Last week, Drover Founder Jeffrey Garland test drove a Tesla Model S for the first time! Jeff drove the P90D Model S with Tesla's "Ludicrous Speed" Upgrade; electric all-wheel drive, 0-60 in 2.8 seconds. In a word, Jeff was amazed by the Model S.
“I think Elon Musk is one of the most important people of the 21st century. ”
Jeff has been following Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, since about 2005. Given the immeasurable impact of Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity on the advancement of sustainable energy and transportation, Jeff holds Musk as one of the most important people of the 21st century.
When Nashville's Tesla dealer found out about Drover, Garland was given the opportunity to drive a brand new Model S P90D with Ludicrous Speed. In his own words, Jeff knew that Tesla Model S was fast, but never could he have imagined that the Model S is the fifth fastest car from 0 to 60 ever recorded.
Jeff loved the vehicle mainly because of its stand-alone acceleration. Garland described, "The feeling of 1.1 G-force pins your head against the seat as you shoot towards your destination. This feeling speaks volumes about the man [referring to Elon Musk] who makes electric cars, and rockets too [referring to SpaceX, Musk's other recent venture]."
He went on to say "I would compare driving a Model S to being shot out of a catapult on a naval aircraft carrier without any noise." Jeff's test drive was like something out of a James Bond movie crossed with a science fiction movie about rockets. It is really poetic that Musk, CEO of the world's leading electric car company, is also the driving force behind the world's leading space travel company [see the Falcon 9 post].
Since it was just a test drive, Jeff didn't get to experience some of Tesla's more futuristic features, such as autopilot or the new summon feature -- where you can hail Model S from your smartphone. As described on Tesla's website, "Autopilot allows Model S to steer within a lane, change lanes with the simple tap of a turn signal, and manage speed by using active, traffic-aware cruise control." [from the Tesla Model S page] I have personally seen videos online where Tesla's autopilot helped prevent a serious accident by detecting and adapting to dangerous situations before the driver even noticed what was happening. Jeff is very excited for future encounters with this amazing machine in order to experience more of its next-generation features and smooth handling.
Jeff would love to all Tesla models ever made. In his view, Tesla cars are eco-friendly, fast, cutting-edge technology, sexy, and aesthetically pleasing. While in his opinion previous electric cars are boxy, ugly, slow, and unattractive, Tesla Motors' vehicles are truly in a league of their own.
After leaving the Tesla dealership, Jeff was overwhelmed with emotion because in that moment, Drover Rideshare -- the future of the rideshare industry -- met Tesla -- the future of the automobile industry..
“I still get chills just thinking about my first time behind the wheel of a Tesla!”
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Patrizio Murdocca is Chief Web Developer at Drover Rideshare, a student at Vanderbilt University, and President of Interfaced Ministries (www.interfacedministries.org).
