photo courtesy Rob White
White (l) with his wife and Tesla after buying the car.
Last December, geometry teacher Rob White purchased an eco-friendly and innovative car called a Tesla.
Tesla was founded in 2003 by Elon Musk. By 2008, Tesla released its first electric sports car, the Roadster.
According to their website, “Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
White has been interested in Teslas for a couple of years. However, he thought he would never actually purchase one.
“Last spring my wife said ‘You ought to sell your van and buy a car.’ That got me thinking hard about cars, and after a few months of research, eventually, a Tesla,” he said.
White decided upon a blue 2016 Model S 90D Tesla, which he picked up at the Tesla dealership in Tysons Corner.
Tesla’s have many technological advances that most other cars do not.
For example, the Model S contains a touch screen that controls most of the car’s functions. This touch screen acts similar to a smartphone with software updates.
“My favorite part of the Tesla is probably the way it gets better over time through software updates every few weeks,” said White.
When purchasing the Tesla, White did not only buy a car, but also a charging station because the Model S runs solely on electricity. According to a statistical estimator on Tesla’s website, for every 50 miles driven the driver saves $4.42 in gas payments.
The Tesla also helps the environment by producing no emissions, having less need for oil, and having less noise. The environmental benefits were important to White.
“To me, Earth is like anything else in your life. It’s beautiful before you use it a lot. Just like sneakers or a school bulletin board. The more you use it the dirtier it gets. Some people wash their sneakers with a toothbrush weekly, and some school clubs maintain their bulletin boards carefully. But not everyone. Imagine a world where everyone kept their stuff clean. Now imagine a world where everyone kept the world clean,” said White.
