When I was growing up, the term “car enthusiast”, was more than what it is today. The Titans of the automotive world were Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, you know, the typical dream cars. To be an enthusiast meant you spent more hours researching and gawking over your favorite muscle car, favorite exotic car and favorite truck. Then when you first shifted a car into drive, the world was opened up to you. As I got older, the typcial car meet, was where you connected with those who had a similar passion.
During those days, names like Tesla and Fisker during its inaugural run were jokes. It was cooler to have a Mustang GT or a Civic Si, heck even a Crown Vic on 28’s meant you were king of the streets.
Modification was synonymous with owning a car. From a K&N intake and six 12″ subs, to riding in a donk to sittin’ low made each and ever car unique to its owner. I remember countless times where the guy with the Z06 Corvette was just as cool as the guy with the guy with the Charger with a supercharger. Voiding the manufacturers warranty meant more than it was worth. And as much as I like the Tesla Model S for what it’s capable of, it scares me more than anything else.
Can the average garage warrior take an all electric vehicle and customize it without needing a Masters Degree is Astro-Nuclear Physics? Is fuel economy and onboard electronics going to be more important than speed, stance and showing off? Are the kids who are going to grow up in a generation without the internal combustion engine, ever going to know what it is like to not only personalize their ride, but the joy of finishing a project and getting it to start and drive?
These questions all come to one general question. Will the kids of the next generation ever be able to mod a Tesla?
I’m not talking about basic exterior and interior mods. I’m talking about performance mods. Forcing more horsepower and torque out of the batteries without the Astro-Nuclear Physics degree and without engulfing themselves in flames for doing more than the battery can take. Will Civics be replaced by Model 3s and Bolts? Mustangs by electric muscle cars? Tahoes by Model Xs? And so on and so forth.
Maybe the electric car will open a new door for modification or close the door all together. Only time will tell though. The next generation of enthusiasts will be able to make the electric car more than the end of fossil fuel use. Who knows? Someone might be able to create an electric supercharger to boost output. That same guy might also be the next Hennessey or Brabus.
Electric cars are here to improve the world in a way. They are meant to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels but the costs associated with that, face plenty of objection. My main objection, is if Tesla is going to rob the current and next generation of kids the joys and struggles of being a complete “car enthusiast”. It’s not a question of will Tesla’s be able to be modified, it’s a question of can and if Teslas can be modified to the customer’s wants and needs.
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