Realistic Assesment of the 160 mile range Model S

[smorgasbord]

By having a supercharger network, Tesla have made it harder for site owners to justify also installing an HPC network. That means that the 160 mile car will find it harder to find those. In which case 20kW charging is less useful and it then gets restricted to being a second or third car for local errands. That's a hell of a car for that function.

Well, for most I would expect the Model S to be their first car. You know, the one they use to drop off/pick up kids at school, commute to/from work, go out on the town, etc.

The second car would be for long road trips.

I agree that the second charger option now becomes less useful. It's kind of a gamble for early buyers, at least in CA. We already have HPCs along 101, and who knows how long it'll take for the Tesla QC infrastructure to be in place?

[WhiteKnight]

I'm sorry if I sound dismissive but anybody that thinks they are taking a road trip in the 40 kWh car does not understand how the range drops dramatically at highway speeds. Even if you could Supercharge it would be very difficult to make it from one Supercharger to another. And at that point it would be a miserable experience of drive 90 minutes, charge 60 minutes, et cetera.

We're talking about it over here:
Highway Range Ignorance

With that said, I've almost convinced myself that the 40 kWh is the best car (for me) because you can get a car identical in every meaningful way to the 85 kWh (albeit slightly slower to 60) for $20,000 less. That will buy me a lot of plane tickets!

[onlinespending]

With that said, I've almost convinced myself that the 40 kWh is the best car (for me) because you can get a car identical in every meaningful way to the 85 kWh (albeit slightly slower to 60) for $20,000 less. That will buy me a lot of plane tickets!

Or all the rental cars you would likely ever need when you wanted to take a long trip. Or hell, even a cheap Honda ICE for use for long trips. Given that 99% of people's driving is going to be less than 160 miles round-trip, it still makes the most sense to get the 40 kWh option IMHO.

[Rifleman]

Or all the rental cars you would likely every need when you wanted to take a long trip. Or hell, even a cheap Honda ICE for use for long trips. Given that 99% of people's driving is going to be less than 160 miles round-trip, it still makes the most sense to get the 40 kWh option IMHO.

This hits the nail on the head. Currently, I have two cars (an 06 Trail Blazer and a 2011 Mustang) If I sold both, I could probably swing the 230 mile S, but instead, I will sell one, and go with the 160 mile. If I need to go longer, I will simply hop in the trail blazer, and drive till I need to fill up. A second car or rental car is the best long range solution (definitely cheaper than the bigger battery packs)

[onlinespending]

Not to mention, if you have family, that Trailblazer will be infinitely more comfortable for longer trips. I'm 6'5" and wouldn't want to be taking long road trips in the Model S anyways. I'd rather use a portion of that $20,000 + tax savings (that I can earn interest on) and spring for a big, comfy rental car when I want to take long road trips.