Featured Tesla exec tells it like it is

Its funny how that study is itself flawed. Back when it was published, it had already been decided to not call Tesla's less expensive car the model 'E' - but instead the model 3. Seems Mercedes threatened to sue, because they had already trademarked that designation. Supposedly with a Model S & a model E and Model X - there was a covert attempt to spell that three letter word. And thus the model 3 designation came about, as it's a backwards 'E'




Merged.

really - our neighbor, retired on a fixed income living on just under $30k/yr - bought one of the 1st metallic green model S's. Trust income. One might be surprised to hear how commin that is.

oh no please continue on - my mistake - presumptuous of me, to think someone wouldn't want to know when they're ramblung on like some kind of know it all. I'll just shut up, sit here, and be entertained.

 

And it takes them about 6 months of pay to buy the base Model S.
This is not all that unusual. Not recommended by financial experts, but certainly not unusual.

 

toyota doesn't care about you personally. do you think they would stay in business building a different car for everyone who wants one? they don't care that you bought a leaf. what does 'flyover country' mean? never heard the term.

 

You got the wrong car company, it is Ford that has the trademark Model E.

 

Every time I go look for where I can get the equivalent of a half tank of gas in 30 minutes or less the EV concept escapes me. Tesla has a nice map of where chargers are now located, the gaps are still more than the superchargers on the east coast. And the quantity at each location is still lacking. Even if I arrived at one of them I could be stuck waiting. This contrasts with several gas stations at almost every exit on any interstate.

(I looked at Sanford, NC, Raleigh, NC, Washington, DC as typical destinations. The DC area has only 3 superchargers in the area and none in the areas I'd be visiting. I had done a similar look at a trip to Florida a few weeks back.)

It may work for a commuter in CA.

My hybrid has not been refueled for a month. It has 70% of its range capability still in the tank. In theory, that means the past month would have been perfect for even a Leaf. But any day now I could head off on a trip that would require Tesla like range. And my capital cost of the hybrid is half what a 2 year old Tesla would cost.

I could buy any Tesla, but why? Had I bought one when I bought my hybrid, it would have depreciated the total cost of the hybrid by now (based on cost of car and 240v line for charger at home.) The Tesla would have cost ~4 times what the hybrid has cost in depreciation. Or ~10 times what gas has cost me in the same period.

I could buy a Leaf, but that wouldn't even get me round trip to the grandkids.

My house has LEDs in every high use area. My house electricity is controlled by a computer that limits my use in peak times. So it isn't like I am anti-green. But the economies just aren't even close yet.

I don't buy status.

 

yes - you mean the truck line (?) but the reference was to MB's E series ;
E-Class Sedan | Mercedes-Benz

Tesla's averaging new stations each week. Here's their map projecting end of 2016 buildout

- over 500 stations. That's a faster rate than gas pumps got built out over 100yrs ago. But that's not to convince anyone - it's just to say it' ll be here soon. One of the biggest retarders of plug in sales is not the customer's unwillingness, but dealers unwillingness to sell them because they cut into their service department profits, which is where the big money is.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/science/electric-car-auto-dealers.html?hpw&rref=science&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
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To not want one - that's ok! everyone has different reasonings - and no one should feel compelled to make their reason better than somebody else's

that's ok too ... but some industries it's expected - and representative of what their customer wants to be dealing with. Less looks like you're dealing with a slouch. It's bs to be sure - but still part of some industries.
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Grandkids breathe the air too. not all EV arguments are financial.

And just as true, one seeks the right tool for the job. Knowing the limitations, knowing charging networks, knowing usage patterns...all that convinced me i could go EV in Oregon. YMMV. which means not all parts of the US are "EV-ready". Soon. very soon in relative terms of how long gas vehicles have been around.

 

Here is the EV concept.
You wake up every morning with a full "tank".
This concept works best for those with a place to charge each night.
Second to that, it works best for people who's driving patterns require less range than the car.

That is for the ultimate convenience crowd.

EVs also appeal to the performance crowd, the US security crowd, the support your local economy crowd, and the quality of the drive crowd.
Oh, and for 2/3s of the population with short sightedness, climate change crowd, or virtually all of the long range climate change crowd.

Take your pick, or in many cases, people fit into more than one of those categories.

 

Hill, when you want to leave personal attacks based on projection behind and come back to the topic, let's converse so more.

 

Tongue in cheek my friend - thought it was on par with the manufacturer comments being flung my way. I apologize for my roughness - peace & love from a fellow LED fanatic.
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oh good, i'm not the only one with ironic spell check.

 

Stodgy automakers? I dont recall mentioning GM or Ford? I said Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus. These auto companies are all rich in history and are far from stodgy! History such as innovative patents and racing pedigree are not important??. BTW it was really when Hyundai came out with the 100,000 mile or 10 year warranty that all car companies started to expand their warranty. The funny thing is that Toyota's warranty really has not changed all that much. I guess when you build the best cars in the world, one does not care about warranties.

 

You need to have people who want to buy a Tesla or can afford a Tesla before it would make any economic impact for the other manufactures.

 

If I recall 1986 Hyundai sold the first of their cars in the USA, it was called an Excell, and fully loaded was like $5,000.00. Now look at the this company today, selling their top of the line sedan for $70,000.00. Hyundai seemed to survive selling to the majority of Americans first.

 

it was the japanese quality revolution that turned u.s. manufacturers on their heads, and drove the brits back acrost the atlantic.

 

Fool Cell....HAHAHAHA, that is funny! You may be shocked by what the rest of the world wants from a car......

 

Just requires being in debit!

 

Well said!!!

 

What would be the "proper" behavior? They made their patents available so others could use Tesla technology. They are using the Gigafactory to build batteries for grid load balancing to reduce power plant pollution. This whole thread started based on Tesla statements of trying to expand the EV market for all. Taking all their profit and putting into building a very efficient battery factory instead of playing investment banker with the money shows something. (Exactly what car maker does not claw after the 1% market?)

 

hyundai?