Am I crazy to think my elderly mother could drive a MY?

[RNHurt]

Is it a crazy idea to get a MY for my elderly mother? Someone t-boned her old 2010 Toyota RAV4 and she's looking for a new car. She originally wanted to get a newer RAV4 but they are bigger than the 2010 and she's having difficulty getting in and out of it. Plus, I'm not sure if it would fit in her garage.

We tried several different cars and on a whim I put her in a 2021 MY. She loved it! The seats were very comfortable, it's just the right height and size, and she can see over the hood. The controls are completely different than her old car; then again the controls on ALL the other cars are different as well. If she has to get used to something new, might as well be a Tesla. Right?

There are some obvious (to me) advantages:

• Less maintenance to worry about
• No more pumping gas
  • standing out in the cold
  • sometimes alone / dark
  • hassle to pay / keep track of discounts
• Easy Entry
• I can monitor the car remotely (if necessary)
• Safer to operate
  • can't exit the car while in gear
  • huge backup camera (much bigger than any other car we looked at)
  • automatically locks doors / option to only unlock drivers door
  • self-park
  • back into / out of the garage automatically

Am I crazy to think that a 85+ person could adapt to a Tesla? She does really well with her iPhone / Apple Watch / iPad.

 

[Procal]

It definitely isn't crazy, but I would also highly advise taking the time to teach her the controls very well. Maybe even sit along with her for a few drives until she really gets used to it before letting her go off on her own.

Perhaps as a test, maybe you can convince either Tesla or a rental location to loan you one for a week to see how she gets along with it.

But all the other things you mentioned are certainly pros more so than cons. You also forgot the benefit of Sentry Mode, and if you keep it tied to your own Tesla app, then you will receive notifications about things, as well as any accidents if they happen again.

The only cons I can think of really are to do with how she gets along with adapting to the car itself and if you yourself can get a really good deal on a used or older model. I'd also be a bit worried about the instant torque that the car can provide, which means if she makes a mistake in selecting gears, then it could be an issue. Another thing to consider is one-pedal driving as well as charging habits. She may not need to pump gas anymore, but if she forgets to charge one day, it could leave her stranded, so I would definitely make sure she understands to just plug it in every time she is home. The last thing is the lack of blind spot monitors on the mirrors themselves or on the A-pillar, like on the newer models. She would have to look at her display to make certain there is nothing in her blind spot or have her mirrors well adjusted.

Other than those, I can't think of anything else. It mostly boils down to her being able to adapt to the newer technology and if you are willing to "hold her hand" for a bit while she learns the ropes.

 

[VoodooPriest]

My Mom is 86 and very technically non-inclined and almost afraid of tech. She can do the very basics on her iPhone. She still pays her bills with a check and buys things with cash. The acceleration alone would be enough for me not to have her in a Tesla. I could envision her accidentally pressing the "gas" too hard and zooming into a building.

 

[PrescottAZRichard]

Chill mode might help placate those accel concerns.

My dad’s friend who is your mom’s age has had a 3 and now a Y for a while. He has an iPhone, so he was okay with tech before getting the cars. That said- he frequently opens the driver’s door while the car is in drive which puts it in park. That may be a bonus actually. I guess it depends on how well she can adapt to the shifting and one pedal EV driving. She could disregard the map if she wants and just drive it like any other car.The tech really helps with things like finding the car in a lot and stuff like that .

I got my dad to stop driving after his second Prius was totaled out from under him in 3 years (neither was his fault). His friend used to come in his blue Y and pick my dad up for a while. Similar ages, but two way different abilities to drive a Tesla. Sure hope your mom is more like my dad’s friend!

 

[TESLASUPERFAN]

U can set it on sloth mode, lock in the top speed, set everything on auto ( heat on 72’, wipers on auto) walk away locks……music station smooth jaz, volume low, large fonts size, dark mode, wait til fsd 14.3 arrives, download phone app-teslas are an old persons dream car. All u need to do is set nav to pharmacy-doctors office and grocery store.

 

[RNHurt]

@Procal I'm not too worried about charging habits. She only drives 5 miles a day (if that) so she would theoretically only need to charge once a week. And that's a good point about the instant torque, but as some others have said Chill mode might help alleviate that a bit.

@PrescottAZRichard, we're still not sure if she should be driving but it's hard to remove someone's "freedom" of driving. I'm hopeful that a Tesla would be able to help more than hurt;; lane keeping, distance warnings, green light beeps, etc.

@remixguys, I had not thought about locking in the top speed. With Speed Limit Mode I should be able to set the maximum speed and acceleration (according to the Tesla manual). The real nice feature is that it is secured with a PIN, that way she can't unset it accidentally.

One real concern is that she would get into the controls and change things. I have to rework her phone and iPad every so often because the icons get spread around and she can no longer find Facebook. I wish Tesla's had a "silver" mode where everything was locked down and you could only change the radio station.

 

[VoodooPriest]

One real concern is that she would get into the controls and change things. I have to rework her phone and iPad every so often because the icons get spread around and she can no longer find Facebook. I wish Tesla's had a "silver" mode where everything was locked down and you could only change the radio station.

That's a definite thing with my Mom. She lives about 90 minutes away, and it's either her phone, Chromebook, Spectrum box, WiFi, or the list is endless. So I can't easily stop by for a fix. When I visit, half the visit is spent resetting all her tech. My Mom drives a Buick SUV and never leaves their town of 8,000. For her, the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

 

[Frenchy]

Works for me, I am not that old (77). She will get along great, and with the new FSD, I use it all the time.
She can be safe, and not worry about being t-boned, cause the car will use the FSD to avoid any potential accidents.
Share a picture of what you get her.
Best Wishes

 

[TESLASUPERFAN]

U can add yr phone as priority and set her controls and I think Robotaxi locks out settings.