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Getting the 60D versus the 85D

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I have decided to get the 60 versus the 85. Yes it would be nice to have the extra mileage, but that is basically the only difference between the two besides the warranty and battery. There are many superstations being installed in my area so the mileage shouldn't be a problem. I can get the Tech package and some other perks with the 60 instead of spending 8K more for the 85. In other car models, there are different sizes, etc. This was pretty easy for me as who knows if I will keep it until 125,000 miles for the warranty.
 
Congratulations on your choice and upcoming new car. I chose a 60 also as I carefully considered my daily/weekly driving and although I do a lot of miles annually (25k or so), most of it is within easy distance from my home and an overnight charge provides plenty of range for my daily use. I'm sure you will love your new car.

The only thought that seems to whisper to me late at night is how fun a Performance version would be the next time around.... It may actually be me whispering to my wife trying to sleep how much more fun the P85 model would be next time.
 
As they say, "your mileage may vary."

I can't conceive of a 60. And 85 is barely enough. A car should be able to go 350-400 miles before re-energizing regardless of the energy source. So I'll be impatient and squirmy until Tesla comes out with a higher-capacity battery.
 
The other difference between the 85 and 60s is the power. While the 60D will accelerate faster than a 60, the 85 will accelerate faster than the 60D.

If you don't care about that and you don't care about the range, then by all means, you should go for the 60D.
 
I appreciate your opinion and had concerns also before making my choice with the lesser range. My prior cars never had great range (gas guzzlers, I suppose) and I had typically filled up the tank every 3 days, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see I could still accommodate my practical daily driving needs and avoid the gas expenses altogether. Big plus for me in the purchase.

Anyhow, I love my car, but certainly appreciate the use for the larger battery. We might order the Model X in the future and, if so, will certainly choose the larger battery choice as that would be a great road trip car for our family.
 
The difference in price us relatively small especially if you are going to pay for Supercharger access which is included in the price of the 85. Don't forget the extra warranty also has significant value. I have an 85 and there are many times that it has been "necessary" to make a trip easy vs simply manageable. I do have a friend who has a 60 and gas had to use an ICE because of lack of range.
 
The only ICE cars I've ever had with 350+ mile range have been a 1984 diesel Suburban with a 50 gallon tank and my Prius.

Just about every ICE bucket we've had has had a range of at least 350 miles. With about a 24 gallon gas tank even if you get 15 mpg like our current V8, you get 350 miles. The sooner Tesla cracks the 350-400 mile barrier the better. It is the last excuse for some who are considering EVs.
 
The 60 is a very useable car. In 18,000 miles, I have not yet needed the extra range provided by an 85. However, this weekend I am driving to Bakersfield from San Diego. Because I have a 60, I will have to make an extra stop at San Juan Capistrano for about 15 minutes so that I can make the Tejon supercharger with no stress. I will have to make an extra stop on the way back as well. I have all day to make the 4 hour drive. One extra stop is no problem.
 
Just about every ICE bucket we've had has had a range of at least 350 miles. With about a 24 gallon gas tank even if you get 15 mpg like our current V8, you get 350 miles. The sooner Tesla cracks the 350-400 mile barrier the better. It is the last excuse for some who are considering EVs.
A 24 gallon tank! Yikes. I think the largest tank in any of my last 4 to 5 cars was 16 gallons.


They make the 60 for a reason. If you don't need the additional range, performance, warranty, or Supercharging, the 60 is a good deal. Supercharging can, of course, be added to the 60 but if you're considering Supercharging or the better tires the 85 gets really attractive really fast in my opinion. Especially since many of the Superchargers are currently placed such that they're a bit of a stretch in the 60 (though the 17 extra miles in the 60D will certainly help substantially).

For many people, the 60 makes perfect sense. We're considering picking up a 60 of some type for my wife since we already have an 85. We don't really need two road-trip-capable EVs.
 
A 24 gallon tank! Yikes. I think the largest tank in any of my last 4 to 5 cars was 16 gallons.

24 gallon tank? That's nothing. I had a 1999 Suburban when I was in college; that had a 42 gallon tank. It was great how long you could go between fill-ups (I would usually get at least 600 miles, sometimes up to 800), but then the fill-ups were killer (~$120-160).

I personally think that faster recharge rates should be of a higher priority than increasing range. Given how short people's average commute is, carrying around a bunch of extra weight for battery capacity you don't use on a daily basis doesn't seem incredibly efficient. However, maybe from a mass adoption perspective, it'll certainly help to get over that 350-400 mile hump.
 
I also went with a 60D, plus the Supercharger. That way, IMHO, best of both worlds. Save $8,000, but be able to do the long road trips. I am moving up from a 24kWh Nissan Leaf so 60 is going to be a serious improvement as it is. Other than a few trips, the Leaf has served us just fine the last 20 months so I know the 60 will be more than enough.

That said, the 85 isn't much faster than the 60. Same motor hp-wise. I'm not buying a sports car, I'm buying a luxury sedan. To each his own - I test drove a P85 and YOWZA that thing was absurdly quick. I'd have to plan for lots of speeding tickets.

February can't come soon enough.
 
After getting my 85, I can tell you I would never go with the 60 in a million years. Unless you are driving Mrs Daisy, the miles Tesla is stating are "Rated" miles. I drive a little quicker than average and makes real world mils in a ration of 1:1.5 to rated miled. For every 60 Rated miles range the car show me, I can do 40 real world miled. I hardly touch the brakes, and regen energy back to the battery. Still... The fact that the 85 comes with Super Charger included, and the warranty makes it a no brainer. Just my take. Hope it helps
 
So many people out there still think they need 400-500 miles range, like a gas car.

Let's use 1:1.5 real:rated, and say 400 rated range, that's 267 miles. If this is your daily (leadfoot) driving, figuring 5x weekly for 52 weeks, that's nearly 70,000 yearly miles - excluding weekends. I thought the average in the US was 12,000. I drive about 24,000 miles a year, charge my 85kWh to 80%, and rarely see below 80 rated remaining.

You might need that kind of range if you can only charge once a week. I guess this would apply to apt/condo dwellers (outside CA?). Sure there will be outliers who regularly drive 400 miles in a day without being near a SC, but I'm sure that's not the case for the vast majority.

People are used to filling up about once a week, and that's what they relate to. Charging daily is not an intuitive concept. You don't fill a gas tank daily because it's inconvenient. Even at 80%, I have about a half of my week's required range available; but I only need today's miles today.

I could have gone with a 60kWh. Some of my reasons for going for the 85 were the warranty and longevity. Long after my range has degraded (15-20 years?) I will still be able to drive the SC highway. (Let's talk replacement cost and range, 20 years from now!)
The 60 has plenty of range for most people, and I almost went with that myself. Let's face it, most of us went out of our comfort zone to purchase a MS, and 85kWh is a luxury most of us can manage very well without.

Honest question for other 85kWh owners: how often do you see below 50 rated miles remaining (from 90%)? If it is rare, then a 60kWh may have been enough for you too - strictly from a range perspective.
 
My rationale for the 85 over the 60 a year and a half ago was a) to allow me to drive the way I want, use heat and a/c to my hearts content, drive in snowy, winter conditions and not have to worry about running out of juice; and b) account for the expected degradation of the battery over its lifetime. (I'm already seeing about 9% loss of range).
 
Honest question for other 85kWh owners: how often do you see below 50 rated miles remaining (from 90%)? If it is rare, then a 60kWh may have been enough for you too - strictly from a range perspective.

Not often, but that raises another thought in favor of the 85: You're doing fewer charge "cycles" with the larger battery since a full cycle is considered 0 to full. If you go from 90% to 40% daily like I do with my (somewhat degraded) 85, that would be 0.5 cycle. The same distance on a 60 would use 0.65 cycle.
 
I hadn't thought much about the battery degradation. If the 205 miles of range you get out the 60kWh goes down 25% you're left with 154 miles of range. In some spots that's not even enough to use the supercharger network to cover yourself.

Something to consider, crap. Hmm.
 
I hadn't thought much about the battery degradation. If the 205 miles of range you get out the 60kWh goes down 25% you're left with 154 miles of range. In some spots that's not even enough to use the supercharger network to cover yourself.

Something to consider, crap. Hmm.

My reasoning for getting the 60kwh is that I am hopeful that we'll be able to just upgrade the battery in the future.