Check out this article at Seeking Alpha.. EV Myths & Realities, Part 3A: TCO And Kicking The Subsidy - Seeking Alpha Music to my ears as I anxiously await my MSP!!
"...What really surprised me is just what a bargain the S85Performance is compared to its equivalents. I think some skeptics perhaps don't appreciated the company this cars specs place it in - it's a full size luxury sedan that pulls 0-60 in 4.4 seconds. It's as fast as a Porsche Panamera GTS ($111,000 base) or a BMW M5 ($89,900 base). It's as fast as a Mercedes CLS AMG ($95,900 base). It's as fast as a 911 Carrera GTS ($103,100 base), and Porsche sold more than 6,000 of the 911 series in the USA in 2011. ... Not only is the S85P $11,000 cheaper than the 911 up front, it also saves a massive $16,000 in energy costs over an 8 year life (assuming a higher mileage driving profile of 20,000/yr). And it seats 5 in comfort. The energy savings compared to the very thirsty (18MPG) M5, shown in the table above, are even larger. ... there's been a lot of talk lately about when Tesla might reveal their Gen III platform, an affordable electric sedan "to go toe-to-toe with the BMW 3 series" (in the words of a journalist whose name has faded from my memory, but whose quote remained). I smile as it seems Tesla has already done so - it's called Model S. Buyers appear to have realized this, hence the large (and growing) reservation list." VERY interesting article. It just confirms what I had suspected all along.. Thanks for the heads-up, teslaguy!
I like how he takes jabs at John Petersen with his comments about losing money in buying Axion shares.
if you can do that with it ... Model S will be under 4.4 in reality. (my opinion, and definitely backed by some. + they could push it a little harder with firmware to kill the M5 if needed) I think it was at 4.4 with my 4 passengers :scared:
Yeah that would be sweet! There are quite a few sedans faster than us for under the price so I will try not to stress it too much though: CTS, Mercs, etc.
Simplicity For simplicity when considering cost I simply compare {ICEV or HEV cost per mile} to {BEV electricity cost per mile} + {BEV battery cost per mile} Once the 2nd is close to the first PHEV and BEV will begin to take over.
Great article. I would add extra emphasis on; what price are you willing to pay to get off (foreign) oil? What price are you willing to pay to drop CO2? What price are you willing to pay to help disrupt the ICE industry? What price for silence? etc. You add all that up, and this car is a bargain.
As the others say, look at the 5-60 times. 0-60 uses launch control which isn't done in the real world.
Less than 4.4. I think that the point is that the M5 needs to use launch control to hit that 3.7 second mark. While that's great for selling cars to folks who will decide on two cars based on 10ths of a second difference in POTENTIAL acceleration, it has very little impact on real world driving (I'm talking about the availability of launch control). Oh, and if you do it a lot you'll thrash your transmission pretty quickly, oh, and you'll look like an idiot (IMO) while you sit there at the stop light with your engine revving. The Model S, with no launch control or gears (ok, no more than one) will give you full power whenever you need it with no more delay than the time it takes your right foot to hit the floor.
I guess "neutral" in the Model S just means no power when pressing the accelerator pedal. So if someone pushes the car, the motor will still rotate. Or? So it's kind of less than "1 gear".
Yeah, it's kind of strange to think about the transmission not being much of an issue here. I mean, ICEs are starting to see 8 speeds in order to increase economy and performance and then the Model S comes along with a single reducing gear system. You're right though, I have no idea what happens physically when one puts the Model S in neutral.
Yeah, motor always mechanically engaged. Really nice in the simplicity of it all. But, Tesla tends to recommend not towing a Roadster with the rear wheels on the ground (like someone might try to do behind an RV.) You don't want to keep rotating that motor when not driving the car. (Well there is that thought of trying to leave it turned on to do regen charging, but that isn't recommended either.)
Besides, it's kind of illegal (in most places) unless someone is sitting in the car. Tesla (or any car manufacturer) would be unlikely to recommend an illegal operation.