Top 10 Reasons Why I Love the Tesla Model 3

The Tesla Model 3 is the safest, fastest, most fun car that I have ever driven. This post will focus on the top 10 reasons I like about the car (while [this article] will focus on what I don’t like about the car). If you have any questions about the Model 3 or Teslas, send me a direct message via Twitter: @wrichter00 or leave a message below. 

10. Direct Sale – have you ever bought a car through a traditional dealership? How long did it take you? A long time I bet. How was the experience? Car dealerships haves a commission-driven business model that depends on squeezing as much out of you as they can. Want a lower price? You’ll be at the dealership all day. How is Tesla different? Their cars are sold via their website with a no-haggling price. Just choose the options and figure out how you would like to pay for it. If you want to test-drive a car, you can go to one of their stores where they have representatives to answer all of your questions. It literally took me about ten minutes to purchase the car. 

9. Charging – charging at home means no more trips to the gasoline station. Simply plug in the car at night and wake up with a “full tank.” While there will be a sharp rise in your electric bill, you will no longer be spending money on gasoline. For me, that was about $110 per month spent on gasoline. I’m guessing that I’m spending about $60 more on electricity (varies a lot) so, in theory, I’m also saving some money but, more importantly, I’m not wasting time waiting in a long line at Costco.

8. Less Maintenance – I said “less maintenance” and not “no maintenance.” As with all appliances, there will always be maintenance with wear and tear and when things break. However, you can eliminate oil changes from your maintenance list. You can also eliminate the thousand parts that go into making a gasoline engine work (e.g., alternators, fuel injectors, oil gaskets, etc.). You will still need to rotate the tires, buy new tires, check the brakes (although more on this later since you can drive without using the break pedal), and replace any parts that break. The most expensive parts in the car (the drivetrain and the battery pack) are covered by either a eight year warranty so that is some comfort and the rest of the car comes with a four-year warranty. 

7. Automatic Features – the car comes with no keys as your phone is your key. That means walking up to your locked car and just opening the door. This is becoming more standard with many cars but it usually requires carrying a fob. Automatic lights and windshield wipers are also standard in more luxury trims with other cars. If you want to take it one step further, you can download an app to have Siri perform some functions like opening the trunk, the frunk or the charge port. 

6. One Pedal Driving – you can only do this with an electric vehicle and some EV’s like the BMW i3 have this feature. One pedal driving means that you mainly use the accelerator and hardly use the brake pedal. It works like this, once you release the accelerator, the car begins to “brake” itself. I now use the brake pedal only about 1% of the time and mainly drive only using the accelerator. Again, you can use the brake pedal at any time but there’s usually no need unless you need to make a sudden stop. Obviously, you will need to replace the brake pads much less often if you’re never using them so that’s an added bonus. 

5. Sentry Mode – Sentry Mode is the term that Tesla uses for its car alarm. It’s turned on every time that you park and it activates the car’s outside cameras so you will have video if anything goes wrong. Already, there have been many cases where vandals were caught after they vandilized the cars. [Here and Here]

By using an app and an USB flash drive, you can watch the video later. Your Tesla app will also send you an alert if your car is bumped.  

4. AutoPilot – while cars have had cruise control for decades and most cars today have similar features (like Nissan’s ProPilot Assist, Volvo’s Pilot Assist, Toyota Safety Sense, BMW’s Driving Assistance Plus, etc.), this feature is on a different level altogether.

The car comes standard with AutoPilot which is basically a modern cruise control feature. Like with the other car companies systems, Tesla’s AutoPilot keeps you in your lane and follows the car in front of you. At first, it made me really, really nervous as to how much I could trust the car to make the right decision but I now trust it wholeheartedly. 

Now, and this is really important, these assistance features are just that: an assistant. You still need to keep both hands on the wheel and monitor your surroundings. There have been a few tragic accidents where people acted irresponsibly with this feature.

 Having said that, Tesla’s AutoPilot is a game-changer in bumper to bumper traffic. Turn it on and your stress level drops dramatically; it almost feels like you are riding in a shuttle (with both hands on the wheel and keeping track of other cars). 

3. Software Updates – how many people can say that their car improved after they drove the car off the dealer lot? Well, this is exactly what happens when Tesla sends a free over the air software update to your car. Things I got after I bought the car: Netflix (yes, Netflix), slightly faster acceleration and overall improvements to the car. All free and as easy to install as a new update on your phone. There have been many features added and too many to list here but here is a list.

2. Torque – ask any gear head what is the horsepower of their car and he will immediately tell you exactly how much. “Horsepower” for gas cars and “torque” for electric cars is how much power the car has to go from a stopped position. While I got the faster version (dual-motor), even the basic Model 3 is fast. Mine is like a rocket. While not everyone feels that they would need that much power to drive, it’s come in handy in certain situations. 

1. Safety – it’s a good feeling knowing that if you’re in a horrible accident, that the Model 3 is the safest car ever tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA)

Other cars also include these features but the Model 3 comes with Forward Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Avoidance, Blind Spot Collision Warning, The Model 3 also put its battery pack at the bottom which creates a very low center of gravity and makes it very hard to rollover the vehicle. 

Also, since there is no engine in the front and the crash is from the front, the engine won’t go into the passenger cabin.  

If you’re considering getting a Tesla, hope that this helps with your decision. If you want 1,000 free supercharger miles, you can use my referral link.