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Post by gbacklin on Aug 2, 2016 23:33:19 GMT -5
It seemed forever to get here (Ordered April 2nd and delivered June 11th), but I am now 48 days in and while I have been sold on Tesla since the Roadster, I did not have any idea how "Life with a Charge" would be like. So many questions. How would the charge time vs fuel fill time be like. Sure I saw the presentations by Elon, but that was not me. That was a presentation, not my story. So I took a small trip. very small, under 200 miles but wanted to see how traveling would be. My first stop at a Supercharger was only 75 miles away. I said, I would not stay longer than 20 minutes. Well in 20 minutes I collected 96 miles. When I reached my destination which was another 110 miles, I plugged into the Supercharger and went with my family to the restaurant next door. In the time we ordered dinner (without dessert) ate and left the restaurant, the car was fully charged. I said to my family, "This is absolutely doable". I am leasing, so I had to write an iPhone app to keep track of my mileage so not to exceed my lease annual mileage, but outside of that, I really am not adversely affected from the switch from fuel to electric. I do a lot of driving and am very comfortable with my decision to get this car. Now I just have to wait for the Model 3 ! Here is a couple pictures of my Model S after a good washing to remove the bugs    |
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Post by RickW on Aug 2, 2016 23:52:37 GMT -5
Sweet.
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Post by theevan on Aug 3, 2016 3:26:23 GMT -5
Beauty.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 6:41:02 GMT -5
Nice but, to me, it looks pretty much like every other mid sized, four door sedan on the road today. How far will it go on a charge and how long will it take to recharge at that point?
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Post by Doug on Aug 3, 2016 6:44:56 GMT -5
cool grits
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Post by jdd2 on Aug 3, 2016 6:45:38 GMT -5
Nice but, to me, it looks pretty much like every other mid sized, four door sedan on the road today. How far will it go on a charge and how long will it take to recharge at that point? Did you even read the OP...?!?! |
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Post by brucemacneill on Aug 3, 2016 6:46:01 GMT -5
Just out of curiosity, how much do they charge for a charge?
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Post by gbacklin on Aug 3, 2016 7:21:26 GMT -5
Nice but, to me, it looks pretty much like every other mid sized, four door sedan on the road today. How far will it go on a charge and how long will it take to recharge at that point? This is a 70 D version that will go 240 miles on a charge. You can actually tweak it a bit through the use of regenerative breaking, that means you let off on the accelerator and the system will begin deaccelerating for you and the advantage of this is less wear on your breaks and it actually recharges while doing this. Not a lot of charge but it helps you grab a few miles over time. The 75 D will give you 259 miles per charge. At a Supercharger station you can get about 150-170 miles in about 1/2hour. My personal experience as stated above was 96 miles in 20 minutes. I chose the 20 minute timeframe to reflect a normal "gas" stop for me. I wanted to see how much of adjustment I would have to make, and for me this is an entirely normal course of travel for me. The other question that comes to mind is "What about long distance travel" I will agree that my Mazda can go around 400 miles between fueling stops, but at this stage in my life I need a stop before the car needs fuel With the 70 D, I can get 240 miles between stops and my ragged old body enjoys a pit stop around every 200 miles these days. This is fine because the Supercharging network has placed them around one every 150 miles. Update: One thing I forgot to mention is that on the center console is a map/gps option so when taking a long trip you can search along the route you will be taking and locate all the Supercharging station along that route. Pick the one you want to stop at and the gps will narrate you to that station. After charging you click on the next charging station and you continue your journey. This reduces the "run out of charge" fear that I would normally have. This is the current operating network  This is by the end of this year  The have a Range Calculator that is somewhat accurate here showing all their current Model S offerings. Just out of curiosity, how much do they charge for a charge? The charging is free and there are on the average 6-8 charging stations at each stop. The biggest problem I have with this car is that my wife basically has taken ownership of it, so if I am a good boy, I get to drive it once in a while. Oh yeah, that is if Ethan doesn't want it also. Update to Update: Another thing I forgot to mention is that to charge at home I purchased a wall connector from Tesla ($ 550) and with it I can charge at a rate of 36 miles/hr. What I do is schedule the charging to begin at midnight through the center console in the car. This allows me to wake up the next day with a "full tank". The cost to my electric bill was about an $85 increase, but hard to tell if that was all charger because the month of June was exceptionally hot and the air conditioning was constantly on. |
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Aug 3, 2016 7:42:46 GMT -5
How much did it cost? 20 minutes is like 15 minutes longer than it takes me to fill up the Silverado.
Mike
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Post by gbacklin on Aug 3, 2016 7:55:34 GMT -5
How much did it cost? 20 minutes is like 15 minutes longer than it takes me to fill up the Silverado. Mike If I was to purchase it the total coset with taxes and all the governmental requirements and paperwork was $81K with a $7500 rebate which will reduce that amount. That was a bit for me, so I chose a 3 year lease at 15,000 miles per year and the payment is the same amount as what my wife wanted (Jeep Cherokee). Yes I battled with lease/ownership, mileage guilt of a lease with respect to overage costs (That is why I wrote the iPhone app, so I can keep track. The app will tell me how many miles I am over/under the 15k limit I have and it will also tell me how many days at that rate do I have in reserve if I am under and how many days I am over) The car is actually my wife's. She had a 2009 Saturn Aura and was sandwiched at a stop light. Her driving is well within the 50k miles and now she no longer has to buy any gas. Since our purchase that have added a 60 D that will go 215 miles for around 71k cash price. The Model 3 that will begin production in 2017 is retailing for 35K and minimum range on this priced model will be 215 miles. The 20 minute timeframe for me is normal. When I stop for fuel, I will take a pit stop and with my family with me, I will guarantee an easy 20 minutes |
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Post by Doug on Aug 3, 2016 7:56:15 GMT -5
20 min for a fuel stop when traveling isn't much. You have to allow time for the fill up, then you have to allow time for Chris to go to the restroom.  |
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Post by gbacklin on Aug 3, 2016 7:58:00 GMT -5
20 min for a fuel stop when traveling isn't much. You have to allow time for the fill up, then you have to allow time for Chris to go to the restroom. These days, I'm the restroom person |
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Post by fauxmaha on Aug 3, 2016 7:59:35 GMT -5
That reminds me in a way of touring by motorcycle.
My Electra Glide has a range of about 200 miles (which is about 100 miles greater than the range of my ass). I prefer back roads, so touring is a process of 100 mile gas station hops.
In contrast, when we drove to Galveston we rented a Dodge mini van. The on board computer showed 530 miles of range when full.
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Post by Marshall on Aug 3, 2016 8:10:15 GMT -5
Cup holders. What about the cup holders?
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Post by gbacklin on Aug 3, 2016 8:12:41 GMT -5
Cup holders. What about the cup holders? Rest assured there are 2 pairs of cup holders, but to the disappointment there are none on the back seat doors. That was immediately pointed out by my back seat drivers |
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Post by mccoyblues on Aug 3, 2016 8:22:41 GMT -5
I'm curious about these "Supercharger" stations. Are they owned by Tesla? Are there any entrepreneurs opening independent charging stations? Why haven't independents like QT and 7-11 and the Love's Truck stops installed charging stations? Can any electric (Nissan Leaf) use these stations? Can your Tesla use ANY charging station? We have one at the local Walgreens but I have never seen a car use it. Has the charging hardware become standardized yet? In other words, is the plug for the Tesla the exact same plug used by Nissan, Chevy or Toyota or any other all electric car currently available.
I just examined the map on the Tesla site and there are zero superchargers anywhere near my house and not a single "destination" charger anywhere in my zip code. And the ones that are the closest are labeled "for patrons only" so I can't just pull up to the Hyatt and recharge my car.
On a long trip it would turn into a constant hunt for the next charging stations that may or may not take me off the path to my destination lengthening my trip.
Until the infrastructure grows considerably an all electric vehicle is simply not an option for me. If it were my deposit would already be in for the new model.
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Post by gbacklin on Aug 3, 2016 8:50:58 GMT -5
I'm curious about these "Supercharger" stations. Are they owned by Tesla? Are there any entrepreneurs opening independent charging stations? Why haven't independents like QT and 7-11 and the Love's Truck stops installed charging stations? Can any electric (Nissan Leaf) use these stations? Can your Tesla use ANY charging station? We have one at the local Walgreens but I have never seen a car use it. Has the charging hardware become standardized yet? In other words, is the plug for the Tesla the exact same plug used by Nissan, Chevy or Toyota or any other all electric car currently available. I just examined the map on the Tesla site and there are zero superchargers anywhere near my house and not a single "destination" charger anywhere in my zip code. And the ones that are the closest are labeled "for patrons only" so I can't just pull up to the Hyatt and recharge my car. On a long trip it would turn into a constant hunt for the next charging stations that may or may not take me off the path to my destination lengthening my trip. Until the infrastructure grows considerably an all electric vehicle is simply not an option for me. If it were my deposit would already be in for the new model. Yes, there are still a number of stations to be built especially on I 80, but they are getting there. I70 and I 90 are more evolved. The station locations are attempting to be not too far off the beaten path and as I mentioned before, you just look them up on your center console map, find the one you want to navigate to and tap a button. Your gps will direct you to the station. I've done this and it is very convenient and takes that "where is the charger...am I going to run out" fear. They are also located; at lest the ones that I have used, in a shopping center type area where there are stores and restaurants. They are built by Tesla and are totally self sufficient as they are solar powered. While not charging they are contributing to the local grid. Only Tesla vehicle can use them as they are the only car that can accept not just the adaptor but the rate of charge that is supplied to the car. Now with every Tesla you also get a bag of adaptors for the other charger types even a regular wall plug, however the charging rate will not be equivalent to the Supercharger's rate. Also keep in mind that the other chargers frequently charge a fee. Destination chargers are around and not all have the patron only requirement, but those usually connected to hotels do. The destination charger is what I have in my garage, that is the 36 mile/hour rate. Can I say that this is a total replacement for every fuel driven vehicle, no not at all, but in all fairness 10 years ago, Tesla was the target of much criticism. The opinion was one of "it will never happen...it has been tried before (GM's EV 1). In 10 years it is a viable solution for quite a number of folks, and there are a lot of companies building electric cars now a days. For me I am looking to replace all but 1 fuel vehicle in the next 5 years and that is my Father's 1983 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz. If the situation needs a long distance fuel vehicle, I will rent one for the need. We had rented in the past when we travelled with the kids to Disney and such. I was a gear head in the 60's and 70's and worked at a Standard station for 5 years. I am excited about this technology and it currently works for me. Update: Incidentally all technology that is used in the Tesla vehicle system and all their patents were given away for free by Elon. Other companies have access to all specs, it they want to design to use the technology, it is there for them. Elon said he did this in the spirit of Nikola Tesla who also gave away all of his patents. |
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Post by mccoyblues on Aug 3, 2016 10:43:42 GMT -5
When it is all said and done I would own a Model S if it was affordable. I'd learn how to adapt.
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Post by patrick on Aug 3, 2016 10:46:35 GMT -5
A friend has had her Model S for a year or so. She loves it. She took me on a ride when she first got it and I was quite impressed.
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Post by Doug on Aug 3, 2016 10:52:56 GMT -5
I don't think this is the answer but it's a step in the right direction. How fast recharging stations can be built (for all elec) will determine how long it is till we are all (80%+) elec. The batteries are up to the min required now. I think in the long run elec will win because internal combustion is just too inefficient, too much heat waste, the same reason LEDs are winning.
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