Anyone own a Tesla?

Crimp Daddy

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Seriously contemplating a Tesla Model 3 to replace my 14 year old daily driver / work commuter.

Im starting to really like the idea of owning one, but I still feel like a bit of an early adopter.

Anyone else have one, care to share your experiences (good or bad)?
 
Im driving a Model S since three years and 70.000 km and still enjoy it. After all its powered by around 6500 lovely 18650 cells :D
 
How was your experience with any service or maintenance items during that timeframe?
 
Not a Tesla owner, but a very fresh owner of a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Bought 60% off from new for USD 17.5k (EUR 15.7k) and very happy with all aspects of it: Eco / size / comfort / cost / serviceability.

Battery has ca 90% capacity left, which limits real world range to "just" 45km, but that's plenty for me, since I rarely drive more than 20km between recharges. And I always have the gasoline engine as backup. Heating is an issue... let's see if I survive winter with just the seat heater.

I'm sure all Teslas are wonderful, but none of them really appeal to me due to the cost, size and shape. Perhaps the Model Y, if it's a proper hatchback and become available cheaply on the used market.
 
Not a Tesla owner, a Kona EV owner.
Just ticked over 12,000km in 3 months, 85% charge direct from solar with a Zappi charger.

3 months, fully electric 3 person house including hot water, 10kW solar PV, 5kW export limit, 10,000km, Au$220 power bill.

Go for it, you wont regret it.
 
ajw22 said:
Not a Tesla owner, but a very fresh owner of a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Bought 60% off from new for USD 17.5k (EUR 15.7k) and very happy with all aspects of it: Eco / size / comfort / cost / serviceability.

Battery has ca 90% capacity left, which limits real world range to "just" 45km, but that's plenty for me, since I rarely drive more than 20km between recharges. And I always have the gasoline engine as backup. Heating is an issue... let's see if I survive winter with just the seat heater.

I'm sure all Teslas are wonderful, but none of them really appeal to me due to the cost, size and shape. Perhaps the Model Y, if it's a proper hatchback and become available cheaply on the used market.


I wish I could get away with that. Just 45km? That is 27 miles... I couldn't even use that.

For work the longest distance Ihave to travel about 240 miles / 386 km round trip. I would need to be able to do that in a single charge.
 
I have owned a Tesla Model S (85D) for almost 3 years. I would NEVER go back to driving an ICE car. My wife drives a Nissan Leaf, which is great for a run-about-town car, but we do all our long journeys in the Tesla. It's an absolute dream to drive - very 'techy'. You will find Tesla drivers that rave about the service centres, and also some who say they are terrible (just like most models, I suppose). Personally, I only have praise for the few times I have had to visit a service centre during my ownership. Tesla as a company still have a lot to learn from established car manufacturers, but in some areas, they are absolutely streets ahead - not least of all in their innovative approach to over-the-air software updates. The car I drive today is better in several ways to the one I bought 3 years ago - even though it's the same car!
Go ahead and get the model 3 - you won't regret it! (My son has recently taken delivery of his brand new model 3 and raves about it)
 
I appreciate that feedback. The Model S is very nice would be my top choice if it was my only car. I still own an ICE truck & SUV which I have no plans to sell as they fulfill other roles the Tesla cant. This would be a replacement for my Acura TL sedan which is really showing its age now and is my primary commuter.

I was driving around last weekend in a Model 3 and really liked it. I think the long range model would be a good middle ground for me I dont really care THAT much about the performance, but I wasnt really blown away by the torque of the standard range either.

I still feel like I should wait if they come out with a worthy EV truck I would be all over it.
 
jdeadman said:
Have you looked at the Rivian? EV truck Or the Altis https://www.atlismotorvehicles.com/xt-truck

I was just thinking (on this thread) that "I want electric truck or SUV w/awd, 7,000lb towing - rather than a car". The link above looks great except they are not actually shipping ... And further, I'd prefer to buy a used one for less $ - but we need new ones first so they can become used :)
 
jdeadman said:
Have you looked at the Rivian? EV truck Or the Altis https://www.atlismotorvehicles.com/xt-truck


I have /I am aware of it, along with Fords investment participation in the company. The problem is the truck is notavailable for purchase. Truthfully I would have even more reservations buying this over the Tesla even if it was available because autopilot is one of the primary factors. Tesla has such a massive head start on certain things.

Still, I like the direction this is moving. I love owning a pickup, and have for many years. Electric truck makes so much sense to me... all that low end torque available, towing, carrying load. I get 13 mpg in my Chevy Silverado... would be nice to have my truck be the most efficient vehical I own.
 
Crimp Daddy said:
How was your experience with any service or maintenance items during that timeframe?

The LTE modem broke down, took about three weeks to diagnose, get spare part and fix. That was the only issue.
A yearly maintenance schedule is included in my leasing contract, I just created an appointment in the Tesla App and everything went smoothly so far. Like the retrofits I got: paid battery upgrade from 60 to 75 together with free performance upgrade (less one second from 0 to 100km/h), paid CCS quick charging adapter. Im a happy customer.

Software Updates are mostly improvements and sometimes regressions as in any continuous delivery :-]

Still own a truck (Landrover Defender), but I almost never use it. Teslas have a huge trunk and the frunk, and the ride is so much more fun. I guess youll make the same experience once you have it. Today I rather ask somebody else to trailer the boat and take the S...

Crimp Daddy said:
For work the longest distance Ihave to travel about 240 miles / 386 km round trip. I would need to be able to do that in a single charge.

That will be hard, even with the long range, especially in winter. Sure there is no charger? Not a single electrical outlet at the places youre visiting? Look harder!
 
CrimpDaddy said:
ajw22 said:
a very fresh owner of a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

I wish I could get away with that. Just 45km? That is 27 miles... I couldn't even use that.
For work the longest distance Ihave to travel about 240 miles / 386 km round trip. I would need to be able to do that in a single charge.


About once a month,I also have to travel up to 400km one way to take care of stuff at our branch office. The Outlander PHEV has an electric+gasoline range of ca 600km, so I'm going to see how well that works out in terms of combined mpg. If it's not good, I still have my3.6L/100km (65mpg)Hondahybrid to fall back on.
 
stevelectric said:
CrimpDaddy said:
How was your experience with any service or maintenance items during that timeframe?

The LTE modem broke down, took about three weeks to diagnose, get spare part and fix. That was the only issue.
A yearly maintenance schedule is included in my leasing contract, I just created an appointment in the Tesla App and everything went smoothly so far. Like the retrofits I got: paid battery upgrade from 60 to 75 together with free performance upgrade (less one second from 0 to 100km/h), paid CCS quick charging adapter. Im a happy customer.

Software Updates are mostly improvements and sometimes regressions as in any continuous delivery :-]

Still own a truck (Landrover Defender), but I almost never use it. Teslas have a huge trunk and the frunk, and the ride is so much more fun. I guess youll make the same experience once you have it. Today I rather ask somebody else to trailer the boat and take the S...

CrimpDaddy said:
For work the longest distance Ihave to travel about 240 miles / 386 km round trip. I would need to be able to do that in a single charge.

That will be hard, even with the long range, especially in winter. Sure there is no charger? Not a single electrical outlet at the places youre visiting? Look harder!

Our definition of winter also vary greatly from yours... it's currently 22C / 71F in San Diego.

I just wanted enough range to make it from LA to SD and backin a single charge... there are plenty of chargers... including a supercharger within a mile of the hotel I stay at. It is after all CA, home of the Tesla.

Truthfully my interest in Tesla has more to do with personal convenience than anything else. Charging at home would be more than sufficient for my daily routine, saving me from even having to visit a gas station, and traffic around here is pretty bad at times, having autopilot sounds like it would help easy to burden and increase saftey in stop and go traffic. If it wasn't for autopilot I really don't think I would even be looking at a Tesla/EV right now.
 
Right you are, charging at home and Autopilot are really convenient. SD-LA and back should be doable on one charge and if circumstances are unfavorable a 10 minute supercharger stop will help you out. As second life battery expert you surely know that lithiums should not routinely be charged to 4.2V, especially in warm environments. Thats why I personally rather make a short stop than start the trip with a 100% charge.
 
Certainly well aware of most the caveats of lithium cells. I am actually really impressed with Tesla that they allow for partial charge in their battery management to help service life. If I dont have to travel for work, my daily commute to the office is only 6 miles I will for the most part, not be fully charging unless I actually NEED the range.

I was fighting with myself between the standard range and long range I could probably make it work with less but it would be nice to have a faster car, dual motor, and the range in case I need it.

Now only if laptop manufactures figured out early, most laptops that sit plugged in all day are topped off at 100%. We might actually have even better salvaged cells.
 
CrimpDaddy said:
Now only if laptop manufactures figured out early, most laptops that sit plugged in all day are topped off at 100%. We might actually have even better salvaged cells.

Oh, they figured it out alright. Then they figured outhow long a typical customer needs to notice the degradation. The warranty period and replacement battery cost is then setto maximize profits!

Nissan Leaf can be limited to 80% charge, too. The Outlander PHEV does not have such an option :-(.

But one has to also take into account what the manufacturer has defined as 100%. I think Tesla allows (though not recommends) up to 4.2V (now changed by firmware update?). Whereas the Outlander is always limited to 4.1V or so.
 
In the process of getting serious about the switch, I test drove the dual motor extended range Model 3 this past weekend.

It was certainly a different driving experience, pretty pleasurable overall. Overall the car feels and handles pretty well. The electric motor was fun to drive, having all that torque is pretty awesome, but it still wasnt THAT fast in my opinion. I intentionally did not drive the Performance model because I know I would have liked it, but also dont have any intention of spending that much on a car.

The software on this thing is really something else really does feel like the future. Autopilot was definitely the star of the show but very unnerving for a first timer. I know other manufactures are making EVs, but I havent seen anything else that can complete.

I think at this stage I have a pretty good idea of what to expect, but dont want to rush into it either. I spent the better part of my weekend at the hardware store getting supplied to run a 220v 50 amp outlet in my garage from the breaker panel to accommodate an EV charger.

Even if you dont have any intention of buying one, you should test drive it if you want a glimpse into the future of driving. Being of the generation that actually knows what dial up internet sounds like, it brings me back to a time when I first got to experience that technology. I can see how/why people drink the Elon Musk cool-aid.
 
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