Just ordered, now what is next?

tnagpal said:

Put in an order for a Pearl White P85

So what are next steps in getting ready?
Financing - my understanding is that Alliant is the way to go with financing?
Accessories - wait for the Tesla center console or go aftermarket?
Options - Should I hold off for the new front seats? What about dynamic cruise control?

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Decide what you are going to use to charge it at home. I am going with getting a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed.

Just FYI. The cost for installing a NEMA-14-50 in the Bay Area is about $1000-$2000 for a house and may be more if you are in an apartment with car port. May want to negotiate this item before you sign the lease.

tnagpal said:

Well, moving to the Bay area and renting, so I gotta talk to potential landlords about having an outlet put in.

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There is a comprehensive list of tasks floating around on the forum but I don't have that link to share. Sorry

I really suggest getting a high power charger considering it charges twice as fast and you just spent 90k so get dual chargers and the high power wall charger

tnagpal said:

Put in an order for a Pearl White P85

So what are next steps in getting ready?
Financing - my understanding is that Alliant is the way to go with financing?
Accessories - wait for the Tesla center console or go aftermarket?
Options - Should I hold off for the new front seats? What about dynamic cruise control?

Click to expand...

On a lighter note:
What's next? .... let's see if I remember... it was only 2 months ago, but seems like an eternity :
1) sleepness nights waiting for the day to arrive.
2) an inability to stop checking TMC every 30 minutes.
3) reminding yourself at the gas station that you won't be visiting this place again, soon.
4) non-stop Tesla talk with your co-workers.

Enjoy your car. It was the best purchase I ever made.

tnagpal said:

Put in an order for a Pearl White P85

Accessories - wait for the Tesla center console or go aftermarket?

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I'd wait on this option. I originally thought I'd want the CC. After a week of ownership, I don't want it anymore. Its a nice spot for any loose items. They may fly back when you hit the go pedal. I just make sure everything is towards the back. Then again, its up to you. Just see if you like it.

tnagpal said:

Well, moving to the Bay area and renting, so I gotta talk to potential landlords about having an outlet put in.

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I would make sure you can at least get a 120V outlet before you finalize your order (if you haven't already). NEMA 14-50 would be perfect since you are renting apartment. If the apartment is willing to install something then a J1772 that you leave there and pay them some monthly fee to use would be great too.

A HPWC not worth it at an apartment you may leave in a year.

tnagpal said:

Unfortunately I expect that I will end up standard outlet charging initially. The dual charger solution won't accelerate that, correct (you can't just plug into two outlets or something, right?)

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Correct. My understanding is a standard outlet gives you about 1-2 kW. Each charger in the car can take 10 kW, and they sort of operate in serial (based on my reading of various TMC threads, I may not be using the exact correct language). So the master has to "fill up" before the slave will start taking on power -- that translates to you having to be at an at least 60A station (delivering 80% of 60A = 48A delivered). So the slave there takes that added 8A. Even a NEMA 14-50 will only deliver 40A continuous, so, only uses the car's master charger.

Getting any charging station installed in a condo or apartment can be difficult and time-consuming -- you first have to get those in control to agree, which is difficult enough. And then they have to do a bunch of work (e.g., permitting etc) to actually make it happen, and, I've often found its that "taking action" part where things devolve into forever-land. But it can happen - I don't mean this to discourage you, just to go into it with your eyes open. Per someone's comment up-thread, getting agreement prior to signing (or, finding out there's no damn way in hell they'll budge on doing it) would be prudent.

Congratulations on your order! Too bad about your upcoming sleep disorder!

tnagpal said:

Well, moving to the Bay area and renting, so I gotta talk to potential landlords about having an outlet put in.

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Whoa cowboy! I think you'd better secure your charging source before you finalize any order with Tesla! It's not a trivial thing, and a standard 110V AC outlet isn't going to cut it unless you're going to treat it like a leaf or i3 -- very little driving. I'm not in the bay area, so I'm not sure about charging options for renters, but here in LA, you'd be hard pressed to find an acceptable solution apart from renting a house and making the mods with landlord consent.

Ed, there are reverse-chargers (people) out there. Meaning - they charge at work and at supercharger stations but cannot charge at home. This is "reverse" of the norm where you normally could charge at home and seldom at work (but that is changing). I know someone who is a "reverse charger" with a leaf. She charges at the commuter train station and does not have a way to charge at home. She makes it work. It is much like an ICE driver who seldom fuels at home

Or:

Domesticated chargers: Charge at home, sometimes at work (out in the wild)
Wild chargers: Only charge "in the wild" - never at home.

tnagpal,

Like you said you can use a standard 110-120 outlet initially with the mobile connector. This will be enough for around 35 miles of charge per day. However ideally you want to use either a Nema 14-50 socket or a Tesla High Power Wall Connector in the long run.

Here is a video explaining how charging works:
Video Walkthrough | Tesla Motors

Here is a calculator for charging times:
Tesla Charging | Tesla Motors

Before you finalize your order there are two things to consider:
1. Some hotels are adding HPWC. To take advantage of full speeds you need to have double chargers in the car. Retrofitting them is costly. Not adding double chargers when you order the car is probably the most regretted mistake. Excluding parking sensors is probably the second regretted purchase choice.
2. Roof racks can be mounted only if you have the pano roof.

I think now you are up to date on things good to know.

bonaire said:

Ed, there are reverse-chargers (people) out there. Meaning - they charge at work and at supercharger stations but cannot charge at home. This is "reverse" of the norm where you normally could charge at home and seldom at work (but that is changing). I know someone who is a "reverse charger" with a leaf. She charges at the commuter train station and does not have a way to charge at home. She makes it work. It is much like an ICE driver who seldom fuels at home

Or:

Domesticated chargers: Charge at home, sometimes at work (out in the wild)
Wild chargers: Only charge "in the wild" - never at home.

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I agree, there are many ways to charge. OP sounded like he was focused on home charging, and me being the person I am, I would absolutely make sure I had an acceptable charging plan before even tempting myself with the build sheet!

tnagpal said:

Ah useful - maybe the dual chargers are the way to go. If only they let you plug into two standard outlets and get some more charging going!

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Wish it worked that way, but you'd have find two outlets that are wired on two separate circuits to do what you want.... Plugging in two cords to the same circuit won't do a thing, as you'd still be limited by the breaker on the electrical circuit. And, theoretically, if you did double the 120V outlet, you'd still be charging at 2.8kW, which the signal charger can easily handle (it handles up to 10 kW). Dual chargers is your call, but I'm pretty comfortable with my 14-50 10kW charger and the Hawthorne supercharger if necessary.

Not two separate circuits but rather two separate phases of the 240V service. Or "each of the two legs".