Featured Model 3 has 310 mile range

The whole argument of; See? "look-!! only 1% of drivers ! ... so most people see it my way!" rational is superfluous. Horses to trains, trains to ICE cars/planes ... all transportation transitions necessarily start around 1%. To say, "1%" as some kind of transportation proof fail says nothing - other than for that moment in time, growth is currently 1%.
But the rationalize-away 1% thing fails even worse as it pertains to plugins - because as hybrids grew beyond the initial 1% starting point at a given time frame, plugins have grown way faster than mere hybrids or even ICE transportation.
Electric Car Sales Growing Much Faster Than Hybrid Sales

Plug-in car sales growing 10x faster than gas-powered cars : TreeHugger
Nevertheless, there will always be naysayers, although I don't know whether naysayers' % is growing as fast as plug-in's.

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1% is more the asymptote, not the starting point. It will be so until we have Ev's with more range and/or far better charging infrastructure. As charging infrastructure is improving slowly, I don't expect Ev's to asymptote, but that's the big limitation.

Interestingly, the more wide-spread the charging infrastructure, the less need there is for longer range and the less need there is for fast charging. Doing the math, I found that 6.6kW is probably fine for motels/hotels for over-night charging, and 50kW is sufficient if you have it everywhere you stop in a 400 mile BEV. However, if it's few and far between like now, 120kW is not sufficient for a 300 mile BEV. Elon knows this and that's why he's looking to up the power to 350kW or greater. But more chargers at more places reduces that need drastically.

The other problem with the current short-range BEVs is winter-time driving. It would be nuts to go up into the mountains 120 miles each way on a day around 0 degrees. Even a 300 mile BEV wouldn't come close to making it back home, and probably 99% of the destinations in the mountains will never have charging infrastructure at the destination (i.e. a trail head at the bottom of a mountain or the dirt pull-off for river rafting or fishing).

 

link? or just a contrary feeling that flys in the face of data on the linked articles provided above.

btw - & speaking of ignoring data that flies in the face, & understanding wanting to drive far away to see the total eclipse .... from the Denver area, it's 273 miles to Casper Wyoming - a perfect spot to watch the event - & well w/in 300 mile ev's.

Sorry if it's difficult to see the Denver area, but it's covered with so many high-speed DC Chargers, it's difficult to make the city out. Perhaps it might be advisable to check plugshare more frequently before assuming how remote & few high-speed Chargers there are. Not wanting to rain on the 'glass is ½empty' negativity, just linking the obvious. The can-do people will continue to carry on.

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1% of new car sales is a great achievement. At the peak VW's diesel popularity, diesels were just 1% of sales, and that is likely counting the large pick ups. Plug ins are growing past that 1%.

 

That's ONE L2 plug in a town where you really can't stay. I'm staying in South Dakota and driving from there to near Casper then home.

And you can't get from Denver to Casper and back if that one L2 charger happens to be occupied or out of service, and even if it isn't, you're looking at 12+ hours of charging. Totally impractical and highly likely to result in failure when there are expected to be 400,000 visitors to the state that day.

 

To everyone....Lee has shown repeatedly on this forum that he won't back down from his views and will continue to argue until world's end. I've said before on this forum...and I'll say it again. Who is the bigger fool...the one who thinks they can change a fool's mind, or the fool themself?

 

You base your decision on an event that occurs once in a generation maybe?

I have a hybrid wagon (Prius v). The one time I wanted to take 3 grandkids to the beach with two adults and a ton of beach stuff, I rented a minivan. But for the round trip of 500 miles with loads of medical equipment for a friend, the hybrid wagon did just fine. And it does just fine for stuff around town. For the 1% of trips, I make the exception. Total cost $160 or so IIRC.

Both the rental and the hybrid are not limited by where the infrastructure for refueling is. Anywhere there is doubt, I'd be taking a gas powered vehicle simply because even if an entire service station is powered down, there is almost certainly one within a block on most interstate routes. And state roads aren't typically long enough that fueling along them would be necessary.

I want a Model Y simply because I need the occasional utility of a wagon often enough that I'm willing to forgo the extra efficiency. For the exceptional trip, I can always rent.

My wife desperately wants to view the eclipse, unfortunately she is getting her second cataract done 3 days before. I'll watch on TV or just get a view of a partial. Be sure and get your glasses early and make sure they are approved and not just stamped with the approved-by verbiage.

Enjoy your trip.

 

arguing that it won't work for you (i have done this) vs, it won't work for most people, are two different things. but sometimes, the two get convoluted, and sometimes, people feel the need to insert the (it won't work for me) statement into every bev thread. i have been guilty of this, especially when someone posts 'this works for everyone, but there are other reasons people don't buy them'.

 

wow .... it REALLY causes one to find credibility issues if one just makes stuff up. Casper has a 72amp charger AND L2 .... & since anyone can see that by checking plugshare, & can see from provided close-up below, that this is a Tesla high power charger ...



well there you go. Similarly, all the other chargers in between that run & Colorado are all high power. Evidently the linked articles about plugins increasing in % much much faster than hybrids ever did, i guess that got poo poo'd also. It's ok - don't sweat it ... at least convincing one's self there's an alternate reality - is apparently working.

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Ultimately, the majority do not care how their vehicles are powered...as long as they are able to maintain the same convenience, cost and freedom currently provided. How one defines those...determines what you choose to drive. How people choose to treat each other...reflection of character. It's that simple.

 

just saw THIS new model 3 video - one of the big time dot com peep's (that i know nothing about) who got an early Model S delivery. His comments about his new Model 3 also mention our beloved Prius on this CNBC interview.

go to the 4:33 second mark for THE Prius/Model 3 comment during the intervies.
Early Tesla Model 3 owner gives interview full of analogies about his experience | Electrek

from further reading, this guy was THE original early stock buyer ... and owns Model S VIN 00001
wonder what that sucker is worth (the car - not the dude)
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But the current charging infrastructure now (or soon) covers about 99% of all trips and 80% of all miles that can be traveled by 2-axle cars with a 220-300 mile range. Just draw a 110-150 mile radius circle around each supercharger as see that places that you can go.

Oh, The places you can go!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Oh, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

Mike (apologies to Dr. Seuss)

 

looks good in red.

 

And the comments say both Tesla plugs give a faulty wiring error, and it's for people staying at that hotel. So, really, it's entirely useless for people passing by.

Not the way I'm going which won't follow I25 but will rather go through Laramie, Medicine Bow and down 287.

 

I've had my Prime for less than 4 months and I've already been on three trips where a Model S 100 couldn't have followed me without substantial delay. When I looked at my typical drives, such trips turn up about 8-12 times a year on average. I owned my 2004 for 13 years. That's on the order of 100 trips it took us on that a top-end Tesla couldn't today without significant delay. If it had a range of 450 miles, that number would be reduced from over a hundred to less than five. That's not a psychological difference. A lot of those trips are of about 300 miles round trip but taken in the winter. In my Prius, I don't have to stop or worry about what would happen if I got stranded on a closed highway for a while because of an accident. In a Tesla, I would, and pulling off the highway and sitting in a parking garage in the cold for 15-30 minutes each way watching my car charge doesn't sound like a good time to me.

 

they're quite accomodating to non-overnighters & we know so - as we charged there multipule times on our stops on the way to/from the flathead valley mt. But you're right of course, some numbskull made a negative review because he didn't know how to reset the breaker on one particular day. Sorry the glass isn't even ½ empty for some.
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No it doesn't and not it won't. You're assuming summer driving and no buffer range for emergencies (of which I've been stuck in several ).

I keep an absolute minimum of 150 miles of buffer range in the winter. On a 220 mile range summer car, that reduces it's real range to essentially zero in the winter. Even if I only keep a 100 mile buffer in the summer (equivalent to when the low fuel light comes on in my Prime), that leaves a measly 55 mile radius in the summer, which Imost barely enough to leave the city.

 

that must be awful - thinking how one might have to stop & charge after a 278-300 mile drive - stopping for 40minutes while simultaneously/stretching/bathroom/lunch/dinner - after 4+hrs of driving .... no wonder it seems so impossible ....

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That's a made up story that bears no resemblance to reality. One place I went had no places to charge so I'd have had to drive to another city I had no need to pass throug just to charge thus making me several hours late to where I was going. On the same trip, I ate lunch at a restaurant I like which happens to be in a city where there are no chargers. That would have made me stop in two cities I had no need to stop in just to charge on my way to the city that has no chargers. Ultimately this would have forced me to leave a day earlier and stay at another hotel because my car lacked the range to avoid it and the charging infrastructure wasn't there at my destination. With a 450 mile range, that situation would have been avoided and with a 350kw charger the multi-hour delay could have been reduced to 20-30 minutes.

 

So is that your buy in point: 450 mile range and 350kW charging stations? It wouldn't surprise me if we had both of those in 5 years. By the time you want something to replace your Prius Prime, my guess is there will be electric vehicles that fit your parameters.