In the 7 months I've been driving the Tesla, there was one trip I ended up not doing as charging time made it not worthwhile. Otherwise I have never given it a second thought. My wife still has her ICE. She does a few road trips that would be difficult in the Tesla as we have few Superchargers, and she wouldn't want to wait for charging at charge points that may be available. I don't see her wanting a Tesla anytime soon unfortunately.
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Khatsalano
Member
The Model S is my primary car. The other one in our household is being replaced by a Tesla Model 3 in 2017.
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This probably represents most families, including ours. The Model S is the primary car, with an ICE as backup.
That doesn't negate the fact that it is your "primary" car.
Morristhecat
Member
I wouldn't have bought it if it weren't going to be my primary vehicle. And I only have the lowly S60. It's still great for road trips. Clearly the CW guy just didn't look at the real customer base data.
I agree with the Consumer Reports statement. Can't use my Model S for trips exceeding 100 miles in each direction if I have to go south (or west in the winter) ... which is many of my trips.
I would not have purchased a Tesla if I didn't have an ICE car(SUV actually) in my household. The electric charging infrastructure is just not there yet in my part of the world anyways. Tesla is making strides to reduce this challenge, which I respect and is why I felt it's fine to purchase one now.
I guess the use of the word "primary car" is up for debate. Right now I drive my Tesla more than the SUV. That might change in the winter... is that primary?
I would not have purchased a Tesla if I didn't have an ICE car(SUV actually) in my household. The electric charging infrastructure is just not there yet in my part of the world anyways. Tesla is making strides to reduce this challenge, which I respect and is why I felt it's fine to purchase one now.
I guess the use of the word "primary car" is up for debate. Right now I drive my Tesla more than the SUV. That might change in the winter... is that primary?
Model S is our primary and secondary car.
My kids share an ICE.
I added two comments to the video on Friday.
We're positioned well among superchargers, have driven to VA 3X this year.
Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Maine, NH, NJ, Philly, NYC, CT, etc. etc.
My kids share an ICE.
I added two comments to the video on Friday.
We're positioned well among superchargers, have driven to VA 3X this year.
Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Maine, NH, NJ, Philly, NYC, CT, etc. etc.
mikeash
Active Member
The thing is, CR made a blanket statement about all owners. Are there Tesla owners where it isn't, and can't be, the primary car? Of course. Is it true that "The people who are buying these cars, they have another car"? Absolutely not! It's true for a tiny fraction of buyers, and false for the vast majority.
It can be true for your case, but that doesn't make CR's statement correct.
^^^This^^^
Same here. The pickup has become somewhat of an eyesore sitting in the same place for long periods of time. I spend more time blowing leaves off the roof, hood and bed then I do driving it. If we had not already owned it, we would be using a Home Depot rental for the occasional times when we "have to have" a truck.
mknox
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I think so too. In my case, when alone I drive my Model S exclusively and my wife, when alone drives her ICE pretty much exclusively (our son mooches it from time to time). She has a much, much shorter commute to work. When travelling together, we take the Model S whether on a road trip to our daughter's place in Chicago or just out for dinner. There has not yet been a circumstance where we've needed to take the ICE on any trips, as long as I'm driving. My wife is not a "car person" and doesn't want to spend money on a new car for herself. If we ever do replace it, I can see doing so with something like a Volt or C-Max Energi. While I am up for the "challenge" of planning charging stops on trips, my wife is not. If she drive to Chicago by herself right now, she takes her ICE. A PHEV would serve her all electrically for 99% of the time, and if she decides to take a longer trip, the range extender would be of benefit.
So... whatdaya call that? Is my Model S a "primary" car? I think it is.
I think the true question is... does this car replace the car I have today in all the ways that I use the ICE car today? The answer is clearly no. That's not Tesla's fault and to their credit they are addressing that challenge. It's primarily due to the lack of conveniently sited "gas stations" for electric cars. And don't give me plugshare links which are a good stopgap but not the long-term answer.
Charging your car for 1+ hours is simply not acceptable for the majority of American public who likes gas station convenience. I think that is CR's point.
TaoJones
Beyond Driven
Um, what? While there are always exceptions to the rule, the rule would appear to be contrary to CR's opinion.
In my case, the last time I drove an ICE was 2 days prior to picking up my noble chariot at the factory, and with a little luck I will never have to drive an ICE again. In fact, the only time I can envision having to do so is during a period of domestic emergency or during (some, not all) overseas travel.
If I lived in the ^H^H^H hind end of hilly cold country, 150 miles from anywhere, I don't know that it would be time yet to purchase an EV. Fortunately for the stock price, most people live within 75-100 miles of an urban area, and even more 'most people' don't commute outside a 50-mile radius with any frequency whatsoever.
In my case, the last time I drove an ICE was 2 days prior to picking up my noble chariot at the factory, and with a little luck I will never have to drive an ICE again. In fact, the only time I can envision having to do so is during a period of domestic emergency or during (some, not all) overseas travel.
If I lived in the ^H^H^H hind end of hilly cold country, 150 miles from anywhere, I don't know that it would be time yet to purchase an EV. Fortunately for the stock price, most people live within 75-100 miles of an urban area, and even more 'most people' don't commute outside a 50-mile radius with any frequency whatsoever.
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detlefo
Member
We do a lot of hiking and need our high clearance 4WD to get to many trailheads. No way I could drive the Tesla on these roads. That said The Tesla has done many long road trips (2 years 50K Miles) and the LEAF provides a second car for running local errands. The Model S is definitely our primary car.
Brass Guy
Active Member
Model S: ~24,000 miles annually
Total of any other motorized vehicles: <200 miles annually (conservative estimate, probably far less)
If that doesn't describe a primary vehicle, what would?
Total of any other motorized vehicles: <200 miles annually (conservative estimate, probably far less)
If that doesn't describe a primary vehicle, what would?
mikeash
Active Member
No, CR's point is quite clearly that Tesla owners in general do not use the Tesla as their primary car. It's not about you specifically, it's not about the population at large, it's about how the current population of owners use their car.
And from looking at the overall population of owners, it's quite clear that the vast majority of them have the Tesla as their primary car, in direct contradiction to what CR said.
A handful of owners saying that the Tesla isn't their primary car doesn't make CR right. I fully acknowledge that you exist and that there are still major hurdles for Tesla to overcome to be able to accommodate people like you, but that doesn't make CR's blanket statement any more correct.
There is no way to make CR's statement correct, unless it turns out that our view of the overall habits of Tesla owners is completely wrong somehow.
I think the CR would more accurately have said that the Telsa is not a great ONLY car. I suspect that most owners have access to a secondary vehicle - the spouse's car or just another car around the house to use for longer trips or trips outside of SC coverage area. I fit into that category. The Tesla is certainly my primary car but my wife and I swap cars on occasion when need be.
mikeash
Active Member
For many, it is a great only car. That's the case for me, and a lot of other owners. However, I think it's close enough that "most" may or may not be correct, hard to say.
Here's a poll taken here recently:
EV your 'primary' car?... could it be your only car? Is it? Choose all that apply.
About 57% of respondents only have EVs, but including PHEVs confuses things greatly.
Whether the Model S can be a great only car depends on where you live and where you drive. Where I live, there are superchargers in every direction, and there are no conceivable road trip destinations for me that are away from the supercharger network. The Model S is a fantastic only car for me. I suspect most owners are in similar situations, but surely there are significant numbers who aren't.
I don't think even this statement is true, any more than it's true for most ICE cars.
I would happily bet that considerably more than 50% of Model S owners consider their Model S not only to be their "daily driver" but also their "roadtrip" car.
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