I’ve had GreyMatter (my Model 3) for a little over a week now. It was in the shop for a few days last week for installation of paint protection film a few carbon fiber accent pieces.
There are now a little over 200 miles on the odometer and I’m getting more comfortable with it every day. I have to say that, so far, the awe of the technology built into the Tesla doesn’t fade away with time, it actually gets stronger.
There’s just so much this car can do, here’s one example:
Supposedly you can download other .mp3 files into the car via memory stick and the car's computer will choreograph the lightshow to the new song. Gimmicky? Absolutely, but very cool nonetheless not to mention a “passive” way to advertise the brand without buying ads.
No Charger At Home?
No problem. For optimum battery life Tesla recommends you keep the battery between 20% and 80% for daily driving. Our condo building doesn’t have any way for me to plug in so this means I only have 60% of my total range that’s usable on a daily basis. The Long Range model is rated at 358 miles per charge so this means, at best, I have 214 miles of range for daily driving. This hasn’t been a problem at all for us but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re considering buying a Tesla.
After analyzing our driving patterns I’ll be topping off at Level 2 chargers or SuperChargers about once a week (at a cost of $8 to $12) for our usual errands. Of course when you’re planning a road trip it’s perfectly fine to charge to a full 100% so you can utilize the entire 358-ish miles of range. Also, to my delight there are many hotels and businesses that offer free charging for EVs now so I’ll gladly be taking advantage of these free electrons during road trips. Now we'll jump from something ultra-futuristic to something ancient.
Stoicism, The Perfect Operating System For Modern Life?
I wrote a post about a month ago entitled, If You Could Only Own One Book, What Would It Be? In that post I mentioned Meditations, A book by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. This has been hugely helpful to me in navigating the complexities the world after a major pandemic. Tim Ferris referred to Stoicism as, "The Operating System For Modern Life" and I don't disagree.
Since I wrote that original Hive post I’ve gone completely down a Stoicism rabbit hole which ultimately led me to a book called The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday.
In this book you get a short passage for each day to read and reflect on. I can count on one hand that number of "self-help" books that have made a measurable difference in my life but this is definitely one of them. One takeaway I've had is life in Ancient Rome had quite a bit more in common with our modern day than I ever imagined.
If you'd like a free sample of what this philosophy is all about please sign up for The Daily Stoic Email. Honestly, the first thing I do in the morning is read my passage for the day in the book while drinking my very strong coffee then I check Gmail for my daily email from Ryan Holiday.
TRY IT! Your life will very likely be better for it.
All for now. Be well.
Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
Pick up a copy of Ephemera today on Amazon.
Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel.
These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, Mindful Moments, will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com.
Let’s Keep In Touch
Great post, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius has been on my reading list for a while, but I have not gotten to it as yet. I will definitely sign up for the email list and use it as a stepping stone. By the way, I am looking into a Tesla, those babies are a bit expensive but I will affirm it. Again, great post. I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
Thank you! It's actually quite short and an easy read if you get the Gregory Hayes version. Yes, the Teslas aren't cheap but they become a lot more attractive when you look at the money they save you in fuel and scheduled maintenance costs. Virtually the only maintenance they need are tires and cabin air filters every few years, wiper blades, and windshield wiper fluid.
Let's say Tesla is more than a car. I still drive a car which plays track CD :)
Do you think to do speed test in a safe area?
I kinda of wish this had a CD player. Lol. I've punched the accelerator a handful of times now and it's absolutely insane, the g-force pins your entire body back into the seat.
I can imagine :)
Show off.
Which of the Stoicism books would you recommend to hook into first?
That's exactly what it is, Tesla showing off. Lol. That will be a one and done type experience.
I would recommend signing up for the free email first, it gives you a great intro to much of the philosophy. As far as books are concerned Meditations is the one I'd begin with. There are several versions/translations out there and from the research I've done the one from Gregory Hayes is by far the best and easiest to understand.
I don't realise they had such a range on them! That kind of range is enough to cover Scotland! I definitely think my next car might be electric!
I definitely bought the Long Range model for that very reason. You can get a Model S now with over 400 miles of range, I think but it's almost twice the price of a 3. It's very easy to live with an EV now even if you can't charge at home. I'm glad I didn't buy one any earlier though, before the charging network was built up.
I genuinely was labouring under the seemingly now dated impression that they had to be charged every five minutes. It's bloody excellent to hear they can do so well
Thankfully that's not the case anymore! They're very easy to live with.
You can have a disco party with your Tesla! And how amazing that the charge gives you so much driving, lucky man you are! Well deserved though Eric :)
I've signed up for those emails, trust you to recommend only the best!
Enjoy that snazzy car Eric!
Thanks Lizelle! Crazy isn't it? I ran it through the car wash for the first time yesterday evening and the driver's side window weather stripping leaked water like a sieve! I'm so glad I discovered that before my big road trip. I have a service appointment on Monday to get new weather stripping reinstalled. Definitely not something you expect from a brand new car.
I really hope you enjoy the emails. I've been signed up now for about a month and it's a great way to start the day. Thanks again and I hope you're having a wonderful week!
That is pretty awesome that you can do the light show like that. Like you said, not super practical, but it is still really cool. Do all Tesla's have that mode or just your model? I remember reading something about Camping mode too, does yours have that?
It's super crazy in person. The projector headlamps project "Tesla" on the wall in front of the vehicle too. As far as I know the light show feature is offered on every newer Tesla. There's also a boom box feature that allows you to play music through external speakers, video games, karaoke, and a virtual whoopee cushion that plays a variety of fart noises which can be directed to any seat. It would be a teenager's dream.
Yep, it has camping and dog mode that will hold the temp of the cabin. They make an air mattress that fits in the back when the seats fold down but I think I'm a tad too tall to make it work in the 3, the Y will be more feasible to sleep in I think.
Very interesting! Do you ever feel like a lot of that was wasted potential on the part of the designers? I mean, how about we focus on automated driving that doesn't freak everyone out versus farting noises... It still sounds cool though. Boom box mode for the win!
Honestly, I really like the fun factor of it all but do feel that there are elements of the car and the ownership experience that could be much better. Case in point...I took it through a car wash for the first time last night and the weather stripping on the driver's side window failed and the interior got drenched. They'll be fixing that on Monday. That simply shouldn't happen on a $60k car.
The full self driving feature has made a lot of strides recently with the new release but there have been a lot of empty promises and missed goals in regard to that. The company has been basically making people pay to be beta testers, they should have offered it to the test group for free until it's perfected.
Tesla has this cool feature where once everything in the entire car is adjusted to your liking then your driver profile is loaded to the cloud and every Tesla you drive from that point forward adjusts everything to you automatically. I think the $12k (soon to be $15k) full self driving feature should be attached to your profile and follow you into any future Tesla you drive or own. It''d be well worth it then. I, personally, wouldn't pay for it now but can see how it would be useful as I get older.
I feel like the outcry over the self driving thing is a lot of hype and FUD. I think far more people cause accidents driving like idiots than some AI driving. I do think it is a miss that they charge so much for it as a feature. Like you said, when you are spending that much on a car, you should get some of that stuff thrown in and the quality should be top notch!
Throughout these past few years, especially, I've noticed a lot of FUD being slung at Tesla. I think this is rooted in Big Oil launching smear campaigns. Until they can reposition themselves to profit off of EVs they're a huge threat to their bottom line. I can only shake my head at some of the ignorance and propaganda people believe and perpetuate on social media about electric vehicles.
According to the data, Tesla's version of full self driving (Tesla Vision) is already 5x safer than a human driver alone. That's set to get exponentially better this fall with the new release in September. Other brands are catching up to that as well only they are using a combo of Lidar and cameras.
So far the experience has been pretty painless for getting the weather stripping fixed. I got an appointment within a few days, set everything up through the app, and everything is covered under warranty. I really hope this is the last thing that needs to be fixed. After all, we buy cars for transportation and to save us time not to have to get fixed every few weeks and cost us time.
I had a feeling the numbers were something like that. I am not surprised that it is probably a smear campaign by big oil. It makes me think of that movie Chain Reaction with Keanau. That is good that the warranty process has been pretty painless. I know that event he fastest of our reaction times are pretty slow compared to computers, so I am more than willing to embrace self driving.
Hi Eric, I'm really fascinated by your car. It's a very extraordinary car. Unfortunately the car has not yet entered my country. You really are lucky to live in a modern country, Eric. Modern life allows you to live comfortably as it is today. Have a nice day.
Thank you Eliana! I still can't believe it's my car at this point because I've wanted one for so long. I hope they come to your country soon. EVs will be everywhere in the next ten years, they are just so superior to many gasoline cars and will just keep getting better and less expensive as time goes on. Enjoy the rest of your week!
Quite a nice car with so much exciting features. I hope it wouldn't be cost though
Thanks!
Tesla is amazing and am pretty sure you will enjoy the car to the fullest
Thank you!
The passangers in your car have a party, while you are driving. If you are not driving, then you too. You can a private disco in your car. Private disco on four wheels.
Tesla should apply solar panels, wind generators, or any other things to the car to be able to charge the car battery without plugging in the charger. Maybe these would not do much help in everyday driving, but any of these would be helpful in an emergency situation. Even if not too much.
Wow, you have got a nice Tesla car.
Cool.
Thanks!