Audrey Lynch and the Tesla Model Y. Supplied
The last thing that 90-year-old Bribie Island resident Audrey Lynch expected as a present for her 66th wedding anniversary was a Tesla Model Y.
But after the death of her husband shortly before their 65th anniversary, daughter and carer Sarah wanted to inject some spark back into her life.
Sarah shared that she was about to take delivery of the September build Model Y on Twitter on Tuesday. She also revealed a little tidbit that gave her a thrill – the Model Y was built on the same date as the elderly couple’s 66th anniversary.
As fellow Tesla owner TeslaStraya said, it was “meant to be!!”
Meant to be!! ❤️
— TeslaStraya (@TeslaStraya) October 18, 2022
Model Y bought after car written off
Speaking exclusively with The Driven, Sarah says she’d actually decided to buy the Model Y after crashing her car in the weeks after her father’s death.
“Two weeks after my dad died 17 months ago, I wrote off my car in a 50km zone,” she says.
“That was a total shock and I know it was because I obviously didn’t have my mind on the job.”
Sarah says her father had actually missed out on a test drive the pair had planned on the way home from the last hospital he visited.
“As his full time carer and just before he lost the capacity to talk, his dying words were concern for my mum,” she says. “I promised him I would look after her until they meet again.”
But before taking delivery of the Model Y, Sarah had a lot of trouble keeping the surprise a secret from her spritely mum.
Sarah says Audrey “was even the one to take delivery of our personalised number plates ‘WATTEVA’ and asked questions, but I had to throw her off the scent.”
Audrey Lynch and the Tesla Model Y. Supplied
She says it was hard work, but a harder task was yet to come.
Modern-day driving Miss Daisy
“Mum was really overwhelmed …. she is set in her ways. As a wartime child there were scarcities with even the basic things like food,” she says.
“Not seeing the value in such an extravagant item, I did feel I’d failed her. It took an awful lot to part with so much money, because of how I was bought up, but our safety has to come first,” she says.
However, Audrey is coming around to the idea of being a modern-day Miss Daisy in an EV.
“Today, however, she is much better and more receptive to the car,” says Sarah. Audrey has even said, “what a beautiful car,” which Sarah says makes her happy.
“She’s come around very quickly and there is no looking back,” she says.
Audrey and Sarah Lynch and the Tesla Model Y. Supplied
Day trips planned in Model Y
Now, Sarah is planning to slowly introduce her mum to taking day trips in the Model Y.
“After I learn about our new car and how to drive it properly, my wish is to take her for outings. Whether that be day trips, just drives around the area in which we live, or for road trips around Australia visiting places we have not yet seen.
“My goal is to make beautiful, lasting memories with each other because the last three/four years of dads life were extremely hard on all of us. My dad was in a wheelchair but we always made the effort to go for day trips on special occasions.”
So, was it really meant to be? Sarah thinks so.
“When I was crashing into the back of the 4X4 that I just didn’t see, I heard my dad say to me, as if he was sitting next to me, ‘We’ll that’s one way to get your Tesla,’ and that is what started me on the path to buying one,” she laughs.
“I think he would be proud and think that I’m a little bit crazy too, but it will be the last car I ever purchase.”
Keyword: Driving Miss Audrey: Why a Tesla Model Y was the only car for this 90 year old