Just passed 15K (now 20k) miles on my Tesla Model S

Congrats! If I had a place to plug-in in my condo complex, I'd want a Telsa. Oh yeah, the money too.

I know a guy who gets all his charge ups for his Telsa for free since he lives within 20 minutes of their Supercharger station at their Fremont, California factory.

He just grabs a Starbucks or fast food to go and goes to enjoy it there while charging. He also says it's great socially as well since he can chat and network with other Telsa owners.

 

Are there any other Telsa's in your area?

 

Great to hear about the Model S. report.

Thank you,

DBCassidy

 

Wow! Crazy! You haven't had your car that long.

I'm leasing a Leaf w/only 12K miles/year so I'd get killed on over mileage charges if I racked up miles that quickly. I've my Leaf for a just a tad over a month and am racking up miles a bit too quickly at w/~1100 on the clock, so far.

 

It's great (but not at all surprising) that you love your Tesla, Evan. Two years later, I love mine still. I got a chance to drive a Model S a while back when a fellow down in ID needed a charge here in Spokane, and before we plugged it in at my house, he let me take it for a drive. It was an 85 kWh non-Performance model, so had less acceleration than my Roadster, but was still a dream to drive. I didn't play with any of the gadgets. Then we went for a ride in mine and visited while his charged up and his wife ran in the big local foot race and fun run, called Bloomsday.

I'm too forgetful to log all my miles and electric usage, but I figure something like 3 miles per kWh at the wall in summer, and a bit less in winter when I run the heater. I drive it hard, because that's what it was made for. I think there are at least a couple of other Model S in town. One other I know of since I know the owner.

 

It's just a matter of time. It's a new company just getting started from the ground up.

 

It's not that new a company. Per About Tesla | Tesla Motors, it was founded in 2003.

 

Thanks for the reports, Evan and daniel! Dream cars, yours. Great to hear they are holding up and pleasing you as owners. Recently had my first EV drive: test drive of an iMiEV. Wonder if it would take you off the line? Even it was fun to drive, though. Nice as a city car, but without the reach or wow factor of the Teslas.

 

I consider ten years old to be fairly new. Especially in an emerging technology. In ten years they went from concept to producing the EV that showed the world that EVs can be fast and fun, and a sedan that's being called the best gadget ever, and from unknown to a company the market believes will succeed, if stock price is any indication.

If they manage to produce a mass-market affordable EV with a 200-mile real-world range in 4 or 5 more years, AND install superchargers along the major interstate routes, this will be phenomenally fast growth.

The iMiEV is a very nice city car. It won't impress anyone with its acceleration as the Teslas do, but five years ago I'd have considered it a BIG step up from my daily driver (the Zap Xebra). I'd never have bought the ill-fated Porsche if the iMiEV had been available at the time.

 

Perhaps, but the i-MiEV isn't selling at all in the US from August 2013 Dashboard - HybridCars.com. I guess the US market has spoken about an EV like that.

 

True, cwerdna, but I'd love to have one as our second car. And I had to drive 3 hours to test drive one, way beyond its range for driving it home. So I'd have to ship it to my state. Same reason a PiP is not our primary car: I'm too cheap to ship it from CA or MD.

 

Thanks for this thread. It makes me quite jealous. As with the rest of the posters in this thread, I hope Tesla continues to sell well and continues to make money.

Pardon my ignorance, how long does the supercharger charging take?

 

This link:

Supercharger | Tesla Motors

seems to say 200 miles of range in half an hour. That's probably driving gently. It's a 120 kW charger, meaning you'd get 60 kWh in 30 minutes. At 3 miles per kWh that would be 180 miles at more "normal" driving. I'm guessing a 300-mile 85 kWh Model S would take between 45 minutes and an hour to fully charge from empty, depending on whether it slows down as the pack gets closer to full.

Maybe someone who's actually used one can report.

 

I'd love to, won't be able to for a month or two though.
Minnesota should have its first supercharger in a month or two.
Although I understand the WI Eau Claire supercharger is on track for October, so perhaps I will check that one out.

The superchargers ramp down as the battery fills, so 150 miles in 20 minutes is the number I have heard. A full charge, I would guess, takes a bit more than double that (ie I agree with Daniel).

Our plan is to stop for a coffee and fill up, or maybe lunch if the timing works, on our way to relatives in Iowa.
I am very pumped about almost being to the point where I will never need to rent or borrow another gas burner again

 

next time take a bike for that 1 mile shopping you do for a Loaf of bread

yes i also want to be able to drive a tesla just to get a Loaf of bread

 

Holy $&@#!! You can charge for free at the Tesla Factory? I live 2 freeway exits away. It's actually on my way to work! That's it, I'm going over there to buy one. Oh wait, I'm not rich.

I sure hope Tesla releases their affordable Model 3 by 2019 when my green HOV decals expire.

 

You can charge for free at any Tesla supercharger (if you have the 85kwh pack).
However, they are intended for people on trips, not daily use.

I do hope they are moving their Tesla after they have charged up rather than needlessly taking up the spot.