Electric City
How much can you pack into a weekend in Auckland in a Tesla X? Chris Schulz picks up his family, packs up his stuff and finds out.
Friday, 4pm:
“It’s a completely different driving experience,” warns the Tesla rep at the K Rd showroom. She’s not wrong. The Tesla X is a huge car, the biggest I’ve driven. With a starting price of $165,000, it’s also the most expensive. As I ease it on to the road, I’m hyperaware of every potential hazard in my way. I needn’t worry: the Tesla X has multiple cameras and warning systems. Within 15 minutes, I’ve worked out how to operate those winged doors, tested its supersonic speed on the motorway and even asked it to drive itself. I could get used to this.
5pm:
I head home to pick up the family. Whenever we go away for a weekend, our Toyota wagon is rammed full of gear. That’s not a problem in the Tesla X. It fits everything and then some. As we head down the motorway and into town, I blast Travis Scott’s new album and realise the Tesla’s stereo goes up to 11. Nice move, Elon. Pulling into the Crowne Plaza Auckland carpark, we head up to level 8 and ease into one of their permanent Tesla carparks. It’s a tight fit, but the Tesla’s doors know their limits. We plug the car in to charge, grab our bags and head to the elevators. “I always stay here,” a friendly guest in the elevator tells us. “I’ve been here 1000 times.” What a sell.
6.15pm:
We have not one but two rooms — one for us, and a twin share for the kids. They’re already bouncing off the walls — and the beds — with excitement, checking out the views, the room service menus, and continually swiping themselves in and out of their room. They’re also impressed about having their own bathroom. It’s the little things.
7pm:
We head down to the Crowne Plaza’s Aria restaurant and order dinner. The kids get ham and cheese toasties and activity sheets, while we tuck into our starters: haloumi stuffed into baked capsicum, and twice-cooked pork belly. But our daughter gets tired, so we head back upstairs and tuck her into bed. Our mains — fish and risotto, steak, and sticky date pudding — are delivered to our door. It’s a tasty end to a long week.
Saturday, 8am:
We head back to Aria for a buffet breakfast. My son takes a shine to the juicer, and shows other diners how to plunge apples, oranges and carrots into the machine. My daughter, meanwhile, invents her own breakfast: Coco Pops on toast. She’s very proud of herself.
9am:
We’re back in our fully charged Tesla and heading up to Matakana. We’re starting to trust the car’s self-drive mode, which takes turns and accelerates for you, guided by cameras that sense road markings. You can’t take your hands off the wheel in New Zealand, but it’s still one hell of a trust exercise. It’s a beautiful day and, as trust builds, we get the chance to check out a little more of the scenery up the coast than we normally would.
11am:
We stock up on goodies at the Matakana markets then head to the Sculptureum, an hour-long walk full of art and sculpture. Also, scripture: there’s a lot of reading to do as you make your way around the exhibits, and though most of it makes sense, we’re left shaking our heads at the Steve Jobs shrine. But the kids are happy once they find the giant snails and meercats.
2pm:
Famished, we head into Plume Cafe, order brunch for four, and quickly pounce on our meals: Salmon eggs bene, a chicken sandwich, hot dogs and chips are inhaled, along with french pastries, which the local institution does very well. They also do a mean turmeric latte.
6pm:
After an hour of recuperation, we head to Baduzzi for dinner. We thought we’d be smart and go early to miss the rush, but the waterfront eatery is already buzzing. Luckily, we get the last available table. Service is quick and the kids carbo load on plates of buttery pasta while we try the restaurant’s speciality: crab meatballs. Delish. Feeling like a little something extra, we take the Tesla to Parnell and grab Movenpick icecreams. Heading back to the car, we realise we parked directly behind another Tesla X. Can they talk to each other?
Sunday, 9am:
After another buffet breakfast at Aria and another helping of Coco Pops on toast, we check out of our hotel and head out for a Sunday drive around Mission Bay. We stop at Farro Fresh to pick up a picnic lunch, and head to Orakei to eat it. Disaster strikes when we try to leave and realise the Tesla’s remote control has stopped working. A quick phone call to the helpline gets us back on the road. Back at Tesla’s Auckland base, they have us recalibrated in less than an hour.
3pm:
We decide to wear the kids out in the Tepid Baths. It’s our first time there, and we quickly fall in love with it. There’s a dedicated pool for kids to splash around in, and a searing spa pool for the adults. What was supposed to be a quick swim turns into a two-hour visit, and the kids are then hangry messes. So we take the Tesla to the Shore and our go-to favourite eatery, Mexico. The kids order quesadillas, we order fried chicken, and we all have churros for dessert. Everyone’s happy.
8pm:
We head home. The Tesla drives itself most of the way, and once we’re home, the kids ask to say goodnight to it. I find an Elon Musk Easter Egg and show them the car’s Christmas dance. The Tesla’s doors rise up, the lights flash, music blares and neighbours peer out of their windows. The kids dance and clap. What a trip.
Tesla Auckland, 501 Karangahape Rd, www.tesla.com/en_NZ Crowne Plaza Hotel, 128 Albert St, (09) 302 1111