Having second thoughts

[Big Earl]

It's clear you should not buy the Tesla. You will spend a lot of money for something you may not like or fit into your life style.

I disagree. I think a Tesla would be a good car for his use case even if he can only charge on 120 volts at home.

• Autopilot is fantastic on a long commute.
• Lower operating costs will help offset the high purchase price.
• Superchargers can fill in the gaps where 120 volt charging falls short.
• High resale values provide a reasonable "out" if the car ends up not working out for him.

 

[mswlogo]

All you need is 20A 240V and you can fully charge that overnight no problem.

Like others said you can share a circuit with a dryer or water heater using a dryer buddy. Physically full vs fully loaded are two different things. It’s extremely rare you can’t extract 20 A 240V.

I had a 30A 240V heater in my garage and added an A/B switch. Done. My service is 100A. When not charging I rarely go over 20% of the capacity of my service.

Get some other bids and someone a little more creative. Tell them you need min 20A 240V.

You are right. You MUST charge at home with that commute.

I also agree 120V would be problematic. Better than nothing, but a hassle at times. The difference in a 20A 120V load wise 20A 240V is very small load wise. And cost to install wise. Huge on convenience.

 

[SteelClouds]

Keep in mind that the Model 3 is limited to how many amps it can draw for level 2 charging.. If I remember the chart correctly, it's 32 amps max. The S and X are different.. they can pull higher amps on level 2 assuming you have the power available. I have a 240/50 amp circuit using a tesla charger and 32 amps is the very best my M3 can do. No reason to change the panel. IF I had to change the panel, it was quoted at 6K because to go from an 100 amp service to a 200 amp service requires the gauge of wire from the street to the house to be sized up. Around here that is a pretty common issue.. people get the 80 amp wall unit and then freak at the cost and freak again when their M3 only pulls 32 amps after paying all that cash for the upgrade.

Gas prices being what they are will help with the payments.. but not cover them. I agree that the Autopilot is great for commutes. I use it every time I go to San Diego which is 80 miles each way with heavy traffic most of the time. Much less brain fatigue at the end. And it shines when coming home and I'm already tired from the day.

Dont discount the pure fun of driving the M3 That can count for a lot on a crappy day ...

 

[mswlogo]

Keep in mind that the Model 3 is limited to how many amps it can draw for level 2 charging.. If I remember the chart correctly, it's 32 amps max. The S and X are different.. they can pull higher amps on level 2 assuming you have the power available. I have a 240/50 amp circuit using a tesla charger and 32 amps is the very best my M3 can do. No reason to change the panel. IF I had to change the panel, it was quoted at 6K because to go from an 100 amp service to a 200 amp service requires the gauge of wire from the street to the house to be sized up. Around here that is a pretty common issue.. people get the 80 amp wall unit and then freak at the cost and freak again when their M3 only pulls 32 amps after paying all that cash for the upgrade.

Gas prices being what they are will help with the payments.. but not cover them. I agree that the Autopilot is great for commutes. I use it every time I go to San Diego which is 80 miles each way with heavy traffic most of the time. Much less brain fatigue at the end. And it shines when coming home and I'm already tired from the day.

Dont discount the pure fun of driving the M3 That can count for a lot on a crappy day ...

That’s not quite right. They all max out at 48A now. Except the Model 3 SR is limited 32A. I would hope with that commute the OP is getting a Model 3 LR.

 

[Birdsfan]

Keep in mind that the Model 3 is limited to how many amps it can draw for level 2 charging.. If I remember the chart correctly, it's 32 amps max. The S and X are different.. they can pull higher amps on level 2 assuming you have the power available. I have a 240/50 amp circuit using a tesla charger and 32 amps is the very best my M3 can do. No reason to change the panel. IF I had to change the panel, it was quoted at 6K because to go from an 100 amp service to a 200 amp service requires the gauge of wire from the street to the house to be sized up. Around here that is a pretty common issue.. people get the 80 amp wall unit and then freak at the cost and freak again when their M3 only pulls 32 amps after paying all that cash for the upgrade.

Gas prices being what they are will help with the payments.. but not cover them. I agree that the Autopilot is great for commutes. I use it every time I go to San Diego which is 80 miles each way with heavy traffic most of the time. Much less brain fatigue at the end. And it shines when coming home and I'm already tired from the day.

Dont discount the pure fun of driving the M3 That can count for a lot on a crappy day ...

My Tesla charger is 48 amps but I agree with the balance of your statement.

 

[rpiotro]

All you need is 20A 240V and you can fully charge that overnight no problem.

Like others said you can share a circuit with a dryer or water heater using a dryer buddy. Physically full vs fully loaded are two different things. It’s extremely rare you can’t extract 20 A 240V.

I had a 30A 240V heater in my garage and added an A/B switch. Done. My service is 100A. When not charging I rarely go over 20% of the capacity of my service.

Get some other bids and someone a little more creative. Tell them you need min 20A 240V.

You are right. You MUST charge at home with that commute.

A 20 amp circuit will only allow a 16 amp continuous load. 125% rule. Having said that, 16 amps @ 240 V will charge the car much quicker than a 120V outlet. That's still 3.84 kW. You will probably be able to easily go from 30% to 80% overnight. 8-10 hours. Plug it in when you get home and unplug it when you go. Now you have 12-14 hours charging time. 120V @ 12 amps (1.44kW) could take all day and night. and then some.

 

[ay221]

Since you are renting, I wouldn't spend a dime on upgrades, it's all wasted money. Without good home charging I personally wouldn't get an electric vehicle.

 

[rpiotro]

...The key part here people are missing is that it is 1-2 times per week, not every day. Any Tesla can fully charge over 120V in about 36 hours....

You stated somewhat correctly that you can get up to 5 miles of range per hour of charge. Up to is a key word. The OP says they have a 240 mile commute. 240/5 = 48. That is two days where I live. And leaves no margin. Not sure of that would work here.

 

[terranx]

If their 120 outlet happens to be 20A, you can get closer to 7 mph, which brings it down to 35 hours.

 

[Birdsfan]

There is a 240 out back, you could piggyback there and with an upgraded extension cord you're good.

 

[Ecoli]

Personally I would not spend any money on upgrading a property I didn't own
Extension lead, drier socket, charging at work, neighbours, whatever I could use
You don't want to be thinking that could of been me every time you see a Tesla drive by
Have a look on plugshare to find any free/paid EV charges that maybe close by
It looks like petrol prices are going to continue to rise

 

[heavyD]

Since you are renting, I wouldn't spend a dime on upgrades, it's all wasted money. Without good home charging I personally wouldn't get an electric vehicle.

Yeah it's one thing to spend $5 - 10k on property you own it's really hard to swallow when you are renting. Information we don't know is how long you have lived there and how long you plan on staying there because I suppose if you plan on staying there for another 5+ years you could justify the cost of $1k a year over that time but you will never get that money back while the owner of the property greatly benefits as that's going to be an attractive addition when it becomes time to put that property back on the market to rent or sell.

 

[Ecoli]

I do have a 240 volt outlet on my back porch (that I use for a portable hot tub) but the electrician said running an extension chord would be dangerous....

hmm sitting outside in a tub full of water connected to 240v is A-OK and charging a Tesla is not??

 

[Fifthmonkee]

Thanks everybody for the great advice. I’m rethinking my rethinking. And in the meantime, Tesla has delayed my arrival… I’m going to check with another electrician if there’s a simpler cheaper way. And if there is my landlord might cover it or part of it. We plan to rent here possibly another five years.

 

[Fifthmonkee]

hmm sitting outside in a tub full of water connected to 240v is A-OK and charging a Tesla is not??

The tub does not use an extension cord

 

[Ciaopec]

Thanks everybody for the great advice. I’m rethinking my rethinking. And in the meantime, Tesla has delayed my arrival… I’m going to check with another electrician if there’s a simpler cheaper way. And if there is my landlord might cover it or part of it. We plan to rent here possibly another five years.

I liked the forget the hot tub and use that circuit reply. Plus, Atlanta has a ton of superchargers; still less expensive than gas. With prices the way they are the resell option is also quite viable.

 

[mswlogo]

I do have a 240 volt outlet on my back porch (that I use for a portable hot tub) but the electrician said running an extension chord would be dangerous....

He’s right. Avoid extension cords, they are dangerous. Especially 240v ones. Just reuse that circuit. Put an A/B switch if needed. Or just disconnect if not used. You can rehook up when you leave if you never use it. That is spare capacity right there.

 

[Ecoli]

The tub does not use an extension cord

I don't know what the Electrical regulations are in US but in NZ any outdoor electrical device has to be as to be suitably protected
more so if water is involved with an RCD. This would also protect the extension lead and anything connected to it or the hot tub
if an RCD is not present extension leads with RCD are also option here
Your outdoor socket may already be protected by an RCD

Regular circuit breakers don't offer the level of protection RCD's do
As with anything electrical there is still a risk but RCD's go a long way in reducing
that risk

 

[jjrandorin]

Thanks everybody for the great advice. I’m rethinking my rethinking. And in the meantime, Tesla has delayed my arrival… I’m going to check with another electrician if there’s a simpler cheaper way. And if there is my landlord might cover it or part of it. We plan to rent here possibly another five years.

One of the things I really like about TMC members, is, if someone asks a reasonable, honest, question, people are more than willing to respond / help / provide feedback. People are not quite as forgiving if the question is framed with sensationalism, or absolutes, but a real, honest question? People here are eager to help.

Good luck on your decision. If I were in your specific shoes, with what you posted, this is what I would do.

1. Buy the Tesla Long range
2. Get another opinion on charging from an electrician, with the question being "how large of a 240v circuit can I put in here without any panel upgrades.
3. If answer to 2 is "none" (unlikely, but possible), I would get a really good quality extension cord to go from the hot tub to where the car was parked (this is possible, just need a good quality one) or see about putting in a switch to switch between those two sources ( a switch that allows either hot tub OR outlet to be powered, not both at same time ).

After having a model 3 since 2018, I personally cant picture going back to an ICE. I just (as in yesterday) picked up a Model Y to replace my wifes BMW X3. We picked it up, she went to Costco for groceries, and then came home and told me: "everyone in there was talking about gas prices (which are $5.25+ a gallon right now here in CA and rising) and I thought " Ha ha ha, I dont have to do that @##$ (fill a gas tank) anymore ever again!"

She had this HHUUGGEE smile on her face, because she has been taking her car to the gas station while I have been simply "plugging in at home" since 2018. No way I could go back, and most (but not all) people who buy an EV and have home charging end up with that same ephiphany.

 

[Darmie]

Buyer's remorse is a tough hurtle to get over but for the reasons you mention, it may be worth giving it a go.
As mention there are great options for charging. For short commutes, just charging off of 110v usually works just fine. Check out A Better Routeplanner that may aid in your longer commute to help locate a convenient Super Charger as needed. Our First model S 2017 worked just fine on 110 for the year that we had it. Living out of state staying at an apartment, I was able to rent one of their garage spaces. They offered the use of the 110 outlet. Anytime we took any trips, we just hit the SC like normal in route to any location.