After all the hoo-hah recently about superchargers, and running out of electrons, I thought I'd post something completely boring about a perfectly successful long weekend trip from San Diego, out and about in Los Angeles, and back.
My wife Pat, her father Richard, and I left about 11:00 Friday from San Diego, and had a perfectly comfortable drive up to Hawthorne airport. We started with a not-quite-complete range charge, and made it with about 100 miles and one hour to spare. I had an appointment with an ex-colleague in the area at 14:00. Our plan was to have a quick bite to eat at Nat's Cafe at the corner of the airport near SpaceX, but it's closed! It will reopen soon under another name. This is a pity, because my daughter Nat ate there with us after the Get Amped event there. There was a Wendy's not far away though, so that kept us fed.
About 13:30 we proceeded to the supercharger. I pressed the button, and the cylindrical door opened, and the heavy cable fell out and hit the side of the car! Beware; stand in between the car and the supercharger when the door opens! Leila, the design center manager, said they might fix the ding for us. I continue to love Tesla's customer service.
As we walked to my meeting, I turned around and saw a large cluster of Tesla employees admiring the color of the BGC.
We left at about 15:00 with a full range supercharge. Drove to our hotel (the Angeleno), which happens to be just off I-405 in the section that was down to two lanes last weekend. Drove that night to a party to celebrate finishing the Bar exam. Drove back to the hotel. They only do valet parking, but with a nice enough car they'll just leave it alone, which was good. Saturday morning we drove to Pat's graduation ceremony, at the Skirball Center just north of the hotel. Drove back to the hotel. Later that evening, drove to another party in Santa Clarita, about 35 miles north, and back again. Sunday morning, drove Pat's father to a church in Venice, and while he was busy recharging we drove back to Hawthorne and recharged too. We had about 80 miles left when we got there, left with about 200 miles (all ranges are standard), back to the church to pick up dad. This was the closest thing to a "gas station visit" I've made in years! Drove to the Sidewalk Cafe on Venice Beach for brunch with some friends. Drove back south without worrying about range, cruise control set to 78 (mostly). Waved to Hawthorne on the way past; we didn't need it any more. Got home with 65 miles.
Later that night, as we were going out to celebrate yet again, dad was all confused, and asked how come we had so much range left? Of course I'd plugged in as soon as we got home, using our solar panels to partially charge the car. He was stuck in the mode of letting the tank get empty before stopping somewhere to fill it.
What is this "range anxiety" people talk about? About 450 miles, a few dollars added to our electricity bill.
My wife Pat, her father Richard, and I left about 11:00 Friday from San Diego, and had a perfectly comfortable drive up to Hawthorne airport. We started with a not-quite-complete range charge, and made it with about 100 miles and one hour to spare. I had an appointment with an ex-colleague in the area at 14:00. Our plan was to have a quick bite to eat at Nat's Cafe at the corner of the airport near SpaceX, but it's closed! It will reopen soon under another name. This is a pity, because my daughter Nat ate there with us after the Get Amped event there. There was a Wendy's not far away though, so that kept us fed.
About 13:30 we proceeded to the supercharger. I pressed the button, and the cylindrical door opened, and the heavy cable fell out and hit the side of the car! Beware; stand in between the car and the supercharger when the door opens! Leila, the design center manager, said they might fix the ding for us. I continue to love Tesla's customer service.
As we walked to my meeting, I turned around and saw a large cluster of Tesla employees admiring the color of the BGC.
We left at about 15:00 with a full range supercharge. Drove to our hotel (the Angeleno), which happens to be just off I-405 in the section that was down to two lanes last weekend. Drove that night to a party to celebrate finishing the Bar exam. Drove back to the hotel. They only do valet parking, but with a nice enough car they'll just leave it alone, which was good. Saturday morning we drove to Pat's graduation ceremony, at the Skirball Center just north of the hotel. Drove back to the hotel. Later that evening, drove to another party in Santa Clarita, about 35 miles north, and back again. Sunday morning, drove Pat's father to a church in Venice, and while he was busy recharging we drove back to Hawthorne and recharged too. We had about 80 miles left when we got there, left with about 200 miles (all ranges are standard), back to the church to pick up dad. This was the closest thing to a "gas station visit" I've made in years! Drove to the Sidewalk Cafe on Venice Beach for brunch with some friends. Drove back south without worrying about range, cruise control set to 78 (mostly). Waved to Hawthorne on the way past; we didn't need it any more. Got home with 65 miles.
Later that night, as we were going out to celebrate yet again, dad was all confused, and asked how come we had so much range left? Of course I'd plugged in as soon as we got home, using our solar panels to partially charge the car. He was stuck in the mode of letting the tank get empty before stopping somewhere to fill it.
What is this "range anxiety" people talk about? About 450 miles, a few dollars added to our electricity bill.