car and driver's car of the century - Tesla model S 70D

It's good at least BEVs are getting some well deserved positive attention. But more FUD about spending $16K on installing an EVSE ("narrows the dollar advantage") is disheartening.

It is not often you need to put 250miles in the pack as fast as possible while parked at home. My Leaf only gets charged with the L1. With all the time it spends plugged in, any one day's deficiency is easily charged up the next day.

 

i haven't seen any audi diesel ads in quite awhile.

 

I think that the OP miss-read the article.
The fact that an $80,000 BEV might have some pricey charging options isn't FUD, and the C&D article twice mentioned that the MSRP and price paid was before federal and state rebates.
The real story here is that the BEV competes favorably against the very best of the best in luxury sedans while maintaining a price advantage.....even allowing for the very expensive home mods.
I think that it's about time that the BEV community stops getting their hackles up every time somebody critiques one of their cars.
BEV's and PHEVs are getting good enough to be over that, and pretty soon they will probably be as ubiquitous as hybrids.

Range anxiety is always going to be a factor in BEVs until the infrastructure is in place, and there are some engineering challenges that have yet to be worked through, but the gains in the last five years alone should leave BEV fans exited....not defensive!
If you have 80-large to plunk down on a Tesla, I suspect that you'll also have enough cabbage to rent a car before a long vacation. Anybody who knows what L1 charging is already knows that you don't need anything but a standard electrical outlet and a little time to charge a BEV.

I'm a little more troubled by the mention of a required cooling off time between high-speed passes, and I look forward to seeing more data on exactly what 70 kWh can do in an interstate environment, lugging a 5 passenger luxury sedan around.
C&D mentioned both the fact that 14 charge events were required for their 640 miles of testing, AND the fact that even in their hard testing environment the Tesla used only 30-percent of the dollar amount of fuel that a performance vehicle would require.

So....I'm wondering.
What would be the range of a Tesla knocking down 80 on the interstate???
How many high speed passes can you do at a drag strip?

If you're going to make Youtube videos highlighting the "hyperspace button" advantage of BEVs these are fair questions...not FUD

Good News: BEVs and PHEVs are in the Big Leagues now.
Bad News: Both sides get to hit.

.....I think that they're good enough not to have to scream "foul!" whenever the competition hits back.

 

Here's some charts that might help: Driving Range for the Model S Family | Tesla Motors

 

According to Tesla it would be about 200 miles : Model S Efficiency and Range | Tesla Motors

 

^ for me?
200 is probably enough.....as long as Tesla's range numbers aren't guestimated as lopsidedly as Nissan's were.

Now.......let's work on the cost.
Tesla has a good game plan for that.
Use well-heeled eco-nerds and government kickbacks to fund development costs, then push the technology down to the 99-percenters as the infrastructure matures.

 

i'm waiting on mine.

 

I'm only willing to spend about 30K max for my next car, so I guess I'll have to stick with a PHEV for now.

Best of both worlds.

 

won't the tesla come in at 30 after everything shakes out?

 

^Eventually.

This only underscores the leaps that BEV/PHEVs have made in the last 5 years alone.

 

Range anxiety will always be an issue for some people. It has never been an issue for me.
As the infrastructure gets built out, it will be a factor for fewer and fewer people.

They are fair questions, and I would not qualify them as FUD.
If you had said that you had to stop every block and let the car cool off, that would have been FUD.

To answer your question, cruising down the interstate should be no issues. Running a race track or drag strip may require some down time.

I've never screamed foul, either about BEVs or hybrids unless the argument or claim is faulty.

 

what are the home charging options? hours/miles and cost of unit/install?

 

I've seen L2 chargers for less than $500, and many people can DIY the electrical work.

Even if you live in an oppressed city/state, the install cost should only be a few hundred dollars.

 

In my case, it would be none, as I already have a setup to charge electric cars.
If this is someone's first EV, it could range anywhere from $250 to $5000.
The former if the wiring is in place. The later if a larger if the electrical panel needs upgrading and then wiring run to the garage. Most circumstances, less than $1500.

 

looking at the comments after the article, it's funny how the fan boys and haters both see 'negatives' in the way the article is written.

 

so how do they come up with 16k? worst case scenario? there must be something bigger than an L2? or is it just amperage?

 

They didn't come up with 16k.
They said the [potential] need for electrical work done, ca narrow the price gap. Not eliminate it.

 

It's supposed to as things stand today. However, by then the country will be under a new administration so there's no way to know for sure if the tax breaks will still be available.