The Tesla community has grown immensely previously decade, but some key voices locally have been around nearly because the starting. One such person is Tesla YouTube channel host Kim Java, with whom EVANNEX recently spoke on the phone about her thoughts on how the auto industry has modified, what people can expect when buying their first electric vehicle, and the intersection of tech people and environmentalists within the Tesla community.
Above: Kim Java in front of some Tesla Superchargers (Image: Kim Java / Patreon).
Kim tells us that the Tesla Model X has been her family’s most important vehicle, but that additionally they have a Model 3. While her husband typically drives the Model 3, Kim drives the Model X around with the youngsters, and he or she’s spent the past several years covering her experiences with the EV.
You’ll be able to read Kim Java’s full interview with EVANNEX below.
EVANNEX: How did you get your start covering Teslas?
Kim: It was a whole accident. We were one in all the primary to order the Model X, and so they had a ‘Meet Model X Day,’ and we recorded it to share with a few of our family that lives on the West Coast. We put it on YouTube to share it, and folks just began asking us questions on the Model X.
After we actually received our vehicle, we just tried to make some videos to reply peoples’ questions, and the following thing we knew we had a channel. It was like, we didn’t even realize there have been so many other people interested on the time.
EVANNEX: Any potential future updates you hope to see from Tesla?
Kim: I would love the screen within the back to have Bluetooth capability for the youngsters within the Model S and the Model X — that’s an enormous one which I’m hoping to see. There are a few various things I need to see with that rear screen. You recognize, I like having it, however it’s form of frustrating that if the youngsters are watching it, I can’t have anything, like music, going for me within the front. In order that becomes a difficulty, but I do like having it. It’s nice for road trips.
EVANNEX: I do know you’ve covered this in a few of your videos before, but what are some things you think that potential Tesla buyers should know that always get missed?
Kim: So we did make a video actually form of all a couple of couple of little things. I forget the title of it, however it was similar to some hidden expenses in regards to the vehicles being heavy, going through tires, and things like that that I feel loads of people don’t necessarily realize.
But there are also still loads of misconceptions on the market about driving electric, that ‘they’re going to have more problems,’ where we’ve been driving one now for like seven or eight years — Tesla specifically but we’ve been driving EVs for nearly 10 years — and the upkeep issues are so few and much between. It’s been very smooth, and I feel loads of people still think, , ‘you could have to take them in for oil changes,’ all those varieties of things. They usually don’t realize how smooth it’s by way of ownership.
I do have that video that goes over a few the hidden expenses that we discovered in ownership, but really, in the long term, it’s so less expensive to own an EV should you’re just your monthly expenses.
EVANNEX: I feel it’s true that loads of people don’t really realize those things until they get into their very own EV.
Yes. And I feel in our bubble of people who have been driving them for some time, we form of forget that to the common person, this continues to be pretty recent for them.
That’s one in all the things that I attempt to deal with in my channel; people who are recent to EVs. What are a number of the things they think and what are a number of the questions they’re going to have? I attempt to make it so that everyone can understand it and not only tailor it to the EV enthusiasts that already form of know every thing.
EVANNEX: Any specific highlights or favorite Tesla stories you’ve covered previously?
Kim: After I went to the Cybertruck event, that was such a cool experience attending to go contained in the Cybertruck. And being one in all the primary to do this is unquestionably a highlight, and something that I’ll always remember.
Above: We Rode Inside The Tesla CyberTruck! (Video: Kim Java / YouTube)
EVANNEX: Are you guys signed up for a reservation for the Cybertruck, or do you could have any plans to get one?
We’re. We did, but I’m going forwards and backwards on if I’m going to maintain the reservation. I need it, but then it’s also like practicality. Do we’d like it? Where are we going to place this, ? We only have a two-car garage. Is it really feasible to maintain collecting Teslas simply because I need them? Is that smart?
Obviously, I could make videos with it, but at the identical time, I can find other people who have it to make videos with it, so we form of waver forwards and backwards on if we’re going to maintain it or not. I feel if I do keep it I’m gonna have to start out a bit of rental automotive company with my fleet of vehicles here simply to make it price my while or something. [Laughs]
EVANNEX: What makes the Tesla community unique in comparison with other automotive communities?
Kim: Tesla is de facto the one most important vehicle community that I’ve ever been a component of. I do know that Jeep has an enormous following, and my husband was an enormous Jeep person before we became Tesla people. But I feel a giant a part of the community is just this whole Master Plan and wanting to make the world a greater place — that aspect of it. I feel it’s really like Elon. If Tesla didn’t have Elon it probably wouldn’t be the identical, because we’re all inspired in a certain way. So it’s not likely just in regards to the vehicle. It’s transitioning off of oil; it’s changing this whole industry.
And in addition, I feel loads of people prefer to root for the underdog. It’s not anymore, but , that was the case when Tesla first began, so we’re just wanting to kind of give it to the person. So I feel that actually is a giant a part of it.
Plus you get loads of tech people. While you take a look at regular cars, they weren’t tech vehicles before Tesla. So abruptly, now there are all these people on YouTube that were like tech reviewers which have converted to covering Tesla. So that you get this crowd of people who thinks in a different way.
They usually’re following it for various reasons. So you could have the people who are in it for the sustainability, and you could have people who love tech and are all about what’s the perfect tech on the market. So that you get an interesting mixture of individuals together.
I also think it’s turn into a really big thing where once people do get into Tesla, they turn into die-hard loyalists to the brand. Then they will’t drive the rest.
EVANNEX: Are there any specific questions you think that I missed that I should ask, or every other things you wish to mention?
Kim: You had talked about different YouTubers that individuals should follow, and I form of desired to talk a bit of bit about how with Tesla it’s turn into this whole YouTube crowd of individuals covering the vehicle, which I hadn’t really seen. Obviously, YouTube’s modified rather a lot during the last like 10 years.
But once I first began making videos, the one people I knew that were making videos about Tesla were Björn Nyland and I feel Cayman Auto actually did a few videos with Tesla. But that was it. There was not the social media prefer it is now, and I feel it’s really interesting to see how during the last eight years really, [it has grown so much]. Now, there are such a lot of people on this space covering Tesla and EVs, throughout YouTube and TikTok, and there are loads of people now covering [Tesla].
It’s just really interesting since you get these different perspectives about it. Some individuals are just covering just news, some individuals are doing mods, some individuals are showing the road trips, and also you get a bit of little bit of every thing.
By way of the community, there are so many various options now to get information. After which obviously with you guys and different blogs and podcasts, it’s just really interesting to see how people develop a passion for the corporate and EVs usually, and so they wish to share that.
EVANNEX: Yeah, it’s pretty crazy how much this whole community blew up online when the primary Tesla Roadster was only produced 15 years ago.
Kim: It’s really crazy. And I remember those first couple of videos that I made that were like, not even really videos. Considered one of my hottest videos on YouTube is like me talking about our Model X key fob. But I didn’t realize I had like a full YouTube channel and we had recorded like five videos in the identical day and I wore the identical shirt, and I didn’t consider YouTube even like a business back then. It’s just this silly little video answering questions on a key fob that became our hottest video.
Now if I made that video, nobody would have watched it because there would have been 100 other videos. But on the time, it was so popular because there was nothing on the market about one of these stuff.
The entire industry has modified a lot, and it’s form of cool to see. I feel it encourages people to make higher content. You recognize, such as you guys too — you’re like ‘let’s have this blog and talk in regards to the news, but then let’s do these influencer spotlights.’ It’s just really interesting to see how every thing’s evolved over the past few years
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Yow will discover Kim Java’s YouTube channel here, and you possibly can get exclusive content by supporting her work on Patreon for as little as $1 per thirty days.
Above: 5 Hidden EV Expenses No One Will Tell You About (Video: Kim Java / YouTube).