Tesla content...

From some guy named “AxelP” on Eric Peter’s blog -  ericpetersautors.com

“Last year I found myself at the cape for a SpaceX launch. In the VIP lot there were about two dozen of so Tesla Model S’s all white, all lined up like soldiers – obvious company cars.
As I was leaving one of the Tesla drivers saw my Porsche Cayenne Diesel parked at the end.
He looked it up and down, smirked at me, “Hey Porsche guy, wanna race?”

I said “Sure, I’ll race you to Miami.”

For some reason, he didn't think that was funny.”

I get the car and its purpose.  I don't get the business model... unobtanium parts, so not only can you not repair them yourself, but dealership parts can take months to get.

Seems like an unsustainable business model.

Curtis said:

I get the car and its purpose.  I don't get the business model... unobtanium parts, so not only can you not repair them yourself, but dealership parts can take months to get.

Seems like an unsustainable business model.

What are you talking about?  I went on Rock Auto, randomly chose a '14, and they had: brake pads, HID light ballast, headlamp bulbs, a cabin air filter, floor mats, and wiper blades?  What else would you ever need??

My office mate has a Tesla.  I would never have believed a 70-yr old could be described as a fan-boy, but he proved me wrong. 

I'd really have a problem with Teslas per se (other than the fact that the current models are yawn-inducing cosmetically), nor do I much care about the company itself, or Elon Musk. I'm not interested in getting one, but that's because they don't fit my driving habits - not because I'm anti-electric or anything.

That said, everyone I know who owns a Tesla makes sure to let everyone ELSE know they own a Tesla. Meanwhile, people I know with other EVs rarely talk about them. Tesla Model 3 is the new car for the Prius crowd who have spent a decade acting holier-than-thou and making driving all about fuel economy (and ugly cars). More power to 'em....get what car suits you. I personally don't care about your Tesla at all, any more than you care about my volkswagen....

Tesla's are all over this area , nothing special , 

But I must say I never saw one recharging for free at Walmart  :)

And I forgot to go over and check out Elons tunnel the other day.  

Another interesting idea  but not ready for Prime Time yet....

That's kinda like what I say to the crotch rocket squids.  They're like "Oh, my bike is so much faster than your Harley...."  I say:  "Let's race.  Queen Mary to GRM HQ and back."

People on both sides of the fandom get so butthurt about Teslas it's honestly gets insulting.

In the interests of GRM, apparently a Model 3 with aftermarket springs and LSD makes it a track missile as long as the battery doesn't get too hot.

Father in law recently got a model S 75D.  Acceleration is pretty insane. 0-60 in 4 seconds. At altitude in Utah that’s no joke. 

NorseDave said:

Curtis said:

I get the car and its purpose.  I don't get the business model... unobtanium parts, so not only can you not repair them yourself, but dealership parts can take months to get.

Seems like an unsustainable business model.

What are you talking about?  I went on Rock Auto, randomly chose a '14, and they had: brake pads, HID light ballast, headlamp bulbs, a cabin air filter, floor mats, and wiper blades?  What else would you ever need??

Parts to repair the car, like body parts, bumpers etc? Or other spare parts like shocks and other suspension bits?

The whole business model is geared towards having done any kind of work at Tesla facilities or their approved repair facilities, with third parties having a really hard time getting replacement parts from sources other than eBay. Parts availability at Tesla facilities has issues as well - people complaining that cars have been in the shop for weeks or months waiting for parts for accident repairs. Oh, and no repair manuals or anything available on the free market.

And that's before we get to fun stuff like Tesla not supporting cars that have been rebuilt and already passed state inspections unless you fork out a pile of cash to get them re-certified by Tesla (otherwise no support, supercharger access etc - have a look at the Rich Rebuilds YouTube channel for some epic rants about this).

I was seriously looking into getting a used Tesla Model S at some point, but with the well documented issues regarding the DIY-ability and the fact that there is a single source of parts and labor that is rather expensive (not to mention the insurance issues as they tend to get totaled easily due to the repair costs) kinda had me back away from this idea.

Funny this thread popped up, as I was just thinking about teslas last night.

I want to know more. In general. Aside from car magazine stuffs; like are the used ones on CL for $30k a real bargain, or a “$10,000 AMG” kind of bargain.

Like an AMG, it seems like the kind of car you *lease* - not buy. 

Just one reporter’s opinion: Seems to me like it’s the “iphone” of cars. Easy to fall in love with the performance and shiny gadgets, but in six months the new shinier gadgety-er model comes out and you’re effectively left with a paper-weight.

The whole thing that got me thinking about this: I met a really good customer to drop off a rush order on my way to the airport last weekend. We’ve done this before. Typically, he’s driving his partner’s mercedes suv, and I’m driving Mama’s Mazda5.

This time, I was driving the freshly washed V, and he was driving a new Tesla SUV (the one with the funky folding doors.)

We both got out of the car wide-eyed, and almost simultaneously shouted “HOLY E36 M3, MAN! NICE RIDE!”

After a half hour of “No way man, YOUR car is cooler!” I had to haul ass to avoid missing my flight.

GIRTHQUAKE said:

People on both sides of the fandom get so butthurt about Teslas it's honestly gets insulting.

In the interests of GRM, apparently a Model 3 with aftermarket springs and LSD makes it a track missile as long as the battery doesn't get too hot.

Specifically a Model 3 Performance. With autopilot, that's a $69,000 car before aftermarket work. I respect the laps it can put down but for that money you had better be putting down super fast laps!

Cool car nonetheless; I'd totally get one if I had that kind of money. Actually no, if I had that kind of money I'd get the Jaguar electric car....

Since no one seems to bitch at $60-70,000 Pickups maybe Tesla needs a pickup to get the numbers up , 

Has anyone seen the Tesla  big rig truck out in the wild ?  I have not seen any around here but I think there are  only a handful for testing and putting on some miles....

In reply to californiamilleghia :

I sure complain about luxury trucks, because they are the dumbest thing ever. And I'm not complaining about the Model 3, just pointing out that it's a really expensive car and the performance model has better be fast for that kind of money. 

Plenty of $70k cars can’t turn fast laps. That’s not even a bad thing given that’s not their intended use. 

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Right To Repair is based on the idea that automakers must make service and repair information available aftermarket, otherwise people's cars may pollute excessively if they are unable to get dealer service.

Teslas are not a source of pollution, so they are exempt.

Making parts difficult/impossible for the aftermarket is nothing unique to them either.  Apparently a certain manufacturer copyrights certain components like hose assembliesa ts make reverse engineering illegal.  This is why sometimes you get an aftermarket part that looks nothing at all like the OE one.

Knurled. said:

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Teslas are not a source of pollution, so they are exempt.

Ummmm maybe less pollution......

Building them made lots of pollution, 

Making the batteries even more , getting the litium more , getting rid of the batteries when worn out...,who knows...

And the electric to charge them is not pollution free 

And yes I agree it's still less than a petrol car......

I hope they figure out a way to recycle the batteries and make them have more power to weigh than they have now.....

californiamilleghia said:

Knurled. said:

In reply to BoxheadTim :

Teslas are not a source of pollution, so they are exempt.

Ummmm maybe less pollution......

Building them made lots of pollution, 

Making the batteries even more , getting the litium more , getting rid of the batteries when worn out...,who knows...

And the electric to charge them is not pollution free

You're missing the point entirely.  A broken Tesla is not going to pollute any more than a perfectly functioning Tesla, in the way that a BMW (or Chevy, or Honda) with a misfire or evaporative emissions problem will pollute more than a perfectly functioning one.  RTR exists primarily so that pollution will not increase as a result of the manufacturers keeping service information secret.  Legally, they HAVE to make service information and parts available to everyone.  (Just like the whole idea behind OBD-II, besides more comprehensive monitoring, is that there is a generic Standard that all vehicles must adhere to, which means independent shops are far more likely to be able to do diagnostic and repair)

Ignore everything about manufacturing or onfrastructure, that is immaterial for RTR.  A broken Tesla won't be polluting, so it doesn't fall under RTR, so Tesla can keep all their service information and parts network private.

Another thought.  If I remember right, Right To Repair is the law in Massachusetts, and the manufacturers observe it nationwide because it's easier to do that than to verify if somebody is in Mass or not.

Does Tesla have any dealerships in Massachusetts?  That would also be one heck of an end-run...

Curtis said:

I get the car and its purpose.  I don't get the business model... unobtanium parts, so not only can you not repair them yourself, but dealership parts can take months to get.

Seems like an unsustainable business model.

Not sure if serious.  Have you heard of Apple?

A track customer of mine dailes a p80d. Its an amazing piece of equipment. 

That being said, im more of a nismo leaf guy.....

poopshovel again said:

Funny this thread popped up, as I was just thinking about teslas last night.

I want to know more. In general. Aside from car magazine stuffs; like are the used ones on CL for $30k a real bargain, or a “$10,000 AMG” kind of bargain.

Like an AMG, it seems like the kind of car you *lease* - not buy. 

Just one reporter’s opinion: Seems to me like it’s the “iphone” of cars. Easy to fall in love with the performance and shiny gadgets, but in six months the new shinier gadgety-er model comes out and you’re effectively left with a paper-weight.

The whole thing that got me thinking about this: I met a really good customer to drop off a rush order on my way to the airport last weekend. We’ve done this before. Typically, he’s driving his partner’s mercedes suv, and I’m driving Mama’s Mazda5.

This time, I was driving the freshly washed V, and he was driving a new Tesla SUV (the one with the funky folding doors.)

We both got out of the car wide-eyed, and almost simultaneously shouted “HOLY E36 M3, MAN! NICE RIDE!”

After a half hour of “No way man, YOUR car is cooler!” I had to haul ass to avoid missing my flight.

You're not completely wrong about comparing it to an iPhone. Tesla has been trying to lease their cars since 2016, but their partner just went no-show allegedly due to too many orders for a small venture. Jalopnik had a short blurb on it.

I can't remember if it's pre-2014 or pre-2016, but there are Model S-es that have poor motors and have had to have them replaced. Model X's have reports of vibration at high speeds, but I have only seen a scattered handful of people with this problem. The Model 3 is far too early to properly judge.

As for 'In general', like in ownership? 'Fueling' A Tesla with a 75Kw battery pack depends entirely on area elecricity costs, but in the Midwest would be around ~$11 from dead-drained, and outside of accident repairs and the aforementioned bad motors maintenence and repair is very little, though much of this is from southern california. Using your heater will kill your effective range by around half, tho most electric cars have apps for smartphones where you can activate heaters and seat warmers while the car is still connected to shore power. Car-wise, it's impressive how 'normal car-like' they are, tho the interiors aren't quite up to the pricepoint.

Repairs are hard, and the stories are not embellished. Tesla is deathly afraid of any other company uncovering their secrets and manufacturing, and so far guys like Rich Rebuilds are only able to hack cars together due to Massachusetts RTR laws. This MIGHT change with ground breaking on the new China plant- and the fact that most car manufacturers would have bought ones to reverse-engineer by now- but until we see some real legal pushes for RTR I doubt it'll change soon.

So i'd say... if you've got a Tesla service center near and just want a "what if" find checked, i'd think about it.

I think electric cars are a great idea......in about 10 years.

I would love to not pay gas to go anywhere, but since I drive a lot I can't always afford to wait for a recharge. I also work in construction in the middle of nowhere so there's not a charge point within 50 miles sometimes.

Now with charge ports everywhere, and ranges that are much longer I could get on board.

But not yet

I think Teslas are really cool. I think lot's of other non Teslas/non EVs are really cool. It's all good. There will always be someone comparing their ride to yours in a positive/negative way.  I think my next DD will be an EV, I am excited. 

In reply to Antihero :

Just remember there will be a tipping point. Purchase subsidies will shrink and disappear. Lost fuel tax revenue will need to be replaced.

Government's addiction to money makes heroin addiction seem like a mild craving for salt.

In reply to Rons :

If the government cared about fuel tax revenue, they'd tax it per dollar like everything else, instead of per unit.

IIRC, in the 1980s, fuel tax was close to 44 cents per gallon and fuel was around a buck.  The price of fuel has gone up and the tax per gallon has been decreased, not increased.