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There are no Tesla sales center in the state that I live, but i do see some Tesla cars on the road (less than 1% according my estimation). I did some research on my own as well. What I like about Tesla:
1. Made in America! Unlike the big 3 in detroit that use suppliers around the world, and build their cars elsewhere, Tesla is actually made in America, 100%! When I am buying a Tesla, I feel like I am actually helping my fellow Americans, not some worker that works on the assembly line in Mexico or China.
2. Looks cool and stylish. I understand words like "cool" and "stylish" are totally subjective, but personally, I do like how a Tesla looks.
3. Acceleration and performance. The Model S P100D, starting MSRP $140k, accelerates from 0-60 in 2.28 sec! A $160k gasoline powered Porsche 911 turbo reach 0-60mph in 2.9sec. Even the cheapest model 3 gets from 0-60mph under 6sec.
4. Don't have to negotiate with dealerships for pricing.
my concerns about buying a Tesla:
1. The charging time is a bit long for me. When I buy a Tesla, it will be pretty much a commuting car, but when i spend $40k to buy a vehicle, I don't want to limit the usage to just commuting.
Plus, if something comes up during the day, and I need to drive 100mi extra, I don't want to constantly worry about is my Tesla going to have enough power to get me to my destination.
2. The battery of an electric powered vehicle is like the engine of a gasoline powered car. Over time, the performance of the battery will degrade and eventually it will need to be replaced.
Gasoline powered cars have existed for over a century now. When i buy a gasoline powered car, as long as i maintain the car according to its schedule, i will get at least 100k mi out of it, if not more.
Electric powered cars only been available to the general public until the 2010s. Toyota started selling the Prius in the 2000s, but it is a hybrid, uses both gasoline and electricity, so i would not consider it as a true electric powered vehicle.
Last edited by some1livesinamerica; 07-12-2017 at 11:49 AM..
Today's EVs don't meet everyone's needs, and that's ok. The technology has been progressing though, so hopefully sometime in the future they'll make EVs that better address your requirements.
Tesla Model S have only been on sale since 2012, But already there are ones over 100k miles with no battery degradation. Same for other EVs or PHEVs like Volts. All of them, save the Leaf, have thermally managed battery packs for longer life. And cars like the Volt never get to full charge or full empty due to battery management. Volts have already gone over 300k miles in taxi duty and rarely used the on board engine.
Batteries are recyclable, too, and often at the end of their car lifecycle are converted to industrial battery backup systems:
For Teslas, charging times to 80% capacity at a supercharger station is about 20 minutes from relatively empty. But, like other EVs, can be charged at home overnight so the wait time is really not too bad, as you have a "full tank" every morning when you start your day. Driving over 100 miles in a day is rare, and it's even rarer to need more than the 250 mile range of one. I can drive from Baltimore to NYC and back on that. And if I need to stop and charge at a supercharger station, it's only a 20 minute wait out of a 5 hour trip. Take a potty break and eat if it bothers you. And generally, if you're not in Montana or South Dakota, you're within range of a supercharger station pretty much everywhere:
You really have to work at it and actually be trying to run out of juice in one.
No, EVs are not for everyone, neither are Fiat 124s and Ford F350s. But the latter two will never be complained about for not being perfect for everyone. As it is, EVs are useable in day to day driving for over 80% of the US population. If you're not part of that 80% don't get one. Just like if you're part of the demographic that needs to carry 3-4 people on a regular basis, don't get a Miata. NO ONE says "if only Corvettes carried five people, I'd get one. Since they don't they are stupid and no one should get one."
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bummer
Another "hidden cost" with any Plug In Vehicle is the monthly Electric Bill.
Also, the cost of replacement batteries, both in dollars as well as the cost to the environment.
Too many unanswered questions.
Based on our rate of about .10/kWh, and kWh required per the Tesla website, charging from totally flat to full charge runs about $10. Assuming a 300 mile range, that could take a day, a week or a month depending on driving habits/commute, but it does work out to less than the cost of gas. I usually fill my car with gas at just over 300 miles, and at 21-22 mpg and $2.69/gal it's going to be over $40.
Reminds me of early concepts of Azure in 2006 (that I saw, anyway) going to prototypes by '07 in Microsoft labs, then live. And the rise of Cloud ecosystems since.
We're busily moving businesses and agencies from on-prem to Cloud in Azure, AWS, and (at some point) Google Cloud. In 2008 I moved everything I had to Google Drive and Dropbox, no more dinking around with jump drives, trying to synchronize "password files" and other 20th Century BS. While still not "seamless," it's now become self-evident that the vast majority of apps will be Cloud hosted one way or another within the next ten years.
Pretty good bet same will be true of electric vehicles, after various false starts past c. ten years. Prius, Leaf, Volt, and others are milestones along the way. Tesla happens to offer highest performance, I'm reasonably sure. Lot of them on the road here in Puget Sound area, no surprise there given the affluence and general tech-savvy crowd. It sure isn't "1%" of traffic volumes/vehicle ownership, though, as OP suggests may be the case where he lives. Can't imagine where that is, outside of Silicon Valley maybe. I'm in a concentration of tech industry and affluent people, would follow I'd see more Tesla, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, and the rare Ferrari and Lamborghini on a day-to-day basis.
Problems that will be solved, in all probability, next c. 10-15 years:
- infrastructure/refill availability
- Time to recharge
- Range
- Reliability
- Mean time to fail (increase)
- Cost to buy and repair.
There will come a tipping point, then an explosion of sales. I'd buy a Tesla X next Thursday if I was in the market, since OP's right it will outrun my Porsche 911 GTS most of the time (or a Turbo). I've seen those Xs sailing along the highways out here, they are indeed monster motors. Literally.
We are all witnesses to the early days of this eCar revolution, which is interesting, people. Guessing they said same sort of thing from c. 1890s to c. 1910, whenever Henry Ford started mass production of the Model T. Until then, it was "Get a Horse, you Hippie!"
Batteries may well rival or surpass engines for longevity at least in terms of miles. There is not enough data to say, but the whole "you will have to spend thousands to replace the batteries" myth appears to be a myth. Sure with a million or so EVs and hybrids out there, there must be some that have needed battery replacement, but it seems pretty rare. Look at older used EVs/hybrids (but not too old). See how many are offered with "new batteries" If you go back to 1998 or so, when technology was just getting going, there were EVs that required fairly frequent battery replacement this is probably where the myth comes form, or maybe the oil companies just hired people to spread it around and make it look like a fact.
Fast charging does wear the batteries much more quickly. I would not fast charge regularly. Recharge times are a PIA and if you want a faster charger to use at your house, it is very expensive.
What bothers me the most about pure EVs is there is not easy fix if you run out along the way. Someday you are going to mess up and forget to check. You cannot call home and have someone bring you a bottle of electricity. The highway patrols who in some sates will give you a gallon of gas if you run out, cannot give you a gallon of electricity. You cannot walk to a service station and buy a battery and some electricity. OK so you rarely run out of gas in a gas car, I have maybe 10 times in 38 years of driving and maybe a million miles or more, but it will happen. Everyone makes mistakes. When it happens in an EV a tow truck it your only option. Because of this and range limitations, I would never get a pure EV, at least not with today's configurations and support. When batteries are standardized and you can just go to a gas station and exchange for a full battery, and/or carry a spare, then it might be practical for me. However I would love to have a volt and never have to sit at a gas station waiting for 26 gallons to transfer again.
If you add up all the time you spend waiting for the gasoline tank to fill up and compare it to the time you spend actually waiting for a re-charge (letting it sit overnight while you are sleeping does not count as waiting). The EV may actually be more time efficient.
I would not worry about the environmental issue. Because of all the fake, slanted and other data and studies out there, you will never know the truth of which one has less impact on the environment when you factor in all of the complex impacts that occur. (including, mining, shipping, manufacturing, disposal etc). The fact is, you cannot know the truth, so there is no point in worrying about it. In any event, your personal choice of EV or gasser is not going to have any significant impact on global warming, waste quantities, or anything else. Even a few million people's choice is not going to make any significant difference. Get it because you like it, or it makes you feel better, or it is fun, or you hate going to gas stations. . . . not because what other people want you to do.
Ouch, $2.19 here (for credit cash is cheaper) and Michgian is more expensive than many other places (Ohio and Missouri tend to be considerably cheaper for example). It is amazing how widely it varies state to state. Some variation makes sens, taxes mixtures and whatnot. But that is a huge difference.
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