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It is really interesting to see what extraordinary growth rates and modern technology can do to an infrastructure. China is also famous for impressive feats of driving prowess. Can you imagine what would happen if a similar percentage of new drivers were taking their news cars to the city it would be a disaster. China has some very interesting laws and regulations regarding most aspects of metropolitan life I wonder what type of solution they will devise for this.
(sources several Discovery Channel documentaries)

I really wonder what will happen in the real world with the Model S will do in metropolitan areas of the US. How long will the car last on a really bad day... The time you are driving home from work (you got there late and missed the charging station spot) so you have ~30 miles on the current charge and 1 hour. The weather went from 40F to 33F and it is now sleeting.
Your car is under the absolute most load possible under normal driving conditions.
Most cars average 18-25% load at idle in Park
In Gear that might go up 5-10%
The air conditioner may add 3+% (very dependent on model and compressor type)
Headlights 5% (halogen type) <5% for Xenon
It's cold out so you would probably need a rear defroster add another 3%
There is an unknown variable of charging rate at idle as that could really range from 0% up depending on year,make and model

You could in theory fun at 50% load at idle in a normal IC engine without moving at any siginificant rate. The amount of stress this puts on your car may cause the best systems to suffer heat related damage.

How long will they last in that type of scenerio? I am sure power consumption rate is going to be factored more so with electric cars.

Those are the types of problems that will make or break the impression Tesla has with the mass market. People HATE dead cars in bad weather. You really need to be able to count on your car when you really need it. I sincerely hope the American public takes electric cars better than China is taking traffic.
 
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