Official Tesla Model S thread

[mkjayakumar]

They've only provided $200M and that was last year. So when is the balance coming?

Are you saying Panasonic will renege on their commitment, or do you think they should have given all of $2B check right up front? Do you think any partner will write the whole check up front?

"The first module of the GF is being built as we speak."
Right, "being built"! When is production (output) is the key question.

Which comes first? 'building' or 'production' ? They have a target time frame and so far nothing has indicated that the work has stalled or delayed, though I do expect there will be delays before the first cell is produced off the assembly line.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I was wondering how the new software, to prevent running out of charge, was supposed to work and found this informative:

Here’s what happens when your Tesla is smarter than you

I was particularly interested in the warning screen that pops up when no destination is set and the car is getting out of range of the nearest known charge station: "You are almost too far from known charging locations." Clever idea.

 

[Zythryn]

I was wondering how the new software, to prevent running out of charge, was supposed to work and found this informative:

Here’s what happens when your Tesla is smarter than you

I was particularly interested in the warning screen that pops up when no destination is set and the car is getting out of range of the nearest known charge station: "You are almost too far from known charging locations." Clever idea.

It is pretty nice, although it needs more improvements.
If driving and predicted range is getting close, you will get a warning to slow down.
You can also click on an icon to see nearby superchargers, destination chargers, or chargers you have used.

I'd like to see them add public chargers and show more live time info on supercharger use.

 

[TomT]

I don't know... Considering how notoriously unreliable and unavailable public chargers are, I don't think I'd want to depend on them for something like this...

I'd like to see them add public chargers.

 

[edatoakrun]

No Superchargers for you?

Given the predominate influence of wealth on public policy in putatively democratic nations in this the second gilded age, maybe only an authoritarian government will promote democratic access to public charging infrastructure?

Tesla Pledges to Meet China Charging Standards

Luxury electric-car maker would adapt its vehicles to meet future requirements

SHANGHAI— Tesla Motors Inc. said it would modify its battery-powered electric cars to meet China’s charging standards to allay concerns over its technology’s incompatibility in the country, where the company’s sales have fallen short of its expectations.

China is developing a national charging standard to promote the use of electric cars and reduce “range anxiety” over how far the cars can travel before running out of power...

Statistics from U.S. research firm JL Warren Capital show that fewer than 2,500 Tesla cars were registered in China in the nine months from April 2014, when the company started deliveries there. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk told The Wall Street Journal a year ago that he would consider it a success if Tesla were to sell 5,000 vehicles or more in China in 2014.

Tesla declined to comment on the registration figures. The company cut jobs in China earlier this year after missing sales targets.

The American electric car maker has dished out millions of dollars to install so-called supercharging stations around the world to appeal to buyers worried about infrastructure. These direct-current chargers can deliver 120 kilowatts of electricity and recharge 80% of a 85 kilowatt-hour Model S battery in 30 minutes.

However, its rapid-charge technology isn’t compatible with electric cars built by other manufacturers, raising concerns among Chinese consumers about the lack of access to charge Tesla cars.

In a statement posted on its website on Monday, Tesla said it would modify its cars to fit Chinese national charging standards. “We will fully cooperate with the Chinese government in drafting the national charging standards as well as building public charging infrastructure,” Zhu Xiaotong, country head for Tesla in China, said in the statement.

The Chinese government has said it won’t support the construction of charging stations that fail to meet the emerging Chinese standard...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-to-modify-cars-to-meet-china-charging-standards-1431412891" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[dgpcolorado]

Question for Model S owners: does it come with a spare tire?

I had a blown tire on I-84 in Oregon last week in my ICEV and it got me to wondering. I sure was glad to have a full size spare in my twenty year old Jeep Cherokee.

 

[Stoaty]

FYI for those who live in Southern California:

I was surprised to see a 6 stall supercharging station in Mojave this weekend (right in front of Anthony's Mexican Grill, same parking lot as Stater Brothers). When I went through Mojave 3 months ago it wasn't there. That station plus the one in Lone Pine makes the Eastern Sierra accessible, they just need one in Mammoth now.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Question for Model S owners: does it come with a spare tire?

I had a blown tire on I-84 in Oregon last week in my ICEV and it got me to wondering. I sure was glad to have a full size spare in my twenty year old Jeep Cherokee.

No spare on a Tesla, but one will fit in the frunk (rear wheel drive only).

For AWD cars, like mine, the spare would have to be added in the rear. I do that with my current cars; I have a (2006 - newer) Nissan Altima spare in a black plastic bag that fits on a LEAF or any of my RAV4 EVs.

Of course, Tesla uses German-esque 120mm bolt pattern, instead of the 4.5" / 114.3 used by other manufacturers.

 

[TonyWilliams]

FYI for those who live in Southern California:

I was surprised to see a 6 stall supercharging station in Mojave this weekend (right in front of Anthony's Mexican Grill, same parking lot as Stater Brothers). When I went through Mojave 3 months ago it wasn't there. That station plus the one in Lone Pine makes the Eastern Sierra accessible, they just need one in Mammoth now.

http://supercharge.info" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Zythryn]

Question for Model S owners: does it come with a spare tire?

I had a blown tire on I-84 in Oregon last week in my ICEV and it got me to wondering. I sure was glad to have a full size spare in my twenty year old Jeep Cherokee.

No. You can always buy one if you feel the need.
Tires nowadays are so much better than they used to be.
Spares are a dying option. It would have been more likely, with an ICE for me to need a spare hose than tire.

 

[dgpcolorado]

No spare on a Tesla, but one will fit in the frunk (rear wheel drive only).

For AWD cars, like mine, the spare would have to be added in the rear. I do that with my current cars; I have a (2006 - newer) Nissan Altima spare in a black plastic bag that fits on a LEAF or any of my RAV4 EVs.

Of course, Tesla uses German-esque 120mm bolt pattern, instead of the 4.5" / 114.3 used by other manufacturers.

Thanks Tony. That brings up the question of what to do about a jack that could safely lift the car. Using a sibling model, as you suggested with the LEAF (I carry the Altima jack you recommended), won't work with a Tesla.

Since I'm interested in the Model 3 I have time to figure it all out. Carrying a plug kit for simple punctures is an obvious thing to do. But waiting for hours for roadside rescue, if the tire is more damaged than a puncture, isn't something I care for. And what if it is Sunday and all the tire stores are closed? Towns are few and far between in a lot of the Intermountain West.

 

[dgpcolorado]

No. You can always buy one if you feel the need.
Tires nowadays are so much better than they used to be.
Spares are a dying option. It would have been more likely, with an ICE for me to need a spare hose than tire.

I agree that tires are better nowadays and it has been a long time since I've had a flat; I've never had a destroyed tire before. But the experience sure got me thinking. At least with a Tesla it is likely that I would notice that it was getting low in pressure before it was damaged beyond repair. Not so with my noisy ICE and no tire pressure sensors.

But I still think it is foolish to not offer a spare and a jack. Not everyone lives in a city surrounded by tire shops. Some of us have to "self-rescue". The Oregon State Patroller who stopped to check on me was pleased to see me switching wheels and pumping up my spare with a compressor I carry for just such contingencies. I gathered that not everyone is as prepared.

Edit: One thing that surprised me was how loud it was by the side of the freeway! I didn't fully appreciate how noisy those cars and semis were until they were roaring by me in a constant stream twenty feet away. We need more EVs on the highways!

 

[TonyWilliams]

I'm not going to ruin a trip over a flat tire. I don't yet have a jack specified for the Model S, but I suspect that the same Altima Jack will work with an adaptor at the body interface (required with the Tesla battery on the RAV4 EV, too).

 

[jlv]

What is the actual real world mileage on the Model S at highway speeds; e.g., at 70-75 MPH? I'm thinking what the actual time will be to make a long distance trip that might require 1 or 2 stops at superchargers. How far can I actually go at those speeds, and how long will I stop at the supercharger in order to charge enough to get to the next supercharger?

(The trip is 440 miles from Boston to Buffalo, with several superchargers now being deployed along I90)

 

[garsh]

What is the actual real world mileage on the Model S at highway speeds; e.g., at 70-75 MPH?

There are several speed vs. range graphs available for the Model S.

Here's one

 

[Zythryn]

What is the actual real world mileage on the Model S at highway speeds; e.g., at 70-75 MPH? I'm thinking what the actual time will be to make a long distance trip that might require 1 or 2 stops at superchargers. How far can I actually go at those speeds, and how long will I stop at the supercharger in order to charge enough to get to the next supercharger?

(The trip is 440 miles from Boston to Buffalo, with several superchargers now being deployed along I90)

I don't pay a lot of attention to that anymore.
However, what I would suggest is that charging when the SOC is low is fastest. So even if you can make it with only one stop, I'd stop at two.
Unless one is a hassle to get to.

Or, if you start with a full charge, stop at the first for 5 minutes and then the second as long as needed.
There are a lot of variables, including what distance to each supercharger, are you slow charging at your destination, etc.

 

[dgpcolorado]

As Zythryn says, the fastest charging occurs in the bottom half of the battery pack (because the charging rate slows as the battery fills). Tesla claims up to 170 miles of range in 30 minutes with the S85 but that's likely at a moderate speed of 60 mph or so (and flat roads, warm temperatures). If you drive faster you will need to charge longer.

http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As I understand it, the best strategy is to charge at each Supercharger just long enough to make the next one, with a buffer of perhaps 25 miles of range, depending on your comfort level. There is software that projects how much is needed to cover various routes and terrain. If, on the road, you find that your remaining range is dropping faster than you expected — perhaps due to a headwind, for example — you can just slow down and charge a bit longer at the next Supercharger for the next leg of the trip.

It is a different strategy from trying to fill-up at each fuel stop. My guess is that going 75 mph will lead to a slower trip overall than going 65 mph, but I haven't tried to run the numbers. [The speed limit in states near me (Utah, Idaho) is 80 mph now!]

 

[Randy]

After many Tesla road trips....to Canada, the Grand Canyon, Reno / Lake Tahoe, etc., my Supercharger strategy is a simple one...

* Arrive at the charging stop at less than 50 miles range for maximum charge rate.
* Determine the number of miles to the next SC or charging stop, add a small buffer for safety, and then add some additional for sightseeing/hills/speed.
* Charge to that amount and take off.
* Rinse and repeat...

On our trip to Canada, we could have left the SC sites as early as 15 minutes (and we did leave one site at 12 minutes), sometimes it went as long as 30 minutes, but rarely over that...Sometimes if you're eating you can't get out to disconnect real easy so it just charges a little bit longer...

Example: The next SC site is 85 miles away. I would add 25 miles safety buffer, maybe 20 miles for sightseeing/hills/speed, and charge to 130 miles. Would probably arrive at the next SC site with 25 or 30 miles left.

You can get all fancy and look at maps, websites, etc. but after you do it a few times, you just develop a feeling for what needs to be done...And if all else fails and you underestimate, just slow down until you make it to the next stop. Haven't had to do that very much....

 

[edatoakrun]

What is the actual real world mileage on the Model S at highway speeds; e.g., at 70-75 MPH?

There are several speed vs. range graphs available for the Model S.

Here's one

Of course, many drivers exceed the 80 mph maximum speed on that chart.

The range limitations of any BEV are more dramatically illustrated by energy use at higher speeds.

Looks like a 85 kWh S starting out with maximum charge, would run out of kWh in only ~45 minutes (on what looks to be a fairly warm day) if driven at Autobahn speed:

...A Model S owner posted this video of him driving 125 MPH on the Autobahn for about 12 minutes. Musk promised more speed for German drivers, and he seems to have delivered. As you might imagine, this consumed a whole lotta power, 840 Wh/mi...

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/15/tesla-model-s-lasts-for-just-12-minutes-at-125-mph-video/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Zythryn]

Of course, many drivers exceed the 80 mph maximum speed on that chart.

The range limitations of any BEV are more dramatically illustrated by energy use at higher speeds.

Looks like a 85 kWh S starting out with maximum charge, would run out of kWh in only ~45 minutes (on what looks to be a fairly warm day) if driven at Autobahn speed:

...A Model S owner posted this video of him driving 125 MPH on the Autobahn for about 12 minutes. Musk promised more speed for German drivers, and he seems to have delivered. As you might imagine, this consumed a whole lotta power, 840 Wh/mi...

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/15/tesla-model-s-lasts-for-just-12-minutes-at-125-mph-video/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Luckily I don't drive at autobahn speeds