【Nikki Nova Archives】

When a friend of mine recently bought a BMW,Nikki Nova Archives another (Tesla-owning) friend was concerned, writing in a group text, "[Friend] usually does a lot of research before he buys... there must be some reason why he chose ICE over the [Tesla] Performance Model 3."

This politely lays out a refrain Tesla owners constantly pose to the world: Why in the world would you buy an internal combustion engine (ICE) car when Tesla all-electric vehicles exist? It's almost incomprehensible to a Tesla owner that people are still buying non-electric vehicles. Maybe it'd be less of an issue if my friend had purchased an electric BMW i3, since the Tesla-verse is all about sustainable energy, no matter how we get there. But even though fewer than 1 million Teslas have been produced (General Motors sold over 8 million cars in 2018 alone) and electric vehicles only make up 5.1 million of all cars around the world, Tesla fans remain, well, fanatical.

A recent comprehensive Bloomberg survey of 5,000 Model 3 owners paints a fuller picture of Tesla fandom. The survey found that "99.6 percent of respondents said the Model 3 is a pleasure to drive." When asked about the semi-autonomous driving assistance system, called Autopilot, 90 percent of drivers said Autopilot makes them safer — even with a reported 1,600 close calls with Autopilot. People can't get enough Tesla, flaws and all.

Tesla love goes beyond adulation for Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO. It's more than that. But what is it? The car design? The touchscreen? The sustainable messaging? The cult following of Musk, hailed as an eccentric genius? Is it something in the air? The water?

YouTuber and Model 3 owner Tesla Raj — as he's known — credits the tech built into the car for the undying Tesla love. There's Autopilot and the assisted driving features, over-the-air (OTA) updates that add new features like Netflix streaming and Sentry Mode (with a camera monitoring the car), and the connected Tesla app to control the climate and even turn on the car remotely. Tesla Raj said in a recent phone call that "the actual technology makes your drive such a pleasurable experience." He even participated in the Bloomberg survey, proud to help spread the Tesla gospel.

For him Autopilot means a safer ride, but it's part of other tech features, like OTA updates, that keep making the car better. "I don't care if the seats are not that great, my back's not being massaged, there's no accent lighting throughout the car," he said of features you might find in other premium cars. "The [Tesla] experience is that much better." He claims you don't miss the other things.

Last year he volunteered at the Fremont delivery center to help new owners learn about their cars. Tesla owners aren't just passionate about the cars, they want others to experience the vehicle. Vivianna Van Deerlin, who took her Tesla Model 3 on a cross-country road trip, also volunteers at her local Tesla and is president of the Delaware Valley Tesla Owners Club. These are people committed to what Tesla stands for; it's something more than brand loyalty.

Van Deerlin told me in an email, "Tesla is more than a car and energy products company, it is a community of owners with many things in common, including a concern for the environment and a love of their Tesla vehicles."

Another Tesla fan, YouTuber Mother Frunker, calls himself a "Teslaholic." In an email, he explained he wasn't even a car person until he bought a Tesla. Now he expects to drive a Tesla forever. "A Tesla is basically a computer on wheels," he wrote. Like Tesla Raj, he cited OTA updates that improve range, Autopilot, the recently added Smart Summon self-driving feature, and in-car games. He also sees the car's appeal for a wide range of people: the tech-, performance-, and money-conscious, as well as families concerned about safety and those concerned about the environment. "The car is not just a means of transportation, but the catalyst of fun and enjoyment," he gushed.

Another Tesla Model 3 owner, Benny Johnson, a 32-year-old MBA student at UC Berkeley, said in an email that it's the Supercharging network with its fast charging nationwide for only Tesla vehicles, as well as Autopilot and the long-range battery, that make Tesla "a dream to own."

Twitter is where many fans congregate to tout their love of their vehicles. The Twitter handles alone show the hopeless devotion to what is ultimately a brand: "Tesla_saves_lives," "Tesla Fan," "Tesla Model 3 Fan," "TheTeslaLife," "Tesla Fan UK."

But Twitter is also where detractors and the infamous Tesla short-sellers (who don't expect the company to be profitable and bet against its publicly traded stock) feast. The $TSLAQ hashtag is feeding ground for Tesla drama, like the recent back-and-worth that brought in Musk himself to defend the company to a Tesla-disbelieving hedge-fund manager. Musk even offered to send the manager a "small gift of short shorts."

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As TSLAQ shows, not everyone drinks the Tesla Kool-Aid. Lawsuits against Tesla allege serious problems. A woman says she was pinned against the wall when her Model X malfunctioned. The family of a man killed in an Autopilot-involved crash sued, claiming Autopilot should've kept the Model X in the lane and started braking. But even when the Bloomberg survey asked about Tesla defects (and there are plenty of them) most owners weren't deterred, chalking up most bad manufacturing as superficial issues. As Tesla Raj said, "The car is so damn good, am I going to complain about this bubble on my paint?"

Despite plenty of negative press attention, Tesla doesn't advertise. It doesn't have to. Its buyers are the best car salespeople, something Musk has noted before. "We have no plans to advertise at this time," Musk said at its October earnings call.

Why are Tesla fans so devoted to the brand? It's because Tesla has transcended mere car brand. It's become a community, experience, and way of life. In the same way that Apple changed the concept of a cellphone, Tesla acolytes think the Model S, X, 3, and forthcoming cars like the Model Y and pickup truck, can change not only electric vehicles, but all personally owned cars.

As my Tesla-driving friend recently told me when I asked him why Tesla creates such ardent devotees, "Drive one and you'll find out."