To think that anyone who has been driving a Tesla for a while, should have to redo the driving test before being allowed back in a normal car?

I’ve driven an electric car for years. Need to drive a minibus for work and old enough to have a minibus license automatically. Just had to do a competency test (MIDAS). No problem switching to an older driving style - gears, clutch, manual wipers and lights. Still had a reversing camera (which is very good as the rear visibility is rubbish especially when the minibus is full).

Some people might become deskilled but it isn’t a given.

I'm really curious to drive a Tesla now, I didn't know they did that much!

Okay , I'll have to ask

How much of this is Tesla issue and how much is an Elon Musk issue .

Bit like Dyson , so many "I'd never touch a Dyson , not giving him my hard earned cash" threads ...

You know plenty of people have driving licences and don’t own / regularly use a car at all?

It's not just Tesla though. Auto handbrake, auto wipers, auto headlights, lane control, brake assist, adaptive cruise control and loads of other safety features. All pretty standard now on conventional ICE cars.

God forbid anybody has to reverse park a car without parking sensors and a camera

They will be incapable

What is a ‘normal’ car though?

Maybe your husband is just a bit shit at driving.🤷‍♀️ We both drove a Tesla for years and neither of us had a problem going back to having a different car that was manual. My son learnt in a manual a few years ago, drove a manual for a few months, then drove a Tesla for 2 years. Now he is back in another manual car with no issues. Let’s not punish everyone because of your husband.

I’d actually say your family are the outliers, Tesla literally tries to do everything for you and takes away some of the common sense moves you’d have to work on yourself, including basic things like watching your speed and road positioning, proximity to cars around you, use of your different lights, how you use the brakes, parking and reversing. Go manual and then you’re also thinking gears and clutches. And yes I know newer cars have controls and cameras and so much but Tesla is a different level I’d guess (was in one a number of times with in
laws and when dh test drove one).

I’d love to create a virtual driving experience for qualified drivers, that would score their performance at the end of the session.

Every 3 years or so, you would have to sit a compulsory simulation, and if you score less than 90%, you would just re- sit until you passed , to re-validate your licence.

It could also be mandatory after driving offences, or when switching from an automatic transmission to a manual after a break of longer than 9 months

Basically it would allow for rapid re-skilling without endangering other road users, and pick up on cognitive degeneration.

Strange. I drive a Tesla and a ‘normal’ manual car with no mod cons. I can drive both just fine.

Most people can't recognise that they are bad drivers! 😆

I only drive an automatic now and there is no way I would be competent in a manual after all this time. YANBU

Ah, so you’re just on the wind-up. Got it.

That they drive Teslas.

If Tesla’s are that intuitive, why are they usually driven badly and hogging the middle lane?

Speeding and using mobile phones while driving are also dangerous, and far, far more widespread than EV drivers forgetting how to use a clutch. Money would definitely be better spent eliminating speeding and mobile phone use.

I have a fancy pants BMW that’s brand new and DH drives a 15 year old BMW. On the odd occasion that I drive his car, it’s not a great experience. My car has a digital Speedo, speed limit reminders, dab radio, reversing camera, is an auto, cruise control is easy to use and the handbrake comes off automatically when I accelerate. It does take a minute to get used to the Speedo dial to ensure I’m not speeding and I sometimes find I’m doing 70 in 3rd for miles or approach a roundabout and suddenly remember I need to be changing gears. His indicators are weird but at least he has them. However, his has a cd player.

I was once an excellent driver but people laugh at me now.

so it’s not just Teslas.

It's not a Tesla specific problem though OP. Are you seriously suggesting anyone who owns a new car with assitive driving aids will need to retake their test every few years?!
Also some brands are discontinuing manual versions of certain models to meet efficiency targets (hybrid/ev are automatic only).

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/05/the-vehicle-suddenly-accelerated-with-our-baby-in-it-the-terrifying-truth-about-why-teslas-cars-keep-crashing

Have you read the article on Teslas in today’s Guardian? I’m not sure I’d want to travel in one after reading that.

Can you take a driving test in a Tesla? I know you can in a regular old school automatic, but wonder if the Tesla is just too intuitive to make the test valid.

It just sounds like your husband isn’t good at driving and you don’t even like him very much.

That hardly seems fair. On what basis? Since they’re paying more, can they skip the queue? If so, is it ok for learners to experience further delays, and the additional costs involved?

Maybe your husband is just a bit shit at driving.🤷‍♀️ We both drove a Tesla for years and neither of us had a problem going back to having a different car that was manual. My son learnt in a manual a few years ago, drove a manual for a few months, then drove a Tesla for 2 years. Now he is back in another manual car with no issues. Let’s not punish everyone because of your husband.

Charge retesters more.

I’m talking about the public purse. Yes, re-testing Tesla drivers might yield benefits, but there are almost certainly much better uses for the money that such testing would cost.