Its a big state, and I just haven't seen them around here. Electric vehicles go well with Texans. The car dealers lobby is strong though. A manufacturer can not have a dealership in our state. Tesla has places to see the cars, but the nearest is in houston 3 hours away. Then you need to buy it from out of state, and have tesla deliver it. Manufacturers can have repair facilities.
Ok. I saw a Black Model S on 880 south in Fremont yesterday, couple hours before Superbowl started. Wow, that is some stunning looking car. Wheels were huge. 21" right? Tires were very low profile. That car looks like it means business too. Looks like it rides pretty darn low to the ground. I heard it has adjustable suspension to lower at highway speeds for less drag. I've gotta go have a good look at one in Menlo Park.
21" rims on the performance models (or you can upgrade for $3500), 19" rims are standard (and better for fuel economy and a LOT cheaper to replace). The air suspension automatically lowers to the lowest setting when you've been at 55mph for 2 minutes (I think that's the duration) or instantly when you exceed 72mph.
I often see 4-6 Model S cars during my regular round trip commute between San Francisco and Silicon Valley. I'm surprised at how quickly they have become a common sight. They are almost as common as LEAFs on the road during my early morning drive. My guess is that there is a bias towards longer trips by early morning drivers. That, in turn, means fewer LEAFs due to their smaller EV range for drivers who can't reliably recharge at work. Tesla is also a local company and there are a lot of early adopter types here and lots of EVs generally. I should try counting the number of plugin cars I see during each day for a week. My guess is that I'll see an average of 10 plugins on the road plus a dozen parked each day.
Tesla delivered 2,650 Model S EVs last year, Musk: "I'm quite certain we will deliver more than 20,000 cars this year." Tesla delivered 2,650 Model S EVs last year, Musk confident of profit in Q1 and beyond
I bought a "tally counter" mechanical clicker thing at Office Depot for $3 last weekend and have been using it to count plugin cars. So far, I'm clicking 10-14 plugins a day on the road, parked on the street, or parked at charging stations other than my workplace (where I typically see at last another 10).
Dark blue going down Scripps ranch blvd. I was in the Ram towing a 9k lb trailer getting a whopping 8mpg
White one with air suspension on the carpool/HOV lane on the 405 South in the Long Beach area at around 2:04PM. Dark blue Performance model with black 21 inch wheels in the Scripps Ranch area on Friday afternoon...seeing it up close on the street was awesome.
Dark red on 5 South last night around 8pm. Older gentleman behind the wheel. Picked him up at Nobel Dr. and followed until I got off on I-8 East. Had the air suspension and 21 inch wheels and was cruising at about 80 in the left lane...looked so slick. Those tail lights are a dead giveaway from far.
I just parked next to one just like that at work this morning. I'll spare the bandwidth of posting another picture...
Interesting story. It talks about in part how Tesla regentative breaking can be adjusted based on preference, and in cold weather automaticaly adjusts down until batteries are warm. I guess if you have to break hard there is a spike of energy that is sent to the batteries and if the battery is cold it may do damage. The car is smart enough to auto correct based on environment. Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: The Good & The Bad At 600 Miles
I saw a Model S parked on the side of the road the other night. I actually backed up to get a good look, and to make sure I saw the name plate correctly. Silver with a temporary vanity plate. Good to see them getting up here in Maine. Head turning car for sure.
Tesla Supercharger at Tejon Ranch on my way to Sacramento. There was a diesel Chevy parked there when I showed up but he left within 10 minutes. Walked out of Panda Express and saw these. The one on left is a Performance with Washington plates and clear roof.
