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Now that I'm able to price-out my Model 3, I have to make a decision about the FSD capability. There is no doubt that I want it, but currently only the Enhanced AP is active and the FSD isn't available yet. I know that I will save some money by getting the FSD capability now, and it will be...

I just bought a Prius Prime (which my wife will take over once my Model 3 arrives). Currently the Prime can charge up just fine by plugging into a normal 120v outlet, but this will obviously not do for the Tesla. I really like the way the Tesla wall charger looks but given how we will be a...

For those who were concerned about the all-glass roof of the Model 3 being too hot, he just tweeted that the all-glass roof of the S is going to be fully UV and IR reflective. So we can presume the same will be true of the Model 3 and won't be as bad as some people are afraid of.

Must haves: Full autonomy Supercharging (if sold separately) That beautiful blue paint color Like to haves but not necessary: Bigger battery Full Pano roof / sunroof AWD

I'll be honest, I'm still a bit disappointed that it wasn't the rest of the Model 3 reveal, but after watching the video I can't help but be majorly impressed at how well the car drives itself. I will very much be looking forward to this technology on my 3 when it arrives. No other car company...

I vote for more painful. Once we see the finalized interior, we're going to want the car even more.

I don't mind the headlights at all, it's the bare body-color bumper that I'm not too fond of. I'd prefer a different shade of paint or a fake grill or something like that to make it look a bit more complete. But since the car isn't even finished yet, it's probably not the final design.

Gotcha, thanks! Looking forward to my new Tesla and trying to work out any potential learning curve issues well beforehand. :)

What happened in that situation? Did the car try to regain traction or did it simply lose control? That sounds to be different than what DaveVa was describing. Could it be your car had upgraded software which did a better job of maintaining control?

I currently drive a Prius, and naturally it uses blended braking, part regen / part traction. The "coasting" regen is very weak and doesn't slow the car down much at all. In slippery conditions, when you step on the brake, the regen braking stops and the ABS kicks in to make sure you can stop...

Likewise! My wife and I are going to spend several days in Housekeeping camp in the Valley Floor once we get our Model 3. The road trip is going to be a lot of fun, and the glass roof will let us see everything.

Costco used to have EV charging stations in front of most of their stores but got rid of them years ago due to lack of use. Costco does listen to suggestions from it's customers, so go to their website and request they bring back EV chargers. Given how EV cars rapidly becoming common, they...

Whoops...my apologies. I misread your post. 8 years before it starts to flake is a bit more reasonable than just 2 years. If it was only 2 years, I'd be quite upset by it.

Not sure about that first part. 100% on the needle might be the same...max charge. So you still might want to keep it at 90%. The difference will be at the low end, where 0% on the 60 is 20% or so on the 75 and you will have less wear on the battery due to deep discharges.

Your clearcoat problem is an issue with the paint, not the environment. Properly maintained, clearcoat should last a lot longer than 2 years.

I'm probably going to get smacked for saying this, but a per-mile tax would not necessarily be a bad thing. There does need to be some kind of tax to pay for road maintenance, and right now that's paid for by a gasoline tax. As the number of gas cars dwindle, the tax would dwindle as well.

Even in my Prius with it's weak regen braking, going off cruise is not a big deal. I just put my foot on the pedal enough to add pressure and when I disengage cruise, I'm already costing and there's no jerkiness.

Tesla got nearly three times as many reservations as they expected. They need to ramp up production so that they can deliver cars to these extra people before they give up and ask for their money back.

Highway to Hell sounds good, on top of the strangely appropriate band name. :)

Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight

That's awesome. Thanks!

Neither scenario can be answered without knowing about the programming that goes behind the collision avoidance logic. In Scenario 1, it makes sense that the car would be programmed to violate the lines on the road if necessary to avoid an imminent collision, so long as it doesn't veer into...

I demand to know where you got that sticker!

Ah gotcha. Lucky. :) My solar is big enough to erase my needs during the day but it's not enough to fully offset what I'd be using for the Tesla.

How is it preferable? I have solar too, and if I use the TOU-D-T plan, I'll end up in Tier 2 due to charging the Tesla, so I'll be paying more than double the super-off peak rate. The TOU-D-B plan does away with tiers so as long as I mind the time of day, I'll be fine.

Have you considered the TOU-D-B plan? It does have super off peak and no worry about tiers if you charge your car often enough. With my commute I'll be blowing through almost 900 kw/h per months just charging the Tesla, so using the TOU-D-T plan I'd be in Tier 2 rates all the time. :)

This is correct. The on-peak summer rates are something insane like 45 cents per kw/h. So if you have solar, you will essentially be generating power at that rate which will mean your payback period will be quite short. At the same time, if you charge after 10pm, you get the super-off-peak...

I think your numbers are a bit off. Using the SoCal best gas prices (from Costco) at $2.65 per gallon, a Prius costs 5.3 cents per mile to operate (assuming 50mpg). Using an electric car average of 3.5 miles per kw/h and 12 cents per kw/h (it works out to 3.4 cents per mile, or about 36% more...

Depends on the car. Compared to a highly efficient car like a Prius, it's about 40% cheaper to drive. Compared to a standard full ICE car that gets 30 - 40mpg, the savings is even greater. Whoops...that was a bit of a typo. Yes, I meant miles per Kwh. If it was 3.5 kwh per mile, that would...

Depends on your electric rate and your power usage. I will be getting about 12 cents per kwh and a 120 mile round trip commute. Assuming 3.5 kwh per mile, it will cost me about 90 dollars per month in electricity. Compared to my Prius at $140 per month, it's still a measurable savings.

I want to keep it under 45k, preferably at 40k if the options aren't too expensive. Needs: Autopilot Supercharging Any paint color other than standard black or white Wants: Battery Upgrade Cobalt blue paint (that blue is magnificent). Center roof fixed glass (if it's not standard) Nice to...

+ 1 here as well. My wife and I enjoy road trips up to Yosemite and the Sierras. They recently completed the supercharger route up that way so we will be able to enjoy nature in a perfectly quiet, clean, and sexy car (with huge windows to see everything). It's going to be a lot of fun!

I am very much looking forward to using AP during my daily commute, especially if there is traffic. I do sometimes suffer from road rage but the main advantage for me will be knowing the computer has a reaction time thousands of times faster than I do.

I'm fully expecting to get my model 3 in late 2018 or 2019. Even though I reserved late, I'm on the West Coast (just a few hours from the factory), and I'm not buying a base model (I plan on adding 5 - 10k of options). So that will bump me up by perhaps 100 - 200k in line if most people are...

Yeah the biggest thing for me is not actually the fuel savings (although that's great in itself). The big thing is the autopilot. Using AP on my daily commute along the 14 will make my day so much less stressful.

Oh I wish I could, but my commute is 120 + miles round trip and I have no way to charge at work. :( So the only EVs I can get are the Volt (which would get me halfway there on battery and home on gas) or wait for the Bolt. But given my commute, I would be racking up easily 35k per year and...

I'll be content with seeing them roll off the assembly line in decent numbers. At least they'll be in production. Right now we got nothing. :)

Nobody told me that actually making the reservation would make me even more impatient than I was before! This is going to be a long 2 years....

I won't be buying the actual base model, I will have a few upgrades but I have no desire to splurge. I will certainly be getting autopilot (this is non-negotiable) and I will pay for supercharging if necessary. If they charge extra for any paint color other than white or black then I'll pay...

I've been looking to this as well. For some reason I am antsy beyond belief to get out of my otherwise reliable and efficient Prius to get into an EV...ANY EV, to keep me satisfied until the Model 3 arrives. It's actually kinda annoying...I really should just pay down my Prius a bit more but...

They're already handing out VINs? How low was your reservation number?

I just finished doing a lot of spreadsheet work to figure out the answer to this for when my M3 arrives. Here's what it boils down to (and I'm on Southern California Edison so your local utilities might be different). The EV-only rate requires a second meter. You can't get it on your main...

First passenger would be my wife, of course. She'll want to know what all the excitement is about. Next will be in order of distance from home. It will be a weekend-long road trip to show off my new toy. :) I will be taking my mom for a ride (so I can scare the crap out of her by letting...

I agree completely. I actually used to be one of those jerks who would go 60 in a 70 zone just to save some gas. I would be in the slow lane, but I would still be passed by semi trucks and nearly everyone else. I realized I was causing more traffic and actually being a road hazard. I...

I still have a year and a half of payments to break even on my Prius, but I am antsy as hell about waiting for the Model 3. I'm bugging the living hell out of nearby Chevy dealers to see if one of them is desperate to get me into a Volt so I can have my EV fix until 2019 or whenever. I mean my...

Speaking from experience in my Prius, the best gas mileage comes from using a combination of techniques. First, I don't use Eco mode anymore. I used to when I first got it, since it forces you to accelerate slower and lowers the power usage of the A/C. But in truth, setting the A/C temp...

Is there anything you CAN negotiate at a Tesla dealerships? Can you negotiate higher lease miles if you have a long commute (like I do) or can you negotiate whether or not they subtract the tax credit from the residual?

I will refer to it as "My sexy beast"

Easily 30k+ per year. My daily commute is 130 miles or so, and we do short day trips to visit family a couple hours away every couple of weekends. Having the M3 won't mean I take more road trips...I do like staying at home. :) But it DOES mean I'll have a lot more fun and be far more...