The car I'm scheduled to take delivery of is a red/black. Three red Y's passed me while biking home from work yesterday and I'm warming to the color. W/ the two red votes above, I'm feeling even better.
The latest Tesla red ("Midnight Cherry Red") is very nice - The only red that I think is clearly prettier is Mazda's, which is freaking beautiful.
I use FSD almost exclusively.
Interesting. I didn't buy FSD ($$$$$!). Autopilot got better and better and better, and then it actually got worse when they got rid of the "nag" and I get strikes all the time now thanks to the habits they enouraged me to build, so now I'm no longer in the habit of using it. More below.
However, it is a REALLY fun car to drive by hand which is also part of why I'm not using AP as much. I also don't have a long rush hour commute on the highway any more, which is the most useful place for Autopilot/FSD.
For me, FSD is a much nicer driving experience than manually driving. This is especially true in heavy traffic, busy downtown areas, or when driving in an unfamiliar area. I wouldn't want to be without it.
It is SO much nicer to have the car doing the driving in heavy traffic that it's hard to even articulate. I used to get done with the commute exhausted, angry, and just spent. I'd have to chill in the car for 10-15 minutes to recover before I was ready to go in the house and be with my family. After I got the Tesla, I was happy and relaxed when I got home. It made a world of difference.
I would suggest subscribing for a month or two. Whatever it takes for you to get a good understanding of what it does. Then turn it on/off as needed. Maybe wait a month so you can learn the car first and will be able to concentrate on FSD while you have it.
One minor disagreement: You should automatically get a free month of FSD when the car is new. Don't take too long to try it or it'll cost you $100 to buy a month instead. That said, the last couple of times a major new version has come out they've given the entire fleet a free month to try it out so you may get another free opportunity so you can save your $100 to buy that airplane that you should be buying anyway.
I have the white trim on my truck. It's shockingly easy to keep clean.
I have the white on mine. It is WAY easier to clean than people would think in terms of regular cleaning, but over time, the coating on the driver's seat will wear out and it'll start to very slowly pick up color from jeans and such. It's still more durable than other light interiors I've seen, and I'd absolutely do it again.
The first week with an EV is weird. one-pedal driving and such. After a couple drives it becomes second nature.
And the next time you rent a car that isn't an EV, you'll realize that gas cars are downright primitive and you won't believe we've put up with them for so long.
Also, when you do rent that gas car, you are going to need a checklist because of all the steps you no longer have to do in the Tesla:
1) Shift into park
2) Turn off the engine
3) Lock the doors
Larry in TN nailed the range anxiety concern. Just like flight planning. In 25K+ miles I can't think of a time I have to wait on charging. On long distance trips I schedule it around a bathroom break or maybe lunch. My range exceeds my bladder - just like on my plane. Being able to charge at home (or work) is pretty cool too.
More often than not, the car is ready to go again before I am.
If you turn it off, how long does it take you to regain situational awareness and resume human-in-the-loop driving? Do you have to practice hand flying driving in case the automation loses its marbles? Does it degrade gracefully, or is it all-or-nothing?
It does not just "let go". It will (LOUDLY) warn you that you need to take over, and it may slow down if it's for deteriorating weather. You still need to manually disengage it by hitting the brake or the stalk or overpowering it on the steering, at which point you'll have complete control and the warnings will extinguish.
I have heard that if you don't respond whatsoever to the warning, that it will assume you're incapacitated and it will safely pull over and call 911. I have never been able to tolerate the warnings long enough to see if that's true!
Maybe a better question is, is FSD a CAVU kind of thing as opposed to an ILS to minimums kind of thing?
I have been in conditions where it drives just fine and I would have been challenged. Night, rain heavy enough to have standing water on surfaces reflecting all the lights around and making it difficult to see the lines, and into a construction zone where there were lots of "fake" lines because lanes were moved around and such. It was shocking how good it was. That said, I've also had it go 10mph slower than I would be able to in some bad weather conditions.
