Impression from 1 week of ownership

I like the basketball net wrap. We don’t have FSD in UK yet. Jealous

>The cost is high, but it cuts significantly with money you can save on taxi and on insurance. I wish that were true. This is the most expensive insurance bill I have ever paid. Basically eliminates my gas savings.

Couldn’t agree more! I just bought a model 3 long range AWD 3 weeks ago. Best and most fun car I’ve ever driven. Took my wife and 3 kids..one in a booster seat for a weekend trip to visit family in VA about 3 hours away. FSD drove us the whole way and even slowed down and dodged a truck that pulled out in front of us without throwing us around the car! Super impressed and made the trip so much better! Driving on interstate 95 can be so boring…but it made it…I might even say fun! Potholes are a bummer but I just watch for them and take over if I see a road that needs a lot of work. Glad you’re enjoying it!

If you insurance with Lemonade you get 50% of your premium pro rated for the time you've used FSD.

How does that work, do they collect data from the car to verify the amount of time you spend in FSD?

Yes, you need to grant them access. Same as I do for my utility company to get rebates for charging off peak hours.

I see, that's a non-starter for me. I have no doubt that any insurance company with access to my driving data will be raising my rates since I use this vehicle for autocross, and I doubt they are offering exemptions for sanctioned racing events, rather they'd probably love to see how often I use Track Mode. It's definitely not the same as the utility company having access to my data, but I wouldn't grant them access either, even if we had those rebates, as the driving data can be bought and sold. I'm already concerned that Tesla may be selling it.

Oddly enough I actually get way better mileage/charge using fsd.

Also, not having android auto is actually much better. It was too much for my phone. I like having it free while still having all the functionalities in the car.

I got a 2025 M3 AWD about 3 months ago. It’s about what I expected. Fast as hell, comfy suspension but lacks in suspension performance when the road is anything but smooth as it gets easily unsettled and bounces over things rather than staying planted. I’m curious if the M3P handles better in that respect. The interior feels nicer than I expected with soft premium surfaces but the car has developed significant rattles from the rear and the amount of possible culprits are a bit worrying but I’ve got a service appointment to see what they can do. Overall it’s a fun and practical car to use around town but my Porsche 981 Boxster S handles waaay better and is a reminder that performance and driving enjoyment is more than 0-60mph times.

4. I live in Phoenix, where we don’t have potholes (anytime a pothole forms, the asphalt around it melts into it in a form of self-healing/s). And yet on FSD my car is always juking around shadows or stains in the roadway which I assume it’s seeing as potholes.

Ya, my 10 year old would love that

FSD definitely sucks with potholes. We are still in the first month free trial for our Model Y, and I doubt I will subscribe other than for the occasional summer roadtrip -- at least until that is fixed!

Yeah, similarly, it just cost me $750 to license my M3. Not all of that was Tesla, though, mostly my greedy state.

I love it when I’m able to predict when with regen braking you will stop

1 and 4. What software version are you on? My Juniper came with 13. something but I updated it last week and it made a huge difference. 2. You can change the amount of regen breaking in the menu system. I opted to tough it out and rewire how I drive and it’s so easy now to drive with one pedal, especially in bumper to bumper traffic.

Can you talk about the potholes more lol? I live in an area that is riddled with them - sometimes you literally have no choice but to hit them; I even blew a tire and had to replace a strut because of them. When you say the M3 isn't good at taking them, is it a comfort thing, not built with the strength for them, etc? I'm thinking of getting an EV and this has been a concern of mine when the Model 3 or Model Y because so many people I know say that Tesla cannot absorb potholes and rough roads compared to something like a Ford MME or like a Hyundai Ioniq5

Love the Basketball hoop shadow.

Was it a …. Slam dunk?

Funny enough I’m in the market for a M3 as well trying to replace my daily a 228i. My weekend car is currently a base 981 boxster. I’m wondering if I should go for a M3P. Since I already have the Boxster I have a good handling car. The base is not quick by any means. However, test driving that M3P had addicting speed. I haven’t driven a AWD yet, but what’s your thoughts? Do I need the crazy driving performance when I have the boxster.

If I were you I would do a side-by-side test drive of the AWD and the M3P. For me AWD has all the speed and acceleration I need for a daily driver but it’s really the suspension that holds it back. If that is better on the M3P that extra performance might feel more usable if that makes sense. I would hold onto that 981 tho, they are fantastic. 👌

Model 3 cant touch regen breaking! 😢

🥹🥹🥹

The 19 and especially 20 inch wheels are low profile and the suspension is relatively firm but well dampened imo (on the 3)... The 18's are more forgiving as they have a bit more sidewall (and you get better economy). The Y is significantly softer and the 19" they use has the same sidewall as the 18" on the 3... I've hit a few decent sized potholes in my 3 and although it did bring a little anxiety nothing negative occured (I have 18" wheels). Hope it helps!

I have the same vehicle as you, and I don't really find the suspension geometry lacking unless you are going all out (it is a fast car). The only time I ever get that feeling is almost flooring it while taking a turn from zero and you can feel the AWD correcting to make sure it stays in line. The performance does handle better (I had an extended test drive) but it just didn't make sense for my use case given the price and practical disadvantages.

It only gets better. Agree with being the funnest car I’ve owned, and I always look for a reason to drive it.

How is auto cross in the m3p?

I used to pay for an fsd subscription but then I found myself only keeping it because I liked how the car saw everything in fsd. I’m on HW3 and the car is basically aiming for potholes lol. Safe to say haven’t been subscribed for a year and barely use autopilot. Car is fun enough to drive. Have my sights set on that acceleration boost.

Theres just too many use cases for it for me. Sometimes if im late I eat in the car. Sometimes if there's slow moving traffic and its boring I'll use it. Sometimes there's like 8 lane intersection and complicated overpasses that I might get wrong so I let it drive me.

Yeah I use autopilot to drink in the car when I’m in the highway

It's a lot of fun, but it's not the car I would pick for autocross if that were your top priority. It's a great car to learn on however, as all of the traction control settings are almost like setting a difficulty level in a video game. If you don't put it in track mode, it's easy, and then in track mode, the more you dial down stability, the harder it gets. The stock wheels and tires (at least on the 2019) are no good for autocross. 235 isn't wide enough for a 4000lb car, and the 20" wheels are boat anchors. With adjustable camber arms and some wider tires though, it's a serious competitor. With stock camber, the weight of the car causes the tire to roll too much onto the shoulder of the tire and peel the tread right off, even at full tire pressure. You need some negative camber to prevent that from happening, and the stock suspension gives you basically no camber adjustment. So, if you want to try it, I'd say get out there in whatever car you have to see how you like it. You won't wreck your tires in a single event, especially if you aren't using track mode. Overall though, it's definitely not race ready in stock form, but it takes very little to get it there.

you can but you need commander or s3xy knob by enhauto

Yeah M3 ride quality is harsh especially on bumps and potholes. M3P is totally unnecessary. Even the single motor version is quite fast.

The vision being locked behind a subscription is such a sore spot for me. The value they get from having our vehicles record data, upload it to them, do it through our internet connections, and with our paid electricity, is absolutely absurd. Then to gate a non-self driving feature that is always on under a self-driving subscription feels pretty awful.

Many years ago, I remember watching a video from someone in the UK who was using Autopilot and they were mad when the car did not detect another car that was parked on the sidewalk and they lost a side view mirror. Edit here is the [accident ](https://youtu.be/Ayr_NS_lXLU?is=EhbXYHE2leFCVLZe) Crazy that everyone just parks on the sidewalk.

Why not just upgrade th model s software or did you dislike th S for some reason? I’m looking at both.

Fsd is great next update it should dodge pot holes

I know this feeling

its a wrap! /s

Get a commander from enhance auto, you can change it there

Hah! Ouch. Kind of his own fault. We don’t have very wide roads here. I wouldn’t dare let the car navigate B roads on its own. Might be improved now though?

Use the brakes occasionally so they don’t rust or seize up on ya at the worst moment

>Might be improved now though? I've been using FSB for about 5 years. From where it started to where it is now is like night and day. I still it was like a scared hesitant kid learning to drive 😆.

Solid tip, thank you.

Brake* can’t believe people still don’t know the difference. Also, get the S3XY Knob and you can adjust the amount of regen braking all the way down to none at all. It’s stupid easy to install. Takes 5 min

I'm 74 and have had my Y for 3 days AMAZING This will extend my driving days considerably . There are occasions when it seems the Y is "thinking" I know it's math but seems like more .

What is the reasoning from Tesla to not make it changeable in the menu for the M3? Why is a Commander necessary?

I didn’t think I’d subscribe to FSD either but the free trial Tesla gives buyers really hooked me. It’s not about me wanting to do other things while I’m in the car like eating or drinking. It’s just about stress reduction. Turning my head 4x while waiting at an intersection, stop and go traffic, the constant background brain processing of looking pedestrians or other cars, etc. FSD really highlights how much tension driving creates psychologically even if you don’t think there is any.

Those wheels would look much better black imo

You can turn regin-breaking to low.

I think the basketball image is a reflection off an existing net beside the driveway.

Probably because of FSD having far smoother control of the motors than what our feet are capable of. Less time fluctuating in speed by a few MPH up or down constantly.

I'm in eastern Pennsylvania, and having never been to Phoenix but seen and gasped at how much I'd be DEAD there the moment I set foot outside from a climate controlled environment during the summer (and don't gimme that "It's a dry heat" crap... as Jeff Dunham said in the one bit... "An oven is a dry heat, you don't see me sticking my head in there, do ya?"), I'd almost say that the sarcasm is borderline not sarcasm.

Potholes are the bane of FSD. It will be interesting to watch this evolve. Tesla has been well aware of this deficiency. Tesla has assigned this deficiency further down on the list of driving behaviors that owners want addressed. I've been using Autopilot since 2015 and the FSD software since 2019 while observing how much both have changed throughout their iterations. Pothole avoidance in my 2026 Model Y Performance with 21" wheels is one reason my FSD Self-Driving Percentage is only 90%.

It was probably because they drive on the wrong side of the road. 🤣

I turn my FSD On and Off as needed rather than avoid using it altogether. Tesla will eventually adjust FSD to account for potholes.

The car automatically blends brakes in regen when needed and always uses the actual brakes when coming to a full stop. If you watch the power bar, anytime there is white at the bottom of the green regen indicator, that shows it is supplementing regen braking with the standard brakes. Still if you are controlling regen by not letting off the pedal all the way you can use the brakes so little that the rotors will rust some. It took a little getting used to for me but now I dump the gas pedal most times and if I need to I also touch the brakes very occasionally. You also need to slowing down fairly rapidly for the brake lights to illuminate so using limited regen and long slow down, you can drop a lot of speed without brake lights and that can pretty dangerous if the person behind isn’t paying attention.

They will take the pothole just fine, it’s just a bit uncomfortable for some. I prefer a stiffer ride without a lot of body roll so this has always been a fact of life for me but some find it a bit too firm

Bruh

Wasn’t there an update today renaming FSD to AI Computer?

Unfortunately I only have an LR so I don’t have track mode and all the cool features. I do wanna give it a shot someday though. Thanks.

You adjust it with your right foot ;-)

M3P being unnecessary is pure matter of opinion. If there were a M3P+ that was quicker, I'd be looking to trade my M3P. Well if that were before that got rid of the prepaid FSD package. Now I'm keeping it forever.

It's well worth doing to try it out in whatever car you have. Even if you leave traction control on, you will learn a lot about how your car handles at the limits.