TFLEV has owned a 2023 Tesla Model 3 Performance for a year and put over 15,000 miles on the odometer. The car’s been driven cross country twice, taken Roman and Tommy into the Colorado Rocky Mountain high-country throughout the year, and served as a go-to errand-runner. And they have opinions! Let’s get right into it.
Tommy’s Love List for the Tesla Model 3
- The Tesla Supercharger Network makes road-tripping an EV as easy and stress-free as it can be (right now). The network is so good and reliable that it should be one of the top considerations for any EV buyer.
- The big touchscreen. It’s fast, intuitive, informative, and easy to use.
- It’s a hoot to drive. From the acceleration to the handling, the Model 3 Performance is one of the best driver-centric EVs on the market today.
- The Tesla has required zero service or maintenance over the course of those 15,000 miles.
Roman’s Love List
- The frunk! It’s large, useful, and (incredibly) rare in the EV world today.
- The heated rear seats (with the caveat that he hates that rear passengers can’t control them).
- The acceleration still makes him smile, even a year later.
- The Level 2 charger in their garage handled 95% of their charging needs at home. That meant the Tesla was ready to go anywhere with full range nearly every morning.
Tommy’s Hate List
- The EPA range of 300+ miles is a fantasy. Over the course of the year, Tommy’s learned that 180-190 miles between charging is a more realistic and reliable number. And it’s worse during the sub-freezing winter temperatures.
- Autopilot is automatically unsettling due to phantom braking. The car will suddenly slam on the brakes for no legitimate reason.
Roman’s Hate List
- The rear seats are useless for taller adults, with inadequate headroom or legroom. Visibility is annoyingly poor.
- The now ubiquity of the Model 3. There’s nothing special about its “stoned fish” look anymore. As Tommy points out, all the gazillions of people who bought a Toyota Prius 10 years ago now drive Model 3s.
- Roman would like a traditional digital display in front of the steering wheel to provide current speed and turn signal indicators, at the very least.
- The Supercharger Network is reliable, but he’s not impressed with their locations and lack of amenities. They should be a proper “rest stop” with a roof over the charger/cars for when it rains or when you’re baking in the summer heat and want shade and available restrooms. Even the crappiest gas station has more going for it than most Supercharger locations.
- And the worst part of owning this Model 3 Performance has been the car’s depreciation, sped up by Elon Musk dropping the price of new Model 3’s throughout the year. TFL paid around $53K for this Tesla. Time will tell if TFL gets more than $40K for it when it leaves the fleet. Because of this sad reality, Tommy and Roman advise anyone interested in a Model 3 to LEASE one right now.
Check out the video below to learn TFL’s plans for this Model 3.
