If you have a Tesla…

[Anonymous]

Does your teen drive it? Alone?

I glanced over at the car next to me yesterday during a period of traffic congestion and was surprised to see a teenager driving a Tesla. The kid was talking animatedly and laughing, so I’m guessing also on the phone.

I’m used to the middle aged men and women driving Teslas all around DC, but a teen behind the wheel surprised me! Obviously, we are not a Tesla family so maybe I’m just behind the times?

[Anonymous]

I would not think a teen would want to drive a Tesla?

[Anonymous]

Only an idiot would by a Tesla why are you surprised

They are super unreliable

[Anonymous]

If you have a Tesla and a teen why wouldn’t the teen drive it?

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of Teslas on the road now. We will probably be seeing more and more teens driving now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have a Tesla and a teen why wouldn’t the teen drive it?

It’s a sac r. At than a lot of others teens drive. They don’t have to take their hands off the wheel to do a lot of things thanks to great voice commands. The parents can check their location and speed from the app at anytime. When parked, sentry mode lets you see the t of all he cameras. Max speed can be set. It’s a good choice if you already have one in your household.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a Tesla and a teen why wouldn’t the teen drive it?

It’s a sac r. At than a lot of others teens drive. They don’t have to take their hands off the wheel to do a lot of things thanks to great voice commands. The parents can check their location and speed from the app at anytime. When parked, sentry mode lets you see the t of all he cameras. Max speed can be set. It’s a good choice if you already have one in your household.

Safer

It’s also smarter than my phone which autocorrects safer to sac r.

[Anonymous]

There are many Teslas in our high school parking lot. They have a high safety rating and the Model 3 isn’t terribly expensive. We actually considered one for our teen but opted for something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not think a teen would want to drive a Tesla?

A teen will drive whatever car their parents give them. We have a slightly older one and it will be the hand me down. It's got a 5 star safety rating and our teen learned to drive on it. It's much easier to handle than our other (larger) vehicles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your teen drive it? Alone?

I glanced over at the car next to me yesterday during a period of traffic congestion and was surprised to see a teenager driving a Tesla. The kid was talking animatedly and laughing, so I’m guessing also on the phone.

I’m used to the middle aged men and women driving Teslas all around DC, but a teen behind the wheel surprised me! Obviously, we are not a Tesla family so maybe I’m just behind the times?

I have seen teens driving Teslas as well. We have teslas and will get a different car for our teen once they drive. Teslas are very heavy, have insane acceleration even in “chill” mode, and the controls are so different from other cars. I like some features for teens - the tracking, ability to cap max speed, safety profile. But it just doesn’t drive like a “normal” car. And I think it would be a big adjustment to drive an outback around after driving a Tesla around. The braking alone is so different. I would worry that they would get so used to the regenerative braking that they could rear end someone. It’s probably my bias, but I think it’s better to learn on a conventional car first before learning to drive a Tesla. Once my teen learns to drive well, I will eventually teach them on the Tesla, but it won’t be their primary vehicle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your teen drive it? Alone?

I glanced over at the car next to me yesterday during a period of traffic congestion and was surprised to see a teenager driving a Tesla. The kid was talking animatedly and laughing, so I’m guessing also on the phone.

I’m used to the middle aged men and women driving Teslas all around DC, but a teen behind the wheel surprised me! Obviously, we are not a Tesla family so maybe I’m just behind the times?

I have seen teens driving Teslas as well. We have teslas and will get a different car for our teen once they drive. Teslas are very heavy, have insane acceleration even in “chill” mode, and the controls are so different from other cars. I like some features for teens - the tracking, ability to cap max speed, safety profile. But it just doesn’t drive like a “normal” car. And I think it would be a big adjustment to drive an outback around after driving a Tesla around. The braking alone is so different. I would worry that they would get so used to the regenerative braking that they could rear end someone. It’s probably my bias, but I think it’s better to learn on a conventional car first before learning to drive a Tesla. Once my teen learns to drive well, I will eventually teach them on the Tesla, but it won’t be their primary vehicle.

We made our learn on both the Tesla and the ICE. FWIW, the driving schools all use ICE cars, so they will get practice in those, as well. They may just look confused when they are given an old school key and told to put it in the ignition. Even our non-electrics are push-button. I definitely thought the Tesla would be harder or more confusing, but my teen was a better and more comfortable driver in the chill-mode Tesla (I think we have different braking options in our profiles, as well). I went into driving lessons thinking the Tesla would be a bad fit, but changed my tune over time. We don't switch cars around that much, so it's not a problem going to the ICE cars.......except I will always turn on the wipers by accident in the Tesla when I first get in (IYKYK).

[Anonymous]

Where I live in Bethesda, teens drive all sorts of cars: from used Japanese sedans to brand-new Teslas and Jeeps.

Not sure why you're surprised. People don't care that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only an idiot would by a Tesla why are you surprised

They are super unreliable

I guess I am an idiot b/c I am on my third tesla. Btw we have never had a single issue w/ any of the 3. We have traded each one in at the end of the lease. Now I am curious why my teens wouldn't or shouldn't be driving my car? We have more drivers than cars in our house so I can't really think of a reason not to have them drive it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of Teslas on the road now. We will probably be seeing more and more teens driving now.

+1 The first teslas are more than ten years old now so it makes sense in the parent gets a new car and the old car goes to the teen universe.

[Anonymous]

My 19 year ds has one.