Cost of Tesla ownership, real time experience

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  #16  
Old 05-29-2021, 04:22 PM
oldtimes oldtimes is offline
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Originally Posted by tuccillo View Post
If there is a problem with the electrical grips or even just a power failure then you are still SOL with a gas car since you can't pump gas without power.

“As it turns out, gas stations that pump while the power is out rely entirely on transfer switches and generators. In the past, gas stations weren’t required to have generators or an alternative way to power their gas pumping if the electricity went out— so during a blackout, residents would be left without power and gasoline.”
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Old 05-29-2021, 04:26 PM
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Gas stations are apparently required to have transfer switches that would allow the possibility of an alternate power source in case of an extended power outage. There is no requirement to have actual back-up generators on site. There are, however, some stations with back-up generators. I believe Tesla is starting to roll out Supercharger stations with solar panels and battery storage so they can presumably operate without grid power for some period of time.

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“As it turns out, gas stations that pump while the power is out rely entirely on transfer switches and generators. In the past, gas stations weren’t required to have generators or an alternative way to power their gas pumping if the electricity went out— so during a blackout, residents would be left without power and gasoline.”

Last edited by tuccillo; 05-29-2021 at 04:45 PM.
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Old 05-29-2021, 04:29 PM
Number 10 GI Number 10 GI is offline
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When is the government going to start charging electric vehicles road tax?
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Old 05-29-2021, 04:29 PM
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I have heard enough to decide that I don't want to buy an electric car. But, for me, the biggest issue is that, even with a fast charging time, there is no guarantee that you won't need to wait in line to plug in.
I’ve have had my Tesla over 2 years now and never had to wait for a supercharger. Now in truth, I hardly ever needed to use one as i charge at home and am alway at least 260 miles charged when I wake up and on days I plan on taking a long trip, i fill up the battery to 330 - that’s when i might need to use the supercharger. I also try to stay at hotels that have them so i can charge overnight.
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Old 05-29-2021, 04:31 PM
tuccillo tuccillo is offline
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There are a number of states that do that already. I believe about half do. It manifests itself as an additional annual fee to replace the gas tax that isn't being paid.

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When is the government going to start charging electric vehicles road tax?
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Old 05-29-2021, 04:37 PM
imalowany imalowany is offline
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For most owners, the majority of their driving is local and they are charging at home at night so charging time is not an issue. For that scenario, they are never spending time at a Tesla Supercharger station but you are spending time at gas stations for a gas car. For road trips, you will spend more time charging than it would take to fill the tank of a gas car. How often are you on road trips that are longer than the range of the car so it would need charging?
Also if you plan it right, with around 300 miles or so you can stop for a bathroom break / eat something…. I have never had an issue with the extra 30 minutes and don’t forget you also get all the other benefits of an electric car - better performance and less maintenance cost like oil changes
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Old 05-29-2021, 04:43 PM
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The biggest cost of driving one of those things is that you aren’t driving a real vehicle. Let me know when they make one with 4WD, lots of ground clearance, can tow a camper, can be charged as fast as filling a gas tank, and doesn’t cost more than an internal combustion engine, and then I might consider one. I prefer to drive a real vehicle, not a computer on wheels.
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Old 05-29-2021, 04:48 PM
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That's funny. Your so-called "real vehicle" is a computer on wheels. It probably has 30, or more, embedded microprocessors.


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The biggest cost of driving one of those things is that you aren’t driving a real vehicle. Let me know when they make one with 4WD, lots of ground clearance, can tow a camper, can be charged as fast as filling a gas tank, and doesn’t cost more than an internal combustion engine, and then I might consider one. I prefer to drive a real vehicle, not a computer on wheels.
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Old 05-29-2021, 05:41 PM
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How often are you on road trips that are longer than the range of the car so it would need charging?
So far this year? 8 times...
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Old 05-29-2021, 05:45 PM
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When is the government going to start charging electric vehicles road tax?
When is the government going to stop subsidizing 1/2 the cost of EVs?

Talk about tax breaks for the wealthy...
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Old 05-29-2021, 05:58 PM
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I've been a strong advocate of the electric auto's for awhile but I'm been mostly curious about the Tesla and the advanced they have made. Still, I wonder about actual cost of ownership now that there are more and more on the road. In the early days of availability I think Tesla provided some rapid charging stations free of charge but I'm thinking that that was unsustainable. I've been wondering just how things are managed these days and how much it really costs to own and travel in one.
How much it really cost to own and travel in one. Few people could honestly answer that for a Toyota Corolla, a Chevy or a Ford or whatever.

Nothing is perfect. First of all electric cars are subsidized by the tax man. An interesting thing, while it has not been shown on a gas pump for years, roughly 1/3 of the cost of a gallon of gasoline is tax. That tax is supposed to support our road system.
Fair is an impossible to define concept but electric cars are not paying for the roads to the same degree that gasoline cars are.

Just like an electric golf cart or the starter battery in a gasoline car batteries do not last forever. They are good for 5-6 years. In an electric car a new set of batteries is a huge expense-the reason why they depreciate quite a bit. Fast charging actually shortens the battery life-number of charge discharge cycles. Just like an electric golf cart, for snow birds, the battery needs to be charged even when they are not here-stand by losses and the batteries continue to age even though they are not using it.

We tend in all things to demand perfect. In the real world it does not exist.
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Old 05-29-2021, 06:09 PM
tuccillo tuccillo is offline
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1/2 the cost? Do you have a reference for that?

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Originally Posted by JMintzer View Post
When is the government going to stop subsidizing 1/2 the cost of EVs?

Talk about tax breaks for the wealthy...
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Old 05-29-2021, 06:16 PM
DAVES DAVES is offline
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If you can find a Tesla 220V charging station, you can get from 40% to 80% charge in 1 hour, but a full charge takes 3 hours...

"For most Teslas, it only takes about an hour to charge from 40% to 80% on a 220V system, but another two hours to go from 80% to 100%."
Not sure all will understand your last line. I doubt a Tesler or any device running on rechargeable batteries allows you to completely drain the batteries. Doing that will destroy the batteries. A battery low on charge is like a sponge it quickly absorbs the electricity, the charge. The last part of the charge the charger is facing more resistance and the charging rate falls off. If, the charger is powerful enough as in a quick charge, the battery is damaged by the heat.

All is a compromise. If, they advertise a 300 mile range on a charge, that is not driving into a wind, running AC or heat etc. At an 80% charge you would get roughly, very roughly 200 miles. You would need to find a charger every 200 miles and something to do for two hours every 200 miles
  #29  
Old 05-29-2021, 06:21 PM
tuccillo tuccillo is offline
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No. In Florida, the gas tax is 34 cents per gallon. That is not 1/3 of the cost.

In reality, Teslas retain their value very well.

Tesla Model 3 Bucks Trend of Electric Vehicles Depreciating Fast

Early Nissan Leafs, not so much, because of a lack of a well engineered battery temperature control system.

Tesla battery packs are warrantied for 70% of the original range for 8 years or 100K miles. Teslas with 300K miles are not that unusual.

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Originally Posted by DAVES View Post
How much it really cost to own and travel in one. Few people could honestly answer that for a Toyota Corolla, a Chevy or a Ford or whatever.

Nothing is perfect. First of all electric cars are subsidized by the tax man. An interesting thing, while it has not been shown on a gas pump for years, roughly 1/3 of the cost of a gallon of gasoline is tax. That tax is supposed to support our road system.
Fair is an impossible to define concept but electric cars are not paying for the roads to the same degree that gasoline cars are.

Just like an electric golf cart or the starter battery in a gasoline car batteries do not last forever. They are good for 5-6 years. In an electric car a new set of batteries is a huge expense-the reason why they depreciate quite a bit. Fast charging actually shortens the battery life-number of charge discharge cycles. Just like an electric golf cart, for snow birds, the battery needs to be charged even when they are not here-stand by losses and the batteries continue to age even though they are not using it.

We tend in all things to demand perfect. In the real world it does not exist.

Last edited by tuccillo; 05-29-2021 at 06:32 PM.
  #30  
Old 05-29-2021, 06:25 PM
tuccillo tuccillo is offline
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No, not 2 hours. Read post #7.

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Originally Posted by DAVES View Post
Not sure all will understand your last line. I doubt a Tesler or any device running on rechargeable batteries allows you to completely drain the batteries. Doing that will destroy the batteries. A battery low on charge is like a sponge it quickly absorbs the electricity, the charge. The last part of the charge the charger is facing more resistance and the charging rate falls off. If, the charger is powerful enough as in a quick charge, the battery is damaged by the heat.

All is a compromise. If, they advertise a 300 mile range on a charge, that is not driving into a wind, running AC or heat etc. At an 80% charge you would get roughly, very roughly 200 miles. You would need to find a charger every 200 miles and something to do for two hours every 200 miles
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