Do Tesla driver's realize how much power they have?

[911 Rod]

Lot's of us here have high HP cars and I assume have learned how to drive them safely on the street as most of us are gearheads. I've always felt that if someone pulls in front of you and you are going at an unreasonable speed, it is your fault because people do not anticipate that.

Today I'm approaching a car that is in the left lane and they do not look like they have any intention of moving over. I have a Tesla behind me (the one that looks like a bug from the front) and we are traveling at the same speed. I give a signal, and pass on the right.
The Tesla did the same thing but he mashes the throttle. As I realize this I put the hammer down too, but I'm sure he had to slam on the brakes as the thing just took off.
Idiot could have taken everyone out.

Do Tesla drivers realize how much power they have?

[LWJ]

Not at all. My buddy sold a miata and bought a Tesla. He doesn't have much skill. He is probably on the upper registers of auto driving skill for Tesla owners - and his is pretty darn low.

[HardDrive]

Nope. People are going out and buying cars with 400+ hp with no training. They are seriously fast, wife has a model Y.

[Steve Carlton]

With astounding torque, maxed out at zero RPM. And quiet as a mouse.

[masraum]

Most probably have no idea. On a related note.

I had a colleague that decided he wanted a nice/awesome car (because his wife was pregnant, and if he didn't buy it now, he'd probably never get to). The sportiest car he'd ever driven was an older (10 year) Toyota Camry. He went out and bought the Alfa Guilia Quadrifoglio, 500hp or whatever. Another colleague and I tried to talk him out of it for several reasons. During the break-in period, he drove it like he was driving Miss Daisy. Once he hit 500 miles or whatever it was, he was at a stop sign turning right and thought "I'm going to give it the juice!" He put it into race mode and mashed the throttle while turning right. You've seen all of the mustang videos, so you can imagine what happened. It fishtailed and ended up pointing at the side of the road when it caught traction. It hopped the curb and side swiped a tree. It spent the next 6 months at a Ferrari dealership getting fixed (relatively minor damage, but apparently all of the parts were sent by slow boat from Italy). When he got it back, he was terrified of it. I assume he's still driving Miss Daisy.

[pwd72s]

Tesla drivers? They like to think they have the power to save the planet.

[Steve Carlton]

Maybe they want to have the needed acceleration to get out of the way of wayward Mustangs.

[john70t]

Any 250+ hp needs 4wd regardless of the platform (unless towing or hauling secured lumber in summer).
Too much digital and not enough analog

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Maybe they want to have the needed acceleration to get out of the way of wayward Mustangs.

LOL! That's the thing, other than the rare circumstances like Rod posted, I suspect it'll be a VERY rare day when you see a Tesla fishtail and slam into a crowd like an ordinary hot car with TC/stability mgmt disabled.

Can that stuff even be disabled in a Tesla, TC, stability management, and the mechanism that keeps one from rear ending another vehicle?

[Steve Carlton]

Just on-board cameras, so you can assign blame afterwards.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by john70t

Any 250+ hp needs 4wd regardless of the platform (unless towing or hauling secured lumber in summer).
Too much digital and not enough analog

My boxster has 303 hp and pretty phenomenal traction. It's not impossible, but it's not easy to break traction. Gunning it in the rain could cause a loss of traction, but unless you've disabled PSM, you're pretty unlikely to get into trouble with it. There are other places where you can intentionally get into trouble. I'm not sure what AWD would get me other than a much heavier vehicle.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

With astounding torque, maxed out at zero RPM. And quiet as a mouse.

I was at a Tesla delivery center a couple of years ago.

An elderly couple (looked like late 70s at least) just bought a new Tesla.

My guess is they were given zero instructions on how it works.

So, they’re sitting in the car in the parking lot getting ready to leave. The car was backed into the parking spot.

I’m 15 feet away, off to the side of them (spoiler alert: thankfully not in front of them).

Sitting. Sitting.

What I think happened: unlike old gas cars, teslas can be set to not “creep” forward.

So she had her foot on the brake. Took foot off the brake. Car didn’t move. Car is dead silent. So she doesn’t know what’s going on, but likely thinks the car isn’t “on.”

So no harm in jamming down on the gas pedal.

BAM! 350 feet of instant torque to the wheels. The car literally shot out of the spot, went 20 feet before being stopped by the corner of the building.

The sound was incredible, like an explosion. It was very lucky no one was in front of them, this was a busy day and busy parking lot with tons of people milling around.

Literally totaled the car in the first 20 feet of ownership.

[McLovin]

[john70t]

Originally Posted by masraum

My boxster has 303 hp and pretty phenomenal traction. It's not impossible, but it's not easy to break traction.

That's the "secured lumber" over the drive tires (aka center or rear engine) part I wus talkin about.
Plus you are not Mustang-Certified.

[McLovin]

“Good acceleration,” Mei mused, casually exiting the vehicle, “indeed, certainly great acceleration.”

[911 Rod]

Do they have power settings? (not that anyone would use them)

[john70t]

All those cameras and facial recognition and interior microphones and A.I. electronics and mandatory driver assistance aid systems..could not put humpty dumpty back together again.
(at least cheaply, that is)

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

Do Tesla driver's realize how much power they have?

I haver the opposite experience. Most time I see a Dual motor tesla it's 15mph below traffic speed being slow and annoying. I'm actually happy when I see one of them hoofing it. Within reason of course !

[911boost]

I had a Y as a rental car a few weeks ago.

It was quick for sure, passing on the highway was just about instant. I was in dDllas so it was hot as hell and the AC deal that kept it cool was an interesting feature.

I hated everything else about it. Now, with that being said, I am sure there were settings I could change etc and I only had it for about 24 hours.

[911 Rod]

What's with them riding the brakes going down the highway?
Do they think it charges the battery?