Tesla Model 3

[DocM]

Tesla Model 3 introed tonight

 

$35k, $27.5k after EV credits

 

0-60 in 6 seconds, 215 miles/charge

 

115,000 150,000 ordered in the first 24 hours

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2016 by DocM

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

Not bad but the 215 miles /charge is a problem. If it could be increased to 500 would be great. I know in due time it will be.

[DocM]

Unless you have a >100 mile commute I'd think that 215 miles is enough, especially if you have a garage wireed for 220v or 3-phase (like mine is )

[PGHammer]

16 hours ago, DocM said:

Unless you have a >100 mile commute I'd think that 215 miles is enough, especially if you have a garage wireed for 220v or 3-phase (like mine is )

Most garages these days are either wired or wirable for 220v and/or three-phase for the quite sane reason that the garage is where the wiring (all of it) enters the house.  (Just as the property itself has a "utility corner" (where all the utilities enter), so do structures - for those with attached/designed-in garages, the garage is that entry point.) Two hundred fifteen miles is a four hour round-trip (two hours in each direction) - most work commutes are half that.

[DocM]

 

[wakjak]

That's kind of fudging the numbers.. 325k preordered.. not 325k bought and paid for. Also not accounting for the people who may back out before they get their car... and how many people will be on back order?

[DocM]

Since it actually arrives next year they're technically all on back order.

 

They've made huge upgrades to the Califirnia factory, opened another in Europe and more are coming starting with one in China. The French govt. also wants one there.  Part of the Reno battery Gigafactory is open producing Tesla PowerWall home batteries even while the rest is being finished.

 

After Model 3 gets ramped up comes a Tesla pickup truck.

 

And,

 

And to feed Solar City, a 1.2 million sq/ft solar Gigafactory is under construction in Buffalo NY. Almost ready. Large enough to produce 1 GW worth of cells a year.

 

[FloatingFatMan]

On 02/04/2016 at 6:25 PM, Gary7 said:

Not bad but the 215 miles /charge is a problem. If it could be increased to 500 would be great. I know in due time it will be.

Range really is irrelevant as long as the recharge time is longer than it takes you to gas up a normal  car... Until they sort THAT, electric cars won't become mainstream.

 

 

On 03/04/2016 at 10:58 PM, PGHammer said:

Most garages these days are either wired or wirable for 220v and/or three-phase for the quite sane reason that the garage is where the wiring (all of it) enters the house.  (Just as the property itself has a "utility corner" (where all the utilities enter), so do structures - for those with attached/designed-in garages, the garage is that entry point.) Two hundred fifteen miles is a four hour round-trip (two hours in each direction) - most work commutes are half that.

 

Assuming you HAVE a garage, or a driveway...

 

[tsupersonic]

11 hours ago, FloatingFatMan said:

Range really is irrelevant as long as the recharge time is longer than it takes you to gas up a normal  car... Until they sort THAT, electric cars won't become mainstream.

Even if it takes 10 mins. to get to a ~75% charge, I'd be ok with that! The Supercharger stations are great, but I forsee maybe a couple problems: 

1) With Tesla's brand skyrocketing, there will be less open spots at Supercharger stations. This may even be a problem today in heavy Tesla population areas (mainly within CA). I'm also frustrated there isn't one nearby my place! 

2) Will they always be free? 

 

I'd be ok with a 215 mile range. It covers ~90% of my trips, which mainly consists of my commute to work (~6 miles roundtrip everyday, the occasional friends visit/outing, ~5 mile grocery trips). The most I'm willing to drive is about 5 hours or roughly ~300 miles, which I'm sure there would be a Supercharger station along the way (or at least the GPS could route it so that I could charge at a station). These long trips are also done a couple times/year. Outside of that, I'd fly to my destination. 

 

[DocM]

 

 

[Vandalsquad]

On 4/4/2016 at 7:58 AM, PGHammer said:

Most garages these days are either wired or wirable for 220v and/or three-phase for the quite sane reason that the garage is where the wiring (all of it) enters the house.  (Just as the property itself has a "utility corner" (where all the utilities enter), so do structures - for those with attached/designed-in garages, the garage is that entry point.) Two hundred fifteen miles is a four hour round-trip (two hours in each direction) - most work commutes are half that.

Three phase isn't just an easy 240v but, every house in Australia is 240v (100amps) three phase is a different beast and not easily changable. Only the larger houses are wired to 3 phase of 300amps or if you specify it when building. A lot of people don't know the difference and just run single phase 100 amps because it gets the job done for most people unless you have a massive ducted cooling/heating unit. 

 

All mains are underground, this means digging 800mm deep trenches from the street, through driveways etc to run new cabling in and isn't a cheap exercise. If all these cars in the future require 3 phase charging stations expect a lot of work for electricians in the next decade 

 

That said since I was an electrician originally and spec 3 phase with everything I build I'm keen to look at this when one's available in Australia on display and if it's a $50k-$60k with deductions it may be a start for the partners new car. She wouldn't drive more than 80km a day

[PGHammer]

56 minutes ago, Vandalsquad said:

Three phase isn't just an easy 240v but, every house in Australia is 240v (100amps) three phase is a different beast and not easily changable. Only the larger houses are wired to 3 phase of 300amps or if you specify it when building. A lot of people don't know the difference and just run single phase 100 amps because it gets the job done for most people unless you have a massive ducted cooling/heating unit. 

 

All mains are underground, this means digging 800mm deep trenches from the street, through driveways etc to run new cabling in and isn't a cheap exercise. If all these cars in the future require 3 phase charging stations expect a lot of work for electricians in the next decade 

 

That said since I was an electrician originally and spec 3 phase with everything I build I'm keen to look at this when one's available in Australia on display and if it's a $50k-$60k with deductions it may be a start for the partners new car. She wouldn't drive more than 80km a day

In most subdivisions these days in the US, the mains are underground as well (they are in the subdivision where I live, for example) - so it is little different in the US.  Notice that I also said "wirable" - which means you can add three-phase AC as a separate circuit if you don't have it (if you have a decent sized washer/dryer pair, you likely already have a separate circuit for it just for  - do you HAVE a separate washer/dryer pair, or a single or double wall oven?)  (For this very reason, it's not as hard TECHNICALLY to add a charger for a Tesla (or other hybrid) as you would think.)  Where it's gets difficult is in the exurbs - and that is mostly due to that being at the far end of the range - not wiring issues.

[DocM]

There are many 3-phase wired homes in this part of MI for various reasons, including many folks doing custom work for the automakers in home shops. We're about 3 blocks from a utility training & development center, and our garage-shop is wired for grizzly bear.  

 

Back to Model 3.

 

Tidbit,: the seats fold down into a 6' 9" flat space you can sleep on, and keeping the vehicle warm overnight costs about 7% of the charge. Tesla owners have taken to using their Model S and X vehicles as sleeper-campers.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2017-07-31/driving-tesla-s-model-3-changes-everything

 

Quote

Driving Tesla’s Model 3 Changes Everything

We took one out for a spin, and have little doubt the age of electric cars has arrived.

If you’ve ever driven Tesla's flagship vehicle—the $140,000 Model S P100D—you’ve experienced an unparalleled version of driving power. Zero to 60 in 2.3 seconds punches you back in the seat while making the stomach turn somersaults. Some people live for that feeling. I’m not one of them. 
>
After taking one of the first drives of Tesla's new Model 3 last week, I came away thinking that CEO Elon Musk has finally delivered an electric car for the everyday road tripper like me.

The Model 3 still has plenty of pickup, effortlessly jumping from zero to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds in the upgraded version I test drove, which gets a stunning 310 miles on a charge. It’s nimble, comfortable, and has tight steering that’ll keep you grinning. The seats embrace you in a gentle hug that feels a bit more geared for road trip than racetrack. It’s the Model S on a diet, making up in practicality what it loses in extravagance. 

And I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. 
>
>

[Crisp]

No character at all, just like driving an iPad to work.

[PGHammer]

17 minutes ago, Crisp said:

No character at all, just like driving an iPad to work.

The Model T and Model A had no character, either - however, they didn't get eclipsed in terms of sales until the Ford Falcon (US) or original VW Beetle (another lack-of-character car - all IT had going for it was cuteness and being easily moddable)

[DocM]

15 hours ago, Crisp said:

No character at all, just like driving an iPad to work.

Don't worry, there's a new Roadster coming after the Semi (in tests, headed by a former Daimler truck bigwig) and a Pickup.