Tesla Model 3. 3 weeks of ownership.

[vash]

Buying a shiny new Tesla brought rain to the region. I was gonna take it for clam chowder and oysters…. But nah. I’m not ready to knock offs the “new car look”.

[Ronbo]

I’ve had my Model 3 Dual Motor for two years now and it’s given flawless performance. I did notice some splotches in the paint if you look at it in the sun and at the right angle. Tesla agreed to fix it but I elected not to since it was so minor. So far it’s surpassed all expectations.

[Evans, Marv]

Cliff & anybody else who bought (maybe recently) an EV, I'd like to know how much your electric use went up. I think I possibly may have some bills /records from before we got my wife's car. Anybody who recently got one might have noticed the increase in use from charging.

[vash]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Cliff & anybody else who bought (maybe recently) an EV, I'd like to know how much your electric use went up. I think I possibly may have some bills /records from before we got my wife's car. Anybody who recently got one might have noticed the increase in use from charging.

I’ll let you know. We charge after 9pm.

But gasoline is $5 a gallon where I live. So it will be a savings I imagine.

I put 20 gallons into my truck yesterday and my palms were getting sweaty.

[Steve Carlton]

Check your utility. PG&E has an EV rate plan that's lowest from midnight to 3pm and another tier right before and after. You need to look at your usage to make sure the cost of your normal use doesn't offset the EV saving.

[PorscheGAL]

My husband drives 2500 miles a month on his model 3 performance. We pay $0.12/kwh of electricity. Our electric bill is about $100 more per month. He does hit the supercharger 2-3x/week and each charge is about $12.

You can schedule charges to take advantage of lower cost times if your electrical company has a tiered system. Ours only changes based on the season. Winter months get a little cheaper but nothing significant.

[vash]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

My husband drives 2500 miles a month on his model 3 performance. We pay $0.12/kwh of electricity. Our electric bill is about $100 more per month. He does hit the supercharger 2-3x/week and each charge is about $12.

You can schedule charges to take advantage of lower cost times if your electrical company has a tiered system. Ours only changes based on the season. Winter months get a little cheaper but nothing significant.

Steph! there is something you have to do prior to plugging into a super charger right? you have to pre condition the battery? is that simply using navigation to find you a supercharger?

[PorscheGAL]

Originally Posted by vash

Steph! there is something you have to do prior to plugging into a super charger right? you have to pre condition the battery? is that simply using navigation to find you a supercharger?

You are not required to precondition but it will go faster. Using nav to get there will precondition automatically.

[vash]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

You are not required to precondition but it will go faster. Using nav to get there will precondition automatically.

thanks!!

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by MMARSH

My wife's 3 rides significantly firmer then my S. But the Mini Cooper S with the sport suspension and larger wheels that she replaced with the Model 3 would shake your fillings out......she put 150K on the Mini.

Not something for me, that Mini. Not around here. If I lived off a decent highway in the foothills or similar, I'd think differently.

My previous truck was an '89 Chevy 1500, lowered 2" front and 4" in back with good shocks, wider rims and tires. I actually ran canyons in it in the '90s before I built the 914 race car in 2002. We did have a '77 Targa for 15 years, but that was in general my wife's car. That's the car she wanted to replace the Austin Healey 3000 that she had when she was in her 20's. She had a history with air cooled cars too, so I was like, fine, OK by me.

But my daily has always been a PU. Always, since 19 years old. Everything else was on the side.

[Quasimoto]

We are coming up on 3 years of owning a Model 3 AWD...

I have had to eat a lot of crow, and accept that a lot of my biases against EV were myth and misinformation.

• They have no soul - What utter ****e. If you are truly into cars, the character is there, it's just not what you thought it might be. This car quickly became a "family member" with a name just like our other favorite cars of the past.
  Another unseen character thing is that they change. I actually like the software changes that come with the car, especially the power boost ones...
  
• Boring to drive - Relaxing yes, boring no.
  
• Fit & Finish is lacking - this one is somewhat true, but the minimalist in me actually kind of digs it. Yes, I'd love to have an EV with Porsche level coachworks, but not at the price level that demands.

The car was an instant hit for us, and is hands down the favorite sedan we've owned over the years. I can easily say that we will never be without an EV in our stable going forward, just like we also won't be without a brand P sportscar...

Signed - Skeptic turned Shameless Fan

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[masraum]

Cool thread!

[vash]

Originally Posted by Quasimoto

We are coming up on 3 years of owning a Model 3 AWD...

I have had to eat a lot of crow, and accept that a lot of my biases against EV were myth and misinformation.

• They have now soul - What utter ****e. If you are truly into cars, the character is there, it's just not what you thought it might be. This car quickly became a "family member" with a name just like our other favorite cars of the past.
  Another unseen character thing is that they change. I actually like the software changes that come with the car, especially the power boost ones...
  
• Boring to drive - Relaxing yes, boring no.
  
• Fit & Finish is lacking - this one is somewhat true, but the minimalist in me actually kind of digs it. Yes, I'd love to have an EV with Porsche level coachworks, but not at the price level that demands.

The car was an instant hit for us, and is hands down the favorite sedan we've owned over the years. I can easily say that we will never be without an EV in our stable going forward, just like we also won't be without a brand P sportscar...

Signed - Skeptic turned Shameless Fan

-

me too!!

I kinda pushed back against my wife when she said she wanted an EV. now? pfftt..
she gives her Subaru away on Oct 9th. until then she is driving it for nostalgia. she loves the thing and will miss the manual gearbox. she will miss giving me crap about my shifting skills (she says I suck - but I say I just drive differently than her).

well, I have been 100% Tesla for the duration and I friggen love it. she may have a hard time taking it from me. it is a good car. fun.

[Evans, Marv]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

My husband drives 2500 miles a month on his model 3 performance. We pay $0.12/kwh of electricity. Our electric bill is about $100 more per month. He does hit the supercharger 2-3x/week and each charge is about $12

Stephanie. I'd be more interested in the total kWh additional use per month or whatever period of time is easiest to figure. Where I live, the electric rates are some of the highest in the country - mid 20 cents for the lowest tier to mid 50 cents for the highest tier per kWh. If my thinking is right, $100/mo. at $0.12/kWh is around .8 megawatts of usage per month, at least from what you charge from home not including supercharges.

[Quasimoto]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Stephanie. I'd be more interested in the total kWh additional use per month or whatever period of time is easiest to figure.

I keep loose tabs on our usage at different milestones...

The screenshot below was taken at 18,890 miles and shows 5,617khw of electricity used. I've measured my charging loss to be around 18-20%, so we've purchased 6,700kwh.

My rate is $0.11, so $740 to travel those 18,890 miles. The ICE car that we replaced would have used about $2,800 to $3,000 to travel the equivalent. Not a huge savings, but definitely noticeable in our budget. This also doesn't count that we would have also had 2-3 oil changes in that time.

An intangible bonus here is that the ICE car would have soaked up quite a bit of time for fueling and oil changes, but it only takes a few seconds to plug the tether in once in awhile.

Regarding efficiency though...that 297 number is in Wh/mile. The rated number is 242Wh/mi, but we drive a little fast and like the zing the accelerator pedal a lot...

[Evans, Marv]

Wow thanks. I'm going to try to find that window on my wife's car. That would pretty much answer all questions about power consumption. Like I said, it seems like most people pay less for electicity than we get charged here. Although I have solar and haven't paid for any since early 2016 (& have paid for the system at this point), I might have a few more panels installed if my wife's car pushes us into having to pay. I noticed sometime back they lowered the levels for the tiers effectively giving themselves a rate increase. Our rates are: Tier 1: 0-503 (used to be 640) kWh - $.32, Tier 2: 504-1548 (used to be 1640) kWh - $.40, Tier 3: more than 1549 kWh - $.50.

[Quasimoto]

If you swipe near those 3 dots in the bottom left of the screen you will get the Tire Pressure display or the Odometer display. Scroll in the Odometer display to Trip A and Trip B. (I've renamed our Trip A to "Since New" so I don't accidentally reset it.

Your khw cost is pretty astounding! It would be pretty simple to estimate your monthly kwh usage and see if that puts you into one of the higher tiers...I suspect not.

Another way to think about it is if say you have a 75kwh battery, and you put a full charge on it, that's about 90kwh purchased assuming a ~20% charging loss. Or about $10.00 at my rate of $0.11 and about $29 at your Tier 1 rate.

[gregpark]

I drove a 2019 Tesla S D100 yesterday. Holy Moly, the quickest car I've ever driven. The acceleration is literally breathtaking. I expected fast but it was a bit shocking. I'm guessing people who buy the Plaid (with twice the power) just have to have the fastest production car because I see no need for anything faster than what I experienced. I want one now, bad

[vash]

Originally Posted by gregpark

I drove a 2019 Tesla S D100 yesterday. Holy Moly, the quickest car I've ever driven. The acceleration is literally breathtaking. I expected fast but it was a bit shocking. I'm guessing people who buy the Plaid (with twice the power) just have to have the fastest production car because I see no need for anything faster than what I experienced. I want one now, bad

I have not mashed on the gas..err go-pedal yet on mine, but I did on the one I test drove. it was wild. no shifting, just bllrrrrrrrrr to "Cliff, slow down now!" from the wife.

0 to getting admonished in about 5 seconds. fast!!

I did whip around corner fast trying to make a yellow light and I wasn't bummed with the handling.

its a good car. my tacoma has a pile of leaves on the hood pushed up against the wipers. . but the gas tank is full!

[Quasimoto]

Having to suspend a lifetime of learned mechanical sympathy is sometimes challenging. I sometimes forget that you can literally pull out of the drive and mash the pedal to 11 without any warmup…

Another little strange quirk. Brakes rarely get used, and thus the wheels stay eerily clean. I haven’t cleaned these barrels in several thousand miles of driving… :cuckoo: