Tesla Model Y

 In February of 2025 I bought a Tesla Model Y Dual Motor.  This is the last of the "old model", a new model replaced it partway through the model year. 

Overall, I like the car.  I think the Model Y is a bit funny looking, but some of that is hidden in the stock grey color, and I've never cared all that much about looks.  It is incredibly quick off the line with a zero-60 time similar to a Mustang GT from a decade ago...but with instant response and almost no noise or drama. 

It is a useful size, big enough for me to be comfortable in the back seat if needed, not much bigger.  Lots of storage, fairly large hatch, very deep under-hatch compartments, and a smallish front trunk. The interior is extremely simple--nothing in the spot for an instrument cluster. almost no buttons, just a large touchscreen in the center.  Mine has the white interior--white seats and a white accent across the dash and doors.  The left stalk is a fairly normal turn signal with a single push button on the tip that controls wipers.  One press wipes once, a harder press washes, multiple presses toggle through the modes or you can use the left scroll wheel.  The wipers default to auto with rain sensing--this is with the camera rather than a dedicated sensor so could be better.  The right stalk does dual duty as shifter and autopilot--if you're stopped, it's a shifter, if you're in gear it controls the autopilot, the tip button is park.  The door latches are small buttons, with an emergency manual release. Controls for windows, seats, map lights, horn and emergency flashers are normal, everything else is some combination of touchscreen and steering wheel controls.   Adjust the steering wheel?  Select it on the touchscreen and move the left control around.  Adjust the mirror?  Select it on the touchscreen and move the left control.  

Your phone acts as the key and fob, with a credit card sized backup key. The backup key requires you to hold it near the door pillar, the phone key connects via bluetooth, with remote features via Internet.  When you get in the screen lights up and the audio starts.  Push the brake and it "starts" and the seat adjusts.  Click the shifter to the direction you want to go and hit the accelerator.  

The Tesla has one-foot driving.  When you are completely off the "gas" pedal you are braking via regeneration, enough to handle most driving situations including stops without using the brake pedal.  The first bit of travel reduces the amount of braking until you get to a point where you get power, so from a stop you kind of take up the slack before you move.  When I go back to a normal car I tend to lurch, as I "take up the slack" and give it more gas than I intended. 

The screen shows a cartoonified overhead view of your surroundings, including parking lot lines and curbs.  You can set acceleration to Chill or Normal, 3 different levels of steering assist, whether to use brakes to keep the deceleration the same when it can't regenerate.  It has generated a couple of interesting misidentifications--a bush in my driveway is sometimes recognized as a person, trains are seen as overlapping semitrucks. 

Teslas full self-driving is fantastic. A click on the shifter stalk puts you in self-driving mode where it will do a pretty good job of driving, stopping for traffic controls, passing slow cars on the interstate, and doing 95% of the work.  It will complain if you look away too long or if it sees your phone in your hand.   It brakes late and hard compared to my driving.  The system is amazing in most ways with a few peculiar flaws.  The biggest flaw is that the speed control is extremely unclear--you apparently cannot set a maximum speed for self driving, which would cure most of my annoyance. Instead, you set a speed profile--but on the interstate there's about an 8 mph difference between "normal" (a little too slow) and "hurry" (risks a ticket). I can usually convince it to go the speed I want by taking it in and out of autopilot, but I'd really like a way to set a max self-driving speed.  You can set a maximum overall speed...but that sends a phone alert every time you reach the set speed, 

If you don't pay for full self-driving, the remaining driver assist functions are less useful than the ones on my 2018 Honda Fit.  Adaptive cruise works OK.  Autosteer is somewhat different than lane centering or lane assist--it will go around sharper corners on its own, but doesn't share control--either it does all the steering or it shuts off completely.  It works OK on interstates but is almost completely useless on other roads. The car recognizes speed limits with a combination of map data and reading road signs...but it is surprisingly inaccurate.  In particular it routinely fails to recognize unmarked 55 mph zones for most country roads and often ignores 55mph signs.  Since Autosteer refuses to go more than 5mph over what it thinks the limit is on 2 lane roads, this makes the feature almost useless there. 

I miss Android Auto.  There are built-in apps for many music streaming services, but not my favorite podcast app.  Bluetooth works well enough, but I have to start the app I want first.   There is no AM radio, apparently because electric vehicles generate too much interference.  The speakers are fantastic compared to any other car I've had. 

When I got the car it had standard headlights with the brights automatically controlled.  A software update changed that to adaptive headlights--instead of bright and dim, it dims only the specific spot where the traffic is.  If you watch closely, you can often see the shadow move with traffic.  A few times it's been a bit confused by reflectors--It dims for the reflectors, then goes bright again when they quit reflecting back, then dim...

I've actually used Dog Mode--this sets the AC to 69 degrees, locks the doors and windows, and puts a big sign on the display with a cartoon dog, a large display of the cabin temperature, and a note saying that the dog's people will be back soon.  

I got the Tesla charger.  Now that I know more, I'd look into a third-party charger--Chargers are fairly simple with the car doing most of the work.  When you set the charger up you program the circut capacity, it tells the car how much power it can take. After a few safety checks it just latches, then feeds whatever power is there to the car.  I had a 220v 50a circuit installed, and I get about 35 miles of range per hour of charging at 40 amps.   With a normal 110 circuit, I got about 5 miles per hour.  I set up a spreadsheet to track the equivalent MPG based on the cost of gas at the stations I used to use, the cost per kWh of electricity and the Tesla's reported consumption and miles, and I've been getting between 85-90 mpg.   Tesla recommends keeping the battery between 20% and 80% when possible, and it lets you pick a percent where it will stop charging.  I have to charge more often than I would get gas...but it's an extra 15 seconds instead of a 5-minute stop.  I was able to program the charger to refuse to charge any other car in the off chance someone would pull into my driveway.  

When I had a temporary plate, I had a number of comments from strangers--in most cases asking if I'm worried about it getting vandalized by anti-Elon protesters, in one case an obviously pro-MAGA lady who assumed I bought it for MAGA reasons.  If anything I bought it despite of Elon's antics.  I bought it because I like the idea of electric, the performance is fun, and prices have come down to my budget.  With the "old model" discount and tax incentives that come off the purchase price it wound up being about $37k (before full self driving).  A few years ago the same model would have been over $55k