Part 1: In the Beginning...

I've been aware of Tesla for years now. Like many of you, the roadster caught my eye with its unique approach to renovating a Lotus Elise. I also winced during the its infamous stint on Top Gear! The fact that the roadster had a usable range was intriguing but also irrelevant. I'd already committed myself to marriage, fatherhood, and a life of of backseats.  So I forgot about Tesla... UNTIL...

When the Model S was announced I was only peripherally aware. A car enthusiast since birth, I relied on traditional automotive sources to keep on top of all the latest and greatest gear. The magazines and blogs only casually mentioned the MS-- if at all-- and it didn't make much of an impression on me. We've all seen clever concept cars come and go and the MS was simply too good looking to become a production model, keep its performance promises, and still be attainable to middle class news drone like myself.

I remember seeing announcements about Tesla buying the NUMMI factory and I remember even seeing news of the first deliveries of the Model S finally happening. Remember though, most media sources were less than enthusiastic about Tesla and my general impression from their coverage was that these were mere luxury toys and the company probably was unable to mass produce them. Hollywood would get another bauble to show off but otherwise, nothing to see here... carry on.

In June last year (2013) we decided to do a good old fashioned road trip with our two kids. We would spend half a week in Chicago, then catch a couple sites in Indianapolis, visit the Columbus Zoo, and return home to Pittsburgh. On the first day of the trip, while driving west somewhere in Ohio, I saw a semi-car-carrier fully loaded with Teslas flash by going the other way. While still processing what I'd seen... a few minutes later, ANOTHER one went by. Suddenly it began to dawn on me that dozens of these fabled Teslas had just passed me by and-- even more interesting-- they were headed BACK towards our house. So they DID exist! Not only did they exist, but apparently in large enough numbers that they were trucking them all the way from California. Hmm...

Could these be REAL cars??  

To be continued....
Click HERE for Part 2.

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