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Tesla Model 3 - OT - The cheap one

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
"Again, no one knows for sure but it should be around $60,000 - $70,000 with max battery and auto-pilot options."

WTF. I thought Autopilot is included with $35,000. Also, $70,000 is wayyyy steeper than $35,000. Like, twice as steep. Like I can own two of these steep.

Autopilot was never a part of the $35,000 option. It's car DLC. It's why even in the OP it says it has the Autopilot "hardware", not the software.
 

Zaphod

Member
I like how every electric car thread has some person who is way outside the mean for daily driving miles declaring a 200+ mile range inadequate and the Bolt or Tesla useless. The average commute in the US is about 30 minutes, or about 25 miles. That's what I have, so a single charge would last me almost a week. 200 miles would get me to the next city north or south from where I live. It may not be for everyone, but it's certainly practical for a large number of car owners.
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
The interior is fucking awful looking. The exterior has too many problems with it to even say it looks nice.
 
I like how every electric car thread has some person who is way outside the mean for daily driving miles declaring a 200+ mile range inadequate and the Bolt or Tesla useless. The average commute in the US is about 30 minutes, or about 25 miles. That's what I have, so a single charge would last me almost a week. 200 miles would get me to the next city north or south from where I live. It may not be for everyone, but it's certainly practical for a large number of car owners.

i dont know of anyone with a car besides old people who has never had to travel beyond 200 miles.
 

Xenus

Member
i dont know of anyone with a car besides old people who has never had to travel beyond 200 miles.

Basically people who live in large cities and don't leave them aka the people that are more likely to use public transport or bikes and not need cars in the first place.
 

Zaphod

Member
Basically people who live in large cities and don't leave them aka the people that are more likely to use public transport or bikes and not need cars in the first place.

A lot of big cities have pretty poor mass transit in the US.
 

StillEdge

Member
Just curious for anyone with an electric car, charging is cheaper than filling up gas right? Or is it comparable?
When I had a Leaf a couple of years ago it was unnoticeable on my Electricity bill with a house full of 4 or 5 people. And then it was like 5 bucks when I would charge at a station at Disneyland. So at home it was awesome if I had to use those pay meters daily they were bad at least used to be bad.
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
So it can be added at any time? That's actually kinda cool.

Yeah, it's just software that costs no money to download to the car. Remaking R&D costs and getting that dlc money.

Some people will have a hard time accumulating that cash when they already have a car loan to pay off.
 

Tregard

Soothsayer
tesla-model-3-interior.jpg

Nobody is even going to question the fact they're listening to the Johnny English soundtrack?
 

Alcander

Member
I waited in line and got my reservation around ~11 am. I wonder what place that puts me in line. Are there any realistic estimations of ship dates for line-waiters?

Can't wait!
 

SteveMeister

Hang out with Steve.
Just curious for anyone with an electric car, charging is cheaper than filling up gas right? Or is it comparable?

My Chevy Bolt takes 20-30kWh per night. I drive a minimum of 100 miles per day, sometimes more. At 12.9 cents per kWh, it costs between roughly $2-$4 per day to charge up. So let's say $3.50/day or $17.50 per work week for 500 miles total.

My other car is a GTI. It gets about 26 mpg and requires premium gas, which is about $2.65/gallon. 500 miles / 26 mpg is 19.2 gallons, times $2.65 per gallon is $50.96 per week.

So right there is a savings of over $33/week.

And that's ignoring the fact that I have a 10.5kW solar panel system set up on my house that's generated more than 60kWh on a sunny day...
 

mcfrank

Member
My Chevy Bolt takes 20-30kWh per night. I drive a minimum of 100 miles per day, sometimes more. At 12.9 cents per kWh, it costs between roughly $2-$4 per day to charge up. So let's say $3.50/day or $17.50 per work week for 500 miles total.

My other car is a GTI. It gets about 26 mpg and requires premium gas, which is about $2.65/gallon. 500 miles / 26 mpg is 19.2 gallons, times $2.65 per gallon is $50.96 per week.

So right there is a savings of over $33/week.

And that's ignoring the fact that I have a 10.5kW solar panel system set up on my house that's generated more than 60kWh on a sunny day...

In CA the difference is even bigger since electricity is about the same but gas is so much more.
 

CFMOORE!

Member
I waited in line and got my reservation around ~11 am. I wonder what place that puts me in line. Are there any realistic estimations of ship dates for line-waiters?

Can't wait!

depends on your location relative to the Fremont, CA factory. if you're east coast, you're probably mid 2018
 

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
I'm glad I got a Leaf instead of waiting on this. That interior looks awful and I don't just mean from an aesthetic point of view. I don't want to use a tablet for every control and to view all information in the car.
To each his own. I can't be seen driving a Leaf.
 

jwk94

Member
I'm glad I got a Leaf instead of waiting on this. That interior looks awful and I don't just mean from an aesthetic point of view. I don't want to use a tablet for every control and to view all information in the car.

Yeah, I'd be pretty angry if my stuff froze or lagged when I needed it. I really miss the days of AC nobs with tons of notches instead of five or four. Really gave you a sense of control over how hot or cold you wanted your car, or where you wanted the air to come from.
 
I like how every electric car thread has some person who is way outside the mean for daily driving miles declaring a 200+ mile range inadequate and the Bolt or Tesla useless. The average commute in the US is about 30 minutes, or about 25 miles. That's what I have, so a single charge would last me almost a week. 200 miles would get me to the next city north or south from where I live. It may not be for everyone, but it's certainly practical for a large number of car owners.

Everyone on GAF is also an 11 and have a 12 inch dick. 700 mile daily commutes are common, apparently.

Just curious for anyone with an electric car, charging is cheaper than filling up gas right? Or is it comparable?

If you use the private charging stations, it's usually half off. Charging at home,it's about one quarter to one third of the price compared to gas. But it will depend on your locality, of course.
 
Be interesting to see how others stack up in coming months, VW announced a electric UK made Mini only a few days ago

*sankt-Antonio pointed out wrong owner
 

Draper

Member
Yeah, I'd be pretty angry if my stuff froze or lagged when I needed it. I really miss the days of AC nobs with tons of notches instead of five or four. Really gave you a sense of control over how hot or cold you wanted your car, or where you wanted the air to come from.

I'm assuming this is a joke.
 

jkanownik

Member
My Chevy Bolt takes 20-30kWh per night. I drive a minimum of 100 miles per day, sometimes more. At 12.9 cents per kWh, it costs between roughly $2-$4 per day to charge up. So let's say $3.50/day or $17.50 per work week for 500 miles total.

My other car is a GTI. It gets about 26 mpg and requires premium gas, which is about $2.65/gallon. 500 miles / 26 mpg is 19.2 gallons, times $2.65 per gallon is $50.96 per week.

So right there is a savings of over $33/week.

And that's ignoring the fact that I have a 10.5kW solar panel system set up on my house that's generated more than 60kWh on a sunny day...

I have a Bolt and a Volt and there are a few things to watch out for. It is possible to spend more money on electricity than equivalent gas if you don't do your homework.Charging on the go usually starts at ~$0.20/kWh and can go much higher. I've seen L2 stations that go up to $5/hour after two hours. If you don't have solar you also have to watch out for the electricity tiers. An extra 20-30 kWh per night could easily put you into the highest tier at 2x the cost of the lowest tier.

Also while a home level 2 charger is usually relatively inexpensive, it can get expensive if your maxed out on your panel already or don't already have a 200A+ panel. I've seen reports of $5-7K.

Those are all worst case scenarios, but after seeing that guy that was paying $400/month for a Hyundai Accent it seems like Gaffers have a knack for finding themselves in worst case scenarios.
 
I'm glad I got a Leaf instead of waiting on this. That interior looks awful and I don't just mean from an aesthetic point of view. I don't want to use a tablet for every control and to view all information in the car.

I've been doing that for a month now, with a Model S.

I got used to the touch screen pretty quick, and also realized that most of the time the only controls I actually touched were (1) turn climate control on and off, always left on full auto temperature control and (2) open and close sunroof. The car turns on headlights and wipers for me so I don't ever think about that anymore. The car unlocks when I approach and locks when I leave. So really there isn't that much in terms of controls you actually USE every day in these cars.

However the Model S does have a driver's instrument panel screen. I can't imagine how you're supposed to keep track of how fast you're going if the speedometer isn't RIGHT THERE. If you only ever drive the speed limit, Model 3 is probably fine for you. If not....it's time to look at upgrading to a Model S. Used ones can be had incredibly cheap these days.

And yes, I've had the Autopilot set to 15 mph over the speed limit because why the hell not.
 
Does it really take up to an hour just to charge these things at a Super Charging Station?

Huh...

That's not how road-tripping works. You never charge to 100% because of how batteries charge. If you have a cell phone with any sort of fast charging technology you know this. Charging from 0-60% is always fastest, 60-90% is slower, and getting from 90% to topped off is slowest.

How does this apply to Teslas and the Supercharger network? Simple. The Superchargers are strategically placed much closer together than 0% to 100%. What you do is, start your trip at 100%. Drive until you're around 15-20%. Hit the Supercharger, and charge for about 20-30 minutes. That gets you maybe 50-60% charge. Then get back on the freeway and drive to the next Supercharger, and repeat. You'll drive about 3-4 hours each leg, and charge about 20-30 minutes. Your goal is to always be in the "sweet spot" where the battery charges the fastest.

Most people can't stand to be in a car for 12 straight hours. They want to get out and pee, stretch a little, have something to eat. If you're like this, road-tripping in a Tesla will work fine for you. You were going to stop anyways, but now you charge your car while you're doing it. If you're one of those people who literally sits in your car 12 hours and drives straight to your destination, then a Tesla will not work for your road-tripping method and you shouldn't buy one.
 

KeRaSh

Member
Be interesting to see how others stack up in coming months, VW announced a electric UK made Mini only a few days ago

*sankt-Antonio pointed out wrong owner

VW's ID Concept won't go into production until 2019. The same goes for anything from the other German car companies. BMW, Audi and Mercedes all have timelines that start around 2019 or even 2020 so don't hold your breath for too long if you expect them to follow Tesla in a couple of months.

As a German (American) my colleagues give me a lot of shit for buying a Tesla instead of "supporting our local car makers". I already can't wait to get my hands on my Model 3 so I'm not going to wait 2-3 more years for the Germans to catch up and even then it's a question if they can even surpass Tesla. The recent diesel scandals didn't paint a pretty picture either.

Tesla also has the advantage when it comes to autonomous driving since the Autopilot 2.0 hardware is built into every Model 3 even at the base price. Who knows how the Germans will handle that stuff.
Then there are the Superchargers. Can't get much more convenient than that for longer road trips.

However the Model S does have a driver's instrument panel screen. I can't imagine how you're supposed to keep track of how fast you're going if the speedometer isn't RIGHT THERE. If you only ever drive the speed limit, Model 3 is probably fine for you. If not....it's time to look at upgrading to a Model S. Used ones can be had incredibly cheap these days.

Honestly, the instrument cluster probably takes even less time to get used to than having to use the touch screen to control the AC. Mini has had the instrument cluster in the middle for years now and Toyota is the same I think. I've never heard complaints about that and it never bothered me when lending my sister in law's Mini.

What I'm way more interested in than the speed display is how the Autopilot information is displayed. I'd say checking if AP sees the lane markings and all surrounding vehicles takes up way more of your attention than just glancing at your current speed.
 

Donos

Member
Know that doesn't mean it takes 20 minutes to charge 50%, it's to charge from 0-50. If you're already at 50%, then 20 minutes charge will get you to 80, and it'll take almost an hour to get to 100% again.

This is NOT a car suited for long trips. I live in San Diego, driving to Tahoe with a Tesla is laughable, it took 3-4 stops, all over an hour (the fourth was just in tahoe, but was necessary to do before we drove down to the cabin), and that's not even leaving the state.

I know, i meant especially from 0 - 50, since i would drive till almost emtpy and then you can get to 50 % in just a small food/piss brake. That's fantastic (also why i love my dash charger for my HTC10 - same stuff) and exactly what electric cars need.

The slower loading when at 60 or 80 % is like this for most electronic battery devices.
 

mcfrank

Member
That's not how road-tripping works. You never charge to 100% because of how batteries charge. If you have a cell phone with any sort of fast charging technology you know this. Charging from 0-60% is always fastest, 60-90% is slower, and getting from 90% to topped off is slowest.

How does this apply to Teslas and the Supercharger network? Simple. The Superchargers are strategically placed much closer together than 0% to 100%. What you do is, start your trip at 100%. Drive until you're around 15-20%. Hit the Supercharger, and charge for about 20-30 minutes. That gets you maybe 50-60% charge. Then get back on the freeway and drive to the next Supercharger, and repeat. You'll drive about 3-4 hours each leg, and charge about 20-30 minutes. Your goal is to always be in the "sweet spot" where the battery charges the fastest.

Most people can't stand to be in a car for 12 straight hours. They want to get out and pee, stretch a little, have something to eat. If you're like this, road-tripping in a Tesla will work fine for you. You were going to stop anyways, but now you charge your car while you're doing it. If you're one of those people who literally sits in your car 12 hours and drives straight to your destination, then a Tesla will not work for your road-tripping method and you shouldn't buy one.

Good explanation, mind if I steal for the OP?
 

KeRaSh

Member
That's not how road-tripping works. You never charge to 100% because of how batteries charge. If you have a cell phone with any sort of fast charging technology you know this. Charging from 0-60% is always fastest, 60-90% is slower, and getting from 90% to topped off is slowest.

How does this apply to Teslas and the Supercharger network? Simple. The Superchargers are strategically placed much closer together than 0% to 100%. What you do is, start your trip at 100%. Drive until you're around 15-20%. Hit the Supercharger, and charge for about 20-30 minutes. That gets you maybe 50-60% charge. Then get back on the freeway and drive to the next Supercharger, and repeat. You'll drive about 3-4 hours each leg, and charge about 20-30 minutes. Your goal is to always be in the "sweet spot" where the battery charges the fastest.

Most people can't stand to be in a car for 12 straight hours. They want to get out and pee, stretch a little, have something to eat. If you're like this, road-tripping in a Tesla will work fine for you. You were going to stop anyways, but now you charge your car while you're doing it. If you're one of those people who literally sits in your car 12 hours and drives straight to your destination, then a Tesla will not work for your road-tripping method and you shouldn't buy one.

The best thing about it is the fact that your integrated navigation system in a Tesla finds the best route including Supercharger stops and tells you how long you have to charge before you can continue your trip.
Then you can check the status to see if the car is ready via the Tesla app while you are eating a snack in the vicinity.
 
Sadly 215 miles means I can never take it on a road trip from SF to LA.

At least, not until there are more recharge stations down I-5.

Dude, yes you can.charge 3 times. I have to be honest, charging has been the best thing for our family. We have a 3 year old and when we stop and charge, it gives him the break he needs. He goes nuts if we don't stop and charge.
 
So tempted to place a pre-order... For a car! But if I place it now, it's probably 2019 at the earliest right? Still thinking of waiting till a good number of kinks are worked out.
 

Cherubae

Member
Just curious for anyone with an electric car, charging is cheaper than filling up gas right? Or is it comparable?

It's cheaper. My electricity rate is about 11 cents per kwh and I charge my Fiat's 24kw battery about 20-22 kwh worth of power overnight once per week. My daily commute is about 14 miles, so the 88 mile-range EV is fine for what I need. Back when I drove a gasoline-powered car I would fill up on premium fuel about every three weeks. So three charges (about $7) versus $40 for gasoline is by far cheaper. On the downside, the higher price of the EV kind of puts a damper on any savings I would of received ($21k for the gas car, $34k for the Fiat).

I use the level 1 charger that came with the car, as the level 2 chargers are not what I would consider affordable ($400-$500 each). There's only been a couple of times in the past three years that I needed to locate a public network level 2 to make a fast charge, and only once have I been in a situation where I was really close to losing all power (my fault entirely). A free level 2 station at Kohl's saved me that day.

My dear has a model 3 deposit, but neither of us like its tablet dash that looks like it can detach if bumped the wrong way. He prefers the inlaid dash of his model S.
 

gcubed

Member
So tempted to place a pre-order... For a car! But if I place it now, it's probably 2019 at the earliest right? Still thinking of waiting till a good number of kinks are worked out.

The model S had enough ones ironed out... I'm in the same boat. Plus from the early reveal shots I'm not sold on the look of the car at all. Looks bland outside and ugly inside
 

gwarm01

Member
Tesla threads are fun because there's always the guy that needs to drive 600 miles every day.

My average daily driving is about 30 miles. I'll leave home with a full charge every morning and have more than enough range to do anything I need. The one or two times a year that I go on a road trip I will just use the super chargers. The overall additional time is negligible.

I'm buying this car because it'll be the perfect drive for 99% of my needs. When that 1% pops up, I'll find a solution. I currently drive a little convertible roadster.. not that practical, but in the 4 years I've owned it I have only had to rent a truck one time to move some furniture. I'd say it was worth it.
 

jwk94

Member
I'm assuming this is a joke.

Nah, I'm dead serious. As much as I enjoy advancing tech, I don't really want to use a touch screen to control simple things like the air in my car.

If I'm driving down the highway and want to adjust my air, the last thing I want to do is take my eyes off the road to look at a touch screen. Give me a nob any day of the week.
 

darscot

Member
Tesla threads are fun because there's always the guy that needs to drive 600 miles every day.

Don't forget he drives those 600 miles in ten hours so no time to charge. My other favorite is the 35K Model 3 sucks it does not have all the features of the 150K Model X/S.
 

KeRaSh

Member
Nah, I'm dead serious. As much as I enjoy advancing tech, I don't really want to use a touch screen to control simple things like the air in my car.

If I'm driving down the highway and want to adjust my air, the last thing I want to do is take my eyes off the road to look at a touch screen. Give me a nob any day of the week.

The trend seems to move that way, though. More and more center consoles have touch capabilities. Tesla is far from being the first.They just took it a few steps further before the others did it.
Took me a while to realize that my inlaw's Maserati didn't have a physical button for the heated seats.
As with everything, you'll get used to it. I still have to look at the physical buttons in my car to make sure I press the correct one. It won't be much different with a touchscreen.
Remember when people kicked and screamed when physical keyboards vanished from phones?
 

FinKL

Member
So tempted to place a pre-order... For a car! But if I place it now, it's probably 2019 at the earliest right? Still thinking of waiting till a good number of kinks are worked out.

Probably, but it says in the OP mid 2018 if you order now. Tesla is always behind though

I have it preordered, but the no buttons bothers me and I'm leaning towards getting AWD so I'll see how this develops.
 
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