Recently I drove about 2000+ miles on a little road trip with my wife in the gasoline powered Corvette... Traditionally we do this once every other year, seeking out new places and enjoying the countryside as we peel back the miles.
This year we went from Detroit to Nashville (531+ miles), and then from Nashville to Hilton Head Island S.C. (529+ miles) and then straight back home to Detroit from South Carolina (870+ miles).
That is a total of 1930 miles not including the miles spent driving around the towns and cities we found most visually appealing (and there were a lot of them). So just for the sake of being realistic we might as well say 2000+ miles.
We left on a Wednesday night around 11pm and returned home Monday morning at around 3am for a total of about 5 days...
In that time we refilled our gas tank many times (had several gift cards for gas that I earned with credit card points), and what I can tell you is this - not ONCE did I EVER worry about having to find a gas station! And not ONCE did refilling my car to it's maximum 440 mile range did I spend more time than it took for the wife to use the rest room and get supplies!
What has this got to do with Tesla you might be wondering!? Well, I should also mention that NOT ONCE did I see a single sign for recharging an electric car, nor not once did I see a Tesla outside of the city! What would we have done if we were driving a Tesla? Seems to me we would have spent most of our entire trip worrying about our range and the ability to recharge, and then the rest of the time actually re-charging!
Some might mention that Tesla has "super chargers" out there that reduce times to only two hours, but the reality is these stations are really quite rare outside of California! And even still, in the BEST of supercharging stations, spending TWO HOURS to recharge is not exactly what I would consider to be a quick stop! Two hours could get you 140 miles further down the road! The range on the basic model 3 is about 300 miles! Think about that for a minute based on the math above! You would spend most of your time on my trip re-charging! And this is in the best of conditions which do not exist outside major cities anyway!
At your regular 220V charging stations it would take 8.5 hours to recharge your model three for another 300 miles! EIGHT AND A HALF HOURS!!! You might as well just take trips to recharging stations and hope there is a nearby hotel!!
This is why I cannot figure out why Tesla is so popular, given the fact it's products are so impractical! They really are nothing more than the glorified LeCar of the 1980's! A status symbol for the wealthy Green community, and really nothing more but on overpriced and expensive toy! These are facts, indisputable FACTS! Yet people are paying $40-$200k for them!
And here is the kicker! When people buy these impractical cars they don't ever tell the REAL story because now they are vested, they are part of the club.. So what else aren't they telling us? I think the math speaks for itself and even under the most ideal situation that would see a supercharging station at every gas station, two hours is just too long to consider a Tesla a viable and practical option.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
The Tesla is good for city-use, & you can't really gauge the battery-life in terms of distance traveled, but rather "hours of use". It's a step towards clean air & no pollution for folks who would find the car useful, for their "city" needs.
It's no GT it would seem !
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"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
What about the pollution that went into making a Tesla? What about the pollution that went into making the battery!? What about the pollution that went into disposing or repurposing of the battery at the end of life?
How about the pollution emitted while charging, and during use? And what about the pollution it takes to create and transmit the energy to the recharging station!!??
You leave out a GREAT many things ole' friend! It is like when Tesla tries to tell people how much they save in gasoline, yet leave out the fact that their energy bills will now be outrageous! HELLO! McFly!
And even in the city, if you don't live in a mild climate you'll lose 40% of your cars range in a cold climate! FOURTY PERCENT!
I don't know about you Rastus, but outside of a sports car or collector I don't think I'd be paying that kind of money for a Tesla to be so limited in my travels. People do it though! They literally live their lives around their Teslas!
That is an incredible thing, but we have seen this before with the waste vegetable oil burners - they are like a cult, or a bunch of passionate people who enjoy doing something. And that is totally cool! I get it!
But at what point does someone not in the know buy one, then later find out they are so limited and must schedule around their vehicles limitations? And then how do they feel once already committed to payments!?
If you forget to plug your car in at night, or the kid takes it out and forgets - that means you are fook'ed in the AM! No quick gassing up and off to work you go! Better call Uber or Lyft!
That is all I am saying, is that the real truth is not being told as it pertains to these expensive Tesla's that everyone is trying to say is taking over the world! I am here to say that THEY ARE NOT!
And I would like to see a Tesla auto pilot down some of them mountains on I-77 thru West Virginia! Better yet I would like to see what a person sitting in the cabin would look like as massive 18 wheelers barreled around them on hair-pin curves at crazy grades!
No, it's not practical, but it's being pushed and sold that way. Sure it's cute and innovative, and that is fine in a perfect world.. but such a world does not exist - yet! lol
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
My buddy drove his model 3 here from western Wa, I'm south central KY. He had no problem that he spoke of, I never asked how many times he had to charge or how hard to find. At his home he has a fancy charger.
q1.What about the pollution that went into making a Tesla?
q2.What about the pollution that went into making the battery!?
q3.What about the pollution that went into disposing or repurposing of the battery at the end of life?
q4.How about the pollution emitted while charging, and during use?
q5.And what about the pollution it takes to create and transmit the energy to the recharging station!!??
q6.You leave out a GREAT many things ole' friend! It is like when Tesla tries to tell people how much they save in gasoline, yet leave out the fact that their energy bills will now be outrageous! HELLO! McFly!
q7.And even in the city, if you don't live in a mild climate you'll lose 40% of your cars range in a cold climate! FOURTY PERCENT!
q8.I don't know about you Rastus, but outside of a sports car or collector I don't think I'd be paying that kind of money for a Tesla to be so limited in my travels. People do it though! They literally live their lives around their Teslas!
That is an incredible thing, but we have seen this before with the waste vegetable oil burners - they are like a cult, or a bunch of passionate people who enjoy doing something. And that is totally cool! I get it!
q9.But at what point does someone not in the know buy one, then later find out they are so limited and must schedule around their vehicles limitations?
q10.And then how do they feel once already committed to payments!?
q11.If you forget to plug your car in at night, or the kid takes it out and forgets - that means you are fook'ed in the AM! No quick gassing up and off to work you go! Better call Uber or Lyft!
That is all I am saying, is that the real truth is not being told as it pertains to these expensive Tesla's that everyone is trying to say is taking over the world! I am here to say that THEY ARE NOT!
And I would like to see a Tesla auto pilot down some of them mountains on I-77 thru West Virginia! Better yet I would like to see what a person sitting in the cabin would look like as massive 18 wheeler's barreled around them on hair-pin curves at crazy grades!
***No, it's not practical, but it's being pushed and sold that way. Sure it's cute and innovative, and that is fine in a perfect world.. but such a world does not exist - yet! lol
LOL !!!
r1. What pollution ?
r2. What pollution ?...
r3. What pollution ?......
r4. What pollution ?..........
r5. What pollution ?................( Surely I must sound similar to mr.Trumpdt by now ?).
r6. You don't ever get something for nothing. But no gas bill has its appeal. And likely all the pollution made through the above processes you mentioned are minimal compared to what pumps-out-the-'ol-exhaust in a regular "gasoline" powered vehicle.
r7. The fail-safe for me if I owned a Tesla would be to have 2-or-more batteries ready-to-go, on a 24-hr rotation inside the vehicle via timed-relays.
r8. I'm not sure I really want one either.
r9. Has Stoma acquired one-of-these ?...
r10. Just another hand dipping into your wallet...
r11. That's why I like the multi-battery idea, so you have 24-hr ready-to-go access, & extended your possible-distance traveled. Surely each wheel on the car has the potential to be turned into an alternator, & the batteries can be recharged on-the-fly...
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"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
r5. What pollution ?................( Surely I must sound similar to mr.Trumpdt by now ?).
r6. You don't ever get something for nothing. But no gas bill has its appeal. And likely all the pollution made through the above processes you mentioned are minimal compared to what pumps-out-the-'ol-exhaust in a regular "gasoline" powered vehicle.
r7. The fail-safe for me if I owned a Tesla would be to have 2-or-more batteries ready-to-go, on a 24-hr rotation inside the vehicle via timed-relays.
r8. I'm not sure I really want one either.
r9. Has Stoma acquired one-of-these ?...
r10. Just another hand dipping into your wallet...
r11. That's why I like the multi-battery idea, so you have 24-hr ready-to-go access, & extended your possible-distance traveled. Surely each wheel on the car has the potential to be turned into an alternator, & the batteries can be recharged on-the-fly...
Response to R1-R5 = Ok it's clear you aren't being honest with us or even yourself. I will not tolerate such ignorance from you Rastus - when you know damn well there is pollution involved in EVERYTHING we make. This is the problem with green people such as yourself, no one thinks it's funny when you try and act so dumb - yet try and make everyone else feel as if you are so very smart in your green efforts. You just come off as a fucktard... No Trump mention needed!
R6 - So basically you are talking out your ass once more, not even a single mention about the electric / recharge bills... just the gas... okay..
R7 - Do you even know what is involved in changing battery packs on a Tesla, Rastus? It's a complex and expensive procedure - perhaps you would do yourself well to YouTube it...
R8 - This is fair enough! I don't blame you because I pondered the same thing once when I was considering buying a model 3 when they first came out and were pretty cheap.
R9 - That is a good question, but not one I have the answer to..
R10 - Yup
R11 - You make some good intelligent points here Rastus, in other words the RANGE and time to recharge are not practical ! And that is the very essence of this thread!
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
My buddy drove his model 3 here from western Wa, I'm south central KY. He had no problem that he spoke of, I never asked how many times he had to charge or how hard to find. At his home he has a fancy charger.
That is my whole point Shawnee, did he happen to mention how much money he spent to have this "fancy charger" installed? Did he mention how much his electric bill went up on a busy month? Probably not.
From Washington D.C. to Kentucky it's approximately 530 miles, so if he was driving a model 3 he would have HAD to stop and recharge... he never mentioned how long that took or how much it cost? You see, that's what I am talking about right there!
Did your friend charge up his car while at your place Shawnee? If so, did you notice a spike in your electric bill? Or did your friend just go missing for three or four hours one day to recharge his car?
These are the things I am talking about, the details that people who buy something as a fashion statement or status symbol fail to mention. They don't mention them because it takes away from their narrative and makes a person wonder just how smart they really are to put up with so many little drawbacks that it becomes impracticle... When people figure out that a status symbol is nothing more than someone trying to look smarter than what they are, it's no longer a status symbol and in them challenging times of impracticability - such as adding a full day to your trip to hang out at a recharging station, it becomes clear they aren't really too smart, and the technology isn't quite ready.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Shawnee, if your friend drove from the State of Washington to your place in Kentucky that would have been a 25 hour drive at nearly 2,500 miles! For your friend to have not mentioned the time he spent recharging would have been a serious omission!
Lets do the math.. standard range for the model 3 when it came out was 300 miles per charge, divide that by 2500 miles and you get 8.3 mandatory recharges to traverse said mileage. Even if we assume he got lucky and found a super charging station every time its still about two hours to fully recharge a model 3 at a supercharging facility.
So your friend would have literally spent 17+ hours recharging! This would be in addition to the 25 hours the trip would have actually taken! To not mention something so significant is something youll have to quantify but these are the facts.
So even if the car self drove itself the full trip it would still take 17+ hours longer for a Tesla to traverse the same distance as even your most lowly petrol car! If your friend omitted this little fact its safe to assume he is omitting a whole lot more! Perhaps even the true operating cost of a Tesla!
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
And to compound that, Shawnee, your friend would have spent a total of 34 hours charging by the time he returned home! This is not including any additional time to recharge while visiting with you and showing off his new toy!
Think about that! A FULL DAY AND A HALF CHARGING for a round trip from Washington State to Kentucky!
You would think any honest person would mention something so significant! But we all have that one friend who loves to brag and show off! LOL
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
I don't remember him saying it was that long, seemed he would have mentioned 2 hrs. Not sure his home charger cost, think they are about 5K ? Nope, didn't have to charge here.
He likes it, that electric stuff is not for me. Until of course they force us into it at some point.
And that is all that really matters Shawnee, if your buddy likes it that is all that matters!
Not fair for people like us who have serious reservations to such things, but currently we enjoy the fact that we can gas up whenever and wherever so it's not so bothersome.
Yet when people like Elon Musk get on Twitter and start making the claims that electric cars are going to make gas powered cars worthless, one has to scratch their heads and wonder... Because that is not the reality right now, nor for the foreseeable future.
There are also anti-trust issues I think, as Tesla seems to corner the market on charging stations - could you imagine if GM, Ford or any other automaker required a special gas station or blend exclusive to their own brand? But that's a story for another thread.
It would seem that Tesla is skirting a LOT of laws that traditional manufactures have to adhere to and they are getting away with it because Tesla is just too cool for school... the idea Tesla could itself be one of the automakers approaching the government bending knees hats in hand looking for a bail out might not be so far off! After all the Federal Government has historically given each and every Tesla buyer a little "bail out" in the form of tax concessions totaling thousands and thousands of dollars or more!
So we will see, in the meantime all them Teslas can keep farting away! LOL
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
I have also since learned that now days they got it down to 30 minutes to Supercharge up to 170 miles in range! That is still almost an hour to recharge up to 300 miles range - more if you have a higher 450+ range battery. But I think the math and time spent as I have calculated above will remain accurate considering that none of these charge times take into account peak times where charging stations might be full! In that case it could easily be more depending on how busy the charging centers are when you need a recharge! You might have to wait for two people at 30 mins a crack (or more if they wanted more range) before you can even plug in!
These are the real life things that keep me up at night wondering... lol, should I buy a Tesla?
I am not against them, but at the same time I ain't no fool! lol!
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Should these Tesla's really kick-off, the bonus will be for the petroleum users, since gas & oil prices "should" come down, to stay competitive.
With Ford giving us a new 7.3-ltr V-8 recently, I'm personally looking forward to GM giving all of us a 7.0-ltr V-8 offering, right across the ranges of vehicle specs & models.
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"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
Yup, that's how I see it, he likes it. I rode in it, pretty cool too. We will see what comes in the future.
Electricity still has to be made to charge these things. Solar, battery bank, inverter then charger is kinda $$$ and how green are the "green things" anyway?
I don't know about the govt/Tesla and all. Maybe just to get electric introduced?
Long as I can still drive my Vette I'm OK, Probably a good washing this afternoon. Cool and windy but needs it!
