Tesla Model III preorders have started

[DAGTA]

The Federal EV incentive is equally available to all US car manufacturers.

If you have an issue with it, do you also have an issue with all of the tax breaks and incentives oil companies receive from the US gov't?

 

[WackyDan]

Sounds like Welfare.

Whoa... Welfare is a handout in exchange for essentially nothing.

These incentives were to help drive the adoption of EVs. THe incentive spurs sales across all companies making/selling EVs in the US and every US tax payer can benefit.

In turn, companies see demand, hire people, expand factories, etc. I'd say it is a good benefit. Nobody is getting a free car. In the case of Tesla you are still going to be spending 30k or more to buy a product that has that incentive attached to it.

Last I knew, we don't require welfare recipients to buy stuff before we give them access to food stamps, etc.

 

[zerocool84]

The US Federal EV incentive remains un-changed.

Yea sorry it's only for California that it's based on income.

 

[Kaido]

Official: Supercharging will not be free in Tesla Model 3

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/06/01/supercharging-not-free-tesla-model-3/

"Free supercharging fundamentally has a cost. The obvious thing to do is decouple that from the cost of the Model 3. So it will still be very cheap, and far cheaper than gasoline, to drive long-distance with the Model 3, but it will not be free long distance for life unless you purchase that package."

So not free, but from the sound of it, will be available as a lifetime package option.

 

[Brovane]

Official: Supercharging will not be free in Tesla Model 3

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/06/01/supercharging-not-free-tesla-model-3/



So not free, but from the sound of it, will be available as a lifetime package option.

Would be good if they offered a per-use payment option.

 

[ChronoReverse]

I thought that was already known? At least I had already assumed that.

 

[Kaido]

Would be good if they offered a per-use payment option.

I'd imagine they will...there'd be super-bad PR if your Tesla 3 runs out of juice next to a Supercharger & there's no way to fill up because you didn't spring for the lifetime supply of electricity, haha.

Even if only 20% of the 400k preorders opt for the lifetime charging, and let's say that's a $3,500 option, that's a quarter billion in cash to invest into building out their charging network. I've read the average Supercharging station costs $150k to build, so that's well over 1,500 additional stations that can be covered with no out-of-pocket expenses for Tesla. Assuming that's US-only, that's 30 per state on average, so you would end up always having one in range. That will be pretty dang cool when that happens!

 

[gorcorps]

I'd imagine they well...there'd be super-bad PR if your Tesla 3 runs out of juice next to a Supercharger & there's no way to fill up because you didn't spring for the lifetime supply of electricity, haha.

Even if only 20% of the 400k preorders opt for the lifetime charging, and let's say that's a $3,500 option, that's a quarter billion in cash to invest into building out their charging network. I've read the average Supercharging station costs $150k to build, so that's well over 1,500 additional stations that can be covered with no out-of-pocket expenses for Tesla. Assuming that's US-only, that's 30 per state on average, so you would end up always having one in range. That will be pretty dang cool when that happens!

I imagine they'll figure something out as well, but I also think it's the drivers responsibility before heading out to know how far they can go and how they'll have to recharge.

I'm more curious about the technology behind it. Will the car itself know whether or not there's an active subscription, and refuse to charge? Is that something local downloaded to the car, or is it going to rely on being network connected to know if there's a subscription or not?

 

[Brovane]

I imagine they'll figure something out as well, but I also think it's the drivers responsibility before heading out to know how far they can go and how they'll have to recharge.

I'm more curious about the technology behind it. Will the car itself know whether or not there's an active subscription, and refuse to charge? Is that something local downloaded to the car, or is it going to rely on being network connected to know if there's a subscription or not?

The cars have two-way communication with Tesla HQ and the Superchargers have two-way communication with Tesla HQ. Tesla is working on showing active usage of it's Superchargers in it's cars so if you have multiple options for SC's you can bypass one that is congested and go to one that is less congested.

The people that originally bought the 40kwh and 60kwh Tesla Model S cars had to pay to enable Supercharging access so Tesla has the code already implemented to enable or disable. I think it is setup that it is enabled in the code on board, when you plug in the SC cable the car and the SC site communicate with each other before charging is started.

The interesting thing with Tesla is they are building a lot of things standard into the car that can be enabled by software. Apparently it simplifies the production line.

• All minimum battery capacity is now 75 kwh but you can buy the car with a 70kwh capacity they just don't let you use the full capacity of the battery. If you want the full capacity later you can get it activated for a cost.
• All the cars come with auto-pilot hardware installed but you have to pay to have it enabled or buy it enabled when you purchase the car.
• Apparently all new cars come with a on-board 72amp charger but unless you pay for the dual charger setup you are limited by software to 48amp charging.

 

[Palvaran]

TL;DR - Cruising long distance using a supercharger and not being in a hurry is acceptable, but takes time


I just took my first long distance trip using my Tesla, from Houston to Austin, then New Braunfels, and then San Antonio. I used the Superchargers in Colombus and in San Marcos.

First the good stuff:
1. Availability was good
2. I didn't have to pull out a wallet or identification. I just plugged in and it started charging.
3. It is a big help to have somewhere to get juice and eases range anxiety.

The bad stuff:
1a. It can take longer than you expect. San Marcos has their supercharger at an Outlet mall so there are some things to do, but after driving between New Braunfels, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, etc, I ended up making 4 trips to San Marcos alone with 2 more at Columbus. I love San Marcos, but 4 trips in 2 days left me kinda spent.
1b. Charging is not the same, time wise. Columbus which is next to a Hotel, charges at over 300 miles of range per hour, but San Marcos was 160 or so per hour. YMMV
2. Some Superchargers are located next to nothing. The Columbus supercharger is behind a hotel and you have to walk around it and on the highway, to get to the nearest McDonalds which is not convenient. BTW, that's the only thing nearby.

Overall, it was handy and I wasn't in a rush, but I could see how those that are in hurry to travel long distances as fast as possible could be annoyed. Using an ICE power source and filling up with standard petrol would have cut my trip down by at least an hour between Houston and Austin alone.

One interesting point, the range calculations are based on going 65mph. on I-10, you are legally allowed to drive 75 in some parts. That absolutely obliterated my range going that fast.

 

[skyking]

From your post I see it as only a single car in a multi car household.

 

[DAGTA]

TL;DR - Cruising long distance using a supercharger and not being in a hurry is acceptable, but takes time


I just took my first long distance trip using my Tesla, from Houston to Austin, then New Braunfels, and then San Antonio. I used the Superchargers in Colombus and in San Marcos.

First the good stuff:
1. Availability was good
2. I didn't have to pull out a wallet or identification. I just plugged in and it started charging.
3. It is a big help to have somewhere to get juice and eases range anxiety.

The bad stuff:
1a. It can take longer than you expect. San Marcos has their supercharger at an Outlet mall so there are some things to do, but after driving between New Braunfels, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, etc, I ended up making 4 trips to San Marcos alone with 2 more at Columbus. I love San Marcos, but 4 trips in 2 days left me kinda spent.
1b. Charging is not the same, time wise. Columbus which is next to a Hotel, charges at over 300 miles of range per hour, but San Marcos was 160 or so per hour. YMMV
2. Some Superchargers are located next to nothing. The Columbus supercharger is behind a hotel and you have to walk around it and on the highway, to get to the nearest McDonalds which is not convenient. BTW, that's the only thing nearby.

Overall, it was handy and I wasn't in a rush, but I could see how those that are in hurry to travel long distances as fast as possible could be annoyed. Using an ICE power source and filling up with standard petrol would have cut my trip down by at least an hour between Houston and Austin alone.

One interesting point, the range calculations are based on going 65mph. on I-10, you are legally allowed to drive 75 in some parts. That absolutely obliterated my range going that fast.

Were you always using the A stalls when charging? Also, the lower your state of charge, the faster the charging.

I did a 4600 mile trip in April and May using the superchargers. it is slower than filling up at a gas station, but I found it acceptable. Gave me time for bathroom, food, walk a bit, etc.

 

[Kaido]

Production car #1 just finished final checkout:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk

 

[Aharami]

Were you always using the A stalls when charging? Also, the lower your state of charge, the faster the charging.

I did a 4600 mile trip in April and May using the superchargers. it is slower than filling up at a gas station, but I found it acceptable. Gave me time for bathroom, food, walk a bit, etc.

wow. I'd like to know more about this. Did you blog or post about your experience anywhere?

 

[JEDI]

Production car #1 just finished final checkout:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk

Musk owns the 1st car off the production line.
but unlike the model S and X, this was gifted to him by the 1st person who put down a deposit.

odd that Musk didn't reserve the 1st production car for himself for the Model 3 and only got it because it was gifted to him?
why didn't he reserve it for himself at the get go?

 

[foghorn67]

Musk owns the 1st car off the production line.
but unlike the model S and X, this was gifted to him by the 1st person who put down a deposit.

odd that Musk didn't reserve the 1st production car for himself for the Model 3 and only got it because it was gifted to him?
why didn't he reserve it for himself at the get go?

This Musk worship is getting old. Gifted to him buy a buyer?

 

[Kaido]

This Musk worship is getting old. Gifted to him buy a buyer?

I'm sure they hooked the guy up with something awesome like an S as compensation.

 

[PottedMeat]

This Musk worship is getting old. Gifted to him buy a buyer?

i was going to guess 'musk's brother ( and tesla board member ) bought it as a joke' and that's kind of close -

This first Model 3 already has a home, apparently. It was due to go to Tesla board member Ira Ehrenpreis, the first to put down a reservation and deposit. But he has reportedly given the rights to the first car to Musk as a birthday present. He turned 46 on June 28.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/very-first-tesla-model-3-just-rolled-line-so-who-n781326

 

[sontakke]

anybody who has put the pre-order deposit received official update yet?

 

[K1052]

anybody who has put the pre-order deposit received official update yet?

Not me but with my high reservation number I'm not expecting one for a bit.

 

[WackyDan]

Not me but with my high reservation number I'm not expecting one for a bit.

Same here... Don't expect to be contacted about our options until next May/June

 

[Aharami]

So are they really going with this extremely spartan look on the inside?

 

[sontakke]

Would you like to have lots of knobs and lever inside to make it non-spartan? I sincerely do not understand what somebody means by spartan interior. vinyl seating surfaces, Crank windows, manual door lock, AM-radio only etc means spartan interior to me.

 

[snoopy7548]

Minimalist might be a better word for the interior; people seem to confuse spartan (cheap, bare-bones) with minimalism (not cheap, more advanced but very clean-looking). When everyone is used to a touchscreen, temperature controls, buttons, knobs, non-seamless center console and cup holders, instrumentation behind the steering wheel... the 3's interior is extremely bare-looking compared to just about anything currently out there. Hell, the S's interior seems like a massive step-up. Maybe it's just the lack of visible air vents that pushes the 3's interior over the top. Almost looks like they just slapped a screen on there and said, "Done!"

I greatly prefer the S's interior, but the 3 is meant to be "affordable" so you have to compromise somewhere:

 

[K1052]

So are they really going with this extremely spartan look on the inside?