Towing with Tesla Model X

[Julian]

An electric vehicle will likely be our next car. As many have pointed out, 95% of people spend their time driving too and from work....that is all I need. Makes no sense to have an ICE for that.

 

[thefortunes]

Man this is still going huh. We have had the Model 3 for a few weeks now. I much prefer the driving experience over my truck, and the Ram is the best driving truck out there. I love everything about the Ram but now hope one day I can get an all electric one with a huge range. The 3 makes me laugh every time I drive it because it’s just stupid quick. We haven’t had an range issues yet, she took a 250 mile trip and still had over 20% left. Took it to my work and charged it up for free. Daily it only uses maybe 10% of the charge. I doubt I’ll even see my electric bill go up next year. It’s a shame the Cyber Truck looks like a lego toy otherwise I’d highly consider one in 4-5 years.

Did you end up getting the stealth performance model? (we did).

As a new owner, any issues or surprises (good or bad)?

Are you using one pedal driving?

Used to the interface yet?

Have to say this is pretty typical. Almost everyone who drives electric enjoys the improvement the drivetrain allows. Interesting that you already are hoping for an electric truck.

 

[swatski]

I really hope that is not Tesla’s game plan which is to just target a future audience. Here is where my opinion will be un popular and this comes from a Tesla owner there will come a point in the future and we probably are not to far off where electric cars become will become main stream and it won’t be when someone comes out with a cool new car it will be when someone figures out a way where I can drive 300 miles stop and in less then 10 minutes refill and drive another 300 miles.

Once that happens and it can be mass produced I fear what will become of Tesla. Once the major players all fully dive into the pool I don’t believe Tesla will be able to keep up with them and I think will quickly loose market share. I still won’t be surprised to see one of the majors swallow up Tesla near that turning point and keep them around as niche car company or brand.

I will also make the comment that Tesla’s tech I feel is more over hyped then what it really is. Outside of the electric drive train there are gas powered cars doing all the same stuff Tesla’s do including “most” of the self driving features. Well I will admit I have never seen another car make fart sounds on demand but I wouldn’t call that innovation. Heck I had a Hyundai rental car for a business trip two weeks ago and it had adaptive cruise with self steering and it felt darn near my Tesla’s auto pilot short of it wouldn’t change lanes if I turned on the blinker.

Tesla’s big innovation is making electric cars people wanted to buy and marketing them to the correct audience. I think it’s an incredible thing they have pulled off but the others will eventually catch on at the pace where going it’s still likely going to be 5-10 years before that happens though and by then someone should have figured out how to charge a Toyota Camry electric car 300 miles in 10 minutes and it will no longer be the cool fast electric cars that are main steam it will be the practical $20k ones that have the ability to charge that fast.

No, that's not it, I don't think. Not saying you are wrong, but I see it in a completely different light. While Ford et al. appear to be using their talent to market those things they and everyone is making Tesla is focused on data analytics, not marketing.

Everyone including Hyundai can make EV hardware and design some basic accident evasion algorithms, even my absolute dinosaur of electronic systems Toyota LC200 has that. The difference with Tesla is deep machine learning at scale that only something like Waymo can potentially approach at the moment, and they can only come close to.

In other words - while Ford has been pumping out large old technology vehicles at enormous profits Tesla's been working to accumulate billions and billions of miles of data, they are so far ahead now Ford's only way back would be through some licensing agreements. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Ford will actually need Tesla to push the envelope if they want to survive as an industry.

--

 

[2kwik4u]

Here's another really good video from Engineering Explained.

He made a good number of assumptions, but the main point of energy density and aerodynamics being the large hurdles to overcome still comes through. I agree with his statement at the end; we aren't there yet, but it's coming, and it's going to be soon.

 

[Nakk]

He made a good number of assumptions, but the main point of energy density and aerodynamics being the large hurdles to overcome still comes through. I agree with his statement at the end; we aren't there yet, but it's coming, and it's going to be soon.

Agreed. Once you hook up a trailer your efficiency goes out the window. I think he makes a mistake in lumping all towing tasks together, right at max rated capacity and long range. For many towing jobs, EVs are not there yet. For many, they are. Most people I know are towing less than 5000 pounds less than 20 miles. For those people, today's Teslas can do the job. If you want to tow a fifth wheel halfway across the state or further, no we aren't there yet. Most of my tow needs would be met just fine by an X--or hopefully a Y. Towing an AR240 10 miles is way different though than towing a big boat to the coast. I'm not getting rid of my Blazer yet.

We just picked up our first Tesla--a 3--this week. Wow. The big negative is that we're already fighting over who has to drive the ICE vehicle and who get's the Tesla. It is really hard to enjoy or even tolerate an old generation vehicle after getting used to a Tesla. If driving is just a chore to get somewhere, it is so much easier and less stressful in a Tesla. If you enjoy driving it is truly a new experience to drive one. It's not just that it's faster than almost every muscle car ever made. And that's the slow one we got for my wife. It's how effortless that quickness is. It's going to be hard for me to get the stated range, because it is just so easy and fun to drive it hard. All of the other cars I've driven in my life; none of them come even a little close to the experience. It really is a revolutionary step forward in driving, equal to the jump from steam powered vehicles to petrol power. It's going to be a long 6 months or so till my Performance Model Y gets here! LOL

Once the energy density of batteries doubles and chargers become even faster and more common, ICE vehicles will disappear as fast as people can afford to get rid of them.

 

[2kwik4u]

Agreed. Once you hook up a trailer your efficiency goes out the window. I think he makes a mistake in lumping all towing tasks together, right at max rated capacity and long range. For many towing jobs, EVs are not there yet. For many, they are. Most people I know are towing less than 5000 pounds less than 20 miles. For those people, today's Teslas can do the job. If you want to tow a fifth wheel halfway across the state or further, no we aren't there yet. Most of my tow needs would be met just fine by an X--or hopefully a Y. Towing an AR240 10 miles is way different though than towing a big boat to the coast. I'm not getting rid of my Blazer yet.

Agree 100%. There are a LOT of towing duties that can get done now. There are also a lot that can't. My objection is not in that they can't be done, or that they won't get there. It's honestly more rooted in the general overzealousness of the EV community at large. I'm a little more pragmatic in nature.

.......It's how effortless that quickness is. .........

I've been in VERY few cars that have a general "ease" of quickness. Most have a lot of "drama" associated with going fast. Wierd chassis dynamics, odd sounds and growls from the driveline and exhaust. There are 3 that really stand out on accumulating speed with little to no effort/drama. mid '80's Buick Grand National with some upgrades. This thing was a recliner on wheels and would do triple digit speeds without even an ounce of effort. It just pulled and pulled and pulled as if there was endless acceleration. Second was a TTV8 swapped GMC Typhoon. That thing sounded calm in demeanor, and drove straight and true, but would accumulate speed as if it was being pulled by an airliner. The last one was a Ducati Streetfighter. Little more drama here, but watching the digital speedo skip ahead by 20-30mph at a time is just insane.

The Tesla I test drove, and the few I've ridden in, had this same "no drama" speed accumulation. It's a really odd sensation that I think everyone should experience. I did feel the drive to be a little "numb" though, as if the car was lacking some major part of it's personality. The NVH of an ICE adds something to the experience. Even my '12 Focus and '04 Audi (which were probably the "smoothest" vehicles I've owned) had a certain "feel" to them that was missed in the Tesla.......Not really saying it's good or bad, just, well, different.

Once the energy density of batteries doubles and chargers become even faster and more common, ICE vehicles will disappear as fast as people can afford to get rid of them.

I 100% agree here. It will be hobbyist and collectors that will keep ICE vehicles around. Purely for nostalgia reasons.

 

[Dean P]

I have to laugh. Could you imagine, if the oil companies didn't squish the first electric motor car when they did, where we would be today? People would be complaining how slow they are and how much noise they make. People would be asking "Why would I want to leave my home to put fuel in it?", "Isn't that stuff explosive?","Why are there so many parts?", There is way to much to stuff to maintain, "What's that under the car, a leak?". The list can go on and on.

People today would never accept and ICE vehicle; stating it's not practical.
The oil companies would have never made Trillions in the process.
Maybe lives would have been spared or oceans would be cleaner or wars may not have occurred.

I believe there is a time and a place for everything; whether we like it or not. I believe we are in a fascinating time in our lives and I'm glad I can share and participate in it. I love how technology has developed into a worldwide sensation. Of course what can help us can also hurt us, but that's evolution. We will learn and grow (I hope).

As mentioned above, it's a nice feeling to know I'm the quickest on the road. The acceleration is XXX. You must experience it to understand it and appreciated it (over and over again costing pennies each time). Don't knock it till you try it as my dad would always say.

Just my $.02

 

[Tyguy]

Agreed. Once you hook up a trailer your efficiency goes out the window. I think he makes a mistake in lumping all towing tasks together, right at max rated capacity and long range. For many towing jobs, EVs are not there yet. For many, they are. Most people I know are towing less than 5000 pounds less than 20 miles. For those people, today's Teslas can do the job. If you want to tow a fifth wheel halfway across the state or further, no we aren't there yet. Most of my tow needs would be met just fine by an X--or hopefully a Y. Towing an AR240 10 miles is way different though than towing a big boat to the coast. I'm not getting rid of my Blazer yet.

We just picked up our first Tesla--a 3--this week. Wow. The big negative is that we're already fighting over who has to drive the ICE vehicle and who get's the Tesla. It is really hard to enjoy or even tolerate an old generation vehicle after getting used to a Tesla. If driving is just a chore to get somewhere, it is so much easier and less stressful in a Tesla. If you enjoy driving it is truly a new experience to drive one. It's not just that it's faster than almost every muscle car ever made. And that's the slow one we got for my wife. It's how effortless that quickness is. It's going to be hard for me to get the stated range, because it is just so easy and fun to drive it hard. All of the other cars I've driven in my life; none of them come even a little close to the experience. It really is a revolutionary step forward in driving, equal to the jump from steam powered vehicles to petrol power. It's going to be a long 6 months or so till my Performance Model Y gets here! LOL

Once the energy density of batteries doubles and chargers become even faster and more common, ICE vehicles will disappear as fast as people can afford to get rid of them.

I couldn't help but smile while reading your post as the experience mirrors that of my own. The difference from our Audi A4 to the Tesla 3 was so profound that it completely changed my expectations for a vehicle from the very first drive. One of the unique things to Tesla is that they get better with age. Yesterday we downloaded the latest software revision that included updates to one pedal driving. I thought it was awesome before, but they made it even better. I haven't touched the brake pedal since. Plus Tesla improved autopilot and added the ability to set a charge end time, which can now precondition the cabin and battery to be ready at that specified time. So cool.

 

[Dean P]

I couldn't help but smile while reading your post as the experience mirrors that of my own. The difference from our Audi A4 to the Tesla 3 was so profound that it completely changed my expectations for a vehicle from the very first drive. One of the unique things to Tesla is that they get better with age. Yesterday we downloaded the latest software revision that included updates to one pedal driving. I thought it was awesome before, but they made it even better. I haven't touched the brake pedal since. Plus Tesla improved autopilot and added the ability to set a charge end time, which can now precondition the cabin and battery to be ready at that specified time. So cool.

Are you on .40.x or .36.x?

 

[Tyguy]

Are you on .40.x or .36.x?

Just upgraded to .40.x. Great update.

 

[Dean P]

Just upgraded to .40.x. Great update.

Thx! Still waiting for mine. Do you have FSD? I have AP2.5 so not sure if the update will much. Anxiously awaiting...

 

[Tyguy]

Std autopilot for me. The changes recognize when there's significantly slower traffic in the lane next to you, and slows the car to help avoid an accident if someone cuts into your lane. And you'll notice the display visually recognizes construction areas. Orange cones on the road show up as orange cones in the display as you drive.

 

[adrianp89]

The longer we have the M3 - the less and less I like driving my truck, which I loved not too long ago lol.

 

[Dean P]

Std autopilot for me. The changes recognize when there's significantly slower traffic in the lane next to you, and slows the car to help avoid an accident if someone cuts into your lane. And you'll notice the display visually recognizes construction areas. Orange cones on the road show up as orange cones in the display as you drive.

Cool...can't wait. Can you turn you turn signal on and change lanes without it turning AP off?

 

[thefortunes]

Cool...can't wait. Can you turn you turn signal on and change lanes without it turning AP off?

No. Not on std autopilot.

 

[buckbuck]

You guys sure have me wondering what I am missing. I can't wait to have an electric truck. I hope this thread continues with real life experiences.

 

[Dean P]

Cool...can't wait. Can you turn you turn signal on and change lanes without it turning AP off?

Well, got the notice for the update BUT could not hook up to wifi. Mainly kept stating could not obtain an IP address and to check the settings on the DHCP server. Rebooted several time (both the car and the router) but nothing. Turned on the hotspot on the phone, nothing. Hooked up to the network at work, sames error message. Never had any problems in the past. Wonder if the last update changed something. Always something...

 

[Tyguy]

You guys sure have me wondering what I am missing. I can't wait to have an electric truck. I hope this thread continues with real life experiences.

Is there anything in particular you’d like to know?

 

[adrianp89]

You guys sure have me wondering what I am missing. I can't wait to have an electric truck. I hope this thread continues with real life experiences.

Go test drive a Model 3, Performance if they have it.

 

[2kwik4u]

Tank turning in a Rivian........this is amazing!

Breaking News: Rivian Makes the 360-Degree Tank Turn Official: Take That Cybertruck! (Video) - The Fast Lane Truck