Forgive me if these have been covered- I'm sure some have been covered at great length, particularly the first two...
1. What's the battery degradation rate? Is there any sort of guide out there that tells us how much "charge" we could expect to lose per year, per mile driven, or per recharge?
A: I spoke to lolachampcar on the phone and he said you could definitely expect to lose effectiveness over the years, but there didn't seem to be a firm number on this. There's a ton of data to work with on the Roadster battery degradation, but since those use different batteries and are most likely driven differently, have different weights, etc it is hard to pin down an exact number for the Model S.
2. What's the ease of battery replacement? Is this a very difficult and expensive process? If you plan to keep the car for a long time, or buy a used one, this would be good to know...
A: Again, I don't have a definitive answer here, but it does seem from what I'm reading that the battery pack was meant to be able to be replaced.. how easily I'm not sure. I have read reports of customers receiving Model S's that had a bad batch of batteries, and they had theirs replaced by Tesla, so obviously it can be done and isn't a huge ordeal... At least not if done professionally by Tesla techs.. More research is needed if later there will be "generic" or "aftermarket" battery packs customers can purchase to extend the life of their car once they start seeing drastic battery performance degradation.
3. Can you tow the Model S and Model X behind an RV, for example? If so, is there a guide out there explaining best practices regarding this?
A: Still haven't found a good answer around this yet...
4. Experimental: Would it be possible to use the regenerative braking to charge the Tesla while towing behind RV? Even if it kicked in as a "brake assist" like most "brake buddy" systems do, that would be SWEET.
A: My guess is no... but wouldn't that be cool?
4a. What about charging via on-board generator from the RV while rolling down the road? Would that be possible?
5. Will Tesla offer a trade-in program for regular cars? (I doubt it)
A: My assumption is no, but haven't found definitive yes or no anywhere
6. Will there be a trade-in program for other/newer Tesla models (example: Trade the Model S in for a Model X when it comes out)?
A: It is looking like Tesla is going to offer a "buy back program" at depreciation rate similar to the Mercedes models it is supposed to compare closest to... I've read numbers like 45% loss, but I can't remember if that was after 3, 5, or 7 years...
7. I see the Model S and Model X have a cellular systems in them for connectivity to the cloud, what will be the cost for that service?
A: Still haven't found an answer for this... really would like to know
8. Can you disable cellular connection if you wish?
A: Haven't found an answer for this yet either, and I sure hope you could, especially if there's a cost associated with the 3G data connection.
8a. What type of modem is used on the car, is it really limited for 3G, or is there a 4G or LTE chip in there, just not being used?
A: Not sure on this one
9. If yes on #8, Could I use Wi-fi, bluetooth, or USB tether my smartphone for data connection instead of paying for data connectivity in the car?
A: Haven't found an answer to this yet, still searching...
9a. Does the car have Wi-Fi at all? If it does, would it be possible to share out the internal 3G connection to make it a mobile hot spot?
10. What's the turning radius like in the Model S and Model X? When parking and driving in the city or tight spaces turning radius is critical.
A: Haven't found exact numbers on this yet, but I talked to lolachampcar and he said it wasn't noticeably bad or good one way or the other, so my guess is it is comparable to other cars in this class.
11. What's the turn-around time for folks when they plunk down their $5000 reserve on a Model S? From order to delivery, for example?
A: Much to my surprise, I got word from lolachampcar that this has been reduced considerably from what it once was... His estimate was 6-8 weeks after confirmation of ORDER, that's order, not deposit.
12. What is the extent of the "black box" found on these cars? what type of data is collected?
A: I've read several posts on some of the "wreck" threads where forum users are discussing the benefit of being able to "read the logs" from the car to demystify or deconstruct accidents. Personally, this gives me the creeps. I don't like the idea of being able to incriminate myself for speeding, or causing an accident... even if it wasn't intentionally.
13. Center console options and number of cupholders?
A: It appears the car has two cupholders on the center arm rest, and that's it.. My research in this area has produced somewhat disappointing results. A lot of owners are complaining about the lack of cupholders, sunglasses holder/storage, door pockets, back of front seat pockets, and concealed or lockable storage in general. From what I can tell, you have the glovebox and the center armrest in the interior.. that's it! I did see that Tesla is working on something they call a center console insert which looks like it will come in different various configurations to suit your needs. I'm also seeing what appears to be aftermarket manufacturers producing some products to bridge this gap (ex. http://www.teslaccessories.com/Teslaccessories.com/Home.html). At this time, I do NOT see an option to add anything like this on the "design/build your own Model S" area of Teslamotors.com
14. What sort of details do the car's logs capture? Is there a black box that records my every move and could be my own worst enemy in an accident investigation?
A: I have no idea, but I would like to turn this off if possible.
15. Is there an ability to rip a video to a thumb drive and play it on the 17" screen, even while driving? If so, what file formats are supported for video and audio?
A: No information here either. However, it does appear the the web browser does NOT support flash or HTML 5 embedded video... so this probably means no youtube, vimeo, hulu, netflix, etc, etc. Very disappointing.
16. Are there any dangers of the charging port allowing water inside the port area during a heavy rain? What about the possibility of vandalism during charge? How strong is this port, what if somebody intentionally tried to rip the charging cable/adapter out while charging? Or kick it or put a lot of weight on it?
A: I do see the charging port has a "lock" mechanism of some sort that engages once charging begins to keep the cable/adapter from being removed mid charge by accident or vandalism, however, this port still looks like it wouldn't hold up to much force if somebody wanted to yank it out using brute force.
Thanks everyone!! Sorry if some of these have been discussed, or answered. I'm new to the forums, just signed up today... I'll edit and remove any questions I find answers to as I continue to research on this site... :wink:
1. What's the battery degradation rate? Is there any sort of guide out there that tells us how much "charge" we could expect to lose per year, per mile driven, or per recharge?
A: I spoke to lolachampcar on the phone and he said you could definitely expect to lose effectiveness over the years, but there didn't seem to be a firm number on this. There's a ton of data to work with on the Roadster battery degradation, but since those use different batteries and are most likely driven differently, have different weights, etc it is hard to pin down an exact number for the Model S.
2. What's the ease of battery replacement? Is this a very difficult and expensive process? If you plan to keep the car for a long time, or buy a used one, this would be good to know...
A: Again, I don't have a definitive answer here, but it does seem from what I'm reading that the battery pack was meant to be able to be replaced.. how easily I'm not sure. I have read reports of customers receiving Model S's that had a bad batch of batteries, and they had theirs replaced by Tesla, so obviously it can be done and isn't a huge ordeal... At least not if done professionally by Tesla techs.. More research is needed if later there will be "generic" or "aftermarket" battery packs customers can purchase to extend the life of their car once they start seeing drastic battery performance degradation.
3. Can you tow the Model S and Model X behind an RV, for example? If so, is there a guide out there explaining best practices regarding this?
A: Still haven't found a good answer around this yet...
4. Experimental: Would it be possible to use the regenerative braking to charge the Tesla while towing behind RV? Even if it kicked in as a "brake assist" like most "brake buddy" systems do, that would be SWEET.
A: My guess is no... but wouldn't that be cool?
4a. What about charging via on-board generator from the RV while rolling down the road? Would that be possible?
5. Will Tesla offer a trade-in program for regular cars? (I doubt it)
A: My assumption is no, but haven't found definitive yes or no anywhere
6. Will there be a trade-in program for other/newer Tesla models (example: Trade the Model S in for a Model X when it comes out)?
A: It is looking like Tesla is going to offer a "buy back program" at depreciation rate similar to the Mercedes models it is supposed to compare closest to... I've read numbers like 45% loss, but I can't remember if that was after 3, 5, or 7 years...
7. I see the Model S and Model X have a cellular systems in them for connectivity to the cloud, what will be the cost for that service?
A: Still haven't found an answer for this... really would like to know
8. Can you disable cellular connection if you wish?
A: Haven't found an answer for this yet either, and I sure hope you could, especially if there's a cost associated with the 3G data connection.
8a. What type of modem is used on the car, is it really limited for 3G, or is there a 4G or LTE chip in there, just not being used?
A: Not sure on this one
9. If yes on #8, Could I use Wi-fi, bluetooth, or USB tether my smartphone for data connection instead of paying for data connectivity in the car?
A: Haven't found an answer to this yet, still searching...
9a. Does the car have Wi-Fi at all? If it does, would it be possible to share out the internal 3G connection to make it a mobile hot spot?
10. What's the turning radius like in the Model S and Model X? When parking and driving in the city or tight spaces turning radius is critical.
A: Haven't found exact numbers on this yet, but I talked to lolachampcar and he said it wasn't noticeably bad or good one way or the other, so my guess is it is comparable to other cars in this class.
11. What's the turn-around time for folks when they plunk down their $5000 reserve on a Model S? From order to delivery, for example?
A: Much to my surprise, I got word from lolachampcar that this has been reduced considerably from what it once was... His estimate was 6-8 weeks after confirmation of ORDER, that's order, not deposit.
12. What is the extent of the "black box" found on these cars? what type of data is collected?
A: I've read several posts on some of the "wreck" threads where forum users are discussing the benefit of being able to "read the logs" from the car to demystify or deconstruct accidents. Personally, this gives me the creeps. I don't like the idea of being able to incriminate myself for speeding, or causing an accident... even if it wasn't intentionally.
13. Center console options and number of cupholders?
A: It appears the car has two cupholders on the center arm rest, and that's it.. My research in this area has produced somewhat disappointing results. A lot of owners are complaining about the lack of cupholders, sunglasses holder/storage, door pockets, back of front seat pockets, and concealed or lockable storage in general. From what I can tell, you have the glovebox and the center armrest in the interior.. that's it! I did see that Tesla is working on something they call a center console insert which looks like it will come in different various configurations to suit your needs. I'm also seeing what appears to be aftermarket manufacturers producing some products to bridge this gap (ex. http://www.teslaccessories.com/Teslaccessories.com/Home.html). At this time, I do NOT see an option to add anything like this on the "design/build your own Model S" area of Teslamotors.com
14. What sort of details do the car's logs capture? Is there a black box that records my every move and could be my own worst enemy in an accident investigation?
A: I have no idea, but I would like to turn this off if possible.
15. Is there an ability to rip a video to a thumb drive and play it on the 17" screen, even while driving? If so, what file formats are supported for video and audio?
A: No information here either. However, it does appear the the web browser does NOT support flash or HTML 5 embedded video... so this probably means no youtube, vimeo, hulu, netflix, etc, etc. Very disappointing.
16. Are there any dangers of the charging port allowing water inside the port area during a heavy rain? What about the possibility of vandalism during charge? How strong is this port, what if somebody intentionally tried to rip the charging cable/adapter out while charging? Or kick it or put a lot of weight on it?
A: I do see the charging port has a "lock" mechanism of some sort that engages once charging begins to keep the cable/adapter from being removed mid charge by accident or vandalism, however, this port still looks like it wouldn't hold up to much force if somebody wanted to yank it out using brute force.
Thanks everyone!! Sorry if some of these have been discussed, or answered. I'm new to the forums, just signed up today... I'll edit and remove any questions I find answers to as I continue to research on this site... :wink:
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