Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

85kWh removed should I change my confirmed configuration!?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
My order is confirmed for my tesla (see signature) delivery in June. With the 85kwh battery option gone. Would it be wise to change my configuration to something that is available not discontinued so to speak. My car will not go into production until early May so I have time and I know they will not hit me with the $500 change order fee (confirmed with my DS a few weeks back when I suspected this was going to happen). This is driving me nuts! The wait for the car now this, I might be thinking about it too much .....
 
I would upgrade it to the 90. Do you really want to get a top-of-the-line car that is already partly obsolete? In terms of resale value later, I'd have to imagine the 85's are going to take a harder hit now that it's not even an option anymore.
 
I don't see that being the case. The reason 60s took such a hard hit is the 70 came out with Autopilot and a bigger battery for virtually the same price.

Everything else only took a hit because of the AP on the new cars. Made my decision based on AP a must have.
 
My order is confirmed for my tesla (see signature) delivery in June. With the 85kwh battery option gone. Would it be wise to change my configuration to something that is available not discontinued so to speak. My car will not go into production until early May so I have time and I know they will not hit me with the $500 change order fee (confirmed with my DS a few weeks back when I suspected this was going to happen). This is driving me nuts! The wait for the car now this, I might be thinking about it too much .....

It still costs $3K more for a 90 over existing 85 orders.
 
I assume you made a decision to get the 85 instead of the 90 for a good reason to begin with. I don't see a reason to change that now, it doesn't matter much if at all if they stop making the 85 pack. Heck it might even mean that if your 85 pack ever needs to be replaced they switch it to a 90. I don't think the resale value will be effected beyond the $3k price for the 90.
 
OP, this is the age-old question debated many times in other threads here since the 90kWh battery came out. I went with the 90 when I ordered and took delivery of my MS in October, but given a choice today, I would probably pass on the upgrade IF I WERE GIVEN A CHOICE to have the lesser-expensive 85kWh like it appears you have.

I tried to write this up on my personal website in more detail a while back, but the net of that from my POV is:
  • For $3K you get a little more than 16 extra rated range miles. That's a lot of money for some people -- perhaps not so for others that are more flush with cash.
  • If you want only the best Tesla has to offer and can afford it, well, get the 90.
  • Have you determined what the normal range is you REALLY NEED in your MS (e.g. to/from work each day and/or other regular routes you may take), including any additional buffers that help your mind overcome any range anxiety concerns, e.g. very cold weather, unexpected wind/rain/snow, the possibility you may have a much heavier foot than normal speed-wise or playing with performance features if you're MS will be so equipped, and any buffer for remaining kWh you want to have once you get home in case an emergency comes up before charging is complete (not as big of a deal if you have a 2nd vehicle, but could be if you are like me with only my MS now)? EVTripPlanner is what I'd recommend you do your modeling on, then add those buffers that apply to you to the range it calculates. From that, if the extra 16 miles a 90kWh battery covers your needs, well, that's your answer. If it's not really necessary, you have that answer too.
  • If little things bug you, be aware that for some owners, the 90kWh Battery appears to have early degradation as reported by Rated Range compared to the 85kWh (beyond temperature swings, etc)... Tesla says this isn't a real problem, but only an issue with the way rated range is calculated and displayed, and it will be resolved in a future firmware release. We're coming up on 6 months since the 90kWh batteries came out and 3 major firmware releases have been delivered since then, and this problem hasn't yet been addressed. IMHO Tesla doesn't have the best track record resolving software bugs in a timely manner that are not associated with AutoPilot, so we could be holding our breath for a while wondering what is fact or not. Check THIS THREAD for the discussion and if you don't want to read all the banter, jump down to post #325 for a summary of exactly what Tesla told me this past December. Only you can then decide if this is or isn't a concern you should consider.
  • Subjectively: The 85kWh battery is proven with 10's of thousands on the road around the world. Now that MX is out with the 90kWh as it's standard, Tesla IMHO has reduced the number of options because it's easier for them not having as many variations it needs to sell; Tesla has bumped the base price of MS up to include the 90kWh battery so that helps their unprofitable bottom line; More likely Tesla has something up their sleeve with the next battery size becoming available somewhere in the not-so-distant future so reducing the variations now makes that more sellable when it does indeed happen and Gigafactory comes online. Will a 90 offer better resale than an 85? Maybe. Everyone can debate all these subjective points all they want, but in the end, no one here knows any of it for a fact, so it all just becomes subjective input that may or may not sway you one way or the other. Personally, I'd try to come to a conclusion on the first 4 points I suggest, then let the subjective sway you if you remain on the fence.

Good luck with your decision.
 
My order is confirmed for my tesla (see signature) delivery in June. With the 85kwh battery option gone. Would it be wise to change my configuration to something that is available not discontinued so to speak. My car will not go into production until early May so I have time and I know they will not hit me with the $500 change order fee (confirmed with my DS a few weeks back when I suspected this was going to happen). This is driving me nuts! The wait for the car now this, I might be thinking about it too much .....

Maybe I'm out the loop, but I thought time from order to deliver on Model S had gone down? If you just ordered and production won't happen until May, that's at least 4 months from the time of order until production beginning?
 
Maybe I'm out the loop, but I thought time from order to deliver on Model S had gone down? If you just ordered and production won't happen until May, that's at least 4 months from the time of order until production beginning?
Orders can be placed with an out-delivery-date -- they all don't have to be ASAP depending on an owner's needs or perhaps financial flow.
 
The 90 has different battery chemistry - something to do with adding some silicon? So, if you're risk averse, you might want to stay with the 85. But if you like being the first duck in the pond, and perhaps getting the juiciest whatever ducks eat in a pond, but also risk the shotgun blast of a hunter hidden in the weeds, then upgrade to the 90... Decisions decisions....

https://chargedevs.com/features/tes...y-a-closer-look-at-silicon-anode-development/
 
Since you've ordered it for a later delivery, maybe they'll just software-limit existing orders and you'll get a 90kWh battery after all but only able to access 85 kWh. If so, you'd have the ability to upgrade your battery in the future as the 40 kWh owners do.
 
Car70D85D90D
Range240270286
Range/Cost $ 312.50 $ 314.81 $ 307.48

$ 75,000.00 $ 85,000.00 $ 88,000.00
Forgive the formatting, but isn't the 90D the most bang for the buck? $307.48 per rated mile? vs. the 70D of $312.5 and 85D of $314.81

therefor, the best 'value'? if obviously not the least expensive... for 3k, I'd do it.
 
Car70D85D90D
Range240270286
Range/Cost $ 312.50 $ 314.81 $ 307.48

$ 75,000.00 $ 85,000.00 $ 88,000.00
Forgive the formatting, but isn't the 90D the most bang for the buck? $307.48 per rated mile? vs. the 70D of $312.5 and 85D of $314.81

therefor, the best 'value'? if obviously not the least expensive... for 3k, I'd do it.

You can still get a 70, RWD. For $70,000 you get 230 miles, or $304.35/rated mile.
 
OP, this is the age-old question debated many times in other threads here since the 90kWh battery came out. I went with the 90 when I ordered and took delivery of my MS in October, but given a choice today, I would probably pass on the upgrade IF I WERE GIVEN A CHOICE to have the lesser-expensive 85kWh like it appears you have.

I tried to write this up on my personal website in more detail a while back, but the net of that from my POV is:
  • For $3K you get a little more than 16 extra rated range miles. That's a lot of money for some people -- perhaps not so for others that are more flush with cash.
  • If you want only the best Tesla has to offer and can afford it, well, get the 90.
  • Have you determined what the normal range is you REALLY NEED in your MS (e.g. to/from work each day and/or other regular routes you may take), including any additional buffers that help your mind overcome any range anxiety concerns, e.g. very cold weather, unexpected wind/rain/snow, the possibility you may have a much heavier foot than normal speed-wise or playing with performance features if you're MS will be so equipped, and any buffer for remaining kWh you want to have once you get home in case an emergency comes up before charging is complete (not as big of a deal if you have a 2nd vehicle, but could be if you are like me with only my MS now)? EVTripPlanner is what I'd recommend you do your modeling on, then add those buffers that apply to you to the range it calculates. From that, if the extra 16 miles a 90kWh battery covers your needs, well, that's your answer. If it's not really necessary, you have that answer too.
  • If little things bug you, be aware that for some owners, the 90kWh Battery appears to have early degradation as reported by Rated Range compared to the 85kWh (beyond temperature swings, etc)... Tesla says this isn't a real problem, but only an issue with the way rated range is calculated and displayed, and it will be resolved in a future firmware release. We're coming up on 6 months since the 90kWh batteries came out and 3 major firmware releases have been delivered since then, and this problem hasn't yet been addressed. IMHO Tesla doesn't have the best track record resolving software bugs in a timely manner that are not associated with AutoPilot, so we could be holding our breath for a while wondering what is fact or not. Check THIS THREAD for the discussion and if you don't want to read all the banter, jump down to post #325 for a summary of exactly what Tesla told me this past December. Only you can then decide if this is or isn't a concern you should consider.
  • Subjectively: The 85kWh battery is proven with 10's of thousands on the road around the world. Now that MX is out with the 90kWh as it's standard, Tesla IMHO has reduced the number of options because it's easier for them not having as many variations it needs to sell; Tesla has bumped the base price of MS up to include the 90kWh battery so that helps their unprofitable bottom line; More likely Tesla has something up their sleeve with the next battery size becoming available somewhere in the not-so-distant future so reducing the variations now makes that more sellable when it does indeed happen and Gigafactory comes online. Will a 90 offer better resale than an 85? Maybe. Everyone can debate all these subjective points all they want, but in the end, no one here knows any of it for a fact, so it all just becomes subjective input that may or may not sway you one way or the other. Personally, I'd try to come to a conclusion on the first 4 points I suggest, then let the subjective sway you if you remain on the fence.

Good luck with your decision.

awesome notes. Checked out your website as well, good stuff.

I'm now considering just to save the money and go down to 70D. I've been thinking real hard about the 10k (13k if going with 90d) upgrade when I can still be okay with a 70D's range. Making these big decisions on such a bad ass car is nerve wrecking for me!

- - - Updated - - -

Maybe I'm out the loop, but I thought time from order to deliver on Model S had gone down? If you just ordered and production won't happen until May, that's at least 4 months from the time of order until production beginning?

Pushed out my delivery to June because that's when my beast (Nissan leaf) lease will end.

- - - Updated - - -

The 90 has different battery chemistry - something to do with adding some silicon? So, if you're risk averse, you might want to stay with the 85. But if you like being the first duck in the pond, and perhaps getting the juiciest whatever ducks eat in a pond, but also risk the shotgun blast of a hunter hidden in the weeds, then upgrade to the 90... Decisions decisions....

https://chargedevs.com/features/tes...y-a-closer-look-at-silicon-anode-development/


I didn't know this...interesting. Damn decisions!!!
 
Since you've ordered it for a later delivery, maybe they'll just software-limit existing orders and you'll get a 90kWh battery after all but only able to access 85 kWh. If so, you'd have the ability to upgrade your battery in the future as the 40 kWh owners do.

That would be perfect if this was true. I'm going to have a long conversation with my DS see what insight he has if any.