Drooling Over a Tesla Store

The other day I was killing time in the Short Hills, NJ mall when unbeknownst to me, I see my very first Tesla store.  Remember, this is not a dealership, this is simply a retail store that sells assorted Tesla Swag and where large touch screen computers on the wall connect you to their website where you can make an appointment to drive the all-electric vehicle or customize and order your very own.  The store will take your down payment and just a short time later your car will be delivered right to your home. According to the lady in the store, they've sold at least 500 across the Garden State (take that for what its worth).

I had already been intrigued by the Tesla, namely its all electric drive train that reduced the cost of regular maintenance as well eliminated the need fore regular (and often) expensive fill-ups at your local gas station.  But my fascination and interest in the car exploded after seeing this piece of American ingenuity up close and personal.

To your left you see a shot of the vehicles front trunk. Remember, this is an all electric vehicle and there are actually four individual motors that provide power to the wheels, so no big rig taking up the front of your car.  Plenty of storage right there for all your belongings.  This is obviously not the first car in the world that has front side trunk space, but its uncommon in the automotive world and a bit of treat.  Plus, this was in the days leading up to Halloween so the stash of pumpkins was quite nice.

As you circle this vehicle, you think, oh wow, could there be trunks? Plural to this seemingly small vehicle?  It is and that means you can carry a lot of stuff and not have to worry about all of that precious cargo space you lose if you downsize from a crossover or SUV to this sedan.  But the option they were highlighting is this Model S was even cooler and hearkens back to the days of station wagons and long drives with the family.  That's right, rear facing seats in the trunk provide kids a safe and alternate view of the road.  It also gives drivers behind you the chance to be taunted by kids staring into your eyes as you drive.  Awesome feature for the Tesla owner, a little creepy for everyone else on the road who has the awkward experience of making direct eye contact with someone else while they are driving down a highway.

All right Elon Musk, you have managed to turn my youthful and geeky curiosity for your all electric vehicles into a a consumer who sees both the value and practicality of your alternative technology transportation device.

Now its time to go inside the ride and be able to fantasize first hand what it would be like to own this piece of future tech.  Right away, you can see where Tesla's Silicon Valley based ingenuity has made this vehicle completely different from its competition that probably originated in Detroit, Korea, Japan, Germany or one of the other popular auto producing regions of the world.  The first thing you notice is the giant monitors that make up the dashboard and infotainment system.  Already you start to feel like you a piloting a piece of future technology that could have been featured in your favorite sci-fi thriller.

I didn't have too much time to actually go through and see how customizable the interfaces can be but I'm guessing its pretty solid.  My one caveat/concern would be the all touchscreen controls which I have argued lately can be distracting while driving but that's not going to be a dealbreaker today.


The next thing I noticed when I actually sat down in the car is just how much bigger it is insider the cab when

A) There's no axle running under the car and therefore no raised section between the two seats

B) (More importantly) The gear shift is a tiny control off the steering while with options for only D, R and N, leaving the space between the driver and the passenger completely unoccupied.  Its amazing how this one small change can make the interior of the car feel 100x bigger.

All that being said, there are still plenty of legitimate concerns when it comes to this vehicles practicality in every day life beyond the hefty price tag.   I myself have to immediately take it out of consideration because I don't live somewhere with access to a plug and I often find myself driving more than the 200 mile range where stopping to juice up would be more hassle than its currently worth.  But, I hope in time that the battery technology improves to greatly increase the vehicles range, quick charging becomes as common finding an air pump and I move somewhere that would accommodate a plug because I am pretty certain I want to own one of these cars.

Congrats Elon Musk, I can't wait to see what changes and other creations you have in store for us.


~MP