Clueless NYT reporter manages to get stranded in Model S

I did read it, that is why I said you plug the car in at night and you learn that from experience & that excessive speed and cold can impact range. Who does not know that?

 

a lot of TESLA owners that's who... many are surprised about the amount of range that is lost when you park it overnight in the cold. Like I said EVs are not ready for prime time... and if you have to look for an outlet every night to fight the range issue Tesla has a real problem.... nice looking car.. nice big nav screen... just not practical.

 

This guy had one goal, bury Tesla. Sad day. EV is the future. The status quo is not working. It takes a California company and a Bunch of engineers who are outside the typical Auto companies, some money and backing from Toyota, MB , US Gov and stock holders to forge the new future. This NY Times creep tries to unwind the good. It is a Sad day that you cannot see this.

 

Tesla will be the Desoto of our time.. lots of promise but the tech and practicality are not there. and the Leaf will suffer the same fate. this is not the future.

 

You will choke on the smoggy air as your wealth goes to countries who will fund an atomic bomb and have no hesitation to drop in on our soil. That is what is at stake.

 

What do you really know about BEV's? Do you drive one yourself? Or are you just an internet expert? Do you think you know more than the state of CA?

http://opr.ca.gov/docs/Governor's_Office_ZEV_Action_Plan_(02-13).pdf

We're really getting far with 'improvements' in conventional cars ... you hear the midsize sedans just made it to 30 MPG avg with DI and CVT technology? Imagine that!!

 

Tesla vs. The New York Times: How Range Anxiety Leads to Road (Trip) Rage | Wired Opinion | Wired.com was a good response. The writer, Chelsea Sexton is a well known person in the world of EVs.

 

when your mobile phone dies because you forgot to plug it in that's one thing... when an EV does it and you're stranded on the side of the road that's another. this won't be the technology that takes over for the conventional car because of it's limitations. it's a second commuter car... and will never replace the family car.

 

Are you still interested in making that bet ?

 

I drive about 85 miles every day, but I drive 200 miles a day only a few times per year.

I think the issue of range anxiety is way, way overblown. It's very easy for hotels and garages to provide electricity. "Charging infrastructure" already exists; it's called the electrical grid. The only hang up right now is that the number of EV's on the road right now is very small, but as that changes, charging station availability will increase dramatically. In fact, I bet that more than half of the public EV stations in America are less than 18 months old. PlugShare now lists 15,000 public charging stations in the US.

 

Spinnaker:Nobody is saying cold weather doesn't affect batteries. What people are saying is that it. Isn't as big a deal as you are making it out to be. And it certainly is not the death of the company.
Yes, owners need to be aware of the apparent range loss and the true range loss. And yes' Tesla needs to make improvements where they can.

I also expect a much lower purchase rate of the Tesla in one car households, than in 2 car households. Don't underestimate the number of 2+ car households (there are a few of us).

Our Tesla is used by both my wife and I on many days. 80% of our combined mileage is in the Model S. We have parked the car, unplugged, in frigid winter weather at work (8--9 hours), at friends (for 4,5 hours), at the airport (2 days). No anxiety, no issues with range.

We are very happy not contributing to the trade deficit from oil, not adding pressure for our military to 'protect' oil producing regions of the world, not contributing to the ICE engine particulate matter pollution locally.
We are also happily enjoying the side benefits of having the best quality ride of any car and performance that is simply unbelievable.

However, it isn't perfect. It is possible for the driver to run out of fuel. They have to be unaware of a number of factors, suspend common sense and have a bit of bad luck, oh, and not follow instructions. But it is possible.

 

Interesting article. Tesla Model S is the most popular selling car in Silicon Valley in the 100K price range. The Prius was popular in California long before it was among the national best seller's.
Ignore The NY Times; Does Tesla Model S Own Silicon Valley Already?

 

Feast on this Model S road trip from LA to SF with Chris Ziegler

TheVerge - Living with the Tesla Model S in the real world

 

Lets not descend into name calling. Spinnaker has a differing opinion. Doesn't mean he's not an adult. I welcome his opinion even if I disagree.

One thing I do agree with him are that EVs are not prime time. So what? They are a tiny fraction of the market. They will be prime time eventually and not because the technology gets good enough to satisfy our needs. EVs or alternative fuel vehicles will have to replace conventional vehicles because oil will dry up someday because its a finite resource or because of geopolitical unrest. And it will dry up real soon. EVs may not be the answer. Oil is not the answer. Hydrogen fuels cells may not be the answer. What do we in the mean time? EVs are better than just continuing to gulp down oil. Again it's not prime time but it doesn't have to be. Not yet. But the clock is ticking.

 

thats pretty stupid though, to claim that one journalists sees more of one car so hence it has to be best selling.

No doubt that California will be best market for Tesla.

There is also no doubt that Musk is an idiot who could ruin Tesla. You simply dont argue with journalists and you dont come down to the level of name calling. If your charge stations are spread apart and you dont drive perfectly, you might not reach there so thats pretty valid no matter what.

Every newspaper is writing about this right now and it is not good publicity for Tesla. Maybe few tech blogs/mags will support Musk but 99% of mainstream mags will not. This is not how you do PR and this is why you have PR department.

 

Let's separate the wheat from the chaff -

EVs are not ready for prime time road trips, so plug-ins will never make it, is the charge.

What we get from the information, not the tone of the broader/Musk exchange is that the Tesla S is certainly ready for road trips. They just won't be as convient.

The takeaway should be that if you want road trips in a plug in to be as convient as in a normal ice vehicle, you need a phev. Unfortunately the implication is just because something is not best for a purpose, its useless and too expensive.

 

Energy / resources and all is a massively complex topic. We can spout out 'the world's oil will dry up soon' and all, but at some point, you've got to trust what authortities are saying. I think the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as whole knows more than I'll ever know about energy.

All electric cars are cool, a nice new toy I'd like to have eventually. I'll leave it at that.

 

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=370407

 

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