Five Quirky Things About Tesla Cars That Will Be Useful In India

Tesla’s eagerness to simplify the user experience has resulted in some really useful features

Tesla’s recent inroads into the Indian market has everyone excited. Being fully electric their cars have no tailpipe emissions, but they are more fondly known for their blisteringly quick performance numbers and the collection of cool features onboard. And while you might be excited about the autopilot, the savvy touchscreen or the easter eggs found aboard them, there are some lesser known features which can prove to be quite useful in Indian conditions. Here’s five such features that will have you immediately wanting a Tesla:

1) Air Suspension

Air suspension allows Tesla cars to have a cushioned ride over rough roads but it can be stiffened up at the press of a button, or even automatically. While air suspension is pretty common in expensive luxury cars, it is Tesla’s neat programming that has given them an edge. The suspension can be lifted at the touch of a button to increase ride height. This allows you to go over huge speed breakers and large potholes without scraping the underbelly of the car. 

In most cars, you are required to manually raise the height of the car when you reach an obstacle too high. Tesla cars however remember the locations where you raised the ride height, and automatically raise it when you revisit the place. The but here is that air suspension is only offered on the more expensive Model S and Model X models.

2) Park From Outside The Car

Parking spaces are a big problem in India, especially in the metropolitan cities where most initial Tesla buyers will be. And they will be treated to something called the ‘Summon mode’ on Tesla cars. It basically allows the car to drive up to you up to a range of 200ft. Tesla is still ironing out the kinks in this system, but one of the advantages here is that not only can a Tesla be summoned using this feature, it can also be parked into narrow parkings spots from outside the car.

Many other luxury cars also boast of this feature but Tesla’s capability of updating this system over-the-air and its refinement over time means that by the time Tesla starts selling their cars in India, we could have a really useful self-piloting tool onboard.

3) Bioweapon Defense Mode

A bioweapon defense mode might sound too dramatic but the HEPA filtration system fitted on Tesla cars is one useful feature to have in India. Where the air in most metropolitan cities is so polluted as to be unfit to breathe, Tesla’s filtration systems can clean even the most polluted of air in around 2 minutes once this mode is activated. Tesla claims that this system allows its cars to achieve levels of sterility found only in clean rooms and operations theatres. This system is not only apt at dealing with pollutants, but also true to its name works against viruses, bacteria and other such hazards. 

4) Play Games Using The Steering Wheel

How many times have you found yourself waiting for someone’s arrival at an airport or someplace else? To kill the time, you can play racing games on the Tesla’s screens, by actually using the steering wheel and the pedals as controls. You can even play against someone else, with the second player making use of on-screen controls. The touchscreen also offers a host of streaming services like Netflix to kill time. This might not be the most useful feature, but it certainly adds a bit of excitement to the whole package. The fact that Tesla bothered with touches like these only goes to show how much they care about the user experience.

5) Celebration Mode

While other features on this list have somewhat of a purpose, the Celebration mode is one which is purely for enjoyment. A few taps on the screen and you can have your Tesla dancing to your beats. The lights, doors and windows come alive in response to music which blares over the speakers. For most, it will be a one or two time feature which will then be confined to the depths of the touchscreen, but it's a good display of how all the tech on a Tesla is interconnected to deliver a seamless user experience.