OT: Tesla Model 3

[AngryScientist]

i'm likely ages away from buying a new car, so it's really not important to me, but - i think i like it!

[velomonkey]

I watched the live intro last night. Elon is a little odd and it takes him a while to get it out and it's a bit awkward. With that said - for 35k starting price this is the start of something big. I know 2 people who reserved one.

I did drive the model S and it was nothing short of a blast. The interior though could have been improved. BMW 5 or 7 series pricing, but with Acura TL interior. If that matters to you.

I'd consider one, but would want to try it out first, but I think I might wait for the next update.

[mistermo]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

Tesla is in the gonna, gonna, gonna phase

After my clean diesel experience l'm a little jaded. These guys want to make a truckload of cash just like any other car manufacturer and will market/spin this in a way that you wanna hear. Lots of Pollyanna about product and necessary infrastructure to make it work

I'm going to rain a little more on this, does an electric car really change the game? Still the steep environmental cost of manufacturing/driving/maintenance and getting it to you via ships with unregulated emissions. How about electricity? Still have make that...and deliver it, you don't hear anyone bragging about living on a powerline

I'll stop, but the point is...it's just more of the same

I get your comments, but I think you're looking at the glass as mostly empty, when it's mostly full.

Rather than gonna, gonna (which still applies) I think they already have, have. They already have delivered a 'game changing' vehicle, the Model S. Fastest sedan in history, and it doesn't use gas! Now it's on to mass production. If you gotta walk before you run, then Tesla is walking quite well.

And if the 3pt shot changed basketball, their dealerships in the mall, have changed the carbuying experience. Here in Indiana, a state beholden to GM, our legislators tried to re-write the rules to force Tesla out, so their Bolt could win. Unless GM sees them as a qualified threat, that doesn't happen.

http://www.indystar.com/story/money/...iana/80815046/

Environmentally, they're better than our 'clean' diesels, maybe even Priuses (Prii?) too.

I'll concede that not driving is cleaner than driving. I'll concede that manufacturing and transport of anything, comes with toll on the environment.

As with any game changing new development, there will be setbacks. And I predict Tesla will face them as they move forward on the Model 3, but it's hard to see that a $35K all electric car, with 215+ range is more of the same.

[benb]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

I'm going to rain a little more on this, does an electric car really change the game? Still the steep environmental cost of manufacturing/driving/maintenance and getting it to you via ships with unregulated emissions. How about electricity? Still have make that...and deliver it, you don't hear anyone bragging about living on a powerline

I never get sick of mentioning pollution from 100/whatever power plants is much easier to try and mitigate than pollution from millions of cars.

[eddief]

boy, are my eyes super-habituated on seeing a grill with openings. i know it does not need it, but 125 year old habits die hard.

[roguedog]

I'm with ya eddie. I kept re-looking at that. Just seems like a lot of empty space, kinda like those spaces in your car cockpit when you down modeled and all you got was the plastic placeholder plugin for the cool whatchamacallit you didn't pay an extra $xxxx for.

I couldn't quite figure out if i liked it or not or it'd grow on me. Also very hard to tell the finer details of the aesthetics without seeing it in real life.

[tumbler]

Originally Posted by benb

I never get sick of mentioning pollution from 100/whatever power plants is much easier to try and mitigate than pollution from millions of cars.

+1. Electric gives you the ability to use multiple power sources, both today and in the future. Given the lifespan of today's automobiles and the transition to more and more renewable power each year, this flexibility is important. My 2013 internal combustion engine may still run in 2050, but it will be tied to unleaded gasoline when better alternatives will almost certainly exist.

[benb]

I will say the 215 mile range probably puts it in the "no good" area for us. It's probably not enough for my wife to get through her worst workdays, although we could always swap cars.

It's also not enough to make the 2 most frequent trips we make.. Burlington VT and NYC area from Boston. It could make both of them but be very very very close to running out of battery and probably wouldn't make it if the 215 miles assumes good conditions as opposed to traffic on a 30 degree winter day.

Price and performance is just about right though!

edit: Guess I'm wrong, there are already enough Superchargers to make it work.

[AngryScientist]

i know i can just go read this somewhere, but what is the reported range based on anyway?

is that reported value consistent with how others report range? it's an important number, and one that consumers will undoubtedly use to weigh one car vs another, so it would definitely be unfair to report them differently.

[VTCaraco]

Originally Posted by benb

It's also not enough to make the 2 most frequent trips we make.. Burlington VT and NYC area from Boston. It could make both of them but be very very very close to running out of battery and probably wouldn't make it if the 215 miles assumes good conditions as opposed to traffic on a 30 degree winter day.

Charging stations have popped up in Bennington and Manchester. Stop and grab a bite to eat and recharge your REAL battery and it's completely viable...
Whether you want to travel with that sort of stopping, on the other hand, but the growing number of charging stations IS changing the feasibility, in my opinion (says that guy who had no interest until that infrastructure advanced in our less-populated part of the country).

[peanutgallery]

Considering that close to 80% of the world struggles with clean water, much less 24/7 on electric power generation being consistant or cleanly produced. Even in the us. I just do not see a tesla or an electric car as a real option as it stands. Interesting idea, but not a solution, many of the same problems will exist and the numbers so small that a slight relief (if any at all) of environmental impact will be quickly lost in a vortex of consuming things. We're still consuming, manufacturing and digging holes to make "stuff" in order to feed the economic beast

But the hundreds of people in a certain demographic will be excited about the $7500 tax break. So there's that

Originally Posted by benb

I never get sick of mentioning pollution from 100/whatever power plants is much easier to try and mitigate than pollution from millions of cars.

[druptight]

Curious about the bike toting options in this thing. Can the back seats fold down to make space to lay a bike down? Can you add a hitch mounted rack? Is that totally blasphemous?

[adrien]

I like it, and generally like Teslas. The model X thing is a weird exercise in over-complexity, and looks like a Pontiac Aztec to me. But this, and especially the wagon, looks great.

As for the power plant point, not only are they much easier to change than all the vehicles, but there's also home generation. The ideal scenario is solar panels charging the car from the house. That would essentially be free.

We very strongly considered pure-electric for our new car, but the issue was range. Even say 200 miles was not enough for us, as were regularly (twice a year or so) drive to Canada and back -- that's a 600-mile day through a lot of nothing, and charging stations are not in those places, and battery life diminishes significantly with cold.

We ended up with a plug-in hybrid. Allows us to run errands and do the daily shlep on all-electric, but has a gas engine to allow for infinite range.

[summilux]

Direct to consumer for cars actually works! I hope other brands try this.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by druptight

Curious about the bike toting options in this thing. Can the back seats fold down to make space to lay a bike down? Can you add a hitch mounted rack? Is that totally blasphemous?

Model S can be fitted with a roof rack:

http://shop.teslamotors.com/products...of-rack-system

I'd imagine the same for the 3. Then you can complete the trifecta.