Official Tesla Model S thread

[apvbguy]

The other question is why does a Volt need to charge anyway? That's why they lug around that big, heavy, smelly, inefficient ICE and the carcinogenic, highly-flammable gasoline in the first place.

Seriously, I was just paying a complement about the Tesla and you had to add such a idiotic comment, smh.

Ian B

Time to move on.[/quote]
Ian, it is hardly an idiotic comment, it is the question that is the root of the change cars like the LEAF, Tesla, BMWi3, and the MB bev are bringing to the world. so why do you lug the ICE around?

 

[mkjayakumar]

The other question is why does a Volt need to charge anyway? That's why they lug around that big, heavy, smelly, inefficient ICE and the carcinogenic, highly-flammable gasoline in the first place.

I think you have it backwards. Why does a Tesla need to charge anyway at an office charger? Having 200+ miles as range, where is the need? The only motivation I could see is to siphon off some free or cheap electricity - aka mooching - something a $100k Tesla owner really does not need.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Whether it's Leaf, Volt or Tesla it's way too early in the lifecycle of all these newfangled cars for anyone to be declaring victory or to be talking smack.

 

[apvbguy]

The other question is why does a Volt need to charge anyway? That's why they lug around that big, heavy, smelly, inefficient ICE and the carcinogenic, highly-flammable gasoline in the first place.

I think you have it backwards. Why does a Tesla need to charge anyway at an office charger? Having 200+ miles as range, where is the need? The only motivation I could see is to siphon off some free or cheap electricity - aka mooching - something a $100k Tesla owner really does not need.

is it mooching if "moocher" is the owner of the outlet?

 

[apvbguy]

Whether it's Leaf, Volt or Tesla it's way too early in the lifecycle of all these newfangled cars for anyone to be declaring victory or to be talking smack.

nobody is claiming victory, in fact I hope there are many more entrants into the EV game, innovation is great!

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Whether it's Leaf, Volt or Tesla it's way too early in the lifecycle of all these newfangled cars for anyone to be declaring victory or to be talking smack.

nobody is claiming victory, in fact I hope there are many more entrants into the EV game, innovation is great!

Agreed. My comment was directed at aarond12 derision of the volt and the multitude chorus backing him up.

 

[GRA]

Via insideevs.com:

"Tesla 3rd Gen Car Gets A Name – Tesla Model III; Roadster To Get Upgrade To 400 Miles"

http://insideevs.com/tesla-3rd-gen-car-gets-name-tesla-model-iii/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[mkjayakumar]

What a boring name..!

 

[donald]

So, this seems like news I haven't heard before.

http://evtv.me/2014/07/milling-mire/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Joe assured us – you will have to replace your drive unit at 8000 or 10000 miles.

(Excuse if it is somewhere in this 273 page thread, but I'm not going to check every post - maybe it's too big to have just one thread to this subject??)

 

[abasile]

Considering the small number of Roadsters out there, I'm a little surprised that Tesla plans to offer a "400 mile" upgrade. On the other hand, it might be relatively easy, would keep some of their very earliest supporters happy, and would set another record for a single-charge EV range available to consumers. As such, it will probably be great PR.

 

[GeekEV]

So, this seems like news I haven't heard before.

http://evtv.me/2014/07/milling-mire/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Joe assured us – you will have to replace your drive unit at 8000 or 10000 miles.

WTF? That's complete BS. Have some people had problems with their drive unit? Yes. But it's far from the norm. I'm closing on 20,000 miles and haven't had to replace my drive unit.

Considering the small number of Roadsters out there, I'm a little surprised that Tesla plans to offer a "400 mile" upgrade. On the other hand, it might be relatively easy, would keep some of their very earliest supporters happy, and would set another record for a single-charge EV range available to consumers. As such, it will probably be great PR.

I missed that news... Here's a link for others who missed it:

http://transportevolved.com/2014/07/16/elon-musk-offering-tesla-roadster-electric-car-owners-400-mile-battery-pack-upgrade/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[pkulak]

Considering the small number of Roadsters out there, I'm a little surprised that Tesla plans to offer a "400 mile" upgrade. On the other hand, it might be relatively easy, would keep some of their very earliest supporters happy, and would set another record for a single-charge EV range available to consumers. As such, it will probably be great PR.

Tesla built the company with the money they got from those early investors. I think giving them some love like this is a fantastic "thank you". Besides, Tesla can probably use all those old cells at superchargers and solar installations.

 

[Zythryn]

So, this seems like news I haven't heard before.

http://evtv.me/2014/07/milling-mire/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Joe assured us – you will have to replace your drive unit at 8000 or 10000 miles.

WTF? That's complete BS. Have some people had problems with their drive unit? Yes. But it's far from the norm. I'm closing on 20,000 miles and haven't had to replace my drive unit.
...

Agreed on the BS comment.
We did actually have to replace out motor. Certainly not at Joe's 8k to 10k miles though.
In our second MS it is over 15k miles and has not needed replacement yet.

The fault also is a noise. It doesn't stop the car or require more than a couple minutes of your time.
Fix it at your convenience.

It IS an issue Tesla needs to address as the costs to the company may be large and the costs to owners out of warrantee could be disastrous.
However, to the consumer in warrantee, it is no big deal.

 

[donald]

It IS an issue Tesla needs to address as the costs to the company may be large and the costs to owners out of warrantee could be disastrous.
However, to the consumer in warrantee, it is no big deal.

$15k repair bill - 'No big deal'!? :shock:

I was casually, and pleasantly, toying with the idea that after a few years maybe Model S would drop into my purchasing power. But if that attitude is likely to be indicative of the treatment of the car by its previous owners, and with a $15k per pop repair cost, then it would seem to be a day-dream too far.

 

[epirali]

It IS an issue Tesla needs to address as the costs to the company may be large and the costs to owners out of warrantee could be disastrous.
However, to the consumer in warrantee, it is no big deal.

$15k repair bill - 'No big deal'!? :shock:

I was casually, and pleasantly, toying with the idea that after a few years maybe Model S would drop into my purchasing power. But if that attitude is likely to be indicative of the treatment of the car by its previous owners, and with a $15k per pop repair cost, then it would seem to be a day-dream too far.

I think the issue is a bit complex. First Tesla (model S or Roadsters) are all pretty new, and I am guessing Tesla is learning A TON from real life experience. I know that in a recent service the firmware update significantly altered the "acceleration curve" of my roadster to curve the startup from a hard kick to a much smoother (and therefore less strenuous on drive train) behavior. I am guessing they will constantly refine the components and firmware to extend life. If you are getting the P85 option then you should really expect to see an impact on life of components (same way as a high horsepower/high compression engine won't last as long as a nice simple 4 cylinder).

Second once out of warranty I wonder how the repair/replacement part of cost of electric cars will compare to all the maintenance/repair that is associated with an ICE. Obviously right now you could see a rather large hit, and unless you are willing to be "early adopter" it is not safe. But with volume I can guess that single large repairs would still be same or less than ongoing and constant repairs of an ICE.

But psychologically I think a lot of people are less shocked by spending $10K over 3-4 years in increments rather than one single $8K repair in same time period.

 

[Zythryn]

It IS an issue Tesla needs to address as the costs to the company may be large and the costs to owners out of warrantee could be disastrous.
However, to the consumer in warrantee, it is no big deal.

$15k repair bill - 'No big deal'!? :shock:

I was casually, and pleasantly, toying with the idea that after a few years maybe Model S would drop into my purchasing power. But if that attitude is likely to be indicative of the treatment of the car by its previous owners, and with a $15k per pop repair cost, then it would seem to be a day-dream too far.

I said "no big deal under warranty".
There is no such thing as a $15,000 repair bill for those under warranty.

 

[GeekEV]

It IS an issue Tesla needs to address as the costs to the company may be large and the costs to owners out of warrantee could be disastrous.
However, to the consumer in warrantee, it is no big deal.

$15k repair bill - 'No big deal'!? :shock:

I was casually, and pleasantly, toying with the idea that after a few years maybe Model S would drop into my purchasing power. But if that attitude is likely to be indicative of the treatment of the car by its previous owners, and with a $15k per pop repair cost, then it would seem to be a day-dream too far.

I said "no big deal under warranty".
There is no such thing as a $15,000 repair bill for those under warranty.

Additionally, it worth considering that the actual cost of the repair is probably much lower than that. But, given the modular nature of the design and since the car *is* under warranty, it likely faster and easier for Tesla to simply swap "the entire drive unit" or "the entire battery". They might well attempt component level repairs in the future when no longer under warranty. We just don't know. Tesla probably doesn't either, yet. But, I think even they would agree $15k is prohibitive. Let's not blow this out of proportion - there's too many unknowns. Heck, up until a few weeks ago we didn't know what it would cost to replace a LEAF battery either, or even if it would be possible.

 

[mkjayakumar]

Tesla, taking the concept of plug & play into the automotive world.

In a decade or so, we be perhaps will seeing folks dropping off thos car and instead of replacing the failed component, you might be simply swapped for a different car with the same mileage... Plug & play to a whole new level.

 

[apvbguy]

Tesla, taking the concept of plug & play into the automotive world.

In a decade or so, we be perhaps will seeing folks dropping off thos car and instead of replacing the failed component, you might be simply swapped for a different car with the same mileage... Plug & play to a whole new level.

I don't see that happening, cars are a very personalized thing, I for one would find your concept acceptable

 

[edatoakrun]

..I was casually, and pleasantly, toying with the idea that after a few years maybe Model S would drop into my purchasing power...

A tesla S will soon be fairly cheap to buy, but it will never be cheap to drive.

To put the relative TCO into perspective, consider that the cost of tires over ~100,000 miles for many used S owners will exceed the cost of replacing the traction battery pack for a used LEAF owner.

Of course, many LEAF owners will probably choose not to replace their batteries after they reach EOL, and just continue to drive the car with shorter range, which is not a realistic option for worn tires.

The Edmunds test S got it's third set of tires, at ~23,000 miles, last month.

2013 Tesla Model S: New Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires

June 12, 2014

2013 Tesla Model S

Truth be told, only one tire on our 2013 Tesla Model S was down to the wear bars and needed to be replaced. You may remember that we got out of sequence a few months ago when we replaced a single tire that was damaged. The other three have about 3,000 miles left.

So the question was this: two tires or four?

We were leaning toward four because of the noise problem that cropped up recently. Tesla service surmised that odd (and subtle) heal-toe tire wear was playing a role after they conducted back-to-back test drives with new tires and wheels they had on the shelf.

The deal was sealed when Matt Edmonds, a friend over at Tire Rack, suggested we try the Michelin Pilot Super Sport, a tire that's newly available in 245/35ZR21, the very size we need.

Their unit price of $293, only $8 more than the OE Continentals we've used so far...

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 22,829 miles

BTW, I'm not too happy about spending ~$530 (America's tire, after $70 rebate, including 65k mileage wear warranty and $60 for four road hazard replacement certificates) this week to replace my Four factory Ecopias, either, even though I got almost 3 times the miles (~29,000) and they cost ~ a third as much per tire, as for an S with those snazzy 21 inch wheels.

But my LEAF will probably get to ~100k miles, on ~$1,200 total for tires, since I plan on driving with 48 PSI from the start, and expect to get some $ discount from the mileage warranty on my next couple of sets of tires.