The Tesla Model Y: A Performance Car with Its Fair Share of Flaws
As I stand here, looking at my recently sold Tesla Model Y, I have to admit that it was a difficult decision. Despite its many wonderful features and capabilities, there were also several aspects of the car that left me feeling frustrated and disappointed. In this article, I'll share my thoughts on the good and the bad, in the hopes that others might find some valuable insights.
The Performance Model: A Real Speed Demon
One of the first things I want to talk about is the performance model of the Tesla Model Y. And let me tell you, it's a real speed demon. With 0-60mph times of just a few seconds, this car can accelerate like no other on the road. But what really gets my adrenaline pumping is when I get behind the wheel and unleash its full fury. There's nothing quite like the feeling of being able to go from 0 to 60 in under three seconds - it's exhilarating, to say the least.
As I mentioned earlier, I've had this car for almost two years now, with over 25,000 miles on the clock. It's been my wife's daily driver, and while she loves its comfort and practicality, I've had a harder time warming up to it. That being said, there are several things that I do love about the Model Y. For one, its performance is off the charts - it's quick, responsive, and always ready to go.
But what really sets this car apart from others in its class is its handling. The way it turns and corners is nothing short of magical. It's like a dream to drive on twisty roads or even on straight lines at high speeds. And with the added bonus of instant torque, I can feel the power coursing through every wheel.
Of course, no discussion of the Model Y would be complete without mentioning its interior. And let me tell you, this car is not just about looks - it's also a feast for the senses. From the moment I step inside, I'm struck by the sheer amount of space available. The cabin feels roomy and airy, with plenty of legroom up front and rear.
But as great as the interior is, there are some things that I've found to be less than ideal. For one, the build quality could be better - some parts feel a bit flimsy or cheaply made. And while I understand that this is just one car, I'm not alone in my dissatisfaction with this aspect of the Model Y.
Despite these issues, there's no denying that the Tesla Model Y is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a reliable and practical electric vehicle. One of the standout features of any EV is its ability to keep costs low - and with this car, it's no exception. With 25,000 miles on the clock, I've had to take it in only once for repairs, and that was just a routine maintenance visit.
One thing that did surprise me, though, was how many times I ended up at Tesla Service centers for non-essential work. One of those occasions was when my garage door opener needed replacing - yes, you read that right! It's not exactly something that needs to be done regularly, but somehow it just happened.
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- This is a Tesla Model YPerformance, and I just sold it.There's some things I like about it,but a whole lot morethat I absolutely do not.I gotta come clean with you.I've had this car foralmost two years now,and put a little over 25,000 miles on it.So this is my wife's daily.I don't want it to be an anti-Tesla video.My wife and I have been generally happywith some of the stuff with this,but there's also a whole lot of thingswhich are just not okay.So this is specificallya performance model,and if I'm gonna say somepositive stuff first,the performance is number one,two, and three on my list.Now, obviously, all electric vehiclesare somewhere betweenquick and oh-my-God-fast,and this is a lot closerto the holy-(honk)-this-thing-is-fast.All right, gang,you ready to feel like whatPerformance feels like?(passengers grunting)(car engine whirring softly)Oh, yep, there it is.(car engine whistling)Aaah!- Damn.Yep.- But that's oneof the big advantages of this,just being able to just instantly--(backseat passenger shrieking)- Okay.- It's just right there. It's so easy!No, I'm not gonna do anything.(backseat passenger grunting)(all laughing)- I told you! (laughing)- I love gas-powered performance vehicles.(car engine revving)(tires squealing)I absolutely love them.And I know that their time is running out.(car engine growling)But if this is the future,which I absolutely think it is,it's not all bad.And the thing is it'sactually gotten better overthe time I've owned it.So a few months agothey added a track mode,which seems a little bitridiculous for a small SUV,but not only can you take it on the track,you actually can put it in drift mode.I literally slid this thing aroundwith a baby seat in the back.Mind you, the baby seat was empty(baby wailing)at that particular time.But the performance you getin something which looks so,I don't say bad, but come on,no one looks at this andthinks it's cool, right?While I have a lot of issueswith some of the buildquality of the vehicle,the fact that this is electric meansthere's so many fewer parts,and that, 25,000 miles in,I have not had to takethis to a dealer once.The only times I've hadto use Tesla Servicewas to install the garage door opener,which, stupidly, is notincluded from the factory,and I had to replace one tirebecause I got a nail in it.That's it.On top of the fact that youhave a decent sized trunk,there's also a lot ofextra space back here.So not only are there thesevery deep pockets on the sides,but you can go even lower.Look at that!(camera person laughing)(trunk door whirring)(trunk door clicking shut)As you can see, there's a lot of spacein the back of the Model Y,and that's not counting the frunk.Quite possibly the bestfeature of a Tesla, though,is one of the absolute most obvious.The fact that Superchargers are,I'm not gonna say everywhere,but far more common than the other,more generic EV chargers,such as Electrify America and EVgo,that's a big win.But more importantly than that,Tesla Superchargers are dead reliable.If you've ever heardanyone talk about Teslas,it's always, "Superchargers,Superchargers."Now, yes, Superchargers arecurrently being opened upto other vehicles,but the problem is that's a slow process.I wouldn't be surprisedif it takes years beforemost Superchargershave any kind of access for other EVs.I like my fake carbon fiberspoiler that's falling off now.Well, again, not my caranymore, so not my problem.Let me explain to youhow a door handle workson a Tesla Model Y.It's nowhere near assimple as it should be.Due to aerodynamics,they've got a very flush door handle,which means you alwayshave to push it on the sideto open it,a little bit weird, but fineonce you get used to it.The issue is unlocking the vehicle.You have two ways in.First of all,you can use the littlecredit card-like keyto tap on the B pillarand will unlock the car.Or, what the most convenientway of doing it is,is to use your smartphone and Bluetooth.And sometimes this works,but most of the time it doesn't.And especially when youhave your hands full,and the car decides that itdoesn't wanna open up for you,it's really not very fun.And this happens all the time.That's what I'm talking about.But watch this, I'll pull my phone out.D'you see that?And that is just the beginningof the quality issuesthat you could expect whenyou buy yourself a Tesla.A couple of months afterpurchasing the vehicle,both of the little covers foryour seat controls came loose.So I have electrical tiedboth of them in place.There has been, the entiretime I've owned this car,this panel right here.Yeah, so you notice howthis doesn't stay flat?So not only has that always dragged,but you might see alittle bit of tumbleweed.Driving back from theBay area six months ago,I hit a tumbleweed,and it got trapped under there,and now it doesn't rattle anymore,but there's justpermanent tumbleweed stuckin my under body panel.The build quality issues extend far beyondjust the exterior too.Now, that's probably not a big surprise.Almost everyone who owns aTesla complains about this,and I think it's completely warranted.Now, there's the obviousstuff, like panel gaps,which, for a $60,000vehicle, are not okay.But then there's lots of other things.The speaker that is on theright door, the passenger door,it's just not screwed in right.So it's got a gap on the bottom.It rattles sometimes.Then there are things like the roof,which, while it is nicely tinted,and I actually think it looks nice,there's some sealant that's up herethat they just didn't take off,and I can't get in there to scrape it out.I know this is very easy to come offas someone who's just complaining about,"Oh, it's not very niceand so minimalistic."And yes, I like this display.This is the only thingI like in the interior,besides the fact that it'sgot a decent amount of space.The fact that I have no gaugecluster here is annoying.The fact that I have to go here,and touch and move everything aroundanytime I wanna do anythingwith the AC, very annoying.The lack of physicalcontrols have been takento an absolutely ridiculous minimal level.And that's not evencounting the ride quality.Remember all that greatstuff that I was sayingabout the performance and everything?(passengers grunting)Well, oftentimes when it comesto a performance vehicle,you're sacrificing, right?You know, you wanna getmore performance out of it,well, you can give up alittle bit of ride quality.Well, I think the Teslaengineers heard that,and they go, "Performance!"And they dialed it all up,'cause this thing rides like bad wordsthat I'm not gonna say on camera.Yes, it's got 21-inchwheels, kinda stupid.And yeah, it's got big,sticky summer tires.Something to consider with an electric caris that electric cars are heavy.Below you, below the floor,are like a thousand pounds ofbatteries or something, right?So it carries its weight low.But that's still a lot of weightthat the suspension has to deal with.And that, paired withthe low profile tires,means that if you're going oneven a moderately bumpy roadin this Performance,it's just uncomfortable.And if you're in the backseat?There have been moments where you hita little bump on thefreeway, and you'll like,your butt will come off the backseat.Even in something like in a Hyundai Ionic,or cars that cost half the price,have much nicer feeling touchpoints,much more comfortable to ride in.This feels like a real areawhere Tesla just don't spend money.When you look at Tesla as a company,they spend next to nothingon research and development,compared to a legacy automaker.Now, that makes sensewhen you sell four models,and essentially almost all their salesare of the Model 3 and the Model Y.If you've got a good thing,just make more of them, right,especially when you make a tidy profiton every single model sold,significantly more thanmost other automakers,especially in the electric space,because pretty much everyoneoutside of Tesla lose moneyon every electric car they sell,or barely break even.But now that the supply hascaught up to the demand,Tesla, while they stillwant to heavily investin infrastructure and build more factoriesand battery plants, andall that kinda stuff,they're faced with a difficult choice.They have an absolutesky-high stock price.And to keep that actually propped up,they need to continue to buildand to grow and to churn,and to really just try toown the electric space.But because the demandhas sort of leveled out,and they have to keep buildingmore and more factoriesand infrastructure and whatnot,they really only have one choice.Cut prices.And they have absolutely done that.So the car that I boughtback in 2021 cost $61,000.A year later, they had raised the priceall the way up to $70,000.But now that supply hascaught up to demand,they've had to cut it drastically.It went from 70 grand in afew short months to $53,000.That is a price cutthat you just don't seein the auto industry,short of some sportscar that no one wants,that eventually will beworth a lot of money,that I would never buy or anything!And what that really meansis that Tesla are aggressivelytrying to push everyone out.Think about it.Tesla, while they are avery valuable company,still make a very smallamount of vehicles,compared to Ford or Toyota.And with everyone inthe auto industry tryingto bring out electric vehiclesto compete with Tesla,no one's able to do that at a profit.So if Tesla can slash their pricesand really get everyoneout-competed, it makes sense.But you know what also would make sense?If they made a new car,or, I don't know,stopped removing featuresfrom the few carsthat they sell right now.So for example, with this vehicle,I ordered it, I believeit was April, 2021.It arrived in June.And in that two-month time period,not only did they removethe lumbar adjustmenton the passenger seat,which is dumb, but okay,and they also removed the radar.So this is a Tesla vision car,which entirely uses thecameras instead of the radar.Now, are either of those a big problem?Not really.But the car didn't get any cheaper for it.Tesla made some more money,but I didn't save anything.So fast forward a couple of years,they've removed all kinds of stuff.They've removed one of the speakersfrom the stereo on a new vehicle,they've removed the parking sensors.There's so many thingsthat it feels thatthey're constantly tryingto cost cut and save here and there,that I'm like, "Ah, aren'tcars supposed to be better?"There are a lot of great things about it.There are a lot of things that I do like,and there's some things I'm gonna miss.The fact that there are somany build quality issues,so many refinement issues,it just, it's not it for me anymore.No, my friends,my new vehicle is a littlebit more controversial.(chuckling)- Uh oh.(car engine whirring)That is a tight turn.(car tires squealing)That is a tight turn.(laughing)- Whoa!Austin, chill out.(car engine purring)
