I've only had my MYP for less than 2 weeks, but it does train your eye to spot other Teslas. Yesterday I was driving on the 101 north through Scottsdale when I notice a model S in front of me. I caught up and dropped into line. The model S was following a model Y, and the model Y had a 90D in front of it. So we're all humming along in the HOV lane at 80mph or so for about 8 miles. We did pass a few other Teslas as well.
I bought the MYP because my Infiniti M37 is coming up on 100,000 miles, and I just couldn't see buying another gas vehicle, except perhaps to replace my motorcycle someday. I would never have bought it without the price cut made in January, and the $7500 tax credit this year pushed me into buying one now. I'm not alone. In my gated community, there are at least three new Teslas this spring/summer, including my neighbor across the street. He bought a M2 RWD in April because of the price cut/tax credit too. And I see a model S with paper plates coming by the house now. Not sure how many more are hidden in garages here.
My thinking on EV's has followed a typical curve, I think. Benign ignorance followed by interested after riding in a Tesla, followed by the realization that EV's are a lot further along the adoption curve than I ever would have noticed. Superchargers? It stuns me to learn that most of the SC's in Arizona are already 9 years old or more! The thoughts about road trips and charging issues and range anxiety seem kind of silly in terms of buying an EV. I mean if I worked on a ranch in a rural area, that's one thing, but I live in Phoenix, AZ, within the outermost freeway ring. I can hardly think of a more suitable place to have an EV, (or perhaps an EV with a roof shade.) I don't have to worry about extremely cold winters, and if I hot foot it enough on the freeways to only have - let's say 150 miles range - I still have more than enough for every trip I've made around Phoenix for the past 5 years. I plug in when I get home and have it set to charge after 9pm to 80%. It's always enough.
My one (so far) road trip was just up to Flagstaff and back to see my daughter. Up in one charge, no problem. Then supercharge once and come home. Tucson looks to be about the same, and I just don't drive farther than that except about once a year on a road trip. What to do then? Depends on the trip, at the moment. I still have the Infiniti, and it may be that it only gets used once a year to drive to Colorado via Four Corners. Just about anywhere else I want to go should be easily doable in the Tesla as there are SC's more along the route I want to take. (The Navajo reservation is a true challenge at the moment. Not sure, but Carlsbad Caverns might be another ICE vehicle trip.)
I've come to realize that my MYP gets about the same mileage on a 'fill' as my BMW motorcycle (K1300s). That bike gets about 170 miles around town and 240 on the road (if I don't go much above 85mph). The car looks to be very similar. Drive it like an old lady and maybe 240 miles. Drive it the ways it wants and about 170 miles (probably more, but I notice an alarmingly fast drop in charge after those aggressive freeway entrances.)
Sure wish there were SC's on the Navajo reservation. I love driving through there, and the MY seems like such a good road tripper.
I wonder when someone will butcher a crashed Tesla to remove the battery pack and mount it on a small trailer, then figure a way to hook it in the car's existing battery to double the range? (And then put a small camper shell on top to also take advantage of the battery.)
"Tesla Model Y Front View" by Monotoan is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail
I bought the MYP because my Infiniti M37 is coming up on 100,000 miles, and I just couldn't see buying another gas vehicle, except perhaps to replace my motorcycle someday. I would never have bought it without the price cut made in January, and the $7500 tax credit this year pushed me into buying one now. I'm not alone. In my gated community, there are at least three new Teslas this spring/summer, including my neighbor across the street. He bought a M2 RWD in April because of the price cut/tax credit too. And I see a model S with paper plates coming by the house now. Not sure how many more are hidden in garages here.
My thinking on EV's has followed a typical curve, I think. Benign ignorance followed by interested after riding in a Tesla, followed by the realization that EV's are a lot further along the adoption curve than I ever would have noticed. Superchargers? It stuns me to learn that most of the SC's in Arizona are already 9 years old or more! The thoughts about road trips and charging issues and range anxiety seem kind of silly in terms of buying an EV. I mean if I worked on a ranch in a rural area, that's one thing, but I live in Phoenix, AZ, within the outermost freeway ring. I can hardly think of a more suitable place to have an EV, (or perhaps an EV with a roof shade.) I don't have to worry about extremely cold winters, and if I hot foot it enough on the freeways to only have - let's say 150 miles range - I still have more than enough for every trip I've made around Phoenix for the past 5 years. I plug in when I get home and have it set to charge after 9pm to 80%. It's always enough.
My one (so far) road trip was just up to Flagstaff and back to see my daughter. Up in one charge, no problem. Then supercharge once and come home. Tucson looks to be about the same, and I just don't drive farther than that except about once a year on a road trip. What to do then? Depends on the trip, at the moment. I still have the Infiniti, and it may be that it only gets used once a year to drive to Colorado via Four Corners. Just about anywhere else I want to go should be easily doable in the Tesla as there are SC's more along the route I want to take. (The Navajo reservation is a true challenge at the moment. Not sure, but Carlsbad Caverns might be another ICE vehicle trip.)
I've come to realize that my MYP gets about the same mileage on a 'fill' as my BMW motorcycle (K1300s). That bike gets about 170 miles around town and 240 on the road (if I don't go much above 85mph). The car looks to be very similar. Drive it like an old lady and maybe 240 miles. Drive it the ways it wants and about 170 miles (probably more, but I notice an alarmingly fast drop in charge after those aggressive freeway entrances.)
Sure wish there were SC's on the Navajo reservation. I love driving through there, and the MY seems like such a good road tripper.
I wonder when someone will butcher a crashed Tesla to remove the battery pack and mount it on a small trailer, then figure a way to hook it in the car's existing battery to double the range? (And then put a small camper shell on top to also take advantage of the battery.)
"Tesla Model Y Front View" by Monotoan is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail
