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Featured Tesla quality

Discussion in 'Tesla' started by Lee Jay, Feb 3, 2020.

  1. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    if it's all about your experience, and you, then yeah you're right.
    .
     
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  2. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Requirements are a personal thing. There will always be edge cases of those who could never live with a Tesla and the Supercharger network. Perhaps some distant day in the future but it really doesn't matter.

    The market is a population study and one individual who can't use a Tesla and Supercharger network is not important if 10x others can.

    Bob Wilson
     
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  3. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    As you know, Tesla often appears at the bottom of initial quality and long term quality surveys and Toyota often appears at the top of them.
     
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  4. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Right, but I would argue that around 5% of people can and 95% can't, at least with current infrastructure.
     
  5. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Curious as I'm part of your 5%. I know how the car and charging network acts because I use both.

    Speculators and critics hide behind the fears of their imaginations and don't know the reality. The ratios are negotiable but I'm betting on integration over time. Once someone comes over, it is pulling teeth to get them to revert. Time marches forward and the trend remains toward BEVs.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #305 bwilson4web, Oct 27, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2020
  6. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    After test driving a Model Y last Monday I must say to me the quality is good, but the support is poor. (Of course their test cars may be made into exemplary examples). There are lights in the sun visors. I guess the person in the Porsche lounge was an early Tesla adopter of a model that didn't have mirror lights, of why they eventually traded it in. Google searching showed cases of people making the modification... We had a horrible time with one pedal driving which is "standard" per the salesperson. We were told it is not adjustable. Searching online it seems it is or was, at least in some models, but I haven't confirmed for the Model Y. I would turn that off in an instant if I could. Makes for one tired leg.

    My wife on the other hand wasn't impressed overall...

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  7. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    And you think you're a typical American? Do you run a farm? Do you have the same total lack of understanding of electric vehicles as 99% of Americans? Do you live in a rural area with no charging infrastructure outside your garage? Do you live in a condo or apartment with no place to charge at home? Do you live in a cold environment where 40% of your range is lost by temperature and if you run out you may die?
     
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  8. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    There are three settings:
    • standard
    • creep
    • none
    Learning how to drive a Tesla efficiently has a learning curve. But there is no mandatory requirement to drive a Tesla. For those of us who do, it has (and remains) a joy. But then I'm a retired engineer and this is the car I've been waiting for.

    Bob Wilson
     
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  9. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    "Typical", h*ll no!
    I live in Huntsville AL, a large town in North central Alabama. My Mom and most of our living relatives from her generation still live on farms in and around Stillwater OK. My electric cars, we have two, terrify them as I saw and heard from a cousin. In Mississippi, our backup BMW i3-REx is treated like a UFO.

    I've long thought the next best Tesla should be a tractor sold with battery storage solar, barn solar roof, or wind mill. The cybertruck is close enough as it can haul a cattle/horse trailer. But you already know that.

    I'm not the least bit interested in you and your future. I have a reasonable guess. Meanwhile, I'm living an electric car dream with a Tesla and BMW EV. I've shared what it does but doesn't matter if you can't see it. A Prius Prime is close enough to your comfort level, then enjoy. I've had a Prius Prime and traded it for a Tesla Model 3 and never looked back. For this retired engineer, the Std Rng Plus Model 3 continues to exceed my expectations. But it would be your poison.

    Bob Wilson
     
  10. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Most of the people I speak to about Tesla ownership are happy. I'd be elated too that TSLA helped me purchase it.

    There was a service called Tesloop that you could experience riding in a Model S P85+ from here to Las Vegas and back. We made two stops on the way there. I believe the same on the way back. It was an inconvenience to wait for it to charge when we could have made the entire one way without stopping in an ICE or PHEV. I think you mentioned "live with it" in a post. That's what it felt like.

    Cybertruck 500 mi range seems like it could make it there. Hopefully my wife doesn't change her mind like she seems to be about the Model Y 7 seater....

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  11. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    When adopting a new technology, I recommend:
    1. Recent Used - the initial depreciation has already been paid. If it doesn't work out, the 'bath' (aka., rental) is not that bad. So I first bought a 2 year old, 2003 Prius.
    2. Matched to your requirements - don't go for the super-duper but rather one that matches your ordinary requirements. Both the 2003 Prius and used 2014 BMW i3-REx filled those requirements perfectly. Each was two years old when we bought them.
    Once you've learned the capabilities of the used, cars and new technology, you will be perfectly positioned to buy a new version and fully use it.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #311 bwilson4web, Oct 27, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2020
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  12. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Thank you! It's owners like you who do promote the brand. Some seem, angry. I guess I'm to blame. I do try to apologize at times....

    Suffices to say I was pretty jerky, kind of like her when she takes a turn at the wheel when I'm tired or not feeling well. When I see a red light I imediately let go of the gas and cruise as much as possibke to a stop, so in the 20 mins we had, 10 of which were mine, I did not have much time to adapt. I told her upon searching I believe it is programmable but I'm afraid the damage may have been done as the saying goes. It might not or no longer be with the increased range noted on the Tesla website. The salesperson said the implementation of high regeneration is what allowed Tesla to increase the range...

    Oh well, happy wife, happy life....

    moto g(7) power ?
     
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  13. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Great analysis. Thank you again.

    It fits well now that there's no tax credit for my wife to take advantage of. I didn't really catch that it went away with the Model 3 until the salesperson reminded us. Those used Teslas (at least the full self driving ones that I hope for) are still quite expensive from the Tesla website.

    Oh well, right now she's turned off of used but I don't think she's given consideration to certified or still under warranty used. Maybe I'll forward this post to her...

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  14. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    My standard Tesla test drive takes 30 minutes per driver, each. I make it a point to reach their first level of understanding ... not where I am. But then I had four younger brothers and a life-time of mostly, less enlightened co-workers. <GRINS>

    Bob Wilson

    ps. My 13 year older wife is suffering the ravages of senile dementia. Yet curiously my experience with younger brothers has prepared me for what we face today. Not sympathy but understanding as we live the life we have and do the best we can. She still recognizes and loves me.
     
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  15. Mark57

    Mark57 2021 Tesla Model 3 LR AWD

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    It is a different experience. Now that you have a little knowledge you might consider driving one again in the future. You may come away with a different experience, or not.

    I put over 100K on a 2010 Prius and loved my 2017 Prius Prime which I just sold. I pushed each of them to see just what I could squeeze out of them way past the EPA numbers. It was fun, every single day. Once I got a taste of driving EV only with the Prime, I was hooked. So about 2018, I started paying more attention to EV's in general. It took me a long time to reconcile if a EV could do and go all the places we like to travel, etc. It's a personal choice and not for everyone.

    As I started looking at Tesla, I found one annoying fact. The car is DEEP. They don't do any promotion of features and even on their web site you don't learn much about the vehicle. It was only after a LOT of reading and research did I fully understand just what a marvel of tech it really was. I know most aren't willing to do that but it sure made my first test drive a lot more interesting and fun. I already new about creep mode vs regen down to zero mph. Virtually everything can be modified.

    I have a rule, never take a sales person's words at face value on any car. Sadly. that's worked well since the 70's. Even my wife knows more than they do which hacks her off and she's not a car person. I'm thinking of her 2014 Camry Hybrid sales experience. Sales guy didn't know it was a hybrid.

    Yes, happy wife, happy life. X100.

    I have his and hers 2021 M3 AWD LR on order with no regrets. If I had not done all of that research, that might not be the case. I did NOT get full self driving.

    I don't understand the absolute vitriolic hatred that some people have about Tesla. It's pretty amazing. It's like someone took a dump in their oatmeal when they hear or read the word. These are intelligent and well spoken, smart people, right up until they hear that word.

    I hope you and your wife get to revisit and take another ride in the future. As you learn, it might make your experience better. Good luck.
     
    #315 Mark57, Oct 27, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2020
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  16. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    with friends & property in Montana, & friends/family in both Idaho & Utah, we didn't in the LEAST find it insurmountable to plan our nature breaks around charging the Model X from up there & back - down to SoCal. Funniest memory of those trips. Pulling into a remote Utah Community ... we were only doing maybe 20mph down rural streets. This was 2017. Kids started pointing, smiling, & chasing after us on their bicycles to see where we would stop - so they could get a better look. It was a treat for us ... seeing how tickled the kids were when the Falcon Wing doors opened up ... and how front doors would self-open .... undoubtedly the first time they had ever seen a Tesla.
    That's probably what it was like 100 years ago when kids saw their first car. Stodgy old people likely poo poo'd the newer Tech that began replacing the horse, or oxen cart, while the curious / adventurous youth want to usher it in - & excitedly embrace it.
    .
     
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  17. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    A typical large tractor or combine will consume around 25 gallons of diesel per hour and be used 16 hours a day during their use period (planting, harvest, tillage, etc.). That's 400 gallons in a day. That's an output of around 6.4 megawatt hours in a day, or the energy storage of around 80 long-range Model 3's. And, of course, it has to do the same the next day which means you need to be able to charge, out in a field, at around 800kW during the 8 hours it isn't in use.

    See how far away we are from an all-electric future?
     
  18. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    This is why the Tesla semi-trailer truck is so important. It most closely matches farm tractor and harvesting equipment. Fast DC charging is critical yet one megawatt wind turbine could easily meet planting and harvesting requirements. Then outside of those times ... what to do with the extra power?

    It is called 'second cropping.'

    If I were designing the farm equipment, pack swapping would be standard. While one set of packs are in the field, the other set(s) are charging. I'd have no problem with a diesel powered, high efficiency generator as backup. But with double-battery, power buffering, the farm has a second income.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #318 bwilson4web, Oct 27, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2020
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  19. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    I actually came here to quote from the 2020 Q3 report:

    Zachary Kirkhorn, "We are also seeing financial benefits from improved vehicle reliability across the fleet."

    See 13:43 in the following YouTube:


    Bob Wilson
     
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  20. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Pack swapping was an awesome idea. Immediately gets rid of the "how long do I need to charge" debate. Sad it doesn't seem around any longer...

    moto g(7) power ?