Tesla Magic
My brother-in-law is all about leading-edge technology. He bent my ear for years about an electric car. So, a few years ago I decided to buy a Tesla X after sitting in one and finding it quite comfortable for me. The X is the Tesla version of an SUV even though it looks like an SUV-light. I got the regular 75D model since the quickness and top speed were more than enough for my needs and the price point for the “ludicrous” performance car was…ludicrous. It’s range is about 235 miles (since increased to 295 miles).
It’s most notable feature is its gull-wing back doors. It also has several seating options depending on whether you want a third row of seats. We went with a 2-2-2 configuration rather than the full 2-3-2 configuration since we wanted third row access to be easier. We got the car in white since my experience in sunny San Diego is that fending off the heat is job #1.
Driving this car is a sheer delight. I am not a car-guy since I ride motorcycles and get my speed kicks there, but I very much enjoy driving the Tesla. Some combination of the silence of the electric engine, the immediate torque acceleration and the general quickness and nimbleness of the car make it a fun ride. Add to that the driver experience with the larger than normal screen display that is pure Tesla and the various other elements of hands-free autonomous driving and the full-function internet-based entertainment system and this overall experience is excellent.
The cool factor has been a mixed experience. When we first got the car we all piled in to go to a restaurant. When we arrived we had to open the gull-wing doors to let the backseat people out. A family was leaving the restaurant at that time and the kids went crazy over the “Back to the Future” doors, but as we walked past the father said, somewhat under his breath, “So unnecessary.” Whenever we open the gull-wing doors now, we look at each other and just say, “So unnecessary.” In addition, when I went to the San Diego Zoo for a visit and dropped the car at the valet parking, I asked the attendant if he knew how to drive it. He looked at me questioningly and said, “Uh, yeah, we get maybe 100 of these a day, Dude.” So much for the cool factor.
The biggest issue with electric vehicles is clearly the range issue. That is, given that you can’t just fill-up anywhere (remember that when internal combustion cars first came along there weren’t gas stations every mile either) you need to thoroughly think out your trip and your recharge strategies. In fairness to Tesla, they did not ignore this issue in the least. First of all, they did install recharging stations in many places, which I’m sure they researched thoroughly for frequency of travel. These recharge the car within an hour and since they located them close to coffee shops and eateries, the concept is that you take a break and don’t notice the recharging time. The other thing they did was build the recharging issue into their trip planning software so that they do most of the trip planning for you. The one thing you need to do is drive more or less within the limits of their assumptions so that you don’t run out of juice prematurely.
To that end, Tesla seems also to have built in some cushioning to trick us into not screwing ourselves up. The way the system works is that it tells you what % charge you will have when you get to your next charging location. As that number drops you are supposed to get concerned and slow your driving to conserve charge. Strangely enough, as you approach your destination, that number tends to rise, indicating that Tesla is giving you back the cushion they built in. It all makes you feel a bit managed by your car, which has a strange blend of gratefulness and annoyance. What, Mr X, you don’t feel you can trust me to be judicious and not run out of juice? Who do you think you are? Truth be told, it is clearly in Tesla’s best interest not to have you get stuck somewhere without a charge, so I’m not sure I blame them.
Tesla initially had the idea of a battery-swap station that you would drive up onto and an under-chassis robot would swap out your battery for a fully charged one. They had one such station in the Bay Area and supposedly, even though use was free, it got very little use. I call it the propane tank effect. No one likes to trade in a shiny new propane tank at the gas station for a rusty, gritty old tank. I suspect that many people prefer to keep something as important as a battery in an electric vehicle to themselves. Also, I figure you have to be at the end of your rope for options to recharge to go to the extreme of a battery swap. If every recharging station had one, I imagine it would have seen more use, but I believe they just gave up on the idea based on early returns.
Range anxiety is simply a fact of life with electric vehicles and I think with the broadening of the recharging network (pretty damned advanced already), people will adjust their travel programs to include stops for recharging. That, plus the increasing speed of turbo-recharging, will make this overall issue fade. For my purposes, I get enough value out of using my Tesla for local day-to-day driving with overnight charging to make it a highly convenient choice for most of my San Diego driving needs. For now I will use my old gas-guzzler for road trips.
I spent much more on my Tesla than I ever have on another car by a large margin. I wanted to get out ahead of the trend and I wanted to be cool. I think the world needs to shift away from internal combustion of hydrocarbons and needs to be serious about emissions curtailment. While the cool factor of a Tesla may be so unnecessary, I would opine that the progressive nature of clean driving is very necessary.
Dear Nikola,
This is Johns Father again starting out here in left field, I will mention a book that was a runaway best seller in 1970. Its title is Future Shock written by Alvin Toffler of the famous caramel candy making family. No, no, no, I just made that candy connection up. Sue me.
The premise of the book was basically that in every facet of our lives things are changing so fast that our limited brains would soon become unable to deal with it. He talked about technological advances in communication, computers, genetics and cloning to name a few. He wasn’t off the mark concerning where the developments would be happening and other areas he didn’t mention also got into the fray. I just didn’t see a problem.
In fact I disagreed entirely. The sheer quantity of these coming attractions would not overwhelm us. I pointed out that throughout history change has been happening at an ever increasing pace. Except for a small period known as the Dark Ages. The Roman Empire crumbled and we all lost our way for awhile. Then we got back on track, full steam, gas, nuclear and electricity ahead. Not necessarily in that order. In my college paper I used the telephone, radio, television jet aircraft travel, and cars as just a small part of my litany of examples of items we never had before but utilize everyday now. And mankind did adjust and absorbed these new discoveries without needing a multitude of rubber rooms. It was was a brilliant repudiation. I got a terrific grade. But enough about me and my modesty.
Maybe it’s a guy thing but the cars angle of my argument was the most personal to me and your comments and apparent enjoyment brought up some fond memories. Before we were old enough to drive, my friends and I built go carts and mini-bikes using old lawnmower engines bolted to homemade frames and used wheelbarrow tires. One mini bike frame was made from an old barbell set. It was slow but you stayed out of its way.
As we got older we worked on our cars ourselves. Those were the days when you opened your car hood and you could still see the ground bellow it. Cars also broadened our world geographically. Those super highways Eisenhower had built beckoned. As James Brown sang in the song ‘I Live In America’, “superhighways coast to coast, able to get anywhere”. And as you yourself said in another post ‘ROAD TRIP !’ had became a part of our lexicon.
Maybe it is that point you made about feeling ‘managed’ by your car that hit me. I have an strange quirk of empathizing with inanimate objects. When I rebuilt an MGB it almost felt like a symbiotic relationship formed between us. We were partners in a sense. To this day I say ouch for my car when I hit a pothole. Now with all the new equipment I feel a bit estranged from my vehicles. I look at my engine and am bewildered. I feel a sense of accomplishment if I just find the right place to put the wiper fluid. Yet I still love cars even if I have to acquiesce my former ability to work on them to an expensive mechanic. I agree wholeheartedly with the diminishing of effluents too. I used to drive Ford Explorers because it was the easiest on my back. Yet I always felt guilty about the poor gas mileage. We hear many good things about electric cars and we are waiting for the time they are a little less costly. Then we’ll join up.
I am fully aware and freely admit that these comments may be somewhat off target where your post is concerned and may even make me seem slightly unhinged. But I’ll take that assessment of me in stride. I once again just wanted to add my 2 cents.
Sincerely, George Westinghouse