1. I plan on having the car out in the elements. How will a NEMA 14-50 or Wall connector hold up? I live in North Florida. Temperatures can range from Mid 20F at the lowest in the winter up to 100F in the summer.
The wall charger will be fine, i wouldn’t put a nema 14-50 outside... so i’d get the hardware version.
2. I will need to add a sub panel. Has anyone had to do this and has it been taxing to your electrical system in your home? Also how much did it cost?
I highly doubt you need a sub panel. But, if you did, i think your total cost of install would be around $2K all in.
3. Tires. I've heard from other YouTubers that the 21 inch tires on the Model S do not last long. Is this the same for the 20 inch or 18 inch tires on the model 3?
I have the 19” ones. Can’t really speak to how long they last as i’ve only had the car 6 months. The major problem i’ve heard about is curb rash because the wheels don’t stick out further than the rim. If you are careful you shouldn’t have an issue. Even less so with the 18” ones.
4. Can you totally turn off the regenerative braking now with the software updates? I felt like I was being pulled back with this feature.
yes
5. The lady that works in my building was affected by Hurricane Michael and her Tesla was damaged. Are there any issues with the Model 3 with receiving replacement parts now? This has been a HUGE factor for me in between choosing a Model 3 or S.
No, but the actually chances of getting into an accident are small, so i wouldn’t make it a huge factor.
6. Anyone pay for their model 3 cash or put 50%+ down? I really want to keep my debt down and plan to save up my cash for the Tesla if I decide to get it. I want to get another car ASAP but if I pay for the Tesla cash I would need to save for 2 years. One year I can put a sizable down payment on it or just buy the Cadillac ATS cash.
Tesla accepts cash in the form of check.
7. Performance. I drove the dual motor long range model I believe and liked it. How much of a difference is the performance model? From my understanding the dual motor long range can run 12.7 in the quarter mile and the performance model can run 11.8 in the quarter. Modding the Cadillac can net the same times as well as the performance.
The lr awd and performance are the same car but the lr awd is software locked, i believe (not 100 percent on that) The performance also has better brakes and springs.
8. How much did your light bill increase? I just have a co-op that charges two different prices. Anything under 1,000KWH is 11.8 cents and anything over 1,000KWH is 13.8 cents. I spoke with the lady that works in my building and she was stating that hers went up by $50. She has a co-op as well. Also she drives 160 miles round trip each day but I drive 80 round trip. She also charges to 94% every night.
It would be like running an electric stove for 4 hours a day.
9. Are these cars really "set it and forget it" for the most part? I know there are other things to be done to the car but comparing to a gas car is there a big difference?
Yes, you dont have to hang out in the rain or waste minute of your life in a shady gas station waiting for your car to fill up while you breath in gasoline fumes. All you do is plug in and walk away.
10. Dealing with being "ICED" or people blocking parking spaces. Has anyone had to deal with this and if so how did you deal with it?
This is only a problem at destination chargers. I use supercharges when i’m traveling so i don’t have to worry about destination charging.
