Dual vs Tri-Motor

[Fairchild]

So much technology, style and pizazz packed into one vehicle for such a fair price.

I have read numerous article about how the Dual Motor is really the "BEST VALUE", unless of course you have spare change to throw away.

I think just having the first of these monsters in town will be amazing. No reason I need to put out an extra $20k (which I could later use to buy the proposed Tesla Compact Car or toward a Model Y for wife), just for a few seconds of acceleration. I have no plans to tow anything either and my COVID range takes me to WalMart to have them throw groceries in my trunk.

Again, I understand there are those with disposable cash who just want the top toy. But basically they will all "look" alike.
I could afford it, but why? My ego is secure. I already hold the quickest World Stock SUV record in the quarter mile for my Model X.

It hasn't gotten me a free cup of coffee yet.

I think I might rather put the extra bucks into custom coat, Electric ATV, Camper and other upgrades.

Personal preference. Just my thoughts

Your CYBR Thoughts?

 

[azjohn]

from what i have seen online a lot of the people who have reserved a Tri motor did for the extra range. IMO the Dual motor will eventually be offered with the higher range

 

[Fairchild]

Agree. So for COVID 21, we can also drive to the pharmacy.
I have a 300 mile range on my Model X and it is more than sufficient.
I have a charger at home and at the office, charging mostly while at work to take it out of pret-ax dollars.
My X is owned by the business. Just forked out the $9.99 a month for Premium from my business card.
But hey look at all the software upgrades recently. Definitely worth $9.99 month.

I seldom if ever charge at SUPERCHARGERs have 7,984 loot supercharger miles and they expire tomorrow Jun 30, 2020 Boo hoo!

 

[rhumbliner]

from what i have seen online a lot of the people who have reserved a Tri motor did for the extra range.

+1

500 miles vs 300 miles? I’ll shell out $20K for that just to access areas that aren’t reachable with 300 mile range. I don’t care about acceleration or towing, but I want the extra range and I don’t want to wait.

 

[SSonnentag]

+1

500 miles vs 300 miles? I’ll shell out $20K for that just to access areas that aren’t reachable with 300 mile range. I don’t care about acceleration or towing, but I want the extra range and I don’t want to wait.

Same here. The acceleration is fun occasionally, but the range is always a benefit. Even if you don't use or need the range, your battery pack will last longer as it will see fewer charge/discharge cycles for the same amount of time or mileage.

 

[Saghost]

All about the use case. It sounds like the dual motor may well be the bet value for you. Their are folks who need either the extra range or the towing capacity for their intended usage.

 

[cypho]

I have no plans to tow anything ... I think I might rather put the extra bucks into ... Camper

Well if you buy a camper, you will quickly get tired of camping in your driveway and you will want to tow it someplace. So it sounds like you do plan on towing.

Towing a camper will probably double your consumption. If you charge to 90%, recharge at 10% and double your consumption by dragging a camper then 300 miles of rated range will only get you 300*.8*.5 =120 miles. And in the winter it would probably be less than 100 miles.

If you plan on towing long distance the extra range of the tri- motor is going to be pretty useful.

 

[Fairchild]

Well if you buy a camper, you will quickly get tired of camping in your driveway and you will want to tow it someplace. So it sounds like you do plan on towing.

Towing a camper will probably double your consumption. If you charge to 90%, recharge at 10% and double your consumption by dragging a camper then 300 miles of rated range will only get you 300*.8*.5 =120 miles. And in the winter it would probably be less than 100 miles.

If you plan on towing long distance the extra range of the tri- motor is going to be pretty useful.

For those who want it.


No no. Not towing a camper. The Cbrtrk Camper, but actually I don't camp. Just listed that as an admirable option in place of $20k for range.

Again my 300 mile range produces NO range anxiety for me. Matter of personal preference.

 

[Fairchild]

My impression of towed or self propelled campers is about the same as boats. You have two really happy days. The day you buy it and the day you sell it.

 

[rhumbliner]

My impression of towed or self propelled campers is about the same as boats. You have two really happy days. The day you buy it and the day you sell it.

I towed a pop-up camper for 2 summers before I got tired of dragging that thing around. The convenience of a truck bed camper works for my wife & I since we don’t like the mess of cooking and carrying foodstuffs around so we’re happy sleeping in a camper top and then finding a nearby restaurant for breakfast.

 

[CyberGus]

I changed my reservation from the single to dual when I realized the significant difference in ship dates, because my FOMO gets itchy. The tri would be great, but I couldn't really justify upgrading my $40k vehicle with $30k in add-ons, lol.

 

[dazedNconfuzed]

I just had a Ford Explorer burn up at ~250,000 miles, consistent with other ICE cars dying one way or another.

Running the numbers, a Tri CT is still cheaper than anything remotely comparable.
…and at the end of a quarter million miles, I can expect it to go another 3/4 million.
That considered, why not get the most range, towing, and acceleration?

 

[TechOps]

I'm on the fence. I have two reservations (changed the single-motor to dual when delivery order changed), and I'd love the extra range for road trips, but not sure I want to shell out $20k for it. If the tri-motor doesn't come with major upgrades other than faster speed, I'll probably stick with the dual.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I had 2 triples reserved, I cancelled one after Tesla failed to honor a warranty item on my current Model S. I still have one Triple reserved, main reason is the range and charging speed, also if you tow or speed like I do, I can cut 500 miles down to 200 miles without a lot of effort. I also have a Bollinger and a Rivian reserved as well. First one out the gate cancels the other two.

 

[Jdouglas22]

Agree. So for COVID 21, we can also drive to the pharmacy.
I have a 300 mile range on my Model X and it is more than sufficient.
I have a charger at home and at the office, charging mostly while at work to take it out of pret-ax dollars.
My X is owned by the business. Just forked out the $9.99 a month for Premium from my business card.
But hey look at all the software upgrades recently. Definitely worth $9.99 month.

I seldom if ever charge at SUPERCHARGERs have 7,984 loot supercharger miles and they expire tomorrow Jun 30, 2020 Boo hoo!

How does the 300 mile range do for you in the winter? I’m set for the dual motor, but I constantly go back and forth over the range vs a tri. I start thinking, I do 80mph going to work on I-94 in Chicago. AC blasting. Or heat blasting in winter. What am I going go have left? Wish they came out With a dual motor+ which would push us up to the 400 mile range without breaking the bank.

 

[Fairchild]

I changed my reservation from the single to dual when I realized the significant difference in ship dates, because my FOMO gets itchy. The tri would be great, but I couldn't really justify upgrading my $40k vehicle with $30k in add-ons, lol.

Smart move, I believe. Works for me as well and I think it will pay off in any potential resale. I call it Value Ratio. Not to be critical of those who WANT or NEED all the toys. To each their own. Just think though, you could almost have a Model 3 and a CYBRTRK for the price of the TRI-MOTOR

 

[Fairchild]

How does the 300 mile range do for you in the winter? I’m set for the dual motor, but I constantly go back and forth over the range vs a tri. I start thinking, I do 80mph going to work on I-94 in Chicago. AC blasting. Or heat blasting in winter. What am I going go have left? Wish they came out With a dual motor+ which would push us up to the 400 mile range without breaking the bank.

Sorry, I live in Florida, so I do quite well in the Winter. Lots of good charging stations near Chicago tho. Also I charge up each night at home and unless you have an ungodly commute you should do well. I seldom charge above 270, have a 30 mile commute one way and charge about every two or three days either at home or at the office. See if you can have a charger put in at the office. Mine was $450. If you don't own the office, donate one to the office. Free charging!!! The cost to strategically locate your chargers is far less than $30,000.

I even got along well with my first Model S which gave me about a 200 mile range. Range anxiety is much more in the head than it is on the road.

A little planning goes a long way.

Here is a true story about planning. My main battery on the Blue Raven X quit charging one day at about 17,000 miles. I had 63 miles remaining which by time I tried several charging stations dropped to 58. I realized I needed to get to the Orlando Service Center by 6 pm and it was 69.9 miles away.

Called towing service and they said I was outside of the 50 mile tow range. They advised that I drive until I died and then call them waiting for a couple of hours for them to come. Of course I would in no way make the 6 pm closing and I would be left without a rental or spend half the night in Orlando getting one.

Planning. Go for it. What do you have to lose? What would Elon do? Got on the Beach Line to Orlando from the Coast and with all the navigation tools the Blue Raven said I would arrive with -6 miles. Modulated my speed in the slow lane to about 50 miles per hour (desperate times require desperate measures) and took a lot of fingers from other drivers. The projected arrival miles dropped to -5, -4, -3, , -2, -1, 0 and + 1.

Elated I speed up a bit, because time was now becoming a crunch at 5:35. Thought I had it in the bag when I hit I-4 at rush hour and it was a parking lot. That helped my range, but didn't contribute to my time crunch.

There is a critical GPS error that doesn't account for contruction and took me right by my exit. I had to proceed one exit down and retrace.

Pulled into the Orlando Service Center at 5:48 with 3 miles remaining. Now, that adventure for me was commensurate to landing an 747 on an aircraft carrier. They said I set the new low mileage record for arrival. Hey, that's one I'd rather not have!

I took a deep breath and several days later I had my NEW TESLA Battery with 302 miles in range. A new battery, now COVID limited in mileage should be fired up and ready to break into the 10s at the track when it opens for another Model X World Record!!

Hopefully you will NEVER have an experience like that. I'm just saying with a little headspace, range can be managed, usually without too much anxiety.

 

[CyberGus]

Here's my true story about planning.

My first time using a Tesla was via Turo rental. I had an appointment 40+ miles away, and in-car nav pointed out I would return with -20 miles. There was a Supercharger nearby the destination, so I decided to take the appointment and charge before returning.

When I arrived, the SC was 12 miles away with 20 miles of range left, sweet! Unfortunately, the appointment ran long while a cold front blew through town. Now I had only 10 miles of range, and would come up 2 miles short.

My y-chromosome took over and said "no problem! we got this! I'll just turn off the seat heaters..." And off I went, confident that my mad driving skillz would deliver me to the promised land. Turns out that drafting is not very effective at 25 MPH, and driving "carefully" does not extend range.

8 miles to go, 6 miles of range left.
4 miles to go, 2 miles of range left.
3 miles to go, 1 mile of range left.

So now I'm wondering what I'll do with a disabled Tesla. Will it give me warning enough to pull over? Can a tow truck rescue me with a bucket of electricity? Buy 500 AA batteries? Long extension cord??!?

2 miles to go, 0 miles of range left.

I expected something momentous to happen, like a Start-Trek red alert klaxon blaring, or at least a "sad trombone" sound, but the wheels just kept turning.

1 mile to go, 0 miles of range left.

Maybe it'll just go slower as the battery dies, like a 70's Walkman? I was moving at the slowest speed that traffic would allow anyway, scanning the horizon for a Supercharger and wondering how far I could push a dead Tesla.

I never found out. I made it to the SC, despite having reached 0 range when still 2 miles away. Obviously the range is a calculated estimate, and/or they leave a small reserve for idiots like me.

Whew!

 

[Saghost]

Here's my true story about planning.

My first time using a Tesla was via Turo rental. I had an appointment 40+ miles away, and in-car nav pointed out I would return with -20 miles. There was a Supercharger nearby the destination, so I decided to take the appointment and charge before returning.

When I arrived, the SC was 12 miles away with 20 miles of range left, sweet! Unfortunately, the appointment ran long while a cold front blew through town. Now I had only 10 miles of range, and would come up 2 miles short.

My y-chromosome took over and said "no problem! we got this! I'll just turn off the seat heaters..." And off I went, confident that my mad driving skillz would deliver me to the promised land. Turns out that drafting is not very effective at 25 MPH, and driving "carefully" does not extend range.

8 miles to go, 6 miles of range left.
4 miles to go, 2 miles of range left.
3 miles to go, 1 mile of range left.

So now I'm wondering what I'll do with a disabled Tesla. Will it give me warning enough to pull over? Can a tow truck rescue me with a bucket of electricity? Buy 500 AA batteries? Long extension cord??!?

2 miles to go, 0 miles of range left.

I expected something momentous to happen, like a Start-Trek red alert klaxon blaring, or at least a "sad trombone" sound, but the wheels just kept turning.

1 mile to go, 0 miles of range left.

Maybe it'll just go slower as the battery dies, like a 70's Walkman? I was moving at the slowest speed that traffic would allow anyway, scanning the horizon for a Supercharger and wondering how far I could push a dead Tesla.

I never found out. I made it to the SC, despite having reached 0 range when still 2 miles away. Obviously the range is a calculated estimate, and/or they leave a small reserve for idiots like me.

Whew!

It’s not an actual idiot reserve, though it can function that way.

Energy in the cells and the associated range are a math model based on energy in and out, recalibrated occasionally with resting voltage when it is high enough to be meaningful (the middle portion of the charge curve on lithium cells is constant voltage.)

The car shuts down based on the lowest cell group hitting a critical voltage, which is directly affected by load among other things.

So the two measures don’t align precisely, and to keep from stranding folks often, there’s a little conservatism in the math model so you’ll at least reach 0 in the 90th? percentile case. That means sometimes you have a dozen miles below zero - and sometimes you don’t.

If you are forced to push the edges, keep your acceleration gentle. But mostly don’t push the edges.

 

[yo mama]

I have never regretted getting the faster one. Never. Life is short. Going fast is fun.