Thank you all for your well-wishes and I appreciate the humor.
For now, the Tesla
(Tesia) is esconsed in the garage as I continue with my chemo following the surgery and thus wife is not going anywhere. Still reading the manual - love the fact that so many features are programmable. All I've gleaned so far is that a software update is available, but where I live we have no AT&T reception and my home WiFi doesn't reach the garage yet (yes, the Tesla has built-in WiFi connectivity), so I can't install the update.
My '67 Saab had been my primary daily driver for most of my life (interspersed with other vintage Saabs and toys such as a Austin-Healey 3000, Lancia Flavia Vignale convertible, and Lancia Fulvia Zagato), and I have enough Saabs and parts lying around to keep it running forever. First the more-modern Gen1 Honda Insight with its ABS and now the i-MiEV with its ASC were my gentle introductions into this-century's technologies. The subtle i-MiEV panic braking-rate detection and response still leaves me gobsmacked! Of course, the Tesla blows all this away.
My logic for buying used without Autopilot (and all the sensors needed for many of the functions such as lane-keeping, Summon, smart cruise control, etc.) is that the price for this feature adds about $30K on the used market so one might as well buy new, but who knows what further enhancements are coming…? Even though we had originally planned on taking our lovely red Gen1 Honda Insight, I had considered renting/leasing a Tesla for our cross-country tour but for the cost of doing that we might just as well buy a used car and if we don't like it we can sell it after our trip. If we like it (wife already loves it) we'll keep it and we always have the option of blowing some of my son's inheritance and buying new…
Incidentally, the used Tesla market has recently been opening up as present owners are moving up to Autopilot and 'D' versions.
Once we get to driving
Tesia I'll be posting our learning experience on this thread (after all, it is OffTopic). In the meantime, our i-MiEVs are our faithful daily workhorses for all our local driving, as no way would we take this flawless Tesla into the cramped parking lots of our local shopping centers - having driven small cars all our lives and the snoutless i-MiEV for the past four years, both my wife and I are appropriately concerned driving this
huge but agile pachyderm.
Time to snap some photos and get rid of my Saab stable and most of the other vehicles...
