The first 10,000 km with the Tesla Model Y – our experiences

We've been driving a Tesla since December 2022. Years earlier, we had fulfilled our dream of driving a Porsche, and then we decided to switch to Tesla and e-mobility. Since we loved the size of the Porsche Macan S and now also have a baby on the way, we took a look at the Model Y. In this article, I'd like to briefly share our experiences with you.

Four years ago, we wanted to pick up the Porsche in Zuffenhausen. A day like that is a real happening, and you literally get “pampered from head to toe”. From your own driver, a museum visit, lunch and a factory tour to a very detailed handover, everything is planned down to the last detail. Tesla is completely different. After my identity was verified on arrival at the Mannheim dealership, I got a small case with two cards inside. They wished me lots of fun and sent me to the neighboring hall, where an employee showed me my car. He took my license plates and mounted them upside down. No introduction, nothing. Honestly, it didn't surprise me, and I had expected it, since this approach is discussed in all the forums. But I could imagine that the "typical German car enthusiast" would have to swallow hard here for the first time. I once picked up a car from VW in Wolfsburg before, and what can I say: I think we Germans like this special event. After all, you've spent x euros.

After I had registered my key cards in the app, I used a Tesla checklist for the pickup that I had found online. I only had one panel gap to point out, but the employee told me that it was still within tolerance. I had also noticed that summer wheels were mounted – mind you, it was December, and I had already bought winter wheels as well. After a little back and forth, they drove the car back into the workshop, mounted the winter wheels and put the set of summer wheels in the car for me. That really shouldn't happen, but oh well.

The big difference from cars by Porsche, BMW, Audi or Mercedes is that with a Tesla, the focus isn't on the machine. The focus is on the software. While the German manufacturers build a great machine (with wonderful panel gaps) and put some software on top, Tesla approaches the whole thing differently. What counts here is the software and the digital user experience, and a machine is then built around the software. The standard Tesla sets for its cars is completely different from the one German manufacturers have. In my opinion, the discussion about panel gaps falls far too short.

It all comes down to what you value. In my case, it's the whole digital experience. The app back then from Porsche is, IMO, absolutely no match for Tesla's. I've now seen the same with the VW ID5. It makes me wonder why the German manufacturers still design the digital experience in such an old-school way.

Of course, I have to say that the Tesla doesn't match a Porsche when it comes to build quality. The panel gaps mentioned at the beginning, the road noise or the sound of a door closing. None of that is at the high level of an Audi, Porsche or BMW. But the next time I'm standing at the charging station and enjoying being able to play games in my car, that's forgotten. My focus is somewhere else now. Just the fact that I have an AMD Ryzen processor built in and can see that delights the nerd in me.

No matter who I talk to. Everyone always comes up with the argument "but the range". A study by the ADAC found that the average driver drives a max. of 12 km a day. 12 kilometers! And yet everyone talks about range. We covered the first 3,000 km on long trips. From Mannheim to Basel, to Cologne, to Nuremberg, to Lake Constance and back to Basel. We were never slower than our fellow travelers in their VW Passat. We simply planned the charging stops well together with the breaks. On top of that, I have to say that Tesla's navigation is brilliant. Thanks to the huge display, I can choose my Superchargers very comfortably.

It's completely different in the BMW i4, which I was able to drive recently. Navigating to the next charging station was not intuitive at all. You can just tell that at Tesla, software operation comes first. Charging in general is super convenient: select a Supercharger, plug in, done. It's completely different with other manufacturers, for example: there I download an app, scan the QR code (if it's recognized right away) or (as in the picture) first have to register my debit card. This super seamless (digital) user experience at Tesla is, once again, what excites me.

To this day, we've never had any charging problems. We always make comfortable progress on long trips too and can't see anything negative. Quite the opposite: some new charging parks have more than 50 charging stations, their own bakery and playgrounds. You discover a whole new infrastructure.

A small tip: One of the nicest charging parks we've discovered so far is near Hilden. You should definitely check it out if you're in the area.

I have to say that I don't want to go back to a combustion engine. The driving experience with the electric car is just great. I've also noticed how important the digital possibilities have become to me. I haven't seen anything like it from any other manufacturer. Exactly the right thing for a nerd like me.

Of course, there have also been things that annoyed me. There was the issue with the tires at pickup, or, for example, we once had problems with the air conditioning. I reported the problem via the app (great) and two days later had a software update in my account that fixed the problem. But I never received any feedback or status message. So as a customer, I was on my own at first and didn't know what was going on. I'd like to see more communication here.

The biggest drawback, however, is the missing ultrasonic sensors! That, dear Tesla team, is simply not okay! I was affected too, because the sensors still existed when we ordered the car. As is well known, Tesla then simply dropped them. The replacement is supposed to be Tesla Vision – an image analyzed on the basis of the 360-degree camera. The result is twitching lines that you really can't and don't want to trust. With a car worth more than 70,000 euros, I can expect parking and close-range detection to work flawlessly. Tesla Vision definitely doesn't. I have to say, this really annoyed me. As compensation, Tesla gave us 10,000 free kilometers. That's good and customer-friendly, but once again it was the way it was handled that annoyed me. It wasn't communicated properly in advance.

My verdict is that I don't regret switching from Porsche to Tesla. I've discovered a completely new way of driving. Beyond that, I'm really excited about the "software first" approach.