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Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

tesla.com

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Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#281

Post by SmellyGeekBoy »

sjwright wrote: post #229
jamilbk wrote: post #203

Question for Tesla owners: Is the recharge time ever a problem? Have you ever felt regret from not being able to just pull up to a gas station, refuel, and be on your way? Part of me drools with child-like giddiness at the prospect of owning one, but part of me hesitates at the thought of taking roadtrips in one.

Question for ICE owners: Is having to regularly visit a fuel station ever a problem? Have you ever felt regret from not being able to wake up every morning with a "full tank" in the car? Point is, it's not a compromise, it's replacing one set of compromises with another. Yes, you are limited to driving for 4-5 hours before taking a 30-45 minute break (assuming your route has fast chargers) but that's fairly consisten…

This is exactly it. I drive a diesel and I dread going to the fuel station. That stuff gets all over your hands (even using the little plastic gloves), it stinks and is very difficult to wash off. It's incredibly rare for me to drive more than 100 miles per day (my commute is a 60 mile round trip). I honestly can't wait for the day that I can swap it for an EV and wake up to full range every morning.

Unfortunately I just can't justify the cost of changing car at the moment, but that day will come.

Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#282

Post by braythwayt »

baroffoos wrote: post #84
olivermarks wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sort of complexity is why I like pre smog era cars

Same reason I like bikes. I can pull the whole thing apart in a day and understand what every bit does. As soon as you start including electronics you end up with black boxes that no human could ever understand entirely.

Even with bicycles, those days are almost over. Wireless electronic shifting is trickling down from the top-of-the-line bikes.

The charm of a bicycle being mechanically simple is going away...

Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#283

Post by SmellyGeekBoy »

magicalhippo wrote: post #246
sjwright wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Question for ICE owners: Is having to regularly visit a fuel station ever a problem? Have you ever felt regret from not being able to wake up every morning with a "full tank" in the car? Point is, it's not a compromise, it's replacing one set of compromises with another. Yes, you are limited to driving for 4-5 hours before taking a 30-45 minute break (assuming your route has fast chargers) but that's fairly consisten…

> Is having to regularly visit a fuel station ever a problem? Have you ever felt regret from not being able to wake up every morning with a "full tank" in the car? We just got an EV, and my gf loves this aspect. She was terrible at remembering to fill gas before coming home, so would very often find herself in a situation where she had to fill up before getting on her way. Quite often this coincided with when she was…

Posted my sibling comment before reading this and just wanted to confirm - I often think "I'll fill up in the morning" on my drive home and then end up kicking myself in the morning for being so lazy the night before!

Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#284

Post by asmosoinio »

asmosoinio wrote: post #280
Shivetya wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Service intervals are very limited. Let me use my Model 3 as an example, I only need tire rotations until 25,000 miles. At that point I need the cabin and HVAC air filters replaced, then 25k later I do it again. Not only will dealership service centers be impacted, oil change shops will have little work if any as the number of petrol cars wind down, general service shops face the same issue as the numbers decline. No…

That's not super different from long lasting oil? Some Petrol cars do 30'000km without and service?

I just read up on 3'000 to 5'00 mile intervals that might be prevalent in the US?

To me that sounds crazy. Many synthetic oils are officially approved to 15'000 miles.

Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#285

Post by nottorp »

codeulike wrote: post #244

Compare to the Audi e-Tron, which has a fairly massive 95kWH battery but only scores 204 miles of EPA range. They claim they're only using 88% of the battery capacity so that charging is faster and battery longevity is preserved, but thats a really weird engineering decision that belies the fact they have made a terribly inefficient (and perhaps rapidly degrading?) battery pack/drivetrain. Meanwhile the base Model S,…

No idea what is actually going on, but the first thought that comes to my mind is that in the US you're allowed and expected to blatantly lie in marketing while in the EU you may have to keep it somewhat realistic...

Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#286

Post by tialaramex »

magicalhippo wrote: post #246
sjwright wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Question for ICE owners: Is having to regularly visit a fuel station ever a problem? Have you ever felt regret from not being able to wake up every morning with a "full tank" in the car? Point is, it's not a compromise, it's replacing one set of compromises with another. Yes, you are limited to driving for 4-5 hours before taking a 30-45 minute break (assuming your route has fast chargers) but that's fairly consisten…

> Is having to regularly visit a fuel station ever a problem? Have you ever felt regret from not being able to wake up every morning with a "full tank" in the car? We just got an EV, and my gf loves this aspect. She was terrible at remembering to fill gas before coming home, so would very often find herself in a situation where she had to fill up before getting on her way. Quite often this coincided with when she was…

Also, if you forget and then realise, there's no way that five minutes before bed you'll put proper clothes on, drive out to a fuel station, fill it up and drive home. Not going to happen. But popping down to plug the EV into the mains is something you might actually remember then go and do, like putting that cheese back in the fridge or running the dishwasher.

Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#287

Post by nkristoffersen »

rootusrootus wrote: post #54
ddoolin wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the 2016 refresh not count?

Not to me. I judge Tesla on the same metrics as any other car company. The Model S is getting long in the tooth.

Really? So many models live forever. Do you think the "Mustang" is long in the tooth?

Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#288

Post by jfoster »

m3kw9 wrote: post #132
magicbuzz wrote: post #55

For metric folks, this equates to nearly 600km. That's about as much as I want to drive in the space of a single day. Conceivably however, automated driving could mean doing longer distances. And at a cost much less than an airfare - just a lot more in time.

If you factor in 4-5 hours in overhead in order to take a flight, you can go a lot of places for a lot less and just slightly longer ride. I’m guessing 1/10 of the price for NY to Miami if you take 2-3 people

A few other bits worth noting:

- You don't need to rent a car on the other end.

- You can take all the luggage that fits into the car. (even if there's a bottle of water in your luggage!)

- You can stop along the way for some decent food and a good leg stretch.

- You can listen to the radio without headphones and roll down the windows for some air that won't dry your skin out.

- No fixed schedule or chance of missing the trip if running late.

I don't think people fully appreciate yet how amazing full, unsupervised electric vehicle autonomy might be.

Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#289

Post by bluedino »

asmosoinio wrote: post #284
asmosoinio wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not super different from long lasting oil? Some Petrol cars do 30'000km without and service?

I just read up on 3'000 to 5'00 mile intervals that might be prevalent in the US? To me that sounds crazy. Many synthetic oils are officially approved to 15'000 miles.

Nowadays cars use an engine life monitor and report to the owner that they need service every 8-10,000 depending on use

Re: Changes to Models S and X allow them to travel longer without larger batteries

#290

Post by georgerobinson »

quanticle wrote: post #271
ajuc wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> EVs don't need the large established dealership base and their included maintenance facilities I never understood that. Why does power source matter in the context of dealership base and maintenance? EVs still break.

They break at much much lower rates, because they have many fewer parts. EVs don't have the pistons, valves, belts, fans, compressors, alternators, spark plugs, etc that gasoline engines have. There's probably order of magnitude fewer parts to break. Having seen the interior of an automatic gearbox, the surprising thing to me is that conventional automobiles are as reliable as they are.

I don't have any data to back this up but I would think that most cars going into the dealership network for maintenance are still under warranty; are less than 5 years old and not going in for expensive or time consuming engine work such as replacing head gaskets, belts, bearings, etc.

Instead, I would think most cars going into the dealership network are either:

1. Having a part replaced under warranty because it is faulty or there is a recall

2. Having a service under a service pack or because the car is still in warranty

3. Having some kind of interior defect fixed (rattling in the cabin, infotainment issue, etc)

and that these issues are still common enough in EVs that I don't expect the dealership network to change much.

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