• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Tesla Model ≡

Started at 53

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Posts
2,129
Location
Not Ikon, UT
I have not mentioned here before the referral program for Model S and X. I used it for a $1,000 discount during the first program in fall 2015. My referral code as an owner now gives you a $1000 discount on your order plus free supercharging for life: http://ts.la/anthony6972 .

That is amazing!

I will look at the Model S now... Because I have too much time on my hands (Last day of my weekend)
 

at_nyc

Getting off the lift
Pass Pulled
Joined
Mar 8, 2016
Posts
646
Why am I on a Tesla thread? Oh right, because a friend of mine is looking into it. We got talking, then I remember Tony has one! And he drove it to Tahoe when we skied together. :D

No argument there. Towing is a non-starter for current EV's. Just as towing a big trailer might cut gas mileage in half, for an EV it cuts range in half, totally negates Tesla's state of the art aerodynamics of the car alone..
I'm another one-car family who's also a boat owner.

Not all boat and trailers are big. Some of us kayakers use very light trailers carrying one or two 40lb boat. A sub-compact can easily tow that. Can the Tesla do that? I'm sure it could. But unlike gas engine car which just accelerates slower, the margin for range is the bigger concern for electric cars when carrying loads. I'm suspecting it applies to carrying 4 mountain bikes on a hitch rack too.

The "chicken wing" doors notwithstanding, roof rack will hurt aerodynamic pretty badly too. When I put my roof rack on, even without anything on it, it cuts the gas mileage by close to 1/2 mph. The reason being I have a pair of kayak saddle on the rack. They're anything but aerodynamic! (in fact, putting the boat on top improves the aerodynamic despite adding weight, judging from the reduced wind noise. Gas mileage worsen though, by a full 1 mph, likely due to the added weight?) The positioning of the saddles are such I really don't want to take them off too often. Instead, I take the whole darn rack off in the winter. Trailering, according to other owners, reduces gas mileage by almost 2 mph.

For gas/diesel cars, the convention seems to be 500 miles between re-fuels. I have a feeling that's what it'll take for electric cars to actually replace gas cars. Even though we almost never think about the range of our gas-powered cars, that range means we can drive close to 300-400 miles before we even think about where to refuel. The lower number would be for winter time, mountain driving, towing/car-topping or on dirt roads. If there're as many charging station as gas stations, the shorter range of electric cars will be less of an issue.

I resist getting a truck/SUV despite my need for carrying large number of toys on trips. I just don't like to waste energy and create pollution unnecessarily. But while i embrace the IDEA of electric cars, I would have to wait for one of the two issues to be tackled so that electric cars can have a more practical range beyond just local commuting. I can see a family of multiple cars can have one of them as electric though (which is my friend's situation).
 
Last edited:

Started at 53

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Posts
2,129
Location
Not Ikon, UT
I do a lot of distance driving

South Florida to Augusta, GA and back every year, lots of aforementioned 275 mile round trips to the Keys (pulling a boat), I just need range.

Typically I only stop to get fuel and fast food on a long drive like to Augusta, NO pee stops if you ride with me. Highway I get 450 miles sans boat. That is the non-towing range I need. IF/When the SuperChargers are very convienent I can see making a 30 minute food/coffee stop to "fill up". Currently there are not sufficient locations on highways in the south to make this feasible.

Edited to add: I love the technology, I'll be watching closely. The styling of the TESLA cars is very pleasing to the eye too
 

TonyC

Contact me at bestsnow.net
Pass Pulled
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Posts
678
Location
Glendale, CA
One car household with a boat is usually a worst case scenario for Tesla but I think the Florida example of Started at 53 is a happy exception.

The frustration many Tesla owners see with slow adoption of electric cars is partially due that we know they would work just fine for most two car households. Ours has been used for 3/4 of our mileage in the past 14 months and we are a travel intensive household. Tesla is offering ~1000 miles worth of free supercharging per year on Model 3 because supposedly that's the average mileage that a car is driven annually outside a radius from home. Of course we are not average driving households on Pugski almost by definition.

Most gas cars do not have 500 miles of range. Every car I owned before the Cayenne in 2011 was in the 325 range in normal driving. And 20-30 years ago 250 was the norm.

Again the answer is NOT putting the extra weight and expense of say 150kW batteries in a car that will use them 5-10% of the time. The answer is faster charging technology that will give you an 80% charge in 10-15 minutes.

And remember that extra time you spend charging on road trips is offset by the 15 seconds it takes to plug in your car at home vs. the 15 minute trip to a gas station.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,419
I guess 500 mile range is more common now in gas cars, if one fills the tank all the way and if one drives like the epa. But it doesn't matter. It's rare one would ever be more than 50 miles from a fuel source of gasoline.
Tesla has already bought preferred parking and installed chargers at gas/rest stops on major highways in CT. This has to cost the co a fair amt of money. But it's exclusive for now. What happens when other ev owners start demanding access to power also?
 
Last edited:

at_nyc

Getting off the lift
Pass Pulled
Joined
Mar 8, 2016
Posts
646
Again the answer is NOT putting the extra weight and expense of say 150kW batteries in a car that will use them 5-10% of the time. The answer is faster charging technology that will give you an 80% charge in 10-15 minutes.
it's exclusive for now. What happens when other ev owners start demanding access to power also?
In fact, me and my friend wondered aloud about that. Right now, the parking spot by the Metro North platform which is also a charging station, I only see one or two cars parked there. But as adoption goes up, there will be more cars needing those spots. They'll have to build more of those.

Now, the supercharge stations. How many cars can they charge at any one time?

On a summer Friday before a holiday, the Turnpike rest area fuel station has a line of cars waiting to get gas. The wait is less than 10 minutes. Basically at most 1 or 2 cars ahead. What long would that wait be for supercharging a line of electric cars?
 

at_nyc

Getting off the lift
Pass Pulled
Joined
Mar 8, 2016
Posts
646
Most gas cars do not have 500 miles of range. Every car I owned before the Cayenne in 2011 was in the 325 range in normal driving. And 20-30 years ago 250 was the norm.
You own some thirty cars. My car has a 16 gallon tank. If I drive like a maniac, cutting in and out of traffic, speeding up and slamming on the brake (like I sometimes do in the vicinity of New York City), and I'm carrying a boat on the roof. I get 20 miles a gallon. That's ~300 miles in the worst driving condition. Any other time, when I drive normally flowing with traffic, without a roof rack, I get 25 or more. That's at least 400 miles.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,419
I think Tony's point was we got along just fine when the range on a full tank was only 250 miles.
But... we've got lots of gas stations. Most people don't drive filled up either.

Well the solution is charging through the roadway. Even if only a specific section.
Right now I assume Tesla is paying for the electricity. Maybe towns pay for other ev hookups. That can't last.

Batteries, batteries, batteries. If we could only store electricity efficiently. This would help.
 

x10003q

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Nov 19, 2015
Posts
750
Location
NYC Metro
I think Tony's point was we got along just fine when the range on a full tank was only 250 miles.
But... we've got lots of gas stations. Most people don't drive filled up either.

Well the solution is charging through the roadway. Even if only a specific section.
Right now I assume Tesla is paying for the electricity. Maybe towns pay for other ev hookups. That can't last.

Batteries, batteries, batteries. If we could only store electricity efficiently. This would help.

My dad's 1974 Buick LeSabre had a 26 gallon gas tank. It used to do 15-18mpg on the highway. 15 mpg would be 390 miles. I remember these numbers because he was always driving my mom crazy on road trips trying to get to 400 miles on a tank. The around town mileage was 8-10 mpg.:roflmao:
 

ScotsSkier

USSA Coach
Industry Insider
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
3,150
Location
North Lake Tahoe, NV
Hmm. 36 gallon tank in my truck so even at 15mpg good for 500+ miles - and on a longer freeway run can see 18-20 ........-my bladder doesnt usually last that long!!!
 

x10003q

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Nov 19, 2015
Posts
750
Location
NYC Metro
Hmm. 36 gallon tank in my truck so even at 15mpg good for 500+ miles - and on a longer freeway run can see 18-20 ........-my bladder doesnt usually last that long!!!
My Touareg TDI has a 26 gallon tank. In the winter we average 28mpg for our weekend ski trips - or a 728 mile range. We are 200 miles one way so we always make it home with plenty of diesel.
 

TonyC

Contact me at bestsnow.net
Pass Pulled
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Posts
678
Location
Glendale, CA
Tesla has already bought preferred parking and installed chargers at gas/rest stops on major highways in CT. This has to cost the co a fair amt of money. But it's exclusive for now. What happens when other EV owners start demanding access to power also?
Elon is open to other EV's using superchargers. Of course they will have to have compatible plugs and pay for the juice, just as all Model 3's and many post 2016 Model S/X will. But the bottom line is that nobody else has yet made an EV that can charge a supercharger speed, so for the time being it's a moot point. Supposedly that will changer in a big way in Europe in the 2020's with a new fast charging network.

On a summer Friday before a holiday, the Turnpike rest area fuel station has a line of cars waiting to get gas. The wait is less than 10 minutes. Basically at most 1 or 2 cars ahead. What long would that wait be for supercharging a line of electric cars?
There was one notorious case of a cold Dec. 26, 2015 at Tejon Ranch with the alternate 101 freeway closed where the line reached 3 hours. But I-5 in CA had since been built out with extra charges at Buttonwillow, Santa Nella, and added chargers at Tejon and Harris Ranch. Barstow's capacity started at 6 chargers, went to 12 and I'm told it's 20 now.

I'm on the Tesla forum a moderate amount and generally know if there are supercharger issues. We have had a lot of trips in these 14 months and have not had problems personally.


Currently there are not sufficient locations on highways in the south to make this feasible.
The Southeast looks well covered by Superchargers to me. www.supercharge.info And unlike in California you're a long way from having congestions issues there I'll bet.
 

Don in Morrison

I Ski Better on Retro Day
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
1,418
Location
Morrison, Colorado
From the time I opened the door to get out until the time I closed the door after getting back in - three and a half minutes to put in twelve and a half gallons. It would take five and a half minutes to fill the whole 20 gallon tank. Don't want to own anything that takes longer than that.
 

TonyC

Contact me at bestsnow.net
Pass Pulled
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Posts
678
Location
Glendale, CA
Lots of Release Candidate Model 3 pics here:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=Q2xNd09Wam91b29IZVJNNDFBeFYyYktpcFJPbVln
People are seeing lots of these in the Bay Area and a handful in SoCaL I may have seen one on the other side of I-5 near Harris Ranch on June 22.

Exterior is similar to the unveil over a year ago and in general very well received. More controversial is the interior display.
Tesla3Dash.jpg


Old school car guys are in general skeptical of touch screens. However, many auto reviewers were won over by the Model S/X screens as they were so well executed. On my S there are 4 customizable screens, two on the big 17-inch display and two in the dash in front of the driver. Model 3 is smaller, so the big screen will understandably be smaller too. It's on a pedestal because the Model 3 dash is much lower so the screen needs to be raised higher than the dash (unlike S and X) to be more easily within the driver's viewing range. The biggest controversy is no screens in front of the driver. Two reasons are speculated on the Tesla Forum:
1) Eventually the cars will be fully self-driving.
2) The symmetric dash/screen design will be interchangeable in right hand drive markets, though of course the steering wheel and pedals will still be in opposite locations. Model S and X were introduced in right hand drive markets a year later than in left hand drive markets.

My personal opinion is that the customizable S/X screens are great. I think Model 3 should have been a scaled down version of those (If it's not broke, don't fix it). At any rate it's not important what I think. What do you Model 3 prospects think?
 

Dave Petersen

Graphic Designer/Social Media Manager
Admin
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Posts
9,875
There is a Tesla showroom in Vail at the Solaris.
IMG_3365.JPG

IMG_3267.JPG
 

crgildart

Gravity Slave
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
16,323
Location
The Bull City
It's not the size of the gas vehicle tank or average distance the e-car can go on a charge that matters. I can drive any gas car a couple hundred miles and stop for 5 minutes then instantly head out to drove another 2-300 miles over and over and over all day/night. If I was driving an e-car I'd have to stop for hours between charges right?
 

Started at 53

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Posts
2,129
Location
Not Ikon, UT
It's not the size of the gas vehicle tank or average distance the e-car can go on a charge that matters. I can drive any gas car a couple hundred miles and stop for 5 minutes then instantly head out to drove another 2-300 miles over and over and over all day/night. If I was driving an e-car I'd have to stop for hours between charges right?

My research shows an hour, not more
 

Started at 53

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Posts
2,129
Location
Not Ikon, UT
The Model 3 seems a bit weird in the all displays are in the center of the car/dashboard. IF it has the car's speed projected on the windshield the way my current vehicle dies then it is not an issue. I don't want to have go hunting for my speed too far from my safe driving visual direction
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top