All in on Tesla Model 3

I have been away from Prius Chat for a long time, almost two years. It was 3/31/2016, opening night, when I placed my reservation deposit for a Tesla 3. I have since been all in on the Tesla and active on various Tesla 3 fora. I have sat in the car, played with all the systems, and it will be life changing for me. I expect to receive the car in about 2 to 3 months.

The base price is $35K, but being a SoCal resident I will get a $7500 federal tax credit, $2,500 CA rebate, and $450 Edison rebate. That makes the base price of the car about $24.5K. That base car is not available yet, but indications are that it will be available in about 2 months. The federal tax credit of $7,500 will probably expire 9/30/18 for Tesla and then be reduced to $3750. And I will not be purchasing a base car. I will spend about $11K on options for Premium upgrades, Advanced Autopilot, and Premium color. That will take the price back up to about $36K but it will be the most advanced car on the highway.

I have Solar City PV on the roof of my house and I will charge my car at home via a 240v NEMA 14-50 plug that will charge at the rate of about 30 miles of range per hour. There are more expensive options for home charging that will charge at faster rates, but overnight charging for full range is sufficient for me. I will rarely rely on Tesla's supercharger system. It is just not necessary with free home charging.

I will still keep my venerable and reliable Gen 3 Prius PHEV as a second car until I get my second Tesla 3 in 2019; I placed an order for TWO Teslas. My Prius Plug-In has been a wonderful car and we have enjoyed 70+ mpg on many of our fill ups. But I am done with gas stations and the oil industry. EV's are the future of the world!

My biggest disappointment with the Tesla 3 is the lack of a SKS system like Prius has. Tesla uses a smartphone for access with a credit card sized key card as a backup. I don't generally carry a smartphone with me and a key card that I carry in my wallet, that has to be pulled out to access the car, is going to be durn inconvenient. Hopefully, Tesla will develop a key fob alternative for the 3.

I am not here to bash Toyota and Prius, they have made a wonderful product, but they are seriously behind the curve on the future of personal automotive travel. I wish them well, but they have a lot of catching up to do.

If any questions about the Tesla 3, I will try to accommodate.

 

High $ ? That is all relative. It depends on your priorities in life. I wear flip flops instead of $200 sneakers. I use a 'pay as you go' flip phone rather than an $800 I Phone.

It is doubtful Tesla will provide authorization for third party aftermarket to provide SKS. Tesla wants to control all their systems and don't want aftermarket messing with them. What is more likely is that Tesla will provide an option for a limited function Bluetooth fob for those who don't want to carry a smartphone with them.

Likewise Senor Bisco, I have made many good friends here on Prius Chat and I don't want to lose contact. Believe me (where have I heard that false assertion before?) I will be brutally honest in my review of the 3 once I get it. I will say that the software in the 3 UI (User Interface) is 'glitchy' since a lot of it is in beta version at this time according to those who have already received their cars (Tesla employees and previous Tesla owners). BTW, I think the Boston Tesla store will have a 3 on display now or within the next couple of weeks. If you go there to take a look, be prepared to step into the FUTURE, the car interior is shocking, feels like a space ship!

 

In general, I agree with you. However there are rumors that Tesla is developing a bluetooth key fob that will work the same way as SKS but only better. SKS,as good as it is, is old technology. Bluetooth is the newer technology for accessing cars. Tesla bluetooth not only controls lock/unlock but also personal preference profiles for seats, mirrors, A/C, music play, etc. for several different users. It is a better technology.

I agree that's one of the reasons I'm getting the Premium package (which is about the same price as Prius AT package when I purchased} so I can get TACC (traffic aware cruise control) which includes auto lane change too which is not available on many base model cars.

EPA rating for the LR (long range) option is 334 miles. Tesla voluntarily down-rated that figure to 310 miles to reflect 'real world' expectations. Although the EPA has not tested the SR (standard range) base model, it is expected to be around 235/240 mile range which Tesla has down-rated to 220 miles.

Tesla recommends charging to 80-90% for daily driving to prolong battery life. However, they recommend charging to 100% just prior to departing on a long trip to immediately start depleting the battery with no harmful long term effect.

The speedometer on the Tesla 3 is in the same exact location as on my Prius. The Tesla 3 speed is in a much larger font than on the Prius and is easier to see and read. The steering wheel on the Tesla 3 is multi-adjustable without concern for where the speedometer might be blocked. The Tesla 3 speedometer is much superior to most setups in existence.

Tesla 3 is available to rent right now through Turo. All the concerns you had about the Tesla MS have been fixed in the Tesla 3.

 

What happens when your Prius key fob goes missing?

The Tesla 3 has two ways to access the car, smartphone app and key card. The Prius has one way to access the car, the key fob. The Tesla way is better because it has double redundancy.

So what if your Tesla 3 smartphone and key card go missing simultaneously? Tesla has a free
"Ranger Road Assistance" program available to 90% of the US population in 30 minutes. The Ranger has the ability to program a new key card on the spot using his on-board wifi. Cost of one new key card is free. Cost of additional key cards is $5 each.

I don't believe Prius has a free Ranger program, at least it is not available to me. Although I have never lost my Prius key fob, I understand replacements cost upwards of $100.

 

A good question and a fair question. The Tesla 3 is the most advanced car Tesla builds at this time. Apparently they feel that displays like HUD and steering wheel instrument binnacles are old technology. The Tesla 3 is designed from the ground up to be the first mass market Full Self Driving car. HUD would be irrelevant in that case and an unnecessary build expense.

At this time, Tesla's Enhanced Auto Pilot is active and works well in most cases. EAP is starting to get close to FSD. Last month, I talked to a Model S owner at the Bakersfield Supercharger. They had a new MS with the latest EAP software. They had just driven from the San Fernando Valley to Bakersfield over the Grapevine, a curving, mountainous super highway consisting of 8/10 lanes with a distance of about 150 miles. They said they put their car on EAP when they left home and had not touched the steering wheel, go pedal, or brake pedal once during that trip. They set their desired speed when they left home, the car maintained speed using adaptive cruise control, and the car automatically changed lanes when necessary to maintain the desired speed. They had a big Tesla Grin on. Under those conditions, why would you need HUD when your speed is clearly shown on the user screen? It feels like a spaceship!