Saturday, September 19, 2020

DAY 522: Preparing for Battery Day

I've been putting some thought into what I might ask Elon at the shareholder meeting, given the chance. This, of course, is given I muster the courage to even ask a question.

I purposely want to stay away from battery-related questions in anticipation of the following Battery Day presentation. I've come up with:

Solar Energy Development

This is still my primary question: asking what kind of developments Tesla would like to see in the solar energy field, and if the current rate of efficiency is sufficient (both in energy capture and energy transport to battery). I would love to know if Tesla is considering new technologies, similar to batteries, and if we may one day see a "Solar Energy" Day.

BC Referral Rewards Ban

In the wake of new petitions to sign to help push the BC Government to get rid of the ban on referral rewards for Tesla owners, it makes me wonder if a simple request to have the Tesla legal team put a bit of weight behind it may gain some traction if I bring it up in a very public way. The idea that we are exempt from rewards because we are not "car sales people" is completely ridiculous. This would also make my question very "Canadian" (or at least, BC).

Female Owners

Being a part of the Tesla Divas Facebook group has been a godsend, with many women finding solace after being verbally slashed in other Tesla FB groups. As a member, there is a part of me that wants to pose a question that is more specific to female Tesla owners. But it also makes me wonder if there is such a question.

Well today is not about the questions. It's about getting my house in order for the mandatory 14-day quarantine that I will be under when I get back on Sep 23rd. I'm going to do my best to stay safe, though I admit it may be hard if some of my Tesla youtube heros talk to me.

For the next two days, it's about grocery shopping, house cleaning, packing... and I dare say it, getting my roots coloured. 

Also my brother made me a custom face-mask that I'm planning to wear, though a part of me really doesn't want to stand out of the crowd. I'll make an 11th hour decision on whether or not to wear it. It may be an easy way for other battery-day attendees to spot me.


In fact, I'm spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about what I'm going to WEAR at the Battery Day! Must be nerves.

*****

Two days ago, I got back from yet another service centre appointment for my USB ports. While this is my 5th appointment about my ports, it's only my actual 2nd appointment. Let me explain.

Since that hit and run, my USB ports would work only intermittantly. I can tell because the dashcam icon would disappear and the sentry footage would not be recorded. I concluded that it was the charge ports, and not my USB when I tested and found that it would not charge my phone. I even tested my phone charging on other outlets. I bought a new SSD, new cables, I've tried with and without the Jeda USB Hub (which is AMAZING by the way!), with no real success.

My first appointment resulted in the mobile technician replacing my USB ports. Shortly after, they went dead again. I made a second appointment, only to notice that they turned back on shortly after. So I cancelled. A day later, they were gone. I waited to see if they would turn back on after a few days, but to no avail. So I made another appointment. Back on they came a couple days later after a software update and reboot. But I held on a bit. Then I thought... how are they going to diagnose it if it's working? I cancelled (not sure why), and of course, the ports went dead again after a couple of days. I made my FOURTH appointment and this time I was convinced I would NOT cancel no matter what. And as expected, a few days later, they came back on. The appointment also got delayed -- so I had over a three week wait. Well not to my surprise, the USBs started working again. I walked out to my car every 2 days to check, and they continuously showed they were working for a straight 2 weeks. Finally, out of feeling that I was out of the woods, I cancelled. It took a day and a half before the ports cut out. ARG!!!!

My fifth appointment, I outlined as best I could what had transpired within the character limit of the app. I started with "I think my car is jinxed." LOL. This time they had me come to the service centre (all previous appointments were by mobile technician). I honestly dreaded going. My last two visits there were not that pleasant and I feel like they didn't do their due diligence. I was prepared to argue my way to a real diagnosis. I was not ready to be dismissed just because my ports were shown working. When I arrived, I was greeted by a really friendly staff member (improved start of the appointment so far!), and I asked if I could add some notes to my issue. I explained that the power is gone and it is not just a USB issue. I confirmed that the USB is fully functional and gave them my extra cord I bought. I just rattled off all of the troubleshooting attempts I made, and he stood there documenting them into his handheld console.

Later that day, I received confirmation that the technicians discovered exactly what I had found. They have decided to replace the cable connecting the computer to the ports, but didn't have one in stock. I UBERed it back to the centre where I was told that a new mobile appointment would be made when the item was in stock. Explaining that I would not be around until after Battery Day, the response was "Ooh lucky you!" :)

The next day, I got confirmation for my mobile service appointment on Sept 25th, and another email confirming that the cable had been ordered, along with a a note that I would be kept informed every 2 days until the appointment was completed. 

The only down-side is that this will not be fixed before I leave my car at the airport. Let's hope the USBs decide to work while I'm there as I do plan to leave my sentry mode on (as it did spontaneously start working yesterday).

*****

Today's Odometre Reading: 48,159 kms

Use my Tesla Referral Code: https://ts.la/somi22310

Saturday, September 12, 2020

DAY 515: Tesla Shareholder Meeting, Here I Come!

 It seems I have trouble keeping up with a blog when I'm working from home at a busy job. It was one thing to be too mentally tired by the end of the day to blog. It's a whole other psychological burden when it's on the same computer as work, and I just want to look at something else for the evening!

But alas, time goes by much faster than I expect when I "forget" about this blog, and my, my has the news compounded!

First of all, as a Tesla shareholder from February 2016, I'M RICH!

Well, not exactly. But a 10x to 12x increase is pretty amazing for someone who bought her first stocks ever in Tesla. I saw the opportunity, saw a company that I wanted to be a part of, and since I couldn't afford a Model S at the time, this was my humble way to do it.

Last Monday, Tesla stocks went through a 5:1 split which essentially gave my shares more room to grow. Perhaps that hope of retiring early is not so far-fetched after all. All my "sins" of not contributing to my retirement fund while I was younger may find redemption in my leap of faith in Tesla.

*****

So this year, the Tesla shareholders meeting was postponed a couple times. I've always wanted to go, but this year of all years, was one year I thought there's no way I would be doing it. 

Then they announced that it would held on September 22, 2020 and be followed by Battery Day, and I seriously started considering it. I mean, did I want to miss a world-changing announcement? But because of COVID, they had to keep strict health restrictions and would limit the number of attendees by making the attendance based on a lottery draw.

Honestly, that was it. I wasn't going to go. But at the last minute, on August 30th (deadline was August 31st), I decided to sign up. I thought, at least this would give me a choice. And the chances are so slim, that it wouldn't hurt.

Well, I got the invite! And I couldn't be more excited. 


All of my qualms about going is now gone.... well, almost. 

The wildfires in California are out of control, and the whole west coast looks like it's up in flames. I'm taking a chance with my asthma to enter Fremont. I'm planning to stay in the hotel and only venture out in a taxi or an Uber.

****

So for now, that's all I'll report. I've been speaking with a company about getting PPF and Ceramic Coating done. But I'll just leave here with this youtube video of my road trip to Lake Louise. I just got back a couple days ago!


*****

Odometre Reading: 48,051 kms

184 days since COVID stay-at-home orders.