Shocker:An electric car company actually meets production goals (and yes, it’s Tesla)

[Doug_G]

Somehow being in a unfamiliar car on an unfamiliar road in unfamiliar surroundings doesn't really do it for me.

You can often choose what model you want to rent. Find a car you like and always reserve that model.

 

[jstoneman]

I want to scream out loud when I hear the argument "It will only go 240 miles". 240 miles? 240 miles!??!!! Who is driving more than 240 miles a day?! (FACEPALM!) It is time to seriously consider where you live if you are commuting 120 miles or more to work. It is not sustainable (or healthy) for anyone to live that far away from their employment. There is no other country on the planet whose infrastructure would allow anyone to travel that much just to work. We are spoiled (usa) and there will be a major comeuppance for us if we don't learn to live more simply. God bless america for being such an amazing land of opportunity. I'm far from perfect. I drive 7-30 miles to work everyday. I've been known to drive more than 100 miles in a day, but enough, at some point, has got to be enough. If anyone wants to spend that much time on the road, whether it's an ICE or electric car, in my opinion, there is seriously so many better things to do than long endurance tests on your vehicle, your body and your mind. Imagine if we instead took that time to help a neighbor or teach our kids a difficult instrument, or worked with local government to make it better etc etc etc.

Another point I'd bring up if I may, are the people that whine about not being able to take long road trips in the Tesla. I am 26 years old, and personal experience tells me that I can fly to SLC from SEA in 2 hours, for 99 bucks each way on Alaskan Airlines. I'm not going to spend 17 hours on the road in a car, when I can just catch a plane. These people that decide to argue about an electric cars ability, or lack thereof, to do these ridiculous long distance marathons should seriously reconsider how foolish their argument sounds.
There are plenty of holes in my argument, which is better for the environment, flying or driving an electric vehicle? I really hear you. But how often do we have to road trip across the country? The Tesla will do all of your driving...period. Superchargers are awesome, but Elon, if I want to get to Silicon Valley to tour your incredible factory, I don't have time to drive there and back. I'll be flying, just like every other person in my generation and all the generations after me, because it's so convenient and easy, and cheap. When I drive, I'll buy an electric car, and holy smokes! you've already built one, that will handle 100% of my driving needs. 240 miles of range is seriously ridiculous. When I need to go further than that, I will catch a plane.

Glad to hear they're making 400 copies a week. I hope for our future, that this company thrives!

 

[brianman]

@jstoneman - You might enjoy reading this (though I only skimmed it).
http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acs-15.pdf

 

[JohnQ]

I want to scream out loud when I hear the argument "It will only go 240 miles". 240 miles? 240 miles!??!!! Who is driving more than 240 miles a day?! (FACEPALM!) It is time to seriously consider where you live if you are commuting 120 miles or more to work. It is not sustainable (or healthy) for anyone to live that far away from their employment. There is no other country on the planet whose infrastructure would allow anyone to travel that much just to work. We are spoiled (usa) and there will be a major comeuppance for us if we don't learn to live more simply. God bless america for being such an amazing land of opportunity. I'm far from perfect. I drive 7-30 miles to work everyday. I've been known to drive more than 100 miles in a day, but enough, at some point, has got to be enough. If anyone wants to spend that much time on the road, whether it's an ICE or electric car, in my opinion, there is seriously so many better things to do than long endurance tests on your vehicle, your body and your mind. Imagine if we instead took that time to help a neighbor or teach our kids a difficult instrument, or worked with local government to make it better etc etc etc.

Another point I'd bring up if I may, are the people that whine about not being able to take long road trips in the Tesla. I am 26 years old, and personal experience tells me that I can fly to SLC from SEA in 2 hours, for 99 bucks each way on Alaskan Airlines. I'm not going to spend 17 hours on the road in a car, when I can just catch a plane. These people that decide to argue about an electric cars ability, or lack thereof, to do these ridiculous long distance marathons should seriously reconsider how foolish their argument sounds.
There are plenty of holes in my argument, which is better for the environment, flying or driving an electric vehicle? I really hear you. But how often do we have to road trip across the country? The Tesla will do all of your driving...period. Superchargers are awesome, but Elon, if I want to get to Silicon Valley to tour your incredible factory, I don't have time to drive there and back. I'll be flying, just like every other person in my generation and all the generations after me, because it's so convenient and easy, and cheap. When I drive, I'll buy an electric car, and holy smokes! you've already built one, that will handle 100% of my driving needs. 240 miles of range is seriously ridiculous. When I need to go further than that, I will catch a plane.

Glad to hear they're making 400 copies a week. I hope for our future, that this company thrives!

And, given your preferences, location, lifestyle and vacation choices, this works for you. But not everyone travels from one large city to another large city as a single individual. Let's assume I have a family of 5 and travel 600 miles, 3 times a year to visit family. I can spend $1,500 per trip for round trip tickets (best case, if my family lives in another large city, much higher if they are in a smaller town) plus rent a car at my destination for my vacation. Call the total transportation cost $5,000. Or, I can drive for 10 hours for less than $200 in gas per trip (in a similar car to the Model S). It takes me 6 hours in travel time via plane (including time to airport, getting there early, getting a rental and driving to my final destination). I takes me 10 hours via car. So, is that 4 hours worth $1,300? There's a breakpoint where the cost is worth the time/pain savings but it's different for everyone.

We're getting the S, and when these trips come up we'll either use superchargers when the route is appropriate or take the ICE when the route isn't--and fly when necessary. But, I won't project my habits and behaviors onto the general population since they will have different needs and situations.

 

[bob_p]

Four of the major cities in Texas are between 100 to 300 miles apart (depending upon the trip end points in each city). Driving takes about as much time (if not shorter) - and when you factor in the convenience of driving whenever you want and not forced to work around the airline schedule, driving often makes sense - and would still make sense when the superchargers are available. Plus, I'd rather have my Model S than a rental!

Without the supercharger, an Austin-Houston roundtrip requires an overnight stay to recharge. And the longer trips between Houston-Dallas-San Antonio are likely just out of each with too much time required to charge en-route.

The Model S is the only long-range EV in the market with a realistic chance to make long trips as practical as an ICE or hybrid - once the superchargers are installed. And this ability to have EV and not compromise on performance or range may be critical to reach the sales volumes Tesla will need to be successful and sustainable.

 

[jstoneman]

@jstoneman - You might enjoy reading this (though I only skimmed it).
http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acs-15.pdf

That is an incredible read. Thank you! We had better get our act together. Tesla is helping!

 

[huntjo]

Four of the major cities in Texas are between 100 to 300 miles apart (depending upon the trip end points in each city). Driving takes about as much time (if not shorter) - and when you factor in the convenience of driving whenever you want and not forced to work around the airline schedule, driving often makes sense - and would still make sense when the superchargers are available. Plus, I'd rather have my Model S than a rental!

Without the supercharger, an Austin-Houston roundtrip requires an overnight stay to recharge. And the longer trips between Houston-Dallas-San Antonio are likely just out of each with too much time required to charge en-route.

The Model S is the only long-range EV in the market with a realistic chance to make long trips as practical as an ICE or hybrid - once the superchargers are installed. And this ability to have EV and not compromise on performance or range may be critical to reach the sales volumes Tesla will need to be successful and sustainable.

austin to houston is 165 miles. You can plug in while visiting houston and then drive back even if you only (for some reason) were staying for an hour long meeting, you'd get 30 miles of range easily if there is an appropriately amped plug. If you're staying for several hours and driving home that evening then you could even get benefit from a regular 110v plug. If you want to drive to Houston and back in one day without plugging in, just drive under 55 mph and you might make it with miles to spare.

But yes, a nice supercharger around Schulenburg would be a great place to stretch your legs and speed the journey.


*edited because my initial mileage was wrong.