Official Tesla Model S thread

[TomT]

Generally, if you are doing over 100 MPH and hit something hard enough to break a car completely in two, fire is the least of your worries!

http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/2 ... -hollywood" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gruesome videos of Tesla S fires, whose occupants did wear their seat belts may not help Tesla's image as a "safe" car.

[edatoakrun]

Generally, if you are doing over 100 MPH and hit something hard enough to break a car completely in two, fire is the least of your worries!

http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/2 ... -hollywood" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gruesome videos of Tesla S fires, whose occupants did wear their seat belts may not help Tesla's image as a "safe" car.

Actually, according to that report, it appears one of the thieves was lucky to not be immortalized in a BEV fire snuff video...

...one of the theft suspects was ejected from the Tesla, possibly through the windshield. A videographer said he saw firefighters drag the other suspect from the Tesla’s front end as it burned...

[JimSouCal]

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/1780/ ... -80720647/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Very telling video of battery pack fires....

Reportedly going about 100MPH, the stolen sedan split in two, spilling batteries that caught fire... Granted, gasoline would have likely done the same in a similar crash. I seem to recall that LEAF batteries are less inclined to burn like that, and hence, more safe... Slammed into several other cars, driver survived, critical... Front passenger section continued, rear of car wedged into synagogue.... Innocent driver, also in critical...

[GeekEV]

That is absolutely incredible footage. And he survived? I don't see how anybody could criticize the Tesla's performance in this case. I doubt he would have survived in any other car. I'd hazard a guess the critical injuries were caused while being thrown through the windshield and crashing to the pavement. As for those saying he wasn't wearing his seatbelt - maybe. But even if he were, when the car sliced in half it seems probable that the seatbelt system may have been damaged or possibly even the entire seat ripped out from under him. While I feel bad for the innocent drivers injured, I, for one, see this as a very positive outcome.

[GeekEV]

It is being reported that the driver has died.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Venice311" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[evnow]

Considering how rational the stock market is - TSLA will probably go down $10 on Monday.

[GeekEV]

ABC News says he was thought to have died but was, in fact, resuscitated.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/stol ... h-24432701" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[cwerdna]

Edmunds' long-term Model S needed its 3rd drive unit replacement. Their car is at the 30k mile mark.
http://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-s/20 ... lling.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So the count is 2 replaced for noise, 1 for total failure. Car is on its 4th drive unit.

[Zythryn]

Edmunds' long-term Model S needed its 3rd drive unit replacement. Their car is at the 30k mile mark.
http://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-s/20 ... lling.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So the count is 2 replaced for noise, 1 for total failure. Car is on its 4th drive unit.

Good read, thanks for posting.
I had a drive unit replaced as well. The cost, from what I have heard, is pretty inexpensive. Certainly compared to the batteries or body work.

Of course, I am still on the second drive unit after 37,000 miles, not four.
Our second Tesla is still on the first drive unit after 14,000 miles.
Of the 20 or so Tesla owners in our local club, I know of one other that has had the drive unit replaced.

Edmunds still seems to enjoy the car quite a bit. A quote from the above linked article:

Driving around the past few days with this car has reminded me of how good it is. People often ask me what I think of it, and I tell them this is an awesome car, with a huge caveat: Be prepared for things to go wrong. The Model S is a highly advanced car from a company that is just learning the ups and downs of manufacturing vehicles on a large scale.

We also had a battery sensor fault while we were on vacation.
The sensor is inside the battery pack, so Tesla replaced the entire pack. This took them about 3 hours.
So as to not delay our vacation, Tesla gave us a P85+ loaner to continue our vacation. They then towed our car two hours to meet us on our way back out of state so we wouldn't have to travel out of our way to return to the service center.

Yes, they are having some growing pains, however it is amazing what good care they take care of their customers.

[LTLFTcomposite]

Let's hope all that taking good care of customers isn't hitting the bottom line too hard. It's important to do it when needed but equally important to see that it isn't needed too often.