Towing with Tesla Model X

[tabbibus]

As someone with over 150k miles on a Model S and a Roadster, there is so much wrong in this post I'm not even sure where to start.

Lol at turning off your headlights and radio to save battery. Do you realize the power they consume? Heat/AC does consume some, but I have literally NEVER turned off one or the other to increase range.

An optional home charger is $500, not $5k. That isn't required, as you can use the mobile charger that comes with the car if you choose. Either one charges the car in a couple hours (i.e. overnight) easily. You do not put a supercharger in at home.

"When an EV runs out of juice" - has never happened to my wife or me. Do you run out of gas in your other car? The beauty of charging at home means that we wake up with full "tanks" every morning and never need to stop for (gas/electrons) unless we travel. Then we use the Supercharger network as has been discussed previously.

ETA: Just like your phone at night, you get in the habit of plugging in when you exit the car. Takes 5 seconds. The car also pings me at a specified time if it is below a certain charge and not plugged in (I use 70% and 10pm) to remind me.

Well put. Also, how do you get that notification?

 

[thefortunes]

Well put. Also, how do you get that notification?

I use TeslaFi. There are other tools, but I'm kind of a geek so I like all the stats it tracks.

It also allows you to schedule heating/cooling so I have set my wife's car to be at her preferred temp when she needs to leave to/from work.

And has a cool "lifetime" map of where you have driven (the darker the line the more you have driven that route). This is our 65k miles on her S:

 

[Ancient canoe]

What's the general consensus on non Tesla EVs like the leaf or other models? I just want a commuter car and don't need a higher end Tesla, but there is a charging station across the street from my office, so I feel like I can easily avoid the boogey man that is running out of juice.

 

[2kwik4u]

What's the general consensus on non Tesla EVs like the leaf or other models? I just want a commuter car and don't need a higher end Tesla, but there is a charging station across the street from my office, so I feel like I can easily avoid the boogey man that is running out of juice.

Get a Volt. Don't have to worry about it either way. Has ~50miles range on a charge, and will run the ICE after that runs out. Drive where you want, when you want without range anxiety.

 

[tabbibus]

What's the general consensus on non Tesla EVs like the leaf or other models? I just want a commuter car and don't need a higher end Tesla, but there is a charging station across the street from my office, so I feel like I can easily avoid the boogey man that is running out of juice.

Keep in mind that charging may be a hassle because you would have to go move your car after charging is done, or you may have to sit there while it charges and that may be a while... I think the new leaf has a higher range that should be good. That being said, consider the Tesla Model 3. It really is a neat little thing.

 

[thefortunes]

Get a Volt. Don't have to worry about it either way. Has ~50miles range on a charge, and will run the ICE after that runs out. Drive where you want, when you want without range anxiety.

Yeah, if you drive more than 200 miles at a shot (more than once/twice? a year) then I wouldn't get any EV other than a Tesla as a primary vehicle. The time is coming when you will be able to travel with other EVs, it just isn't here yet as the fast-charging infrastructure (other than Tesla's) is not ready .

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Are charging plugs standardized across all EVs?

 

[tabbibus]

Are charging plugs standardized across all EVs?

Nope. Tesla uses their own. I think others are standard. But Tesla comes with an adaptor if you want to slum it charging at a non supercharger station

 

[2kwik4u]

Nope. Tesla uses their own. I think others are standard. But Tesla comes with an adaptor if you want to slum it charging at a non supercharger station

SAE has a spec.....J something or the other. I'm not surprised Tesla has their own. They are the apple of the car industry at this point.

 

[thefortunes]

J1772 is the industry standard for level 2 (200-240v).

Regarding using other charging networks...
Teslas can charge anywhere but ONLY Teslas can use the Tesla supercharger network.

 

[Ronnie]

My responses to your comments are embedded below.

As someone with over 150k miles on a Model S and a Roadster, there is so much wrong in this post I'm not even sure where to start.
R: Looks like you figured out where to start, allow me to finish.

Lol at turning off your headlights and radio to save battery. Do you realize how little power they consume?
R: Yes I do but when the battery meter hits 10% and the actual mileage had proven to be a lot less than the stated mileage every watt counts. If I had a stated range of 200 miles I’d be a lot less concerned about killing the battery to go the last 10 miles home on a 10% charge.

Heat/AC does consume some, but I have literally NEVER turned off one or the other to increase range.
R: Congratulations but again it’s less of a concern if you have a lot of power left in the battery, smart cars have relatively low capacity batteries.

An optional home charger is $500, not $5k. That isn't required, as you can use the mobile charger that comes with the car if you choose. Either one charges the car in a couple hours (i.e. overnight) easily. You do not put a supercharger in at home.
R: You assumed that I was referencing the third party chargers that can be purchased for $500 and up. I’m was not, I’m talking about a full size super charger from Tesla, the same ones you see at the mall. $5k is just the initial fee. I never stated that they are required. You don’t have one at home but I have at least two neighbors who have them installed in their garages . When I had the smart car one of the apps I was using at the time smart directed me to several private super chargers, I didn’t actually see their super chargers but I did meet several owners who came out to tell me that they have a supercharger but it’s not for public use (i.e., the app is wrong). It sounds like you have the resources to own two not just one ev both Tesla’s, nice, but some are just as fortunate or more so and buy or lease a supercharger as well.

"When an EV runs out of juice" - has never happened to my wife or me.
R: Again good for you but it doesn’t apply to everyone, I’ve seen a few Tesla’s on the side of the road / freeway here in CA, I don’t know if they ran out of juice but always believe it’s a possibility.

Do you run out of gas in your other car?
R: Not regularly but yes I have, because I have and realize that I cannot quickly charge an EV nor push even a small one very far I used to take all the steps I believed
were prudent to keep me from running out of juice on the road.

The beauty of charging at home means that we wake up with full "tanks" every morning and never need to stop for (gas/electrons) unless we travel.
R: agreed but I never disagreed with this either, the ugly side of charging at home is that if the power goes out the car doesn’t get charged at least charging never restarted on my smart car even after the power came back on, I h to manually hit the button for charging to resume.

Then we use the Supercharger network as has been discussed previously.
R: understood but also realize that the network is far from being everywhere. I have yet to see a charging station at any of the marinas I’ve been to. This in and of itself would make me reluctant to tow my boat with an EV.

ETA: Just like your phone at night, you get in the habit of plugging in when you exit the car. Takes 5 seconds. The car also pings me at a specified time if it is below a certain charge and not plugged in (I use 70% and 10pm) to remind me.
R: Again agreed but I never said that charging at home is difficult or time consuming. I was limited to a basic charger in the smart car running on 110v ac so it would take over 12 hours to charge the batteries from 20% to 100% at home charging time was cut in half at work. , this information was displayed on the dash soon after I plugged the ev in.

In conclusion I think EVs are great in the right context (I.e., right tool for the task at hand) but if driving or towing great distances I would not choose nor recommend an ev and I didn’t need to drive one or two 150k miles to figure that out. I didn’t feel the need to brag about driving a smart car, in fact I had the side windows tinted so I wouldn’t have to look other commuters in the eyes. I don’t think I could justify bragging about or owning two EVs even if they were Teslas. I need vehicles that can handle different tasks.

For the most part I think Teslas are over priced the model x isnt nearly as functional as a comparable mid or full sized SUV which has more range and often times more seats.

Here is a little known fact: Tesla employees don’t get discounts on Tesla vehicles they get priority in the wait line. My wife and I found this out when we were considering the purchase of a model 3. This information came from two Tesla employees and was verified by a third Tesla employee she was working with at the time. They also pay full price for the Tesla clothing sold at the plant. At $35 the Tesla baseball cap is the most expensive I’ve ever owned. I wore it twice before forgetting it at a restaurant.

When I was looking at a job at Tesla a few years ago the person who told me about it was a Tesla executive, he got one of the first model Xs off the line as his company vehicle, he exchanged it for a model S within two weeks because “It (the or his model x) was a POS with a lot of bugs that should have been addressed before production but were not.”

 

[thefortunes]

My responses to your comments are embedded below.


In conclusion I think EVs are great in the right context (I.e., right tool for the task at hand) but if driving or towing great distances I would not choose nor recommend an ev and I didn’t need to drive one or two 150k miles to figure that out. I didn’t feel the need to brag about driving a smart car, in fact I had the side windows tinted so I wouldn’t have to look other commuters in the eyes. I don’t think I could justify bragging about or owning two EVs even if they were Teslas. I need vehicles that can handle different tasks.

For the most part I think Teslas are over priced the model x isnt nearly as functional as a comparable mid or full sized SUV which has more range and often times more seats.

Here is a little known fact: Tesla employees don’t get discounts on Tesla vehicles they get priority in the wait line. My wife and I found this out when we were considering the purchase of a model 3. This information came from two Tesla employees and was verified by a third Tesla employee she was working with at the time. They also pay full price for the Tesla clothing sold at the plant. At $35 the Tesla baseball cap is the most expensive I’ve ever owned. I wore it twice before forgetting it at a restaurant.

When I was looking at a job at Tesla a few years ago the person who told me about it was a Tesla executive, he got one of the first model Xs off the line as his company vehicle, he exchanged it for a model S within two weeks because “It (the or his model x) was a POS with a lot of bugs that should have been addressed before production but were not.”

Lol, I see you 'disliked' my response to your misinformation.

If you were ashamed of a car you bought and drove, I'm sorry. I certainly wasn't bragging, just providing evidence as to the validity of my information regarding Teslas.

Cars are transportation, very little else. The fact that I enjoy driving mine is all that matters to me, I am just trying to answer questions about Teslas (with which I have experience) and debunk misinformation (which you chose - and choose - to provide).

ETA: Oops, was looking at your response on my phone. I didn't even see your embedded responses...lol

1) If you know what the headlights and radio take, then you would know that you could run them for WEEKS without losing 5 miles of range.
2) The thread is about Tesla, not smart cars.
3) Your neighbors do not have superchargers - those are upward of $100,000 to install and would require a separate service feed with 400v and 400a. Here is the link Silver Wall Connector to the Tesla charger they have (for $500 as I said before). Again, you don't know what you are talking about.
4) Yep, Teslas do run out of "juice" (if you are not bright) or break down just like other cars.
5) If power goes out then gas stations don't pump either. However, there have been many instances (Google it) where gas stations were out of power (or out of gas) during hurricanes but the Tesla Supercharger network was running. If it is a temporary outage Teslas restart their charging (this thread is about Teslas, not smart cars).
6) Here's the network of Tesla superchargers:

Unless you live in the Dakotas you are pretty set, Hell, I live in Wisconsin and have 27 within 35 miles of me.
7) Again, this thread is about Teslas, not your smart car. It takes 15-20 minutes to recharge at a supercharger or 2-3 hours at home.

 

[thefortunes]

P.S. Sorry for the thread derail.

Just trying to answer questions as a knowledgeable Tesla owner, as well as debunking some bad info being provided.

If you really want info about towing with a Tesla (from people who are doing it) There are a ton of threads about it over at Search Results | Tesla Motors Club

 

[haknslash]

Do y’all really walk around calling gas engines ICE?

Asking for a friend.

https://www.facebook.com/147428049137581/posts/458831794663870

 

[haknslash]

I see A LOT of open spaces between those red pins and not just in the Dakotas. The fear mongering about “EV’s cars is inevitable and accept it or be passed” mentality is laughable. I’m not a betting man but my gut tells me there will still be plenty of gas and diesel vehicles when they put us all in the dirt. I could be wrong but people have been making electric cars since the late 1800’s and yet over a millennium later here we are.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

So how much does your electric bill increase when charging a car every night?

 

[tabbibus]

Can't answer for him, but I did not notice a difference. I'm sure it went up, not enough for me to notice in my month to month fluctuation

 

[thefortunes]

So how much does your electric bill increase when charging a car every night?

Great question.

My Roadster gets the equivalent of 150mpg at $3/gal gas. The S is closer to 100mpg.

Not bad for high performance, fun, cars.

By the way, supercharging is free on the S, so you can (and I did) drive from California to Wisconsin (or wherever) for free.

 

[thefortunes]

Do y’all really walk around calling gas engines ICE?

Asking for a friend.

https://www.facebook.com/147428049137581/posts/458831794663870

Not sure what the video has to do with the question (sorry if I missed the joke), but yes it is a lot shorter than typing internal combustion engine. In my case it isn't meant to be derogatory, but I can see how it is taken that way. Since you are sensitive to it, what term would you prefer?

 

[thefortunes]

I see A LOT of open spaces between those red pins and not just in the Dakotas. The fear mongering about “EV’s cars is inevitable and accept it or be passed” mentality is laughable. I’m not a betting man but my gut tells me there will still be plenty of gas and diesel vehicles when they put us all in the dirt. I could be wrong but people have been making electric cars since the late 1800’s and yet over a millennium later here we are.

Superchargers were originally intended to be used for travel, with most charging to be done at home.

Again, think about your phone. Plug it in and it's charged for the day.

If you use it heavily (i.e. travel), you may need to use superchargers. That's why you can see they are typically along interstates.

As EVs were more widely adopted, Tesla shifted their strategy and added superchargers in higher population areas to be used by people without other charging options (think apartments).

Personally, I wouldn't want to rely on supercharging. Charging at home (5 seconds) is too easy.