NEW 12/3: Nashville, TN Hearing - Call for Owners

[TexasEV]

If you're allowed to speak, you might want to mention the Consumer Reports survey just out showing 98% of Tesla owners would definitely buy one again. You're not just giving your own opinion, you're speaking for 98% of Tesla owners:
Consumer Reports Jan 2015 - Tesla: Car that Owners Love Most

This is the highest satisfaction rate of any make or model. This report in a respected pro-consumer publication blows a hole in the dealers claim that buying from a manufacturer is bad for customers. Tesla could only achieve that 98% "would definitely buy again" response if consumers loved both the car and the car buying experience.

 

[CSFTN]

If anyone from Tesla Motors is reading ... 12/3/2014 gives just enough time to pack up and ship a temporary Supercharger from CA to TN. I went to the November meeting; it appeared to me that there were several industrial parking lots within 1 mile of this meeting. Would be pretty neat (and a powerful statement) if there was a temporary Supercharger around the corner from this meeting.

 

[TNEVol]

CHIPPER the Mt Juliet and Crossville Blink CHAdeMO have worked for me in the past at about 50% reliability. It is actually almost as short via I-40 and then south for you. Let me know at the hearing and I will make sure you have enough to get home.This is true for anyone else who needs some help.

 

[bonnie]

If anyone from Tesla Motors is reading ... 12/3/2014 gives just enough time to pack up and ship a temporary Supercharger from CA to TN. I went to the November meeting; it appeared to me that there were several industrial parking lots within 1 mile of this meeting. Would be pretty neat (and a powerful statement) if there was a temporary Supercharger around the corner from this meeting.

There is also the unpacking time and testing time, along with the 'get permission to use the industrial lot' time. We probably should have asked at least a week ago & even that time line would have been tight.

 

[MrSled]

Anther possibility is meeting up at the Nashville Service Center and carpooling to the meeting. I'm sure Keith would be happy to charge your Tesla there. Although there is only one HPWC outside, they have more than a few inside the service garage. Just a thought. Yet another reason all Service centers should have Superchargers.

 

[bigdomer]

I will be driving right past the service center if anyone does end up wanting to leave their vehicle their for charging. Happy to pick you up. I would imagine that Keith and Alex are headed downtown again and will have room for a few folks as well.

 

[Chipper]

CHIPPER the Mt Juliet and Crossville Blink CHAdeMO have worked for me in the past at about 50% reliability. It is actually almost as short via I-40 and then south for you. Let me know at the hearing and I will make sure you have enough to get home.This is true for anyone else who needs some help.

Thanks! I am sure we will talk at the meeting. But I have to say, isn't it a shame that we can count on "...about 50% reliability" on the Blink CHAdeMO stations?

 

[N4HHE]

Probably the wrong thread and Bonnie may move but according to what I see for EVGO Nashville it is $4.95 session charge and $.20 per minute. I think Chipper was getting about 120 mph on EVGO. Assuming he would charge an hour this 120 miles would cost him about $17 or about $.14 per mile. This compares to about $.03 per mile for the electricity. At current gas prices a 30 mpg car does better than $.14 per mile.

61,000 miles in my Prius cost an average of $0.06/mile for gasoline.

At my electric rates Tesla electricity is $0.03/mile. At $3.00/gallon thats 100 MPG$e (Miles Per Gallon Dollar Equivalent).

My Model S will never be justified economically, but I chafe at the notion of paying more for energy to drive than I paid for the Prius.

When I bought the Prius I was regularly riding a Honda GL1800 Goldwing to/from work and weekends. 42 MPG! But the effort to don gloves, jacket, and helmet for 42 MPG when I could quickly jump in the Prius for 50 MPG put an end to the Goldwing's use for utility.

 

[highfalutintodd]

Hey all,

Unfortunately I have visitors coming in for meetings tomorrow morning so I won't be able to make it this time. But I will definitely be there in spirit. Here's hoping everything goes well - looking forward to hearing good reports tomorrow!

 

[Earthdog]

The bright spot in this trip is I am getting to stay at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville. Its great to have a place that has a Tesla as their shuttle car. On top of that HPWC's to charge my car. Been looking for a new spot in Nashville to stay when I come up from Atlanta and this is it. Now lets get ready for a effective visit at the TN Legislature.

 

[bonnie]

Hey congrats! I just heard through the grapevine that your presence at the meeting ensured everything went smoothly. Looks like another store will be up and running in Tennessee shortly . Also, a HUGE thank you from Tesla:

A BIG BIG thank you to you and the Tennessee owners that took time out of their own busy schedules to participate. So easy (and understandable) for folks to be tied up with other matters, especially this time of year. It is truly humbling to me to see this level of support from our customers. They were instrumental in getting this done.

So stop for a moment and give yourself a pat on the back. In fact, open that bottle of wine tonight that you've been saving for a special occasion. Well done!

 

[dhanson865]

can someone who was at the meeting give us a cliffs notes recap? What were the possible outcomes? What is the final result? Was anything interesting said pro or con that you didn't expect?

 

[bonnie]

can someone who was at the meeting give us a cliffs notes recap? What were the possible outcomes? What is the final result? Was anything interesting said pro or con that you didn't expect?

My understanding was that the meeting was short and sweet, no small part due to the fact that if objections (from outside groups) to this going through were to be raised (and the topic opened up to people speaking at that point), then there were a whole lot of people there prepared to speak.

Potential outcomes were that Tesla could have been denied doing business in Tennessee or they could have continued putting off the decision, effectively barring Tesla from doing business until a decision was reached at some future point in time.

 

[Chipper]

Yup. Bonnie has it right. The meeting was almost as anti-climactic as the last one. Basically, "Hearing no objections we are going to allow the application to pass to staff." Indicating the application will now be allowed to progress through the approval process. The whole meeting took no more than 7 minutes! Jonathan and I were talking and he mentioned how grateful Tesla was that we came out for this. He indicated how humbling it is to work for a company with that kind of loyal customer base. I am proud to be one of those loyal customers. This is am amazing company!

 

[techmaven]

In this case, anti-climatic is excellent. Thanks to all that participated! Sometimes a watchful eye is necessary to make sure things are done right.

 

[highfalutintodd]

Congrats to all. Again, wish I could have been there, but so glad it went well. Yay!

 

[TNEVol]

I think the thing people miss is that current TN law does not expressly prohibit a manufacturer from owning a dealer as far as I can determine. The dealer has to be a separate entity from the manufacturer which i think Tesla accomplished by creating a Tennessee entity to be the dealer(purely my speculation). Once this entity was created the MVC staff had to approve the license because it met TN law. The dealer associations objected and it was taken out of the hands of staff. The compromise resulted in the association dropping its objections which permitted staff to go forward and issue the license. A compromise here was best. Although Tesla has a legal right to the license, the legal process could take over a year and the legislature would have multiple chances to change the law. I don't know what the deal was but having a store and service center in the middle of the state is a big deal. I too was pleased with both the Tesla representation and the owner/advocates. I know the associations were surprised that so many owners came for a perfunctory hearing. Particular thanks to Bonnie.

IMO we will have to be on alert for a change in the law to stop future stores especially with the X and 3 in the future. I understand that others may read this thread but our commitment should be apparent.

 

[dhanson865]

I'd be shocked if there were any less than 3 stores in TN by the end of 2015.

I fully expect a Knoxville and a Memphis store next year and if not a store, then a gallery and a service center for each city.

I'd expect a Chattanooga store/service center after that.

Oh and while we are talking about rules and regulations I'd sure like to see TVA/TN change something to make home owned solar PV more reasonable to do. We have strong sun insolation here compared to the northern states and yet solar PV payback in TN is ranked 48th out of 50 states.

 

[TNEVol]

I'd be shocked if there were any less than 3 stores in TN by the end of 2015.

I fully expect a Knoxville and a Memphis store next year and if not a store, then a gallery and a service center for each city.

I'd expect a Chattanooga store/service center after that.

Oh and while we are talking about rules and regulations I'd sure like to see TVA/TN change something to make home owned solar PV more reasonable to do. We have strong sun insolation here compared to the northern states and yet solar PV payback in TN is ranked 48th out of 50 states.

I hope you are correct but I doubt it. I think we are limited to one or possibly 2 dealerships in TN for the short term. A gallery would likely be unable to offer test drives or facilitate sales (see Iowa). I expect some limits were the compromise here, but I don't know. The volumes of S and X sales in TN in 2015 will not likely be sufficient in number to push the issue to a permanent resolution. IMO the more of a threat Tesla is to dealers the more they will seek protection from the legislature. The turning point will be the Model 3 and there is likely to be a major fight in TN and other states at that point. There is no doubt in my mind that the present legislative majority would support local dealers over Tesla. On the other hand Tesla would have possible legal claims under the Sherman Act and could have some popular support if the Model 3 is as predicted. I do see service centers and superchargers in the future for Knoxville and Memphis however. Again just my opinion but I do know the TN politics. I totally agree with you on solar. TVA is less responsive than public regulated utilities and is intentionally drag its feet on support of alternative generation. it is understandable, however, because of the disruptive nature of solar.