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Minneapolis Service Center!

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Well damn, I had just looked earlier this morning and it wasn't there.
Happy to see it there now:)

I have seen 3 job postings for it that have been up for a few weeks. Hopefully soon means within a couple of months.
 
I have had the model S since Christmas in Minneapolis. It is fabulous. I did change to Blizzack snow tires after one icy day. This is the best car I have ever owned. I am not sure how the proximity of a service center will change my service plans?
 
jrhessler, how have you found the recent subzero weather affecting range? Did the Blizzacks seem to make a difference in your ability to drive during 3"-8" snow depths? I'm still so in love with the car, but so worried about subzero temps shrinking my intended 40kwh battery range (my commute is under 20 miles per day roundtrip) and poor winter driving due to rear-wheel drive. Any words of encouragement based on real-life MN winter driving?

Keeping on topic, Minneapolis Service Center certainly makes the Ranger warranty service plan less necessary!
 
Subzero weather and range

jrhessler, how have you found the recent subzero weather affecting range? Did the Blizzacks seem to make a difference in your ability to drive during 3"-8" snow depths? I'm still so in love with the car, but so worried about subzero temps shrinking my intended 40kwh battery range (my commute is under 20 miles per day roundtrip) and poor winter driving due to rear-wheel drive. Any words of encouragement based on real-life MN winter driving?

Keeping on topic, Minneapolis Service Center certainly makes the Ranger warranty service plan less necessary!

Subzero weather definitely affects range. I normally drive 23 miles each way to work. When I used regular heat (did not have the range heat on -recently added with the 4.1 software to save energy) and it was -10 degrees, I needed 75 miles to go 46. On a day with temps in the 20's, I needed 160 miles to go 130. You also have to figure on losses if the car is out in the very cold. I have lost 45 miles with it sitting for 8 hours in subzero and not plugged in. In general, I would recommend a larger battery size because of the very cold.

- - - Updated - - -

I forgot to answer your question about the tires. I was able to drive through 4 inches of new wet snow before I changed to Blizzacks (using 19 inch all weather). My driveway is quite steep and the ice was a problem one day so I bought snow tires. I really have not had a chance to try them in challenging conditions.
 
jrhessler, how have you found the recent subzero weather affecting range? Did the Blizzacks seem to make a difference in your ability to drive during 3"-8" snow depths? I'm still so in love with the car, but so worried about subzero temps shrinking my intended 40kwh battery range (my commute is under 20 miles per day roundtrip) and poor winter driving due to rear-wheel drive. Any words of encouragement based on real-life MN winter driving?

Keeping on topic, Minneapolis Service Center certainly makes the Ranger warranty service plan less necessary!

Absolute worse conditions I have had in a day of driving got me about 160-170 mile range (standard charge).
The pattern that day was -5 to -10 temps overnight while parked in an insulated, but not heated, garage.
Drove in the morning about 25-30 miles, parked outside without plugging in for about 2 hours. Returned home.
Car sat in garage, not plugged in for about 6 hours, drove it 28 miles, parked on street for 5 hours.
So no pre-heating all day, sat outside much of the day (7 hours), 5 to -10 temps.

Ae you getting the Pano roof? If not, that should help your range some (less weight, better aerodynamics and insulation). Also, the 60kW is more efficient than the 85kW. I expect the 40kW to be at least as efficient as the 60Kw if not even better.

Rough guess, the 40kW will have an EPA range of 140, worst case winter on a standard charge will give you about 80 miles. Range mode, 95.

As an aside, have you been to any of the EV owners circle meetings? If not, please join us:)
MN PEV Owners
 
Yes, thank you both for great information. I may look for a heated garage, plug-in (even if only 110 volt) at/near my office location - will significantly reduce my range concerns in cold weather especially. My guess is the Minneapolis Service Center will eventually be a great source of local insight on such issues, but the MN PEV Owners group (or MN Tesla Group) will be even better.
 
Alright, so on the heels of this announcement of a service center, I managed to tip off some discussions. There is also a plan in the works for a demo center at one of our malls, which was confirmed by a Tesla employee. Safe money is MoA. My wild speculation on where the service center will be is somewhere along I-394, so Saint Louis Park or Golden Valley. Minneapolis downtown makes no sense to me.
 
The MoA would definitively get the eyeballs but based on where they have their other stores I would almost think it would be at or near one of the higher end malls in the area.

As for the service center they have this listed on their site.

6801 Washington Ave S
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
 
No signs of construction or even a vacancy at that location, yes I am obsessive;-P
There are vehicle bay doors on multiple sides of the building, it also has office space.
I would suspect Tesla will be leasing only part of the building and is waiting for a current leasee to leave at the end of their lease (hopefully a month or two).

The job Tesla posted for Service Manager is no longer up at their site, so it looks like that has been filled?

I have heard that for Stores, Tesla was in talks with MOA, Southdale and Rosedale.
I would agree MOA is the most visible location, however it is also the most expensive by far.
 
Yes, there appears to be at least one existing car repair business at this exact address currently. Here's an image from the current lessee for what it's worth.

399677_357817117640714_1284171791_n.jpg


By the way, my bet for a demo center would be Southdale (or maybe a long shot at the Galleria Edina).
 
Yes, there appears to be at least one existing car repair business at this exact address currently. Here's an image from the current lessee for what it's worth.
By the way, my bet for a demo center would be Southdale (or maybe a long shot at the Galleria Edina).

So my theory is that the current resident in the photo (you stalker!) is moving or going out of business, and they have a vehicle lift, so the property is a really good choice. Proving this theory would involve poking around commercial real estate listings on the [MLS] Moore Listing Service (which is based out of Minneapolis, coincidentally).

I would give some credence to Galleria. Think of it this way: if you have the demo center at the MoA, you are going to get a sick amount of foot traffic. How much of that would be prospective buyers? Far less than at the Galleria Edina, for sure. MoA would put an obscene amount of wear and tear on the demo vehicles. Southdale would be maybe 20% of the foot traffic, and likely to be local (why go to Southdale if Ridgedale or Rosedale is closer?). Galleria might be 5% of that, but you would be much more likely to have a higher income customer.
Have we ruled out the possibility of it being in a trendy neighborhood instead of a mall, like Grand Avenue or Uptown?
 
Hmmmm, I still like MOA other than price.
MOA gets 40 million visitors a year. Many of those are tourists and many of those are international tourists.
If the goal is to get the most widespread exposure, MOA is the ticket.
In addition you have car chargers right there, and easy access to the airport.