Nonsense? Really?
My ICE
IS a van. It seats six in comfort and eight total. It has lots of space to carry all the stuff I tend to take with me. A Model X would be a good replacement, but the price differential between it and mainstream vans makes no sense to me.
I've never had trouble finding a gas station. While on the road, if I close my eyes and coast to a stop, I'll likely be parked next to a pump.
After I put the nozzle in the filler, I barely have time to wash the windows before the tank is filled. I doubt even the biggest supporters of EVs (and I'm one) find your claim re: refueling valid.
Well, since you asked, yes, it sounds like abject nonsense, with a garnish of FUD.
In no particular order:
With an ICE, one tends to fill up, drive until low, and fill up again. With an EV, one does not do that as a rule. So what’s the impact? About 10%-15%, depending. Meaning that if I have a 1,000-mile trip from Los Angeles to Portland (OR) that I used to drive in ~17 hours end to end in an ICE, it now takes ~19 hours in a Model S. My rule of thumb is 50mph gross time.
Now here are a couple of the differences:
1. I arrive refreshed. I don’t expect you to believe me. When one travels via superchargers (SCs), one stops for 35 minutes here, 20 minutes there, maybe an hour over there if a longer leg is next. It’s a healthier way to travel. Add to that the net effect of AP (TACC and Autosteer (AS), and the refreshment increases, as one’s mindset changes from active to more supervisory. For the sake of brevity, you’ll have to take some of this on faith until you Turo an S/X for a long weekend and see for yourself.
2. That 1,000-mile trip cost me zero in fuel. As does the return trip. Zero (practical) brake wear, zero oil changes, et cetera.
Which brings me to the next piece of FUD. Service Centers (SvCs). If you take a deer through the front end and windshield in West Texas, you will probably need a tow, which Tesla provides with 500-mile range to the nearest SC, where there will be a loaner waiting for you. However, in practical usage scenarios, there are plenty of SvCs. Remember that you are in a vehicle with 74% fewer moving parts. There ain’t that much to break. I’ve been through 48 states and provinces and have never once been stranded out of range of both Tesla and AAA.
That includes (here’s an edge case rightbackatcha) showing up at an SC in Silverthorne, Colorado (elevation ~9,000’ and a drizzly 37F in late May as I recall. Entire town had been without power for 3 hours. As an aside, today that SC would be flagged in Nav and my route would have automagically changed while I was still in Cheyenne, Wyoming so that I could charge at Denver and Glenwood Springs, thereby bypassing Silverthorne completely. Back then (this was 3-ish years ago), I called Tesla and in 20 minutes they had a flatbed here ready to take me to Glenwood Springs. Fortunately and by luck, the power came back and I didn’t need the tow, but it was that quick to fix the problem.
Point being, with *rare* exception, the existing SC and existing SvC network will serve you just fine.
Next FUD: the cost differential. A new work van can run a few bucks these days. Putting that aside, consider a CPO off-lease Model X in a year or so. It’ll have 30-45K miles, fully warranted to 100K miles, be pretty much indistinguishable from new, and you’ll be able to drive the bejesus out of it for 2-3 years until Tesla’s F-350 Killer is ready and it’s a given there will be a work van variant of that as well.
So there’s some food for thought to help offset the FUD.
And whatever you do, do not test drive a Model X now. A costly choice *that* would be, but your resulting purchase will come with an irrepressible and rather perpetual grin.
So you’ll have that going for you. Which is nice. (Bill Murray voice, Caddyshack)
