Tesla Model S Gets a Radically Redesigned Interior and 520-Mile Range (cnet.com) 220
During its fourth-quarter earnings announcement, Tesla unveiled the long-rumored refresh for its Model S sedan. CNET reports: On the outside, the Model S has a new front bumper with slightly different intakes, a tweaked rear diffuser and new 19- and 21-inch wheel designs. All of the exterior trim is now finished in black to match the Model Y, but the paint color palette remains the same, with white being the only no-cost option. The interior is the star of the show, though. It's been completely redesigned, marking the Model S' first major update since its debut in 2012. There's a large 17-inch central screen much like that of the Model 3 and Model Y, but the S retains a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster in front of the driver, as well. Tesla says the new center screen is basically a gaming computer with 10 teraflops of processing power, and the released images show it running the popular fantasy RPG game Witcher 3.
Most radical is the new steering wheel. It isn't exactly a wheel anymore, instead looking like a yoke right out of Star Wars or Knight Rider. There are no stalks, either, meaning the turn signals, lights and other typical features are now controlled by touch buttons on the "wheel." There's more carbon fiber or wood trim covering parts of the dashboard and door panels, and the door cards and center console have been redesigned for more storage space and better looks. The rear seats look more sculpted and have a new fold-down armrest with cupholders. Rear-seat passengers get an 8-inch screen that offers the same infotainment and gaming functions as the main screen, and it even works with wireless gaming controllers. The Model S has three-zone climate control, a 22-speaker audio system, heated seats all around (and ventilated front seats), ambient lighting and a glass roof as standard. White, black and beige remain the only interior color options. The maxed-out "Plaid Plus" model, which comes in at $139,990, features over 1,100 hp and will hit 60 mph in under 2 seconds. "It also boats a sub-9-second quarter-mile time, a top speed of 200 mph and a range of over 520 miles," reports CNET.
Most radical is the new steering wheel. It isn't exactly a wheel anymore, instead looking like a yoke right out of Star Wars or Knight Rider. There are no stalks, either, meaning the turn signals, lights and other typical features are now controlled by touch buttons on the "wheel." There's more carbon fiber or wood trim covering parts of the dashboard and door panels, and the door cards and center console have been redesigned for more storage space and better looks. The rear seats look more sculpted and have a new fold-down armrest with cupholders. Rear-seat passengers get an 8-inch screen that offers the same infotainment and gaming functions as the main screen, and it even works with wireless gaming controllers. The Model S has three-zone climate control, a 22-speaker audio system, heated seats all around (and ventilated front seats), ambient lighting and a glass roof as standard. White, black and beige remain the only interior color options. The maxed-out "Plaid Plus" model, which comes in at $139,990, features over 1,100 hp and will hit 60 mph in under 2 seconds. "It also boats a sub-9-second quarter-mile time, a top speed of 200 mph and a range of over 520 miles," reports CNET.
Sensors (Score:3, Interesting)
How about sensors? Are those upgraded? Would be nice if it they added side facing cameras further ahead than the B-pillar so it could do FSD without having to annoying creep way into the intersection like it's a human.
Re: Sensors (Score:4, Funny)
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What about modding it to run the way you want?
Re: Sensors (Score:4, Insightful)
Personally, I *expect* a $129,000 car to have some unusual aka "stupid" features - gull wing doors, a yoke-style steering wheel, something that makes it obvious it's different from a car costing $100,000 less.
I don't expect a $129,000 car to be made of duct tape and fake wood foam trim from the dollar bin section of Home Depot.
Re: Sensors (Score:4, Insightful)
I saw that and said to myself "you've gotta be shitting me".
If this is not a hoax, I wonder what other corners they cut?
Re: Sensors (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: Sensors (Score:3, Insightful)
Watch Sandy Munro. That's known as a running fix, and they're widespread in the auto industry when dealing with brand-new products or new lines. They're also generally harmless - and, it goes without saying, warrantied. They's usually not as "visually impressive" - usually things like zip ties, hand welding or drilling, foam blocks, shims, etc - but what they aren't is "unusual on new products and lines".
Sandy never holds back on criticizing things there are to criticize, but he also calls BS on things tha
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My question is this: Why do you care? I mean I buy a car to drive it, not to open the hood and masturbate at the clamp that holds a piece of the car in place. But hey if that's your thing you do you, just please do it in your own garage.
I'd be more concerned with the fit and finish in the cockpit than your concerns that something has a wood grain foam trim rather than being some custom injection molded design.
They've done it! (Score:2)
Somehow they managed to make an interior even worse than the original Model S. Cool gimmicky steering wheel too. Congrats =)
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No I think it looks nicer. The yoke steering wheel might take some getting used to, but if it's self driving for most or all of the trip .. who cares.
Re:They've done it! (Score:4, Interesting)
The yoke steering wheel might take some getting used to
They are truly terrible, if you've ever tried using one of those.
but if it's self driving for most or all of the trip .. who cares.
You'll care all of the time that it isn't self driving.
But at least it has less of a steering wheel, which makes it a lot better in absolutely no way..
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If "who cares", why change it? The last thing that needs to be rethought is HOW a driver operates a car.
It is nice to see the company investing in downgrading the only interior they've done that isn't grotesque. Should make their demise even sweeter.
Re: They've done it! (Score:2)
I dunno, at least the screen looks much less awkward than the portrait mode tablet glued to the dashboard. The interior looks more streamlined too. I'm not too crazy about the color scheme.
Re:They've done it! (Score:4, Interesting)
Is that even legal? I though there was some regulations that dictated things like this?
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It will never, ever be self driving. I'm going on record with this, current Tesla cars will never reach level 5 autonomy or the features they have been selling for 5 years already.
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Ehh .. you used the weasel word "current."
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To be clear I mean that the currently sold vehicles will never be upgraded, software or hardware, to do what Tesla claimed they would do.
Obviously they may change course in the future, fit different hardware, buy Waymo tech etc.
Re:They've done it! (Score:5, Interesting)
By the way, it *already* has full self driving. With FSD Beta 8.1 it routinely completes trips start to finish (ie, leaves house goes through streets, deals with traffic lights/stop signs and highway .. and arrives safely at destination with with zero interventions.
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
You can find other examples on youtube as well.
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Just because a computer can write a summary of a sporting match doesn't make them capable of writing great works of literary art.
And thus, just because you have seen a few examples of cars making a trip by itself doesn't mean that the technology is completely ready to take over everyday driving in all situations
Re: They've done it! (Score:2)
I bet those examples don't include vandalized street signs, road markings covered in spilled shit or debris, or crazy drivers in other vehicles.
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Uh, humans are the ones who can't deal with vandalized street signs, covered road markings, and crazy drivers. A computer has a map that knows where the stop signs and things like that are supposed to be whereas a human in a new neighborhood would be clueless .. as for who is better at dodging crazy drivers .. watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Re: They've done it! (Score:2)
I'm not sure I'd fully trust the map as I've heard stories of navigation systems telling drivers to drive through fields or on to railroad tracks. Don't forget that if a nasty little incident happens somewhere in the world, or a terrorist group screams "BOO!" loud enough, the military can downgrade the accuracy of GPS. Yes, even the coverage in America.
And how about severe storms and other things that can kill a GPS signal?
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Come on man, do you think its programmers were born yesterday? The GPS is a fallback to error on the side of caution .. The computer primarily relies on what it can see. As in if it sees a STOP sign or a wall in front of it, it's going to stop regardless of what the GPS says. When an autonomous car loses GPS completely it will rely on its own bearings and sensors .. and if things get bad it will pull over. Tesla has said it relies on an internal voting system whenever it makes a move. That's the obvious thi
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Fully self-driving means it doesn't need a steering wheel [truecar.com].
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No. What is has is level 2 driver assistance features. A qualified driver must be behind the wheel and paying attention at all times.
What Tesla are selling is Level 5. No driver needed, you can summon the car from thousands of miles away and it will come to you, cleaning and charging itself along the way as needed. That's what their product page originally said.
Vehicles sold to date will never achieve that.
Re: They've done it! (Score:5, Interesting)
You should YouTube "Tesla crash avoidance". Self-driving doesn't have to work in all conditions. It doesn't have to be better than you. It just needs to be an inch better than the average human.
And I think it is pretty close to it. They see all around, further into the fog or rain or dark, and make far quicker decisions. The vids are incredible. The car moves to the empty lane to avoid another trying a reverse pit maneuver. It emergency halts at green because someone runs their red at full speed. Dodges a new car accident hidden in a blizzard. Regains control in an icy spin out. Jumps 2 feet in bumper-to-bumper to avoid the pile up trying to kiss it's rear end.
It's fascinating to watch and imagine the algorithms behind each event's decisions.
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>> However, it must deal safely and reasonably with situations like a stalled car right in front of it on the freeway in stop and go traffic
I suspect self-driving vehicles already exceed humans (on average) in this scenario.
>> and do what it takes to safely pull around that car, even if it means (safely) going somewhat onto the shoulder
I suspect that one would be years away.
They've done ... what? (Score:5, Insightful)
You have to have your hand on the steering wheel when the Tesla driving assistance is on, and with this thing there are only two places to put your hands: on the sides, arms lifted at the 3-and-9 position or hands on that lower horizontal section (both uncomfortable and bad for fine control of the wheel). Allmost no actual driver puts their hands there when driving any other car on a straight or gently curving road, they hold the wheel lower down at the 4-and-8 position, or even the 6 position with one hand.
Anyone who takes this thing for an hour or two test drive on a highway is going to be really uncomfortable. It has the gorilla arm problem that vertically-mounted touchscreen interfaces have.
This car is not going to be able to drive itself while you read or sleep or jack off or whatever you want to do anytime soon, if ever, so you are spending years (at least) holding that wheel in the approved fashion while your arms get sore.
I am also pretty interested in how this is going to work when you want to turn a tight corner and want to turn the wheel more than about 120 degrees, and how you're going to even pass a UK driving test (which requires feeding the wheel through your hands when turning, so that your two hands are always ready to grab the wheel unless you are pressing an off-wheel control, after which your hands return to the wheel). I can't believe that Tesla will have the steering ratio so low that you won't have to rotate the wheel more than 120 degrees to get full lock because that would make the steering far too twitchy for normal (non-F1 racing) drivers.
Someone's been watching too much Knight Rider and didn't even pay attention on the few occasions when Micheal had to turn a sharp corner - and had to awkwardly wind the steering up with one hand.
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>> or even the 6 position with one hand
Naughty.
>> It has the gorilla arm problem that vertically-mounted touchscreen interfaces have
How often are you fiddling with the console that you get a sore arm ?!?!?!
Self-driving cars can't arrive soon enough !
Re: They've done ... what? (Score:2)
It seems gorilla arm isn't a problem with people yakking on cellphones raised to their ear, or fiddling with the radio when they should be doing actual driving.
Re: They've done ... what? (Score:2)
"jack off"
If you see a Tesla with all the curtains closed, you know what's going on. :O)
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Allmost no actual driver puts their hands there when driving any other car on a straight or gently curving road, they hold the wheel lower down at the 4-and-8 position,
What? No. There's no 'gorilla arm' problem, your hands are supported by the wheel.
Many people place their hands just above the spokes of the wheel (which are often conveniently located at 10-2 or 9-3), so the hand is supported by both the rim and the spokes. This is a comfortable position that can be held for hours. The hands are held in place by friction (between palm and rim) and a mechanical stop (thumb resting on the spoke).
The 4-8 position has your hands dangling by the fingers, which requires constant
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Allmost no actual driver puts their hands there when driving any other car on a straight or gently curving road, they hold the wheel lower down at the 4-and-8 position, or even the 6 position with one hand.
Just because you're an unsafe / poorly trained driver doesn't mean that no one else is.
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There's no accounting for taste, as they say. For example, yours.
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Ok you got me, it's probably not literally worse than the original Model S, but mostly because that one was really bad to begin with. And the new one mostly stands out thanks to the stupid steering wheel.
Re:They've done it! (Score:5, Funny)
Please go schedule a COVID-19 test as soon as you can.
One of the most common symptoms is a loss of taste. ;)
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Re:They've done it! (Score:4, Interesting)
>"Somehow they managed to make an interior even worse than the original Model S. Cool gimmicky steering wheel too. Congrats =)"
This.
The S is the only electric vehicle so far that gave me ANY interest. Mostly because of the range, power, real dashboard, and conventional controls.
And instead of lowering the price where it could be affordable, the LOWEST cost is now $80K and they take away half the traditional controls and displays. Stick a huge, ugly, non-integrated looking display in the center and ruin the steering wheel. Oh, and limit customization even more.
White seats still? Really? I can see grey, but WHITE?
Well, I guess I continue to wait and wait and wait for an affordable Japanese or Korean electric luxury sport sedan designed for those who want a car that isn't a cross between a space shuttle and a computer desk.
Re:They've done it! (Score:4, Interesting)
The S is the only electric vehicle so far that gave me ANY interest. [...]
And instead of lowering the price where it could be affordable, the LOWEST cost is now $80K
I would encourage you to look into a used Model S. It makes more sense to let someone else take the new-car depreciation hit anyway.
If you get a Model S 100D you will have at least a 320-mile range, which is enough for almost anything. (It wouldn't be a good choice for a coast-to-coast car race.)
I just checked and a 100D starts around $57K (as far as the inventory near me goes). If you are willing to accept a rear-drive-only Model S with a 75 battery pack, that starts around $36K.
Personally I would stick to 2017 or so and newer cars, because that way you have the hardware for the full self-driving. Even if you don't care about the features, I expect much stiffer depreciation on Teslas built before the AP 2 hardware became standard.
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I can't comment on the rest, but I can comment on the white seats.
I think they look great and after 2 years they are good as new. I keep a pack of baby wipes in the glove box, if anyone leaves a dirty smudge a quick wipe and it's gone.
They're certainly better than the boring black seats I had in my previous couple of cars.
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That wheel will be horrible to use. You have to aim your hands at it, can't just grab anywhere because it's not a wheel anymore.
Earnings Call Starts Soon (Score:2)
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Sadly, I expect it to be low key this time, as Elon seems to be in a good mood. I doubt there will be any "boring boneheaded questions" comments or the like ;)
re-do the exterior (Score:2)
These cars look so BLEAH, given their tech and wonderful (so I am told) UI inside.
Why are they so very undistinctive in their exterior styling?
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Because, like most cars today, the exterior styling is designed to increase mileage by reducing drag. That requirement is forcing all manufacturers into similar styling to accommodate the slipstream.
Re: re-do the exterior (Score:2)
Most people just drive a car to get to point A to point B. The Toyota Camry was a popular car even with it's rather bland exterior.
For people who want to show off more than use a car as a car, there is Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and such.
Re: re-do the exterior (Score:2)
get FROM point A to point B...
Need edit feature
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Battery technology? (Score:2)
Clearly Tesla has moved on from the battery technology used in the original Model S. But I'm wondering whether Tesla is moving to the 2170 battery cells used in the Model 3, or moving all the way to the brand-new 4860 battery technology.
I haven't seen anything confirming one way or the other. IMHO it would make sense to roll out 4860 in this refreshed car, because it makes sense to use a new technology in a lower-volume product rather than a higher-volume product like the Model Y or Model 3. And, we knew
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Welp, it's over. With a 520-mile range, how long can you comfortably drive anyway before you need/want to stop for a break? San Francisco to San Diego is 500 miles; even if you did that in one shot, you'd still probably want to take a break afterwards, during which you could partially recharge the car.
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how long can you comfortably drive anyway before you need/want to stop for a break?
IMHO Tesla already became practical for long road trips several years ago with the Model S 100D. My rule is: can you drive for four hours, and then can the car completely recharge during the time it takes to eat a meal? A 100D Tesla can do this.
If you are driving from San Francisco to San Diego in a Model S, you can plan a stop in Kettleman City, which has one of the biggest Tesla Supercharger stations in the world (with 40
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40 isn't exactly a large number. It's less than many gas stations/truck stops on a typical turnpike and at 20-30m per charge will get saturated pretty quickly once EVs are more prevalent. Longer charging time means you need to have 2-5x the number of charging stations as pumps. Your 20m meal then becomes an hour if the queue is 3 deep. I'm no EV hater, but the issue for trips still stands and the 'you have to eat anyway' goes to hell when cars start queueing.
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Exactly, it's not like they can build more charging stations as more EVs are on the road, is it? The number is frozen until the end of time.
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40 [Superchargers] isn't exactly a large number.
I drive a Tesla Model S, and most of the Tesla Superchargers have 8 to 10 chargers. In my experience, there are enough chargers.
There have been occasions where I had to wait as long as half an hour for a charger. I think two or three times, which works out to less than once a year so far.
Would I like more chargers? Yes, please. Well, Tesla is working on it.
Would I buy any electric car other than a Tesla? Not at this time, because a typical charging statio
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I do Ventura to Eureka a half-dozen times a year. It's about 650 miles - and typically takes about 10-11 hours. I typically stop for half an hour or so to stretch the legs and grab a bite to eat.
If we assume that you are using a gasoline car that achieves 30 MPG for your trip, you will burn a bit over 21 gallons of gas for that trip. AAA.com says the current average price for regular gas is $3.40 per gallon. About $71 in gas costs.
I used ABetterRoutePlanner.com to estimate Tesla travel from Ventura to Eur
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The earnings report stated that they have the new redesigned battery pack. They didn't however state that all of the technologies unveiled during battery day would be present. Also, the page for ordering the car states: "New module and pack thermal architecture maintains an even temperature across the pack, giving you more power and endurance in all conditions." But again, it doesn't describe everything.
I think if you read between the lines - Plaid+ (the longer-range version) coming out later than others -
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ED: Conference call confirms that they haven't switched the cell format yet, just the pack architecture.
Yoke steering wheel, you say? (Score:3, Interesting)
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-And it seems 9 and 3 are now the preferred hand positions. That's pretty close to my current position at 9 with elbow propped up on door, and sometimes approaching a corner 4 gets added for extra leverage.
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Honestly, the way most Tesla drivers is "7 and not-touching-the-wheel" ;) Basically just hanging one hand slightly offcentre from the bottom of the wheel when it's in autopilot (and for the brief periods when it's not in autopilot). Only when you're actually doing maneuvering or joy driving do you generally use a position like 9 and 3.
It's common to have two separate driver profile settings - one for when you're planning to spend most of your time in autopilot (e.g. most of the time), and one for trips wh
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You know they have something called adaptive steering? It's been a feature on many cars for years now. Gee if only the many engineers and designers at Tesla were as bright as you.
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So less than 1 turn lock-to-lock? A few degree twitch is going to send you across 3 lanes of traffic...
Why would it? The car has driver assistance.
Sounds like the Roadster 2 is coming soon (Score:2)
Standard user interface is valuable (Score:3)
Noooo (Score:2)
The integrated portrait command centre was the best thing about the S.
Now they have a sticky out iPad Pro. Sad Face.
I wonder if that steering wheel is going to get around different countries design rules.
More headroom? (Score:2)
Unless they've improved the headroom in this model S, I'll have to pass on it, like the last one. Even the second gen Nissan Leaf lacked in the headroom department. I went with Chevy Bolt EV instead and have lots of headroom, and even legroom.
Why do they make these cars only for shorter folk?
Finally a second gear? (Score:2)
Unless something has fundamentally changed in the metallurgy of gears and bearings or electrical motor construction, an electric vehicle would need a second gear to hit 200mph speeds.
Re:I wonder (Score:4, Informative)
They never have been the same computer. Infotainment is controlled by the MCU. A separate FSD computer controls all self-driving commands. Additional hardware controls the actual functionality of the vehicle while driving.
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Also, there's nothing quite like a "floating point operations per second" metric when touting a user interface device. Can't think of anything LESS important, except to people who don't understand how to develop software properly.
A "center screen" is a display device, it isn't measured by "instructions per second", much less floating point ones.
Re:I wonder (Score:4, Informative)
The "center screen" is a physical component called the MCU [electrek.co], and is not a dumb display; it integrates all the compute hardware for the infotainment system.
Not that I'm sure where that comment in the CNET article came from, as it's not a direct quotation. On Tesla's Model S order page, they describe it thusly:
Maybe there's a press kit somewhere?
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ED, found it: here's Tesla's statement:
So that comment about the "screen" is from CNET.
Re:520 mile range (Score:5, Funny)
That range is good, but how will I drive cross-country non-stop like I do every day in my gas guzzler?
Right? I don't know about you, but I pack up my entire home and move to a new one at least two or three times a week. Until someone can explain how a Model S is supposed match the performance of my 2004 pickup truck in my altogether unrealistic scenario, I just don't see how anyone anywhere could ever use an electric vehicle for anything resembling typical use.
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I don't know about you, but I pack up my entire home and move to a new one at least two or three times a week.
I don't know about you but I tow my boat into remote areas at least a couple of times a year. Lot's of good fishing and camping areas are a long way from electricity.
I just don't see how anyone anywhere could ever use an electric vehicle for anything resembling typical use.
I don't have $140k to spend on a car. I'm happy for you to buy me one though.
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A 200 mile range is already enough to drive an hour and a half, turn around, and come back on one charge. A 520 mile range is enough to drive four hours, turn around, and come back on a single charge. If your fishing holes are more than a four hour drive away from the nearest electricity, then they’re at least that far away from the nearest gas station as well, which means that you likely aren’t driving to them anyway without having to make special accommodations.
Don’t get me wrong: it
Re:520 mile range (Score:4, Insightful)
You must have one big ass gas tank in that vehicle if you are able to drive cross-country non-stop (not to mention a great bladder). 8^)
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You must have one big ass gas tank in that vehicle if you are able to drive cross-country non-stop (not to mention a great bladder). 8^)
Depends on the country.
Nobody buys for the average day(Re:520 mile range) (Score:3, Interesting)
When buying a new furnace do you size the heat output for the average heating day? No, you buy a furnace that will keep the house comfortable all year. So why buy a car that you know you can't drive everyday of the year? Especially one that costs $140,000.
I would think that people buy cars not for the average day but for the extremes. On the average there might be only 2 people in the car on any given trip but with a family of 4 it seems silly to buy a 2 seat car. The average daily miles driven might b
Re:Nobody buys for the average day(Re:520 mile ran (Score:4, Insightful)
I can rent a car for those extreme days. I can't do a short-term rental of a furnace for my house.
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I can rent a car for those extreme days.
I don't any rentals allow off road use with tow-bar and roof racks for loading it up for camping and fishing to off-road locations
I can't do a short-term rental of a furnace for my house.
I've rented portable HVAC for computer rooms, they will heat an average house ok.
I get that EV's work for a lot of people, but let's not pretend that they are complete replacement solution for everyone right now.
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I agree with this, but they are a practical replacement for many people. Certainly anyone with a garage (for easy home charging).
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I can rent a car for those extreme days. I can't do a short-term rental of a furnace for my house.
Why do you think that is? It's not because a furnace is large and expensive. It's because everyone is going to want to rent one at the same time. What happens when large numbers of people want to rent a car for a Thanksgiving trip to visit family?
The only reason you can rent a car for those extreme days is because it's common for people to plan ahead for the one or two times per year they need a car that can make a long trip, a truck to move a couch, something with all wheel drive to handle a snow storm,
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200 miles? My Tesla can do that without charging. Even if my car isn't fully charged, I can stop en route for 10 minutes to boost the charge.
Tesla drivers have done just fine when everyone was fleeing Florida. ICE vehicle drivers have frequently found that ca
Re: Nobody buys for the average day(Re:520 mile r (Score:5, Interesting)
Power outages shut down gas stations also.
What you are ignoring is the everyday convenience of driving an EV. No going to dirty gas stations. No wasting my time standing next to a car while it fuels up. Instead, I spend a few seconds plugging in at night and in the morning, it's ready to go.
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If they have a generator.
Around here, $30 buys about 8 gallons of gas, so your car would have to do over 40mpg. That's possible with a Prius, but not with anything comparable to a Model 3. You also pay about double what I pay for off-peak electricity. What ICE does over 80mpg?
Plus brakes,
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In an emergency, a gas station can run off a generator. An EV cannot.
Did you just go full retard? In an emergency you can charge your EV from a generator.
But hey you can keep postulating all you want. Back in reality when major disasters have hit in USA cities it was gasoline powered cars that were panicking and queued up at gas stations while the fully charged EVs just casually drove down the highway on the way out of the city.
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You don't have to charge overnight or stop for the night, looking at the map .. I see just about every interstate has superchargers every few hundred miles. There are big enough towns often enough where there are superchargers every few hundred miles so you can top up in under an hour. You do eat lunch/dinner right?
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You don't have to charge overnight or stop for the night, looking at the map .. I see just about every interstate has superchargers every few hundred miles. There are big enough towns often enough where there are superchargers every few hundred miles so you can top up in under an hour. You do eat lunch/dinner right?
Yes, I do eat lunch and dinner. When I'm traveling though I've been known to stop at a sandwich shop, order a drink, chips, and whatever they can put between 2 slices of bread in 20 seconds, inhale the sandwich, get back on the road, and munch on the chips and drink my beverage while driving. The total time I've stopped is 15 minutes. Not everyone will have the luxury to stop for a half hour to eat and recharge. And a half hour stop doesn't mean a half hour charge, 10 minutes of that half hour is just g
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Also, do you want a car that phones home and spies on you and can remote kill any time Tesla feels like it, and you have no way of finding out exactly what software it is running, much less being able to diagnose faults or adjust configuration?
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Keep inventing your own imaginary problems.
* The car only "phones home" to the degree that you tell it to (you have three different levels of granularity, including no-data-whatsoever), and the data not used for training autopilot is data that's used to provide featur
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(Remote kill in the event of a theft is a feature that's actually been requested, but I'm yet to find a single case where that's happened - definitely let me know if you can find a verified example, because I never have. Plenty of cases of people GPS-tracking or even trolling thieves with their app, though ;) )
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Show me the schematics. Show me the code. If you can't then I don't own that car, I've just got an end user license agreement. Thanks, no.
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This is one of the reasons I won't purchase from them. That entire incident seemed very "ma bell" to me.
Up until the 1978 breakup, AT&T wouldn't let you connect a telephone to the grid unless you paid them for the phone. If they caught you using a telephone that wasn't made by them, they would disconnect your line. It kept easy long distance voice communications as a toy for the rich. This and a number of other things lead to a series of lawsuits the effectively dismantled the company.
Every state in the
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How's that smart phone treating you?
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Thanks for putting your finger on it. When I buy a car I want to own a car, not rent a cell phone with wheels.
Re:Range & speed (Score:3)
"a top speed of 200 mph and a range of over 520 miles" - just not at the same time...
Of course maximum range is not obtained at maximum speed, and it is not obtained in a Ferrari California or a Bugatti Veyron or a Bentley Flying Spur or any other car that can do 200mph (or nearly all lesser cars, of course).
The more interesting question is how long the Tesla can maintain that speed: until the batteries discharge or until the batteries overheat?
Previous Teslas didn't make good track cars because at full power the batteries would overheat long before their energy was exhausted, severely limi
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Just like every other gas/diesel...
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OTOH, most gas cars that get low 2.X-second 0-60 times cost twice as much as the Tesla.