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Unleashing the Power of Self-Driving: An EV Experience

In this episode, we dive into the practicalities of transitioning to electric vehicles and emphasize the importance of user experience in shaping consumer perceptions. We explore features that enhance driver comfort and safety, such as the automatic braking system that activates when the driver is distracted. Chalisa Perkins and Janora Nance share their contrasting experiences with EV technology, illustrating the learning curve associated with these innovations. Chalisa's prior exposure to electric vehicles facilitated a smoother adaptation to Tesla's self-driving capabilities, while Janora’s inexperience led to a more cautious approach.

We also discuss the broader implications of EV adoption and the potential for autonomous taxis, debating societal readiness for such innovations. The episode concludes with reflections on the future of transportation, suggesting that as technology advances, acceptance of autonomous driving may gradually increase among consumers despite initial reservations.

Takeaways:

• The discussion features two team members, Chalisa Perkins and Janora Nance, who recently tested the self-driving capabilities of a Tesla Model Y.
• Chalisa Perkins, who has recently transitioned into electric vehicle ownership, shares her transformative experience with the vehicle's self-driving features.
• Janora Nance expresses initial apprehension while driving her first electric vehicle, highlighting the need for adjustment to the driving experience.
• Both team members reflect on their experiences with autonomous driving technology, noting initial discomfort and the necessity for trust-building with the vehicle.
• The episode concludes with a discussion on the future of autonomous vehicles, expressing mixed feelings about the prospect of fully driverless transportation.

MTE's Electric Vehicle Programs & Educational Resources

• https://mte.com/DriveEV — Hub for all things electric vehicles at MTE
• https://mte.com/EVCarClub — MTE-sponsored car club for EV owners and enthusiasts interested in building a community in Middle Tennessee
• https://mte.com/EVReady — $50 incentive for MTE members or homebuilders installing level 2 chargers at their homes

Copyright 2025 Middle Tennessee Electric

Welcome to season three of MTE's Plugged in podcast.

This season we will continue to explore the world of electric vehicles.

Whether you're a seasoned EV driver or you're just beginning your journey into electric vehicles, this podcast is for you.

For a more enhanced experience, be sure to watch the video version of this podcast that will be linked in the show notes.

Hello, everyone and welcome to MTE's Plugged in podcast.

Brandon I'm Brandon Wagner and as always.

I'm joined with Amy Byers and today, Brandon.

I'm pretty excited.

We have some of our teammates with us, so this is going to be a little different type of podcast.

But today we are welcoming Chalisa Perkins, who is our member experience supervisor, and Jeannora Nance, who is a member support specialist.

So we asked them to, we kind of used them as guinea pigs a little bit and we asked them to get into your Tesla under the self driving mode and see what happens.

So both of these.

Well, I think when we scheduled this podcast, neither one of you were EV drivers.

That has changed.

So we will, we will circle back with Chelisa because Chelisa's a brand new EV driver of about a week if that long.

So we'll circle back to that at the end of the podcast.

But first we want to talk about kind of your experience with the self driving.

But before we do that, we want to give you each a little opportunity to talk about yourself.

So Chelisa will start with you.

Hello, my name is Chalisa Perkins and I am the member experience supervisor here at Middle Tennessee Electric.

I have been with the organization for about seven years.

I am the member experience supervisor.

So I work along with different departments overall, helping to improve the member experience.

Okay, Jenora, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Okay, My name is Jinora.

I've also been with the company for seven years.

I am a member support specialist.

So we pretty much just deal with like the member facing.

So if somebody wants to come in and pay their bills or sign up for service, you're the one there greeting them with a smile.

We are.

There you go.

Okay, so let's kind of get talk, you know, started talking a little bit about what we just got through doing and remind all of the listeners out there.

If you're just listening to us, you might want to hop on to our YouTube channel.

We videoed this, so I'm kind of excited to see what this looks like.

But we will definitely link that video in the show notes so everyone can be able to access that.

So both of you have the chance to test out the Tesla model Y under the second self driving mode.

Now, we have established first that.

I know, Chalisa, you have driven.

I know you've just bought one, but before that, you have driven the EVs that MTE has as part of our fleet.

Jinora, had you ever driven an EV before?

No.

So this was brand new, which could explain some of the footage we got.

But anyway, Chalisa, we'll start with you.

What were kind of your thoughts?

I was very impressed by it.

I like the attributes of it.

It's very smart.

So like we were driving along a road that had cones in it and the Tesla automatically shift away from those cones.

I think the more you get accustomed to it and the more you drive with the, you know, with the self driving feature, the more acclimated, the more you can actually trust the car.

Now, I will say initially when I got in there, I was like, wait a minute.

You know, you find yourself wanting to clutch that steering wheel.

You find yourself wanting to press that brake or the gas.

But like I said, I think over time, the more you use it, the more you could get acclimated to it.

And it would definitely be a great feature in any EV that's.

That's readily available out there that has that feature.

Yeah.

So, Jinora, before we talk about the self driving, I just have a question.

This was your first time to drive an ev.

It was okay, so let's talk about what did you think about driving an ev?

And then we'll get to the other.

So what were your thoughts on driving an ev?

It takes.

It's going to take a lot to get used to it.

I know you said when you got out of the car that you needed to duct tape your foot to the pedal.

So apparently that was.

I was not brave enough to go on this ride along.

I kind of let y'all have it, but.

So apparently that was new to you.

I wanted to brake, touch the steering wheel.

Yeah.

Where it did not almost hit the cones.

I almost did.

So you were wanting to take control back from the.

You didn't trust it.

So that goes into.

What did you think about the self driving?

It's going to take getting used to as well.

It has some perks.

I would like for it to come pick me up.

Well, I kind of got the sense that Chalisa, you felt really comfortable pretty quickly.

I felt like in the self driving, what made you feel so confident with it?

I think maybe because I have driven EVs before and so I Think for.

For me, I was accustomed to really, with an ev, you drive with one pedal because as soon as you let up off that gas, the car is going to really slow down and pretty much stop.

So I think that was the reason why I was able to get in and maybe adapt a little bit more, just because even before I purchased one, as Amy stated, I had driven some of our fleet cars to other offices and things of that nature.

Again, I still think I will have to build up trust, but, I mean, I think it's a great feature that I'll probably take advantage of in my new vehicle while I have that free subscription.

Yeah.

And, Jinora, you were maybe a little bit more apprehensive, but what was funny is I felt like at least my takeaway was I almost felt like you were more apprehensive when you were driving rather than the car.

Yes.

Tell me about that.

Yeah.

I don't know.

I wanted to put on the brakes, but when I was about to, it would break.

And I'm like, you're not driving.

The car is driving.

So there was that one experience where we were about to get on the interstate, and we needed to really stay in the right lane because we're turning in a quarter mile.

But it decided to go over and around, and you were driving at that time.

Tell me about that.

How hard was it for you to just let it do its thing?

It was hard, especially when it's in my truck on the other side.

I'm so glad I got on the interstate.

I am so glad I chose not.

Not to go on this trip.

But it did get over in time to get on interstate.

I like that, too.

It shocked both of us.

I mean, I think all three of us, that we were like, would we have made this move if we were driving, you know, so.

Okay, so one more thing, too.

When we got on the interstate, we actually took it out of self driving, and I had to kind of twist Jinora's arm a little bit since it was her first time driving an ev.

I said, you know, you know, slow down.

Give some space between the and then hammer down on it.

And it took a couple of times, but finally the third time.

Tell me about the third time when you finally hammered down on it.

I felt I had enough space, but it's just so instant.

But nobody would probably ride with me because as soon as you take your foot off the gas, it's just.

I don't know.

I'll have to get used to the breaking.

All right, now hit it.

Whoa.

Oh, you can do better than that.

That.

Like, we're on a roller coaster.

What's the speed limit?

Seven.

Yeah, you're good.

All right, Hit it.

There you go.

Oh, gosh.

So let's pull.

Okay.

They're going the other way.

You're good?

Yeah.

We'll blame the car.

It just kept driving.

I'm so sorry.

I didn't even see or hear him, though, until we were right up on him.

It is a lot to get used to.

It really is.

It's like driving, like, a golf cart, you know, or something like that.

And you.

But you're just, you know, going.

If you're not used to driving them, it is a hard thing to get used to.

But can't you.

Can't you change that?

Like, some of the cars have a feature that you can change it to where it doesn't.

We had it on chill mode, and we had on minimal lane change, and it still did it.

That was my chill mode.

That was not chill mode.

That was not chill enough for you.

So we said.

Threw me over in the back seat, literally.

That's true.

The turns were pretty aggressive.

I was surprised.

So what else surprised you during autonomous driving?

The takeoff.

The takeoff.

Yeah.

It speeds up really quick, even when.

It'S driving by itself.

I was kind of surprised myself by that.

What about you, Shalissa?

Anything that surprised you?

I think maybe the auto park.

I didn't really realize that one great feature about it is, you know, for me, I can't back into anything.

And so, you know, when you pull into that parking lot and you push that auto park, and it immediately backs your car into that parking spot, and, I mean, it looks perfect.

So that is definitely something.

I was shocked and didn't realize that it had that feature.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We tested out the Auto Summon, too.

We were talking about.

That's a popular feature for my kids on Sundays after church, especially if it's raining, have the car come pick you up under the breezeway.

That's kind of nice.

So, yeah, so after experiencing this, you know, we have taught.

We've had a couple of podcasts now where we've talked about the auto taxis or the Waymo in the future to where, you know, if you need a ride, you just call, and this car pulls up, and there's no driver, and you just get in, and it just takes you wherever.

So do you.

What do y'all think about?

Because we.

We've talked about this, and, you know, I've said multiple times, scary.

You know, there's a lot of sci Fi movies where that went wrong.

And I'm not, I don't know how I feel about that.

But having done the self driving, how would you feel about it?

I'm not gonna do it.

You're with me.

I'll give you a ride.

Thank you.

I will pay you to Uber.

Not gonna do it.

Yeah, I agree.

I don't think I'm there yet, but I think eventually, over time I think it's something that I could potentially get comfortable with.

But right now, yeah, I don't, I think with a Tesla, even though it's in self driving mode, you're, you still have the ability to, to take that car out of self driving mode and take back control.

If you are in one of those vehicles, your ability to do that is not there.

You're on the back seat.

Exactly.

And it's being controlled by a dispatcher.

So I'm not there yet, but I definitely like trying new things.

And it depends on if I'm going from the front of the parking lot to the back of the parking lot.

I may consider it.

But if I need to get from the airport to my hotel, probably not.

Probably not.

Yeah.

So let me ask you something you said prompted me a question.

So you're in self driving.

What do you, how quick is it to go to take back control?

Like, is it like you have to go over here and push a button?

Is it just grabbing the steering wheel?

I mean what, what do you have to do to get it back?

You can, there's really three ways you can push the stalk up if you're like really under control.

Like when we got on the interstate and, and I wanted Genora to experience acceleration, she just pushed the stalk up and it took you out.

You can turn the wheel.

You kind of have to be a little aggressive with it because it's going to fight you, but you have to be intentional.

And the other thing is you can hit the brake.

And I was telling them that when you do that it'll pop up on the screen.

Hey, you came out of full self driving.

What happened?

And you can record a message to tell feedback on the.

This is what's going on.

So it's pretty instantaneous.

We were talking about how there is one road on my way home every day that I know the right lane is going to be, it's going to become a right turn only lane.

And the car always wants me to get over there and so I always have to fight it.

Every day on the way home in that one spot, I probably should use that feedback Thing.

And so, hey, this is a, it's a right turn only.

Quit putting me over here.

I'd love to see if it would actually adjust.

One thing I also liked about it too is so as we had it in self driving mode, like Brandon was, you know, finagling the screen and you know, I was paying attention to him and the car would automatically pick up and beep like, pay attention please.

So that is one attribute that I really like because the vehicle could pick up and sense that, yeah, I'm self driving her, but she's not paying attention to the road.

So that was a great feature that it's gonna still help you focus.

So you couldn't sit there and read a book.

Yeah, it's gonna be like, no, no.

Yeah.

Correct.

Yes, you need to pay attention.

Or if you're nodding off, it could wake you up, I guess.

Yeah, potentially.

So is there anything that you can think of that would help build your trust to where one day you'll take a Waymo or a Robo Taxi?

Not right now.

Not yet.

Not right now.

I think as they continue to evolve and technology continues to grow, I definitely could foresee myself again, I would start off small, you know, going maybe a mile or two or from the front of the parking lot to the back of the parking lot.

But it would probably be something I would do initially on my own.

I don't know if I would involve any know anyone else in that unique experience initially.

But I think as technology change and as it evolved, we're going to see more and more of that.

And I think as it become more common, you're going to get more buy in from, you know, various folks.

We've talked about, you know, in previous podcasts, there's some great leasing options out there.

And we were just talking in passing one day and all of a sudden you told me I'm actually going to pick up a Tesla.

So tell me a little bit about your experience.

What made you decide to do it?

You also had an interesting experience about picking it up and even the test drive.

So tell us just a little bit about that.

Okay, so yes, Brandon is correct.

Bebopped in his office on a Friday and I said something and we started having the conversation around Teslas and just various programs and various, you know, things they have out there.

And it piqued my interest.

I wasn't really sure if, you know, the ev.

I've always said for a long time, I'm not sure I'll get an ev.

Not really sure, you know, on the fence, but Once we talked about it, I'm like, well, this is a great opportunity.

So that was on a Friday.

So on that Saturday, I decided to go out on the website and sort of peruse and see what they had readily available.

Downloaded the Tesla app onto my phone.

Someone from Tesla reached back out to me.

They wanted to know why I was interested in Tesla.

They have the pre approval process and everything on the app and just different things of that nature.

And so as I was engaging with the customer service rep from Tesla, he was like, well, would you like to schedule a test drive?

And I was like, no, I don't.

You know, I live in Murfreesboro and I don't really want to drive to Franklin.

And it's like 6:00 at night.

And he was like, well, what about tomorrow?

And I'm like, yeah, no, I didn't tell him that.

But I'm just like, no, you know, I'm still on the fence.

I'm just playing in the waters right now.

I'm just testing the waters.

And so the next day, which would have been Sunday, you know, I thought about it more and more and I was like, you know, I'm going to schedule this test drive, I'm going to go to church and then when I leave church, I'm going to schedule a test drive.

So that morning when I got up and I pulled up the app, I noticed that I had the ability to test drive the car here locally in Murfreesboro.

And I was like, wow, I wonder how this is going to work.

You know, the Tesla dealership is in Franklin and the car is here in Murfreesboro.

So I went in and I scheduled my test drive and someone from Tesla called me.

They reached out to me, they were texting me periodically letting me know that, you know, why you have this vehicle for an hour, go ahead and use the supercharged so that you can get that experience that's also going to allow you to look at the various attributes in the vehicle while it's charging.

So I was like, oh, that's a really great feature.

They also have self driving that you can do while you're test driving the vehicle.

So once I'm finished with church, I have my spot that I have to go to get the vehicle to test drive it.

And it's actually at one of the local restaurants here in Murfreesboro.

And my test drive was scheduled for 1:00.

And I'm like, well, how am I even supposed to get in it?

What am I supposed to do?

Once you drop it off, get out of the car, the car will automatically shut off and the doors will lock.

And so that was my experience, test driving the vehicle.

And I know that's very uncommon and very unheard of because you think a dealership is not going to just leave a couple cars in the middle of nowhere and give you the ability to come and test drive their car.

There is no salesman in the back seat or the front seat saying, yeah, I think you should add this feature, or no, I don't think you should.

So that overall was a very different experience for me.

So I did that on a Sunday.

So throughout the week, I continue to work through the app.

Because you do everything on the Tesla app, from completing your paperwork to making your payments, you do all of that.

So once you've completed your paperwork, they give you a time, you know, they allow you to choose the time to come in to actually pick up the vehicle.

And so on Saturday, when I went and picked up the vehicle, woke up Saturday morning, super duper excited.

I'm like, I'm going to get a vehicle.

I'm going to get here early.

I'm pretty sure I'm, you know, I'm going to get this done before I change my mind.

So I walk into the Tesla dealership and it was, you know, a couple people, you know, in the room, they had a couple of the vehicles there in the showroom.

And I was like, I have an 11 o'clock appointment.

And so the gentleman asked me my name.

I gave him my information.

He was like, okay, if you will go have a seat in the service room.

He was like, we'll be with you shortly.

And so when I initially went in the room, it was just me.

He said, but it's probably going to be closer to 11 before we get to you.

And I was like, okay, that's fine, no worries.

I'm here, I'm early, I'm getting a car.

And so as I sat there and it got closer to 11 o'clock, more people started to join me in this room.

And so initially I'm like, man, I'm glad I got here early because I'm gonna be first.

You know, I'm gonna get my vehicle first.

And so at 11 o'clock on the dot, three people from Tesla walks in, and it's a room full of people.

And they were like, yay, everybody in this room is getting a new Tesla today.

And I was like, oh, this is very different.

You know, I was very taken back.

And so the gentleman was like, okay, so we're gonna go behind this table.

Everyone come up, give us your name, look at your paperwork, which you had already reviewed it in the app.

Just initial it and sign off on it.

So I was like, okay, this is again, very weird.

I'm like, someone's gonna talk to me and they're gonna take me to the car and, you know, all of that good stuff.

So I completed my paperwork, expeditiously returned it, and so he was like, okay, I'm going to unlock the car for my phone.

You're in parking spot F1, under the tree.

Once you get to the car, you take your phone and you set up your key fob and thank you for shopping with Tesla and have a great day.

So the thing about it is, when I got in the car, so I guess everyone that's picking up a car in the 11 o'clock hour, when you pull up to the dealership, they have the flashers flashing on the vehicles.

And so I get in the car and it was another gentleman in the room.

You could tell he had bought several Teslas because he was very experienced.

And I'm walking out the door, like, about to have a panic attack.

And so, no joke, I get in the car and the flashers are flashing, and I'm like, well, I don't even know how to turn off the flashers.

And so I was like, I don't want to go back in there and ask, because they're going to be like, she doesn't need this car.

So I had to Google, no joke before I pulled out of the parking lot.

How do you turn off the flashers on the Tesla?

So needless to say, I got them turned off and I drove the vehicle home, and I've been pleased with it ever since.

Yeah, that's very.

It's very interesting.

I kind of like that because, you know, salesmen always are like, so to not have that would be nice.

I think that's going to be the car buying of the future.

Though, I really do.

I think that the.

That's gonna be it.

It's such a better experience.

And you don't have to spend all day getting a car.

You can test drive it.

You don't have to have somebody there watching everything you do.

It would be nice, though, if they at least escorted you to the car to say, here's how you turn off the flashers.

Or a little fact sheet.

I mean, just have a fact sheet in there.

Like your windshield wipers are here.

Just a little.

Like, here's how you turn the headlights on.

Just maybe.

But once I got it home, I got a little bit more comfortable with it because then I was in my own.

I was on my own turf.

And so I could sit in the driveway and I could figure it out.

So that calmed my nerves and calmed my anxiety.

And I think initially, and I like what you said, but.

However, I probably would have been so overwhelmed, I probably would not have even really comprehended what they were actually saying, but it was a good experience.

I would encourage anyone to, if you have the opportunity, even if you're just thinking about a test, drop one.

And.

And you don't even have to travel to Franklin to do it.

You can do it very close to wherever you live.

They have him situated throughout our territory.

That's cool.

I think that's one reason they don't have to have salespeople.

The experience is so cool.

You can't help but talk about it.

So now we gotta get you behind the wheel and getting one.

Maybe her first experience should not have.

Been I may have set her back a little bit.

Yeah, I think we might have set her back on her EV dress a little bit today, but.

But I do appreciate.

And Amy, you know, we've worked with Jinora and Shalisa, and we know that it's just an honor to get to work with you all.

And Shalisa and I, we get to work on the same team, so.

Well, and Chelisa, she's kind of been.

Even though she hasn't, she's just now new to having an ev, but she's been part of our EV family.

She's always at the EV Car Clubs event.

So anybody that has been to any of the Supercharge events.

That's true.

That's true.

So she is part of the family.

And now officially, she is with her very own ev.

Yeah.

And this podcast idea came about because we were working with Jinora and some others about the Chargers up front.

And so while we were out there, we were just.

We took a little test drive and we were like, man, this is fun.

We need to do this as an episode.

But I appreciate the servant hearts that both of you all have.

And for those of you that work with mte, and you may not always see Jinora and Shalisa, but you experience the work that they do for sure.

And so they certainly have the heart of a servant and want to make sure that our purpose is to make our members lives better and we're thankful for teammates that make that part of who they are.

Thank you both for joining us today, and thanks to everybody out there listening.

For more information on MTE's Drive EV programs or the EVCAR Club, visit us at drive EV.com or email us@evcarclubte.com and until next time, plug in, power up, and drive safe.