Craving to trade in my PIP for a Tesla Model S

I think you have understated the amount of innovation at Tesla. It is a bit more than a Li-Ion battery and an electric motor. Consider that Elon's other venture is SpaceX.

 

Unless you go on outings on the weekend. 150-250 miles round trip isn't all that far for a day's outing where I live. I don't just drive to work and back.

 

Great...then maybe this car is for you. But the vast majority of people do not drive that far that often...and if they do a regular Prius would be very economical for this. But if you are driving 40-50 miles round trip for a commute you can drive an EV with 70 - 100 mile range and be just fine...driving your other car on your long trips. For the price of a Tesla you can afford two cars (a Leaf and a Prius), still have money left over and still pay less for fuel.

Note that I am not against Tesla...I hope they do well. All I am saying is that it is a false tradeoff in wanting a 100% BEV to go long distances AND be efficient for short distances. A Telsa that could only go 70-100 miles on a charge would be much more efficient, (smaller and lighter) as well as cheaper, but not fit into the high-priced halo they are trying to create. It would be different if batteries were smaller, lighter, cheaper and had more power density -- but they just don't.

Mike

 

It would be interesting to add an extra battery pack for those long trips. Keep it in your garage 80% charged until you are ready for it. But that would be way too impractical. Nobody wants to bother, plus it might be too heavy for a lot of people.

 

I have seen a small trailer to pull behind the car with a extra battery for extended range, I just don't remember where, it was expensive but quite nice.

 

Make it a rental! Sounds like a great idea. I'd get the 100 mile range for efficiency. When I need to go further, I'll just hook up a hitch for whatever distance I need.

 

Forget Better Place, Hook Your Electric Car To A Battery Trailer

 

Damn we didn't think of it first.

 

If your gonna go the trailer route, make it an electric push trailer so that gassers can use it as well to push their cars down the interstate using electricity and not worry so much about the high voltage/high amperage electrical connections between the trailer and the vehicle.

 

Oh no, even though we can't afford it she's actually open to buying that one!

Again another good example of public sentiment, they will buy even what they can't afford if they like it and its phenomenal!

Alan.. Sent with Tapatalk 2

 

hey .... you can't take money, or debt, past death

 

With the Prius you still have the dirty gas engine, and the Leaf is problematical in hot climates as there is no battery thermal management.

Yes, there's no question that the Prius costs less to own than the Model S. The Prius also costs more to own than a Neon. This is more about a subcompact econobox (the Neon) costing less than a mid-sized car (the Prius) or a full sized car (the Model S), than it is about anything else.

FWIW, over the 2400 miles I've put on mine so far, the average has been 256 Wh/mile in almost all city driving (been busy at work--next month a road trip of about 1400 miles). That's a bit over 140 mpg (36650/256).

 

IIRC the Model S battery weighs about 500 lbs and is 60 kwh for 208 miles. If you kept half installed all the time you'd have to move 250 lbs around to get the extra 100+ miles. Not really practical. (Also, in the Tesla dsign the batteries are down low in the frame, but let's ingore that.) And when you go on a longer trip is when you are more likely to want more trunk space, not less.

Based on the fact that the 60 kwh to 85 kwh price difference is $10K...it is roughly $12K to go from a mythical 30 kwh (100 miles) to 60 kwh 200+ miles. Of course a car designed with the much smaller 30 kwh battery would be smaller, lighter and more effiicient and cheaper and get more than 100 miles or need an even smaller battery.

Another way to think about it...if you drive, say 50 miles on a normal day (in a Prius) you need to carry around only 1 gallon of fuel, which is about 8 lbs. If you drive with 6 gallons, giving you a range of 300 miles you have an extra 40 lbs you are hauling around. In a Tesla you are hauling around an extra 400+ lbs for the same spare range.

Mike

 

Look how much fuel the space shuttle has to carry... But man what a ride!.... Lol!

At least the battery bank acts as part of the frame support.... It's sad to have dead metal weight to carry all in the name of support, nice when it's role is two fold as in the tesla.

Alan.. Sent with Tapatalk 2

 

What's the final price?

 

I would hang tight for a couple more weeks to see if the April sales numbers spark a deeper discount, maybe another $1K-$2K.

Have you priced getting a 10KW L2 EVSE installed at home? You probably want to also get a TOU rate plan that lets you charge at a lower utility price in the early mornings.

 

Good luck. Hope you will be happy with the RAV4 EV. Based on incentives, IMO, the best deal for all EV and range, if it's the right vehicle for you. USA Today (050313) has a review of the 2013, fourth generation, gas version. Like most of us, we'll never be truly content with emerging technology. But it sure is exciting, and one can always ponder what's next?