Any Tesla owners?

[nittany03]

My bet is that they are worried about a few things, but the main one being how it stored in the mean time before you go flying. If it gets put in a car, and then something happens there is not much exposure. If it makes it way into a flying machine, then even if the person in question would not want it, someone in the family would sue.

Yeah, you’re probably going to need to find out however the airfield gets their fuel, then get a suitable container for it built on the 5 acres, then source the fuel from a supplier.

 

[Swanee]

Teesler owner?

Nope.

Cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks, cop everything is the only way to go…

View attachment 37427

View attachment 37433

I hear Mount Prospect is practically giving them away- but does the cigarette lighter still work?

 

[sevenhelmet]

When I had my 6 month vacation in Oklahoma learning the tanker, I recall seeing a total of three Teslas, and they all had out of state tags. It was noticeable as I had just spent a decade in San Diego where Teslas are everywhere.

It was interesting as it made me wonder if it was a regional/cultural thing or a location/lack of EV infrastructure. I assume it was a bit both.

Bit of both. People in the Midwest tend to drive longer distances and find themselves further from help than people in San Diego. There's also a fair bit of "country" in our culture, some of which resists something different, particularly if it came out of silicon valley culture (can't say I totally disagree with the sentiment, either).

I do see a fair number of Teslas around town though.

 

[Swanee]

but the realities of cold weather and the laws of physics (and sometimes just sheer distance between towns) make them less than ideal in a lot of the country.

EVs seem to be really popular in Scandinavia.
This article says that 80% of new cars are EVs, and 20% of the total vehicles on the road are electric.

80% of new cars sold in Norway are now electric vehicles

"There is no excuse for the internal combustion engines' unnecessary pollution when the climate crisis is so urgent," says the head of the country's EV association.

www.cbsnews.com

I also see a lot of Teslas and Volts and other EVs up here in Michigan. The EV in cold weather problem just doesn't seem to be as big as some are making it out to be.


We've got a Hybrid RAV4 that we really like, and when my Outback finally dies I'll be in the market for an electric commuter car- even a battery that only does 100-150 miles is plenty to get me to work, or get me to run errands, or any other place I want to go 95% of the time. I don't have to run from hurricanes up here, and if we decided to move that far away I'll probably sell the car rather than try to drive it cross country.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

EVs seem to be really popular in Scandinavia.
This article says that 80% of new cars are EVs, and 20% of the total vehicles on the road are electric.

80% of new cars sold in Norway are now electric vehicles

"There is no excuse for the internal combustion engines' unnecessary pollution when the climate crisis is so urgent," says the head of the country's EV association.

www.cbsnews.com

I also see a lot of Teslas and Volts and other EVs up here in Michigan. The EV in cold weather problem just doesn't seem to be as big as some are making it out to be.


We've got a Hybrid RAV4 that we really like, and when my Outback finally dies I'll be in the market for an electric commuter car- even a battery that only does 100-150 miles is plenty to get me to work, or get me to run errands, or any other place I want to go 95% of the time. I don't have to run from hurricanes up here, and if we decided to move that far away I'll probably sell the car rather than try to drive it cross country.

It seems there are many factors concerning the cold and the range such as age of the vehicle and how low the temps are. I live close to the mountains and when it gets colder than normal there seem to be a few EV's that get towed to a charger, this year I haven't seen any.

An article that came out today I was reading is that insurance premiums for new EV's are expected to jump 28% for a variety of reasons, but talking to a few auto shop owners I know the more tech a car has the more it cost to repair, computers on wheels.

 

[Random8145]

From what I've seen the cold isn't anywhere near the factor that some folks seem to think it is for EV's. I've got several coworkers that drive EV's here in DC and even when it gets really cold they aren't affected too badly at all, none of them have had an issue getting around on their average drives in the winter. Our weather isn't too much different than much of Ohio and there are plenty in Canada too, where I am told it can get a little chilly in the winter. Several of the folks I know have had them for several years now with a good amount of mileage and not one has had to change out a battery yet. Battery technology is also improving at a rapid rate, making them more efficient and with longer total life.

Like any tool EV's are good for some things and not others. Practical EV's are still a pretty new thing, having been around as viable transportation for the average person for less time than smart phones have been around. Early versions are certainly going to have some bugs to work out but I have been very impressed with how far and how fast EV's have come in the last few years, not to mention the plethora of options on the horizon in the next 2-5 years. Are they for everyone? No, but they are certainly a pretty good option for a significant number of the folks who drive in this country.

The engineering of the battery plays a very large role in determining how good EVs are in the cold. Teslas for example have world-class battery designs. What will really be cool and a game changer is if they start getting them with 500, 600, and 1,000+ mile ranges.

 

[Random8145]

Bit of both. People in the Midwest tend to drive longer distances and find themselves further from help than people in San Diego. There's also a fair bit of "country" in our culture, some of which resists something different, particularly if it came out of silicon valley culture (can't say I totally disagree with the sentiment, either).

I do see a fair number of Teslas around town though.

Culture, distance, and also income. The Midwest isn't known for being where people earn the big $$$'s while places like San Diego have among the highest incomes in the country. And up until recently, owning a Tesla has primarily been a rich person's game.

 

[Random8145]

That’s what the people of Krypton thought too, and look what happened to all of them.

I am actually not familiar with Superman so had to Google that. But from what I can gather, they were stupid Their sun was going supernova and they didn't know it despite having the ability to build advanced spaceships. Our Sun, however, is too small to die via a supernova.

 

[Gatordev]

The EV in cold weather problem just doesn't seem to be as big as some are making it out to be.

It's not the cold weather by itself, but also the distance and the infrastructure. If you have a place to plug in after your commute, then great. But if you commute a long distance and then don't have a dedicated place to charge (like my work), it can (but may not be) an issue. That's all I'm saying.

 

[Griz882]

In the event of a zombie apocalypse I plan on calling Doug (and buying an axe).

 

[Random8145]

In the event of a zombie apocalypse I plan on calling Doug (and buying an axe).

Yep, you can run a vehicle on wood gas. Does hell on the engine though from what I understand.

 

[mad dog]

I was surprised to see that the DTW employee lot has only 4 charging ports…I figured that there would be more. I dunno, maybe there are more on the lot but I haven’t seen any.

From yesterday prior to the commute home…

 

[TF7325]

I was surprised to see that the DTW employee lot has only 4 charging ports…I figured that there would be more. I dunno, maybe there are more on the lot but I haven’t seen any.

From yesterday prior to the commute home…

View attachment 37475

View attachment 37476

That would suck if you were car #5 and the other four were on multi day trips ?

 

[mad dog]

That would suck if you were car #5 and the other four were on multi day trips ?

True. I noticed a good number of EVs parked elsewhere in the lot…so the presence of EVs far outweighs the availability of charging ports at the DTW employee lot. I would imagine that they’ll probably install more charging ports at some point.

 

[gparks1989]

It's not the cold weather by itself, but also the distance and the infrastructure. If you have a place to plug in after your commute, then great. But if you commute a long distance and then don't have a dedicated place to charge (like my work), it can (but may not be) an issue. That's all I'm saying.

Not rebutting your specific circumstances, but I’d say that if one has a “normal commute” (say <50mi per day) and a home garage with electricity, that problem is solved. Even in a cold climate

Removing money and interest from the decision, a significant portion of Americans would be easily served by EVs. I think there is a tendency to overestimate just how much range one would need day to day, and people forget that you can install a charger at your house. We haven’t done that because our particular part of the Midwest has good charging infrastructure and because our garage is a glorified shanty.

Now towing capacity? Ya EVs don’t shine there. If you’re routinely commuting 100+ miles, EVs are weak and you should probably move.