RE: Tesla Model S: PH Carpool
Discussion
kambites said:
unsprung said:
I don't believe that marketing people have anything to do with any of this.
I suppose we'll never know. My bet would be someone mandated from the top down "it has to look modern and trendy, like a smart phone; no clunky buttons or anything like that" leaving the engineers to make the best of a moronic decision made by people who don't understand the problem that's being solved. Forget the aging satnavs which most car owners are saddled with! Tesla take a holistic view: Let's continuously update and freshen the entire ownership and driving experience; and let's do this overnight, over-the-air, without need to visit a dealership.
This is a worldview that is iterative and familiar to software developers like Musk. It's also visible in our increasingly application-driven and cloud-based "flows" -- at work, school, and at home.
A Tesla car is platform. And Tesla sees its role as one of cocreation and the ongoing provision of content and experiences.
smilo996 said:
Somewhat ironic to hear the Snake Oil Salesman, Musk talking about a green revolution etc, when the owners talking nothing about this but do spend much time talking about the straight line performance.
But that is the key. Supply products people actually want and at the same time be environmentally friendly.So what if the owners/users dont care, there are now 10,000's of teslas on the road changing our habits.
If you tried selling EV's as nasty small cheap things that are twice the price of nasty small cheap ICE's you will faceplant into oblivion.
I still dont get the range anxiety either. Its being used as a taxi all over the place. OK you have to stop for 30min every 250 miles or whatever to charge it up, which at the moment takes a little longer than an ICE car to refuel, but that is if you are doing long distance trips all the time.
Most people dont,most people do 5-20 miles a day and can have the car recharged overnight at home, most people wont see a public charger more than a handful of times a year.
Exactly, Musk developed the model S to have better performance than the equivalent ICE so the balance on performance falls in favour of the Tesla. Tesla is not really about being green, though Musk may be driven by this himself - he has recognised that compromising the performance of the car limits it to a tiny niche.
The model 3 will be a better performer and more refined than the equivalent 3 series. This will be the key to its sucuess.
The model 3 will be a better performer and more refined than the equivalent 3 series. This will be the key to its sucuess.
fatboy b said:
I had a look at one in Solihull a few weeks back, but I almost choked with laughter at the inside, so had to walk away. The mrs did much the same, though her jaw just dropped at the interior, and not in a nice way.
There's really no point in me test driving one however good or bad it is. It just doesn't pass the looks test.
To me the interior is far more modern and fresh than any of he other more mainstream manufacturers.There's really no point in me test driving one however good or bad it is. It just doesn't pass the looks test.
But then I don't like timber in a car, and anyone with a wooden steering wheel on a modern car should be shot!
Mike_C said:
- Warranty work, someone asked what issues I'd had? Most were relatively minor niggles, things like noisy rear window seats and misting rear fog lamp (both replaced with updated parts for free, see there's that reactive/improving thing again), and the other issue was with a battery warning which was fixed with a firmware update. None of the issues were serious, all were resolved, I had another Model S delivered to me when they collected mine from home, and then they brought my car back to my house and took the courtesy away
Do you normally pay for warranty work? Pay for courtesy cars?I've seen a few around and love the Q car appeal of the Tesla. Anyone remember that Autocar video when it shredded an Aston Martin Rapide? The Mrs is seriously considering a model 3 to replace our 3 series and for the miles we do even if it has a 130 mile realistic range it will be perfect. Read a bit on the US forums on the ranges for the current model and it seemed the 300 mile range is kind of optimal conditions and 55 mph with zero traffic, which is no different to manufacturer claims of ICE powered cars having mpg ratings very few could achieve without going insane.
I hope they ramp up the charging infrastructure though if there's going to be an extra 90000 in the UK.
EV are the future, and I wish Tesla every success. You'd think the sheer volume of pre orders would be a massive wake up call to other manufacturers.
.
I hope they ramp up the charging infrastructure though if there's going to be an extra 90000 in the UK.
EV are the future, and I wish Tesla every success. You'd think the sheer volume of pre orders would be a massive wake up call to other manufacturers.
.
Mike_C said:
So the car was £92k, so what? Mine was £96k new. That may be out of your budget (judging by the tone of your post)
I wish I had bought an XFR a couple of years back for ~£50K, and then I could have spent another £25k on fuel for 100k miles, and had an infinite amount of enjoyment over the Tesla in that time. I was so close.Mike_C said:
but what other 5 (or 7) seat car can get you from 0-60 in around 3 seconds
As said previously, 0-60 time are irrelevant these days, so stop bleating on about them. Other people have said that it'd be fun for about 5 times, then you get on with life.Mike_C said:
drive you down the motorway on Autopilot by itself
Is that what you really look for in a car? Lack of involvement? Please help yourself sir.Mike_C said:
whilst not emitting a single gram of pollution while it does it? I'll help you out, the answer is none. No other car can do that. So for all of that efficiency ('greenness')
Meanwhile in the real world. Cradle to grave emmissions will tell a different story.Mike_C said:
that performance, that technology and that refinement
Yeah. OK then 
bertie said:
fatboy b said:
I had a look at one in Solihull a few weeks back, but I almost choked with laughter at the inside, so had to walk away. The mrs did much the same, though her jaw just dropped at the interior, and not in a nice way.
There's really no point in me test driving one however good or bad it is. It just doesn't pass the looks test.
To me the interior is far more modern and fresh than any of he other more mainstream manufacturers.There's really no point in me test driving one however good or bad it is. It just doesn't pass the looks test.
But then I don't like timber in a car, and anyone with a wooden steering wheel on a modern car should be shot!
I agree about a timber-clad car though - just not right.
I much prefer the Tesla interior to the Audis I sat in recently. They seemed obsessed with being as black as possible and resembled tragic bachelor pads on wheels.
Interesting to follow these threads over the years though - who would have thought that the last bastion of resistance to the electric car would have been the interior fetishists?
Interesting to follow these threads over the years though - who would have thought that the last bastion of resistance to the electric car would have been the interior fetishists?
Edited by AnotherClarkey on Tuesday 19th April 07:43
I don't get it.
It's not a town car because most people who live in big cities do not have a garage or any other option for home charging.
It's not a motorway mile muncher because it cant do more than about 200 miles at motorway speeds. Almost an hour of charging en route to get from London to Glasgow? A diesel could go there and back without any refuelling.
It's not a fun car because it weighs 2 tonnes, has numb steering and handles like a bus on twisty roads.
What's the point? Just 0-60 pub bragging? Arent we all a bit old for that?
It's not a town car because most people who live in big cities do not have a garage or any other option for home charging.
It's not a motorway mile muncher because it cant do more than about 200 miles at motorway speeds. Almost an hour of charging en route to get from London to Glasgow? A diesel could go there and back without any refuelling.
It's not a fun car because it weighs 2 tonnes, has numb steering and handles like a bus on twisty roads.
What's the point? Just 0-60 pub bragging? Arent we all a bit old for that?
ORD said:
I don't get it.
It's not a town car because most people who live in big cities do not have a garage or any other option for home charging.
It's not a motorway mile muncher because it cant do more than about 200 miles at motorway speeds. Almost an hour of charging en route to get from London to Glasgow? A diesel could go there and back without any refuelling.
It's not a fun car because it weighs 2 tonnes, has numb steering and handles like a bus on twisty roads.
What's the point? Just 0-60 pub bragging? Arent we all a bit old for that?
It's a daily driver.It's not a town car because most people who live in big cities do not have a garage or any other option for home charging.
It's not a motorway mile muncher because it cant do more than about 200 miles at motorway speeds. Almost an hour of charging en route to get from London to Glasgow? A diesel could go there and back without any refuelling.
It's not a fun car because it weighs 2 tonnes, has numb steering and handles like a bus on twisty roads.
What's the point? Just 0-60 pub bragging? Arent we all a bit old for that?
Mine will replace my RR sport.
It's comfortable, relaxing, the tech is fabulous, the refinement is off the scale, and it'll do every trip I ever do easily.
I've got other things for when I want fun but frankly driving the Caterham or even the 458 daily is just pointless.
I went in very sceptical but until you've tried the touchscreen you just don't get how well it works.
Each to their own but I can't wait for mine.
I was taken to Newcastle airport in one and the driver booted it for about 4 seconds. It was very fast but he was worried about the range and wouldn't repeat. I got to Schipol and was taken to my hotel in another one. The driver wouldn't entertain any sort of quick acceleration, again because it kills the range. They are awsome cars but I got the impression that nobody wants to fully enjoy them for fear of not getting to their destination.
Range anxiety is a really horrible thing. I got low on petrol for the first time in years the other day, and it was a really unpleasant 10 minutes trying to get to the next petrol station (driving at 60 on the motorway). A sub-200 mile range means a lot of time worrying about making it for the next charge.
I think a motorway cruiser like this needs to have a true range of 400 miles or more to be credible.
I think a motorway cruiser like this needs to have a true range of 400 miles or more to be credible.
toon10 said:
I was taken to Newcastle airport in one and the driver booted it for about 4 seconds. It was very fast but he was worried about the range and wouldn't repeat. I got to Schipol and was taken to my hotel in another one. The driver wouldn't entertain any sort of quick acceleration, again because it kills the range. They are awsome cars but I got the impression that nobody wants to fully enjoy them for fear of not getting to their destination.
That is one of reasons that one would not fit in with my driving along with the top speed and lack of charging stations where I drive. I would like to try one to see what all the fuss is about but a well specced car is 155,000€ after tax breaks so it is a big no from me.toon10 said:
They are awsome cars but I got the impression that nobody wants to fully enjoy them for fear of not getting to their destination.
Its easy. Destination closeish to max range = no fun times
Typical 7-20mile trip = fun times.
This whole problem will go away as chargers get faster and batteries get bigger.
Mike_C said:
Well, once again a Carpool has generated a pretty interesting and divisive thread on PH! 
Nice to see so many positive comments, but I have to say I'm also pretty disappointed by a lot of the negative comments coming from people with little/no experience of the vehicle, or little/no knowledge of EV's. I've picked up on a few points, and will address them as follows:.............
Other suggest that Elon Musk is, in some way, evil? Well, to me he appears to be open, honest, and genuinely wanting to make the world a better place. He's released all his patents to the world, so anyone can use his technology - no greedy business mogul in their right mind would do that, but he has. Why? Well, as he put it: "Imagine the world is a boat, and that boat is sinking. And then imagine we have a really good design for a bucket that can bail us all out. Wouldn't it be a good idea to share the design for that bucket?"
I don't get this part either, it's like the naysayers believe that the only true motivators are MONEY & POWER and he is some kind of Bond villain looking to take over the world (by moving to Mars and blowing up the planet earth probably) Nice to see so many positive comments, but I have to say I'm also pretty disappointed by a lot of the negative comments coming from people with little/no experience of the vehicle, or little/no knowledge of EV's. I've picked up on a few points, and will address them as follows:.............Other suggest that Elon Musk is, in some way, evil? Well, to me he appears to be open, honest, and genuinely wanting to make the world a better place. He's released all his patents to the world, so anyone can use his technology - no greedy business mogul in their right mind would do that, but he has. Why? Well, as he put it: "Imagine the world is a boat, and that boat is sinking. And then imagine we have a really good design for a bucket that can bail us all out. Wouldn't it be a good idea to share the design for that bucket?"
I keep on referring people who honestly want to understand the stated goals of Tesla to this series http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/06/how-tesla-will-chang... for the Car part
and from here for the whole story http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/05/elon-musk-the-worlds...
Range simply isn't an issue for me, I do maybe 20-30 miles a day, a handful of times a year I might do 100 so it'll eat that.
I've got a charge station put in free on my drive, and there's 2 at work.
After trying electric going back to IC , even a very lovely V12, just felt so rough and archaic.
I've got a charge station put in free on my drive, and there's 2 at work.
After trying electric going back to IC , even a very lovely V12, just felt so rough and archaic.
krallicious said:
It's a 6 hour drive. I'm sure most could manage that.
London to Glasgow and back in 6 hours, that's impressive!Look if you're regularly doing 250 mile trips it's not the car for you, but most folks don't, I certainly don't.
If I do 100 miles that's a long one for me and that's not a problem.
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