Just passed 15K (now 20k) miles on my Tesla Model S

I didn't realize the factory had a supercharger. I also thought they were for trips and thus located along a rural route somewhere. The Tesla factory isn't on the way to San Francisco or Los Angeles. It's smack dab in suburbia. Still, I could see myself parking here for 30 minutes after work eating a dinner to go. Not every night but if my commute was short enough, once a week?

 

I don't think they check or care whether you are on a trip or not. So, those who live near one are at a distinct advantage.

 

I cannot ride a bicycle. I never learned as a kid, and when I did teach myself as an adult I lacked the skill to control it well enough to bicycle in traffic. I considered getting a trike, but it turns out the decent ones cost thousands of dollars. I do drive my EV to the store (3 miles round trip for the nearest store) but if that was my only driving I would have stuck with the little Zap Xebra. I admire and respect people who ride bicycles. But I lack the balance and coordination for it. (I also cannot ski, which I would love to do --ski touring, that is, not downhill at resorts with ski lifts-- since it would be a cool way to get into the mountains for the half year when hiking is not an option.)

The Tesla superchargers are a great first step, but the problem of finding the charger occupied means you never know in advance how long you will have to plan for your stop. Whether its folks failing to move when they're done charging, or a line-up because of the inevitable times when by chance a bunch of people all show up at once, an hour for a full charge, as opposed to 5 minutes to fill a gas tank, remains an issue.

Eventually there will be so many superchargers this problem will go away. Or batteries will develop to the point where the cars will go all day and charge at night. But for now, planning a long trip remains more complicated in an EV. And it will be a long time before there will be superchargers where I take my long road trips (into the isolated small towns where I go hiking in Canada).

You'd probably save $5 or $6 in the time you'd be eating supper. If the restaurant near the charger (walking distance) is not your preferred one, you'd be eating food you don't really like in order so save a minuscule amount of money.

The reason Tesla is not worried about people visiting nearby chargers as an alternative to charging at home is that the savings are so small that it's just not worth the bother. People who can afford a $70,000 car (more with options) are not likely to want to spend half an hour to an hour to save five bucks, when they could charge at home and do something they enjoy with that time. OTOH, being able to take your Model S for a road trip is worth the bother of extending the trip by 30 minutes or an hour at a charger.

People have taken Roadsters on road trips, stopping at RV parks to charge, but for me the Roadster is not a road trip car. As fun as it is to drive, a couple of hours is as much time as I want to spend in it at a time, and there's not enough cargo space for all the gear and clothing I take with me when I go to Canada for six weeks in summer. A Model S would be a different matter if there were a few superchargers where I'd need them.

The roadster is my second EV, and I've never charged anywhere except at home. It's just so much easier and more convenient! No waiting, no lines, just plug it in every time I park in my garage. It takes about 5 seconds. And with 245 miles of range, I never need to charge elsewhere. Even the Xebra, with its 40 miles to empty, was plenty for 99% of my city errands.

 

Hardly, you underestimate California electricity rates. Using my PiP as an example, 60 kWh costs me $15-$20 depending on what tier I land on for the month.

You also underestimate my cooking skills... I'd much rather eat out.


iPhone ? - now Free

 

Stabilizer Wheels - training wheels for adult bicycles

 

In traffic? No thanks!

 

Rotate tires every 5k

 

BMW 750Li, Mercedes S 500 lang, Tesla Model S Performance 2013 Luxuslimousinen Vergleich - autozeitung.de

 

Told ya so! Even the Germans, with their well-deserved reputation for quality, can't match Tesla's innovativeness.

"Tesla is now the new benchmark..."

 

BrandExperience

 

What kind of tires did you choose. . . . . stick with oem's?

 

Nice! It took us 13 months to get to 20k.
We have about 10,000 left on our all season 19" tires. Did you have the 19" or 21"?

 

I think I drive somewhere between 4,500 and 5,000 miles a year. Not sure exactly. That includes the summer Canada trip in the Prius, so I'll probably hit 15,000 miles in the Tesla somewhere around the early part of 2016. I'm on my second set of rear summer tires, but still the original front tires and the first set of winter tires. I got it in June of 2011 so I've been driving it for about 2 1/3 years. 2 1/2 summers and two winters. The Roadster does go through rear tires quickly. It's part of the expected maintenance on a high-performance sports car.

My first year with the Prius I had the lowest mpg of anyone on Prius Chat, but I also burned less gas than anyone on Prius Chat. Bitterly cold Fargo winter weather combined with a 4-mile daily commute each way. Since turning 20 I have never lived in a city so big that commutes add up to those monstrous annual distances some folks report.