I drive 25K miles per year. Is the Model S right for me?

[Axxlrod]

I drive more miles than the average person. Most of the miles are local (from home to office/store/errands/kid's school/etc..) but I do drive to santa barbara from san diego (250 miles each way) once or twice per month. Looks like stopping at the Space X Supercharger station each way on that trip would be all that is needed.

My question really is about how the car/battery pack will be in a few years. Can the car hold up to driving 25k miles per year? How will it perform/charge when it has 100,000 miles on it? How will battery degredation be at 5 years?

Anybody else drive a lot of miles?

i see many members here that mostly use the car as a local commuter vehicle nad many members have several other cars to utilize also. This would be my primary car.

 

[Citizen-T]

It seems to me that you would be fine since you have a Supercharger on your 250mi route. If you are worried about the battery, you might want to consider the option to pre-purchase a battery replacement (just to eliminate that risk).

 

[Zythryn]

A small sample of Roadster owner's data gave an 1.7% range loss per 10,000 miles. This is a very rough number as it is a small group (about 20?). I believe the highest rate was about 35,000 miles a year.
My Roadster lost about 3% over 27 months and 27,000 miles.
That being said, the Model S is a different beast, and some improvements in the battery management system have most likely taken place.
I would guess you would be fine, however if it were me, I would also look at how fast I travel (speed has a dramatic affect on range above 60mph).
I would not suggest going for a test drive before you are sure if it will work for you, as the experience of driving it will make you cry if you can't buy it;-)

 

[mknox]

I drive a bit over 21,000 miles/year and that is one of the main reasons for getting a Model S: fuel savings!

My concern is with the "compulsory" service intervals of 1 year/12,500 miles. I will need almost two "annual" services per year, and am still not convinced it is necessary or essential. I'll probably still buy a 4-year plan, but it will actually only last me less than 2.5 years.

 

[ElSupreme]

I drive about 20,000-22,000 miles a year. This makes fuel savings greater per year. All of the battery pampering that Tesla does, and that I rarely make long (150+mile) trips I don't think I will be hurting the battery all that much. I hope that I have 70+% of my pack still working after a decade.

I agree with mknox about the 'annual' maintenance being a little excessive but I'll still sign up for it.

 

[Axxlrod]

Thanks for the replies.

Hmmmmm. I currently drive a Prius. So I only spend about $200 per month on fuel. My electric rates are high, so I think the Model S would add about $150 to my monthly elec bill. So the savings of not having to buy gas is not much. I also haven't gotten a quote for insurance yet, but I know it will be more than the Prius.

I wish Tesla would lease the cars.

 

[Timothy]

Thanks for the replies.

Hmmmmm. I currently drive a Prius. So I only spend about $200 per month on fuel. My electric rates are high, so I think the Model S would add about $150 to my monthly elec bill. So the savings of not having to buy gas is not much. I also haven't gotten a quote for insurance yet, but I know it will be more than the Prius.

I wish Tesla would lease the cars.

Get solar panels on your roof. I save about 2 grand a year that way. And when you come to Santa Barbara say 'hello!' I've lived here for 35 years and it is a great place!

 

[TurboFroggy]

http://www.teslamotors.com/charging#/calculator. 25,000 miles a year is 68 miles a day which is $2.68 a day, $80.40 a month. It would actually be less as the supercharger trips would be free. That is far less monthly than your Prius costs in gas. That is using sd&e super off peak rate of $0.14/kwh. http://www.sdge.com/ev-rates-resources

 

[bellwilliam]

http://www.teslamotors.com/charging#/calculator. 25,000 miles a year is 68 miles a day which is $2.68 a day, $80.40 a month. It would actually be less as the supercharger trips would be free. That is far less monthly than your Prius costs in gas. That is using sd&e super off peak rate of $0.14/kwh. http://www.sdge.com/ev-rates-resources

Not in Cali, unless you have solar or a 2nd meter. s will cost more than a Prius to run

 

[TurboFroggy]

Not in Cali, unless you have solar or a 2nd meter. s will cost more than a Prius to run

Can you elaborate on that statement? I posted actual San Diego gas and Electric rates. Yes a smart TOU meter would be required which is simple to get arranged as per the link I posted.

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

Not in Cali, unless you have solar or a 2nd meter. s will cost more than a Prius to run

I don't see why it would. A Model S is like 50-80% more efficient than a Prius, and the unit cost for the energy is quite a bit less.

Edit: Provided of course you don't hit the ZoomZoom button that the Prius doesn't come with

- - - Updated - - -

I drive more miles than the average person. Most of the miles are local (from home to office/store/errands/kid's school/etc..) but I do drive to santa barbara from san diego (250 miles each way) once or twice per month. Looks like stopping at the Space X Supercharger station each way on that trip would be all that is needed.

My question really is about how the car/battery pack will be in a few years. Can the car hold up to driving 25k miles per year? How will it perform/charge when it has 100,000 miles on it? How will battery degredation be at 5 years?

Anybody else drive a lot of miles?

i see many members here that mostly use the car as a local commuter vehicle nad many members have several other cars to utilize also. This would be my primary car.

I think it would work, but you need to think hard about it. You'd be taking an expensive vehicle and running it HARD. If a Prius is good enough, I'd consider keeping it. You'll never save enough in gas to make up the purchase price of the car. At the same time though, if you want an awesome car and don't mind the depreciation you are putting on it, I expect it might do the job.

It comes with an 8 year unlimited mileage warranty on the battery, but I'd consider buying the replacement (which you can only get after 8 years) and hope the degradation doesn't get too bad before you can swap it. You are talking like 200k miles by that point. If the majority if your trips allow you to discharge only ~25% of the battery you might not have as much of a problem with degradation as if you are discharging 50% or more on each trip. Also, the extended warranty option might be a good buy too.

 

[bellwilliam]

I don't see why it would. A Model S is like 50-80% more efficient than a Prius, and the unit cost for the energy is quite a bit less.

Edit: Provided of course you don't hit the ZoomZoom button that the Prius doesn't come with

In socal. I am at 32cents/kWh. 85 kWh is about $27, which buys ~7gallons. At 240miles, that equates to 34mpg. to equate a Prius 50mpg, it needs to be at ~22 cents/kWh.

Of course, if op go with 2nd meter, it would bring it down to 13 cents / kWh. That would be a great deal

 

[blakegallagher]

I would need a car that got about 185 MPG to operate it as cheaply as I could a model S in south Texas. My rate comes out to 6.5 cents. When referring to everyone else that seems absurdly low .... all the more reason for me to get a Model S

 

[SByer]

That's clearly not TOU, and, what, Tier 5? I bet there are some easy negawatt pickings there.

Yes, without going solar or TOU, an EV might not make strict financial sense. But then, you're also not factoring that the Prius is kinda icky to drive, while the Model S, is, well... so, so not.

 

[Doug Martoccia]

The economics of driving an EV increase substantially with the number of miles driven, so the more you drive, the better off you are - given that you are comparing apples-to-apples performance automobiles. If cost-effectiveness is really a concern, a lower-priced Leaf or Volt would be less expensive, but these are not comparable cars.

I would encourage all Tesla owners to call for a PV consult. I got a quote Tuesday from Solar City that will allow me to return my investment in less than seven years - or 2-3 years if you take the cost savings for not paying for gasoline into account. If you can't do solar, look into getting TOU rates and charge at night when possible. If that's not possible, SCE and others offer a 2nd meter.

 

[bellwilliam]

The economics of driving an EV increase substantially with the number of miles driven, so the more you drive, the better off you are - given that you are comparing apples-to-apples performance automobiles. If cost-effectiveness is really a concern, a lower-priced Leaf or Volt would be less expensive, but these are not comparable cars.

I would encourage all Tesla owners to call for a PV consult. I got a quote Tuesday from Solar City that will allow me to return my investment in less than seven years - or 2-3 years if you take the cost savings for not paying for gasoline into account. If you can't do solar, look into getting TOU rates and charge at night when possible. If that's not possible, SCE and others offer a 2nd meter.

I did call solar city and gave the same pitch. Return in 7 years. But that's with some fuzzy math. They are assuming you will never use 2nd meter nor tou option. That you will be at tier 5 after Tesla S.

if you get a 2nd meter. Return is going to be a lot longer than 7 years.

i already ordered 2nd meter. Tou isn't that great of a deal for me. Waiting for solar city to do an eval on my house for solar.

 

[100thMonkey]

with all that free Supercharger charging, the gas savings should be substantial. Don't try and compare it to the Prius, I know it's only natural to. The Prius is great for what it is, the S is in a whole other class, I would suggest, a class of it's own. go take a test drive, you likely don't know what you are missing. My only regret with the S is that I don't have a long commute, it's such a blast to drive!

 

[Eberhard]

Id did 126.000km with my roadster since 11/2010. Degradation of my batterie is around 10-15% and i can still do >300km in wintertime at 55mph. SM = 265km, RM = 345km at 24A charging current. Much better then expected.

 

[dadaleus]

I have 14,000 miles on my S. I regularly go from San Diego to Beverly Hills. I haven't kept careful track, but I'm guessing I've lost no more than few miles of rated range. It's hard to tell since it varies by day. The car is a joy on long trips. You're going farther but the Hawthorne superchargers work well.

 

[gen3_in_utah]

I have 14,000 miles on my S

Quick Question: Did you already get the 12,500 mile service? ( I did a quick search but couldn't find a thread on it)
If you have had the first service, any information you can share?