 2017 when the lease on the Fiat was up. I was fully committed to a Tesla now, but still about $147k short of what I could pay.
One day, several years later, through some appalling abuse of math and logic, I’d be able to justify a Tesla purchase.
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