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I bought an Insta360 X3 camera for this purpose. It can do a lot of neat tricks, so I'll be keeping it around. When viewing the video, you should be able to pan around and look in any direction. The location is on top of the Hoover Knobs near Pottsville Texas. It's the highest point in...

Tesla has been doing so many things right, it pains me to zero in on something pretty basic that I think they've been doing badly, or maybe I should say erratically. I'm referring to vehicle design. I don't mean styling. All credit to Franz. He's done fantastic work with the basic vehicle...

Just saw this report with more info than I've seen before about the Lotus Type 135: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2026-lotus-type-135-electric-elise-still-works-after-alpine-split I've been watching all the EV sports car developments, pondering a replacement for my...

Why does it feel like Tidal is trying to take over my car? Every time I get in and the car (Model S) comes on, Tidal comes up, ready to play. It doesn't matter what I had going when I left the car. Radio. Phone with Bluetooth. Streaming. USB stick. All that is forgotten, and when I get...

I wonder if there is any way that a business owner can approach Tesla about partnering and getting a Supercharger station at their location? Or is this strictly a case of “Don’t call us, we’ll call you."? Reason for wondering. . . I have an old friend from school who runs a "country store"...

All I knew for a while was that my car, more and more often, would report "charging interrupted". If left alone long enough, eventually charging would resume, and eventually it always got charged. It only happened with the wall connector, not with the mobile connector and NEMA 14-50 outlet. I...

Today I took my car in for inspection, and when it came time to check the odometer… we were unable. The dash display was set for energy, and attempts to change it using the right scroll button were futile. In fact, the car is no longer responding to the right scroll button at all. Pressing...

So here’s a thought experiment… Take the Roadster and remove the front motor, and make it rear wheel drive only. Then take out about half of the battery. The hoped-for result: lower cost, considerably lower mass, no torque steer, more "classic" RWD sports car handling characteristics...

It just seems natural to me that the Model 2 (or whatever it’s eventually called) would have two doors. The presumed size, the price point, the efficiency requirements… Making it a coupe is the path of least resistance. And yet, a lot of people seem to be assuming four doors, because… I...

I’ve been waiting for someone to post about this, but I guess it’s up to me. Since the last update, my Model S has begun reading speed limit signs using its cameras rather than relying only on Google map data. Google’s speed limit data is usually but not always correct, so I’ve been wanting...

Anyone can work out the math and show how hydrogen is less efficient than battery storage. That applies not only to vehicles, but grid storage too. So… Game over for hydrogen, right? It’s a non-starter. Well, here’s an analogy to consider: Raising livestock for meat is severely inefficient...

Years ago when I had my Roadster in the shop for service, I got a Model S loaner with the old Mobileye system. It had its shortcomings, but one thing that did impress me was its reading of speed signs — not quite flawless, but pretty darn close. Autopilot was also able to adjust its speed...

Got the Dreamcase a few weeks back, experimented with it a little, seems like it will be pretty good. I did run into one problem… How can I secure the case in the back of my car so it doesn’t shift around? When I give her the beans and get a loud THUNK from the Dreamcase hitting the back...

My first serious shakedown cruise with the Model S LR+. First time Supercharging, which I did at Henrietta Texas. Total 368 miles driven for the day. Probably the longest day trip I’ve ever taken, and the car was great. In particular, the turn-by-turn navigation worked much better than...

I'm using the word ambient loosely here, but I've been on a bit of a journey with YouTube here recently. It began with what I think might be the most wonderful video I ever found. . . It has everything: a Tesla, a stunning scenic road, a perfect musical soundtrack. I don't think we even...

I’ve had my Model S Long Range Plus for a couple of months now. I was just taking another look at this old cartoon → https://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla_model_s I’m not sure if that was first published in 2012 or 2013, but it must have been thereabouts. In 2020 is the Model S still a Magical...

There's been a lot of yammering about how "stale" the Model S is, in particular, and "in dire need of a refresh", and people asking on the forum whether they should buy one now or wait for the refresh that everyone seems to imagine must be coming soon. I think Tesla have the right idea...

Here’s the relevant quote: » But what nobody seems to be reporting about is how tremendously expensive the Cybertruck is for what it offers. Right now the average transaction price for a light-duty full-size pickup truck is $48,000, give or take. If you go look at the Chevy Silverado, the most...

Cramer on CNBC: Cramer compares the Tesla Cybertruck to the spectacular failure of the Ford Edsel 60 years ago » “David, come on! I mean, you know when you go to buy a pickup — which I’m sure you’ve done many — what you want is a tailgate that’s good. And you want torque, and power. You want...

It’s been gratifying to see Teslas highly rated, awarded and compared favorably with other cars. However… Something strange seems to happen whenever I search for The Lists. You know, those best-of lists that car review sites put together. Example: Car and Driver: Best New Sedans of 2019-2020...

A while back I had an X as a loaner for about a week and a half. I wasn't particularly charmed by the awkward look… or the falcon doors… or the auto-opening and closing front doors… or the high riding stance… The one thing about it that I adored was the "helicopter" style windshield that wraps...

Instead of having to search through the message database for any possible answer about different models, options, specifications, changes over time. . . I would like to suggest that we set up a catalog to track all of this stuff. I think maybe the easiest way would be to set up a wiki...

It's been quite a while now since this came out, and I've still seen very little info. So I'm asking. . . How does it work? Does it use a magnetic ferrofluid in the shocks, like GM's MagneRide? I've heard good things about MagneRide, and it would seem like this appeared on Model S right...

I need to arrange for a couple of small fixes to my car, but Tesla's phone system tells me to schedule service using the Tesla App on my phone. This sounds like a good idea, which I would love to do, but I cannot login to the app. When I try, using the same email and password as the tesla.com...

My first impression was disappointment at the impracticality of it. I mean… Only 250 miles range, effectively no cargo space, super-low ground clearance. Well, okay. It's not meant to be practical. It's a track toy and status symbol for the guy who already has 40 exotic cars in his garage, plus...

As reported here → Tesla Roadster Production Likely Under 10,000: Will Beat All Hypercars To put that in perspective, Tesla produced somewhere around 2,500 first-generation Roadsters, total. (If I recall right, about 1,500 were sold in the USA.) Given that the new Roadster is a far more...

This morning I did a little experiment. I went downtown, here in Hamilton, and I walked around the courthouse, the town square, and I counted all the parked cars. I tallied up the American makes and the foreign makes. (I did count Chrysler-Dodge-Ram-Jeep as American, even though they're part...

I hit an unfortunate milestone yesterday. I gave my 2010 Roadster a full charge in range mode, and the final readout was 196 "ideal miles" of range. When I bought the car several years ago, I could charge it up past 220. Even last month when I took a day trip around Lake Travis, I charged it...

As rumors swirl about a possible Model S refresh (and maybe even X too), I'm pondering whether Tesla will increase battery capacity or not. It seems like there are a couple of possible strategies. 1. Make the batteries bigger. As battery costs are driven down and energy density incrementally...

This might seem to some like a dumb topic. . . (FM radio? What's that, something from the last century? Har har!) But yeah, my FM reception is horrible, and I was wondering if anybody has tried putting a better antenna on their car. And I do mean without drilling holes in body panels or...

Piëch Mark Zero Concept – Electric Two-Seater Targeted for 2022 Aside from the new Tesla Roadster, this Piëch Mark Zero is the only upcoming electric sports car I've seen that I feel like I might be able to take seriously. Even though it hasn't been unveiled yet, this preview article is...

So, through some ignorant manipulation I managed to break the tension wire (or more of a thin cable, really) that seals the front edge of the soft top. It snapped, it's got to be replaced. The soft top is identical to a Lotus one, right? What's the best way for me to source a replacement for...

This is just baseless speculation on my part, but… I'm wondering if these Maxwell dry electrode batteries might already be in the Semi and new Roadster prototypes. It would explain some things. Even though this acquisition might seem to us like it came out of the blue, I think it's been in...

The future of electric car design has yet to be written At its heart, the car industry remains a deeply conservative one Author laments that we're getting so many funky electric concept cars that will never be built, and yet so many mundane, ultra-conservative production cars that look like...

Here's what I'm talking about: I've seen quite a few cars with these stripe/banner stickers, but I have no idea where they came from. Are those still available somewhere? Or is there a file in circulation that I could use to have a set made?

I hope the new Roadster won't limit us to the usual monochrome palette. You know what I mean… Black, white, gray, silver. And a very lovely red, yes, but I feel like red shouldn't be the only actual "color" that we can get. The original Roadster had some more vivid options, perhaps too...

Found this → Could 'rust' hold key to electric travel? The article makes no mention of any capability to recharge the liquid in the car, or at home. It seems to imply that the only way to "recharge" your car is to visit the filling station. If that is the case, then it seems like this scheme...

Back in January my Roadster's PEM failed: suddenly, completely, and without warning. I had to get it hauled on a flatbed to the service center, and then came the bad news. It needed to be replaced. It took a while for Tesla to come up with a replacement PEM (though not as long as I had...

We were lucky to not have a real Texas summertime heat wave for a couple of years, but now it's catching up with us. I've seen the fire trucks going past my place, and sometimes smelled smoke in the air. A couple of days ago I met a lady who said her house was only saved by a timely water drop...

Since Ford has been throwing some shade in Tesla's direction recently, I thought it might be a good idea to take a closer look at Ford's own situation. First some brief background: Ford was the only one of the US "big three" to avoid bankruptcy several years back, in part by getting a huge...

Found this → https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2018/06/16/commentary/world-commentary/theres-better-answer-electric-cars/ Important points made by this article (with elaboration by me): 1. Electric cars don't go very far. (We all know it's not possible to make a BEV with enough range to be...

Found this → Posted all the way back in January, I guess I just missed the news until now. The first car he spends time on is a cute little urban EV concept that is nicely styled and executed but not of much interest to me personally, since I live in rural Texas! I don't have much use for a...

Not sure what to do. I lurve my 2010 Roadster. I use it as a daily driver around town, and it has been fantastic. The only down side is taking longer trips with about 200 miles effective range and NO access to the Supercharger network. I didn't ask for the fastest production car in the...

For a couple of years my Roadster has been, as far as I know, the only electric car in my little town here in Texas. Recently I've seen a Chevy Volt parked downtown a couple of times, but we all know that's not really an "electric car" as such. A few days ago I was at the post office when a...

I was skeptical when Toyota recently announced their new BEV division. I wondered if this is a serious effort. Then I found out that Akio Toyoda himself will personally head the division. And then I started to piece things together. This is all guesswork, speculation, this is reading the tea...

Where will the next electric sports car come from? A lot of us assumed a new generation of Tesla Roadster, on a new platform (perhaps derived from the Model 3) would be it. And it still could happen. However. . . That seems to have been pushed onto the back burner for completely...

Ever since I got my Roadster back from the body shop last week, it's been behaving strangely. When I try to start it up in the morning, the security alarm is active! I have to enter my PIN to unlock it. Then I still can't shift into reverse. I have to remove my key and then start it again...

Time to leave the parking lot at a convenience store. Stopped, waiting for the car ahead to go. Suddenly I realize the car ahead is backing up on me!! I scramble to hit reverse and try to get my car moving away, and I reach for the horn, but there's not enough time. The Roadster's nose went...

Like everyone else, I was shocked when I heard about Anton Yelchin being killed in a "freak accident" in which his car rolled back and crushed him against an iron gate. It seemed bizarre. How does that happen? Today I learned that the car was a Jeep Grand Cherokee -- just like mine -- and the...