Recent content by John W. Ratcliff

Ok, I just did a full range charge on my Roadster. When I brought my Roadster home immediately after getting the new battery installed is showed a 338 mile range on a full range charge. It has now been two and a half years since the R80 battery pack was installed and I have put about 10,000...

I'm doing a full range charge today and will report what it shows. I haven't actually done a full range charge in a while, but the normal range charge hasn't really changed.

I have had my new battery for two years. And I put like 5k miles a year on the car. I have had virtually no degradation in range. When I got the battery first installed it reported 320 mile range on a full charge. Today it's pretty much the same, maybe a few miles less. When I lived in St...

I moved to Colorado two years ago. I hate to say it, but owning a Roadster without the R80 battery upgrade is a bit of a challenge. Before I got the battery upgrade my car felt kind of like a toy. I couldn't drive it any reasonable distance at all without experiencing severe range anxiety...

It's actually replacing my Model-S 100d. I'm not a truck guy. But we moved to Colorado two years ago and having a vehicle which can off road is almost a necessity. I find just driving to a friend's house often involves some tough driving on pock marked gravel roads. I will also have my new...

I agree. It has no practical use that I can see except, perhaps, picking you up in the pouring rain, which has yet to happen to me. Using it in an environment where there is *any* other traffic is far too risky IMO. It doesn't behave like a human being so it just confuses the hell out of anyone...

I didn't receive the email either, even though my Roadster is on my MyTesla page and regularly serviced. Nevertheless, I just sent them an email thanking them for providing the email address for owners to contact them. The last time my Roadster needed service there was literally no way to call...

FWIW, and it's not worth that much, I will be one of the few people who road-trips their Roadster. By the time I get my Roadster I will be 60 years old. This will be the last sports car I own for the rest of my life and then I will be dead. Once you reach this age the concept of 'worrying...

There hasn't been much discussion about the price drop on the Model-S and X which is kind of insane. I bought mine just a little over a year ago. I just went to the website and configured more or less the same car, and it's like $30,000 less! I bought a Model-S 100D. My $117,000 car is now...

Raise your hand if someone you know has said to you, "Hey, I'm thinking about buying a Tesla" and your response was, "Great, let's go drive to the Tesla store." I mean, seriously, that's not how it works. No, you throw them into your car and make their eyes bleed with acceleration. You turn...

So, there is a lot to parse about what happened in the past 24 hours. However, the one thing I am most surprised by is the negative reaction about Tesla going to all on-line sales. I do get that people want to sit in and drive a car before they buy it. However, this is hardly difficult to do...

Parked next to a brand new Model-3 when driving through Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs

When I first bought my Roadster, after driving ICE sports cars for 35 years, I had a lot of difficulty letting go of the raw experience of shifting gears and the thrill of the roar of the engine. I actually bought myself a BMW-M3 as a daily driver to help compensate. However, over the next 10...

Well, I own a 2010 Tesla Roadster sport and I got the R80 battery upgrade. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. No, you may not drive cross country with it, but pretty much all range anxiety disappears. You can drive it, comfortably, for hours without worrying about range. More...

I realize it's pretty damned early, but I think it's likely I will *not* be getting this option on my Roadster. It sounds like this will be a track only feature, and I cannot justify spending what will likely be a great deal of extra money just to have bragging rights on the racetrack. Also...