Clueless NYT reporter manages to get stranded in Model S

Many EV drivers exercise the option to buy renewable energy, solar, wind, hydro, etc... Even the non-renewables are American fueled, with a few exceptions.

 

From what I heard, they are grid tied and not all the locations have solar panels yet.

Some discussion at Tesla Supercharger network - Page 101.

 

I just google mapped the Milford station and it looks like there are solar panels. I think Solar City, Elon's other venture, is building the stations.

 

...good I am making a little progress. You accepted my point about high electron power drain in Northeast winters at typical highway speeds with the heat on. I tried to say this here, way before the NYTimes.

 

from this evening's twitter feed covering the reenactment of the NYT route.

 

Is aaron.s the CNN guy ? If so, any report that does not also include his choice to drive 62 mph is spin. Why ? Because most people would consider that a significant limitation for a long trip, and not a few would wonder if it was a joke. We are talking about a 100k USD car, after all.

 

Oh lord Sage I thought we were getting away from inflammatory comments.
Aaron is one of the many Model S owners that wanted to try the same route to see how easy or difficult it would be.
They are even staying overnight in the same town, maybe even same hotel. One of them plugged in overnight to a 110 outlet, two let the car sit unplugged.
The superchargers worked just fine, the vehicles are showing that the trip can be easily made if the driver fills the tank.

 

arron.s is one of the Telsa owners driving the NYT route this weekend. The leg included passing through NYC traffic but one of his tweets indicated he was travelling 60mph.

I think one of the things being lost in this discussion is that Tesla is building out this supercharger network to enable roadtrips that would otherwise be out of range for an EV. There are only two on the east coast today, one between DC and NYC, and the other between NYC and Boston. More are being added, eventually enabling coast to coast trips. This concept of alternative refueling stations is not unique to EVs. Propane and CNG stations along interstates have been planned, but slow to materialize. Elon decided to take on the challenge and is building these Superchargers, albeit in a fashion that promotes the Tesla product. These Superchargers are not intended to be the daily refueling option, rather an enabler for the occasional roadtrip. Overnight charging in the garage is the solution for daily driving.

 

CNN journalists prove John Broder wrong by driving Tesla Model S over same route - Fresno Car Buying | Examiner.com

Funny how if you actually charge the car up and don't try to fail, you can make the trip. Its also strange that some are acting as if CNN was cheating by going the speed limit, until they were sure the car had plenty of spare miles. The super charger network isn't about allowing people in BEVs to go 90 mph, its about taking away one of the limitations of BEVs. It seems to work fine.

Here is what they said about the guidelines to stay at 65 or below
Test drive: DC to Boston in a Tesla Model S - Feb. 15, 2013

CNN and now numerous tesla drivers have easily done the trip. Some of them have even gone in the same route with the same cold. Some have plugged in at the hotel, others have decided to stay unplugged to test the exact scenario. We also have the video of some going to the the milford charging station, and it seems quite easy to find. No one but Broder has had problem yet.

 

From Dapena's CNN drive Newark to Milford, I'm not so sure it is 'easy' to make that 200 mile stretch. .. He said early in trip he was concerned about making it having made one wrong turn. Then set cruise control to 62 and settled in.

I put my Prius cc at 62 mph on our local freeway last night, and gotta tell you, 62 mph can be a little slow on 65 limit roads. Just a little. I fit in better at a few mph's more around here (65 -67? indicated).

One weird thing about CNN video is right when Dapena is saying '200 miles', they flash a '222 miles' banner on the map. hmm.

Maybe sometime I ought to drive Prius until 38 mi left to empty, see what gas gage is telling me. I usually gas up with2 pips left, maybe one sometimes.

 

Article says Elon is right to take on NY Times review since the car is in early stages and perception is the key to success. Financial reports will be released next week.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is right to battle bad review of the Model S, experts say - San Jose Mercury News

 

Tesla needs to install a charging station in NJ and this would not be an issue. Delaware than CT is far.

 

From that same report above -

When I pull up google maps they tell me its a 18 mile detour, not 20. or 30, In either case they went out of the way to avoid traffic, but hit it anyway. 220 may be rounded or accurate, but they traveled further than the direct route. IIRC it would have been 200 over the GW bridge... They should really clarify, the legs. They appear from this to have made a bad decision time and efficiency wise, but that happens often driving through or around NYC.

I would agree with you also that going the speed limit often isn't ideal when every one else is speeding. They had plenty of range left, but it seems like the thing to do until you get past NYC just in case. It is one of those limitations that should be pointed out, but nowhere near as bad as the dreaded 11 miles below the speed limit that Broder claimed, that appears to be an exaggeration from the data logs on his car. Tesla is planning more chargers to allow you to keep up with traffic in the future.

 

I don't think we'll be hearing much more from Broder on this matter unless he really wants to stick his foot in mouth.

I also agree it was good for Musk to come out swinging. Not the most diplomatic, but he's passionate.... and smart.

 

If you going to drive the speed limit on the NJTPKE than stay in the right lane you should be OK

 

CNN said they were still passing cars, but they had to change their normal behavior. They said it was not stressful, but wanted a charging station on the NJ turn pike. Tesla is going to build one, this is just the beginning.

 

There are a few dynamics in play. You have a reporter who said one thing and did another and broke the ethics code of Journalism. In time he will get fired.

CNN did the same drive no problems. Individuals are taking the drive and blogging about it.

Tesla needs to expand it's supercharging network.

EV is good for our economy and our air quality. We as a nation need to give it every chance.

 

I read the CNN article and there are all sorts of limitations underlying what they describe as a successful trip. Being advised to go 55MPH (last car that couldn't do 55 I was in was a 1930 Model A), being on the phone with the manufacturer for advice several times during a trip, not being able to take spur of the moment side trips because the miles in your fuel up limited you to a relatively short trip, 1 hour refueling stops, etc. I can see no reason why, with such limitations on use, the CNN story would be so positive. An EV fan would put a positive spin on the fact that CNN made the trip successfully, someone else might interpret them as "this car can't do what most other cars do".

I see some here praising that there will be more charging stations someday, where are those saying that refueling almost anywhere is the norm against which a car should be measured now. Or that getting 300 miles (in any weather) worth of refuel in 15 minutes should be the standard. Or that 188 miles means a 90 mile one way limit if you want to get back home if you deviate from the few directions that have any charging stations (how do you do DC to Pittsburgh or Morgantown?).

Right now, pure plug-ins have limits. Most cars do.

We just tend to accept as truth the spin/emphasis that agrees with our own bias.

 

None of that would have been necessary if he just powered up 100%. He did a particial charge on a long drive. Not cool.

 

Wrong, yet again.

He would have continued driving at 65-67 mph with comfortable cabin heat for a while longer than he managed.