Trying to avoid it, Number 5

Last night I was hoping to get Elsa to eat a decent meal. I gave her the appetite stimulant and she appeared to be getting hungry but the thunder started booming which sent her looking for a corner to hide in. She won’t eat if it’s storming. It has been that way pretty much her entire life. When I look back at the timeline of when she has started having more issues it more or less coincides with the start of rainy season where thunderstorms are a near daily occurrence.

If I let her, she would hide in the bathroom an entire day. The thing is she will stay in there even well after the storm has passed. She has always been a bit neurotic in that way. However when this is combined with her kidney problems things get complicated very fast. I really would like to avoid taking her to the vet until next month when a bunch of things are supposed to get done but if I can’t get her eating better it’s going to have to be sooner rather than later. There is no cure for her condition, we can only keep trying to manage it. It’s a grey cloud that is consistently floating above me at all times. Not being able to “fix” her is a hard thing for me to accept.

Possibly as a retail therapy side effect of my dark mood about Elsa’s wellness I pulled the trigger on purchasing my fifth Tesla last night. Yes as usual it came out of nowhere. I have been looking at used GMC/Chevy EV trucks for a few weeks. I was thinking about the possibility of consolidating my two vehicles, the Tesla and the Tacoma into one EV truck. However even used, these trucks cost a bundle.

So yesterday I was watching a video talking about not widely known features on new Tesla’s. The Model Y underwent a refresh in 2025. I never paid much attention to the additions/changes with the refresh but the video sparked my attention. I realized there are a bunch of things they added to the new Model Y’s that appeal to me. So for the hell of it I went on the Tesla site to see what’s the current state of things.

I was not current with the offerings Tesla has now. They have a base model Y that starts just under $40K that is RWD. Then they have long range “Premium”models with some additional tech, the tech that interested me. These are long range models with both AWD and RWD versions. The RWD models are slower but they also get the most range, rated at just under 360 miles. My first two Tesla’s were RWD.

So I started running numbers. Tesla gives current Tesla owners a $500 spiff as well as offering .99% interest which is unheard of nowadays. I also got a trade number for my 2024 Performance Model Y. I wasn’t thrilled with the number but when I factor in the sales tax savings I get by trading the vehicle the number aligns with what I have seen elsewhere. Bottom line was I could move into the 2026 and actually drop my payment from it’s current level somewhat because I am stepping down in trim level.

I have done the opposite up until now, going up in specs/trim level with each purchase. I started with a standard range Model 3 in 2019. Then I went to a RWD Model Y in 2022 which was quickly sold to Vroom for a profit before I purchased an AWD long range Model Y later in 2022. Then in 2024 I again stepped up going to the top of the line Model Y Performance which has blistering acceleration. However I have come to realize that I basically never use that speed nor do I really care about or need it. All Tesla’s are fast enough for me so for the first time in 7 years I am going back down the ladder of specs in the Tesla universe and I am happy to do so.

The new car has a lot of cool additions on the inside including sweet ambient dash/door lighting, different steering wheel/controls, the front seats are now both heated and ventilated, a rear seat that is power both ways (open/close), the rear seat reclines, and there is an 8 inch screen in the back for rear seat passengers. On the outside the front and back end have been reworked visually although I am indifferent about it. The suspension has been improved which give a smoother ride and these vehicles have an additional camera in the nose that the prior gen Tesla’s are missing which gives greater visibility to the car and makes FSD which is already great, better.

Anyway, it seems like I have been on a regular 2-3 year upgrade schedule with my Tesla’s since I entered into their market. Even though Elon has gone off the rails it hasn’t changed the fact that I love my Tesla’s, despite his ridiculous behavior. The vehicle I will be buying evidently has not been made yet. It will be 4-6 weeks until I take delivery. As is the case with my last purchase, the prep for buying the car is done almost exclusively on the phone. I did everything that I could get done at this point already.

One thing that was extremely annoying was getting my credit freeze lifted temporarily at Experian. The credentials I had saved in my password manager did not work and trying to get in to unfreeze my credit was a monumental pain in the ass, consuming a half hour of my time. It’s all good now at least.

Ironically the features in this new Tesla would have made the road trip I was supposed to be taking more enjoyable. I guess we will get to test it out whenever the opportunity for another trip comes around.