A little bit of beauty in negative spaces

I, like many of us who have followed Tesla and its mission since the late 00’s, promised themselves a taste of the future. To one day own a Tesla and be on the very cutting edge of a hopeful and promising future. 12 years later, I could finally realise this dream and decided to put down the £2000 deposit. I had a lot of setbacks which involved me cancelling my original order but in February of this year, I was ready, I was eager and there was nothing that could possibly go wrong.

It turns out the world wasn’t ready. I don’t have to explain to anyone the widespread and life-changing effects this malicious Covid-19 disease has brought with it. Once again, I was in a position where I would have to wait a significantly long time for my dream to be realised. The country was in lockdown and I believed there was no way I could take delivery of my car safely. Once again, I would think to myself, “maybe the future has a failure to launch”.

So, it is ironic that I now talk about the future I have experienced. There has been a fundamental change to the car and automotive industry, and I’m not talking about the car.

I was skeptical at first when Tesla had first mentioned a Contactless Delivery. I couldn’t quite figure out how it would be done. However, I decided to role with the punches as it could have potentially been months before redelivery could be done in person. I replied “Yes” to the delivery confirmation text and waited for further instructions. As normal, they provided me a hyperlink to the Tesla Model 3 “How to” videos to get me started.

This allowed me to learn about the car whilst I waited for delivery instructions.

Four days before delivery I received a further text and email. The text asked me to have the car insured for pick up before I arrived. I provided them my insurance policy number and was sent some documents to sign via email. It seemed like there was a little light at the end of the tunnel.

I was told on the delivery day to come unaccompanied for pick up and to honk my car horn on arrival. However, I wasn’t trading in my car, so I phoned up the service center directly to notify them of my arrival. My car app was activated remotely, and my car driven into the lot. The Tesla employee had wiped the surfaces down with disinfectant and wore a mask and gloves and kept a safe distance at all times. This already put me at ease because it showed there was serious consideration for staff safety. With the keycards left on the dash and the door open, I was told everything was OK for me to simply drive off.

No hassle, no fuss, 10 minutes maximum. I didn’t have to enter the store at all. I have never had a car collection go so smoothly.

I have done quite a few miles even with the various lockdowns in place as my job entails driving to substations across the Scottish Highlands. During that time, I have been able to enjoy every moment and journey over some of the most beautiful scenic roads in the world with the good fortune of amazing weather. I realise that I am probably at this moment one of the luckiest people in the world, and while things look bleak right now, I genuinely hope that other people will eventually be able to experience this positive look to the future with me.

Stay Safe, we will get through this.