Clueless NYT reporter manages to get stranded in Model S

Dude gas stations have been around for multiple decades. EV charging stations not even 1 decade. The network will get built out in time. You can take a trip from DC to Pittsburgh. You will have to use a Network on independent charging stations. For a Telsa it may not be worth the Time since it will require 30 minutes on a 220v to obtain 32 mile range. The high speed Tesla chargers is the key.

Tesla is great for local driving and the occasional long distance drive if you smartly use the Tesla network or take your other car or rent a car.

The Chev Volt is more geared for the guy who drives plenty of Long distance drives, first 40 miles on EV the rest on Hybrid with gasoline power.

 

Supercharger | Tesla Motors

Not following you sage, are you the guy who is trying to kill the electric car?

This reporters mistakes hav been well documented in the fast pages of this thread.

 

Yes, long enough to get where he was going. CNN did it, a number of Tesla owners have done it, we may even see more news agencies doing it, it isn't hard if you charge fully. Even with many, if not all of the other mistakes Broder made.

 

Well put, although I would say "EVs have more limits than ICE cars."

That much should be obvious, even to EV fans. The more subtle question is: are you OK with the limitations ? EV fans tend to hide the limitations in their quest to promote the cars to others. Oddly enough, the actual EV owners tend to be much more honest than the promoters who drive ICE cars. Rational dissonance, I presume.

 

Ok following you he could have made it on a partial charge.

Maybe that detour in Manhattan driving in circles was his problem. Wonder hat he was looking for?

 

Can you show me a report of a success where the drive took place at 20-30F, AC set at 72F, with an average speed of 65 mph ? I know the CNN drive is not it.

An honest appraisal also has to take into account the possibility of road or climate conditions Broder did not encounter but are not rare for winter driving. So add in some headwind and rain or snow for the trip.

See, this is where EV pushers are being unethical. If a Tesla wannabee is considering the car as a daily 200 mile driver on one charge, and after 12 month of driving finds he had to call a tow truck 3 times the success rate is great (> 99%), yet most Americans would say "thanks, but NO THANKS!"

The CNN success does not negate the Broder failure. Different days of winter, different speeds, different ambient temperatures. The best I think we can say for the Tesla for this route is this: if you are careful with your speed and moderate with cabin heating, then on SOME of the days of winter you can travel 200 miles on a charge. Other days in winter will require even lower speeds and/or even less cabin heating, and it is likely that some usual but perhaps not common days of winter will demand additional charging.

Is that starting to sound like weasel wording, like a lawyer might write ? It does to me LOL

 

Nope. In fact, if I could produce (personally, or through a 3rd party) clean electricity today, I would already own a LEAF.

I would also continue to own a hybrid for long distance driving, and not because of the Tesla price but because I rely on the car to get me to my destination (work) WHEN I expect, in relative comfort.

 

Get a solar city consultant to visit your home and give you a Solar on the roof package than you can drive your EV with a clear conscience

 

If only it was that easy. I have posted of my problems trying to install PV at my home before; feel free to search if you are curious.

Suffice to say, I am PV-less, although not for lack of motivation, money, or effort.

 

You are asking for specifics that most people don't track and are difficult to duplicate.
However, the Tesla Road Trip group had success this weekend.
Three cars driven roughly 60-65mph when appropriate.
While outside temperature was in the 25-35 range HVAC settings were higher to attempt to get closer to the same energy draw from HVAC.
Two of the cars did not plug in overnight, one did.
Snow in the evening actually made the trip more energy intensive than it would have been if snow/wet pavement had not been an issue.
Very windy on the second day leading to additional power use (headwind).

Again, no on is arguing that an EV can make cross country trips faster than an ice vehicle.
The argument is the reporter would have had plenty of range, if he had charged the car correctly at the second charger and would have made the first leg much more comfortable if he had charged fully.

 

The fact that my wife and I went from traditional cars to Hybrids is a big step forward.

 

I agree 100%.

I would have chalked it up to user error, not many Tesla owners take a long trip on the first day of ownership. Many get to understand the car before a long trip is evoked. However this guy said one thing and did another and tried to make the car fail. That is what tweaked so many.

 

I thought these reported trips are part of the 'refute - Broder' mode. They HAVE to track the specifics I mentioned to be in any way interpretable.

Please explain 'appropriate.'

Excellent

Is it fair then to say 1/3 failed in the attempt to travel 200 miles on a charge ?

Yes, those things do happen in the winter. And why your previously mentioned advice to assume 1/2 to 2/3rds of EPA range in the winter is so correct. Please check my arithmetic -- I get considerably less than 200 miles/charge.

The argument is whether I can rely on a 85 kwh Tesla S to travel 200 miles on a charge on any usual winter day.

 

My take-away from this thread, CWERDNA exposed me to the the views of EV-advocate Chelsea Sexton. She does not fault the NYTimes on this article, rather she feels the EV-industry/Tesla have to some extent shot-themselves-in-the-foot on this one ( I think that is near-direct quote) by over-selling. She hopes further foot-shooting can be avoided, but I am thinking there is still potential for foot-shots, due to the stident support some have for EV's. Of course many of us here are strident supporters, so it is often a sensitive topic. It appears I am more aligned with Chelsea Sexton for the moment.

 

My opinion, too.

Kudos to Chelsea. I tend to ignore her as an apologist of GM, but she sure nailed it this time. I wonder if her husband still works at Tesla.

 

why set the bar at 200 miles? why not make it a 500 miles?

Tesla indicated that with some care drivers could utilize these two new superchargers to travel between DC and Boston. That seems to have been proven true by Tesla owners and the CNN test driver.

 

I have great news for you: with some care, I can drive a LEAF cross country.

 

You seem to continually take may statements and twist them to mean things they are not intended to.

When I said, "most people" I meant, most of the general public.
These specific drivers just finished their trip today, what say we give them a little bit of time?
That being said, they did have automatic telemetry tweeting data about the drive periodically. You can see the raw data by following @teslaroadtrip.

Sure, when it is icy out I would expect someone to slow down. I would hope that people in general will drive safely, or appropriately, taking driving conditions into effect.

No, the one that plugged in did so to show the effects of plugging in overnight. He had plenty of range to make the final leg of the journey.

Depends entirely on what your winter day is like. I do a standard charge each day that I need one (~240 miles EPA). In Minnesota winters, I have experienced ranges of about 180-190 miles based on driving 70-150 miles and adding the amount remaining on the 'predicted' remaining range. This is all without taking any extraordinary steps for efficiency, although I am not a wasteful driver.
With a full 'range' charge I would expect 200-210 miles on a "usual" winter day.
Absolute worst performance I have had would shorten that range mode to somewhere between 190-200, so you may be close. My advice for someone in Minnesota that was a single car household and had to drive 190 miles without the ability or willingness to charge would be to get another car.
I don't know of anyone that matches that description. I am sure there are some though.
I do know of people that can't enjoy the benefits of driving under electric power for other reasons (need to haul or tow lots of stuff, don't have access to be able to charge, etc).

 

exactly! and you probably would fill up the battery each segment rather than risk running short out on the highway and having to get a flatbed.

 

Are you implying something there?