M3 Performance Plus thoughts @ 14k miles

[RaeW]

Low profile tires are not good in snow. This is true with any car. It is not a TESLA-specific. I once had a SAAB Aero (FWD) and changed to snow tires mounted on smaller rims in the winter. My current S with all weather tires does fine here in NE. It does not have 20" rims.

 

[dfwatt]

Howdy,

I’m not posting here any longer.

I wanted to share one last post.

We have 14k miles on ours. I’m not sure we’ll buy another Tesla. We’ll see. Quite frankly if Audi caught up I’d look real hard at buying from them given our experience.

I’m still really sore about having to buy 18” wheels and new snow tires just to feel safe. My car with 20” wheels and snow tires just isn’t acceptable up here. And if anyone doesn't believe me, I'll put the wheels and tires back on and prove it. Good news is now that I have 18’s with Nokians, the car feels good.

Tesla makes blanket statements about its AWD that just aren’t true. The videos you see on the Internet, Tesla's in the snow, are about as useful as making a decision based on a snapshot in time. Who cares what a car does in a snowy field with no one around, or in the snow when there's not a car in the other lane on the highway going 60 when it's big time winter? Not me. No one else should, either. These videos are misleading.

The wipers not working is also a sore spot. It’s an expensive car. The Auto Wipers just don’t work. It pisses me off. And it’s dangerous, having to fiddle with the wipers in the snow.

AP up here is so-so. It’s fine as long as you’re not going around a bend with a car next to you. I don’t know. Maybe here in the mountains lane lines are narrower? I think Tesla also makes claims here as well, that are a stretch.

I think Tesla isn't doing anyone any good advertising that their cars get 310 miles range. It's misleading.

TACC works good. But new Subarus come with this same tech.

Last night at Copper Mountain was my first experience with the car handles being stuck. Luckily, not stuck to the point where the door wouldn't open. What were they thinking?

There's other things with the car that clearly show Tesla didn't do their homework, didn't spend near enough time testing in real world winter conditions.

All my issues being the case, I knew I was taking a chance. But I expected better. Still, I'm not selling the car. But I'm not sure I'd buy another Tesla.

Someone from here contacted me about buying a RWD 3. They said they plan on keeping their ICE AWD for snowy days. Here’s what I wrote to them.

Howdy,
There's a rumor Tesla is discontinuing the RWD version. So I'd be careful.

If you have a backup AWD, fine. But why not go for the AWD? I know it's more.

So are you fluent with EV's?

Do you get that the advertised range really isn't?

First, you never use 100% of the battery. So plan your range on using 80% of the battery. For the RWD, the real range (using 80%) is 211. Then discount it a little once the battery loses capacity. The battery will lose 5% of its capacity in the first year. Now your range is more like 200.

Then factor in cold weather, wind, and road conditions. In the cold (less than 35 degrees) battery range takes a hit. For example yesterday I drove back and forth to Copper Mountain. 112 miles total. I used 189 rated miles due to the cold and snowy roads. So I was using 1.7 rated miles for each mile I drove.

Same thing with wet roads and wind.

You should also know that Tesla just acquired a battery company, here's the link:
Tesla acquires ultracapacitor and battery manufacturer for over $200 million

What this means is that the battery storage and performance will surely increase -- soon. Probably not in the 019 model year, but for sure in the 020 model year. So you may want to wait.

There's also some other gotchas you should be aware of. If your car ever needs body work, it could take a few months. I have a small dent that needs to be fixed. I started looking for repairs in January. The soonest I could get in was late March. Some shops were booked until June. The reason why is Tesla's are hard for a body shop to work on.

Tesla's service is getting better. But it's been painfully bad. My experience has been just so-so with them. Calling them is getting better. It used to be a waste of time.

Some of the tech just doesn't work right. For example the Auto Wipers just don't work. Surely that'll be fixed with a software update one of these days. But it sure is frustrating.

We bought ours because we care about the environment. And, we needed a new car. I wasn't going to buy another ICE car. Would I buy another one? An EV, yes. But maybe not from Tesla. We'll see. While they do some things great, there's a lot not to like about them.

For example we bought the Performance+ version. The car is simply not safe with the stock 20" wheels and snow tires. I had to buy 18" wheels and new snow tires. It pissed me off. But now the car goes good in the snow.

Also. Where do you live? Can you charge at home? If not, then don't buy one.

Good news is that charging at home works out to being way less than gas. Last night I went 112 miles in the cold and snow. I used 30 kWh, which is worse case. That's less than $3 bucks in electricity. The same trip would have cost me at least $10 in gas.

Anything else I can help with let me know.

Peace and love,

I hear these kinds of comments from Bright well-educated people all the time and I'm frankly puzzled. The assumption is that Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, et al. could easily equal Tesla if they would just get over their addiction to ICE. There's really no evidence to support that assumption at all and an enormous body of evidence against it.

First of all you cannot create a competent E V with a ICE template with the notion that you're just going to swap out the motors and put a battery somewhere. You need to start with a clean sheet of paper the way Tesla did. Tesla took what they had learned often times from painful and many mistakes on the models before the model 3 (namely the S and X) to design a more integrated set of systems. They are probably very conservatively 3 to 5 years ahead of anybody else in terms of the critical Triad of Battery Technology, electronics, and charging infrastructure. Possibly more years than that. And when you have Audi releasing their supposed Tesla killer e-tron with a fake grille you have to wonder how much they've understood the design principle outlined at the beginning of this paragraph. In other words, this looks more and more like it's just a regular Audi with a battery and an electric motor swapped out for a gasoline one. I doubt it will be truly competitive, and, also suggesting that it is a kluged design, its weight is obscene, suggesting that they did not start with a clean sheet of paper. So you've got a long wait if you think Audi is going to create something in a matter of a year or two that is better than a Tesla.

Can Tesla be fairly criticized for building what is in many ways an ingenious car without the support structure to service it? For sure. But look at any disruptive technology and you will see this gap between technological innovation, reliability, and service structures. That's the way it works. You want something revolutionary you're going to have these kinds of hiccups at least for a few years. If you don't like it, I would recommend that you buy an Audi as I almost did. It's a great car, but it's not even in the same universe with the model 3. And after you get it we should race for pink slips..

 

[dfwatt]

Low profile tires are not good in snow. This is true with any car. It is not a TESLA-specific. I once had a SAAB Aero (FWD) and changed to snow tires mounted on smaller rims in the winter. My current S with all weather tires does fine here in NE. It does not have 20" rims.

Excellent point and I strongly agree with you. It's a bizarre complaint when people somehow think that radical Max performance summer Tires in a 35 series are safe in the winter and are going to be usable in cold weather. And then they slam Tesla for that! Do your homework guys!!. Nobody recommends driving those 20 in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, arguably the best street Tire anyone's ever made, in Winter conditions. That's just plain dumb and stupid. And that stupidity does not rest with Tesla, although you could criticize them if their sales people don't warn customers about this issue. They certainly should.

 

[Knightshade]

So I suspect it is not software because the automatic wiper technology has been perfected over the past 20 years.

This isn't correct- it's odd you'd think it was when you explain why it's not correct immediately below.

2) The M3 automatic wiper sensor uses the "front camera". The way the automatic windshield wiper system works on just about every car manufactured today is the TRW system, or similar LED systems. When the weather is dry, the LED light bounces off the windshield and into a set of light collectors. But when a raindrop lands in front of the module, some of that light would refract away from the collectors, and the system triggers the wiper blades to swipe.

Exactly.

The model 3 lacks that hardware.

That's why it's a software problem, and why comparing it to tech that works perfectly for 20 years in other cars doesn't work since this car doesn't have that tech.

Previous cars simply actuated the wipers based on that hardware sensors told them.

The model 3 is trying to use SOFTWARE to understand camera input and guess at what the actual rain situation is and actuate the wipers to fit the situation it thinks is happening.

If it were a software issue, it surely would have easily been reprogrammed and downloaded.

The software has been updated numerous times already to improve it.

When the Model 3 first launched it didn't even have automatic wipers. It was added with a software update.

My hunch is that either the module they are using is inferior, or the sensor technology is not the industry standard, or both.

Once again it looks like 2 different people wrote your post.

One who understands Tesla is using a camera instead of an industry standard rain sensor... and one who doesn't.

Tesla is trying a completely different, much more software dependent, system in the model 3 (and newer S/X cars too).

Originally it didn't work at all.

Then with updates it worked, but terribly in most conditions.

Now with further updates it works kind of decently in some conditions but not all of them.

Presumably they'll keep improving it with further updates.

My attorneys advise this issue alone qualifies for filing a request to refund the full amount via the Lemon Law.

I would definitely suggest you take their advice.

Especially since you've threatened to do the same thing in several of your previous posts going back a couple of months now....

Oddly you mention in this thread you founded a software company- and yet in another one wrote this-

I am a frustrated 2018 Model 3 owner and wondering ... since I am not a software engineer, is this the car for me?.... because I'd hate to be the first to file a Lemon Law suit.

 

[pscarroll]

I would agree that you can't just use ICE knowledge and make a great EV, Tesla is way ahead after years of development just with EVs and it's hard for the older car manufacturers to make something comparable both in profitability, features, longevity, efficiency. However, these brands have much better support mechanisms which in many ways is just as important as the tech. I love my Model 3 Performance as I know it will last for years, but when things go wrong Tesla generally is not there to support it or supports it badly. I've bought into Tesla and am trusting that they will continue to improve, at least I hope they do or I made an expensive choice that I hope I don't regret.

As for the wipers, they've got a long way to go. I've noticed that it only uses that small bit of windshield where the cameras are located to determine if a wipe is needed, completely blind to what the driver sees or doesn't see. I don't think they'll ever be able to overcome this since rain may not evenly fall on the windshield. It's gonna take new or additional hardware to overcome this problem. I don't think it's a "lemon law" thing as it wasn't a promised feature, but I'm not gonna nit pick Tesla on everything like some owners do about every little scratch, misalignment, spec of dust. I do however want my rear defroster fixed that isn't working right, and Tesla just misses the mark on stuff like that.

 

[Belisarius]

Howdy,

I’m not posting here any longer.

I wanted to share one last post.

We have 14k miles on ours. I’m not sure we’ll buy another Tesla. We’ll see. Quite frankly if Audi caught up I’d look real hard at buying from them given our experience.

Anything else I can help with let me know.

Peace and love,

I feel for you. Keep in mind that I know a few people whom saved 70,000 USD for the AWD, they thought buying their first and only premium car, an EV, and they feel duped. Duped and financially irreversibly duped..

What you want sound like a Porsche, or a BMW. BWM makes not descent EVs yet (not the i3) and taycan is coming. A company that tops Reliability surveys (again, yesterday) and, unlike Lexus, never corrodes and is ULSAB space age materials. The Taycan will likely exceed all your demands and it is no shame to pay for decades long reliability.

Consumer Reports just lynched Tesla Model 3 for soem of the very issues you mentioned, and way nastier ones too. Suspension, windows, irresponsive touchscreen etc..

 

[Belisarius]

This isn’t a problem with Tesla, and is your own mistake for not researching this before buying. The same thing would happen with Audi, BMW, or any other performance vehicle that comes with summer tires. Summer tires *cannot* be used in snow or ice, and should not be used in the cold. The rubber turns very hard below 40-45F, and in the worst cases can actually crack. In fact, the new Michelins that Tesla uses are a little better at this than the Pirelli P-Zeros you get from Audi, as Michelin has started using multiple compounds in different parts of the tire to give better cold weather functionality. But they still absolutely cannot be used in snow or ice. That’s incredibly dangerous.

As a 7 time Audi owner, I can tell you that any of their performance cars or regular models with sports packages will come with summer tires in most locations. In some places like upstate NY they’re better about giving you literature with big scary warnings. But in other places like here in a Washington they don’t do that, and it’s on buyers and drivers to know what they have. If you buy this kind of car with these kinds of tires, you need a winter set or must use alternate transportation in freezing temps. Or, when you buy it, you special order different tire options (e.g. all seasons) from Tesla as I’ve heard some have done.

Cannot believe that people substitute winter tyres for AWD. Even on my Bavarian, in Sports +, AWD with TC disabled, gentle brake touch and gas, and, in snow with the BEST hakkapelitas or X Ices money can buy, I do perfect dougnuts. Winter is nasty for all cars, especially heavier ones with narrow grip and track like sedans..

 

[RedOctober]

Not every car will satisfy all people, I get it. Some love certain brands and some hate others. But this entire winter driving complaint is not on Tesla. With over 40 years of winter driving experience in some very harsh conditions with GM, Ford, Subaru, BMW and Dodge, I can tell you that winter will play havoc with most cars no matter who makes them. It took me several years to realize a great set of winter tires make driving so much safer. I’m still surprised people will drive during the winter without them. It’s not only for your safety but others using the roadways as well. If you can afford a Tesla, you should be able to afford a proper set tires. Don’t blame the manufacturers, this one is on the owner.

 

[mswlogo]

Not every car will satisfy all people, I get it. Some love certain brands and some hate others. But this entire winter driving complaint is not on Tesla. With over 40 years of winter driving experience in some very harsh conditions with GM, Ford, Subaru, BMW and Dodge, I can tell you that winter will play havoc with most cars no matter who makes them. It took me several years to realize a great set of winter tires make driving so much safer. I’m still surprised people will drive during the winter without them. It’s not only for your safety but others using the roadways as well. If you can afford a Tesla, you should be able to afford a proper set tires. Don’t blame the manufacturers, this one is on the owner.

Keep in mind the OP did buy Snow Tires for his 20" Wheels (Michelin A4 Pilot (a performance snow tire)) and was unsatisfied with the results. He had same A4 tires on other AWD car(s) (Audi?) and felt it was fine. Only when he moved to 18" Nokian R3 was he satisfied with his Model 3 AWD. His claim is basically that the AWD of the Audi is superior and could handle the Michelin A4 Pilot. Now were they similar profile tires, I don't know. That can make a big difference (using the same tire).

 

[dfwatt]

Keep in mind the OP did buy Snow Tires for his 20" Wheels (Michelin A4 Pilot (a performance snow tire)) and was unsatisfied with the results. He had same A4 tires on other AWD car(s) (Audi?) and felt it was fine. Only when he moved to 18" Nokian R3 was he satisfied with his Model 3 AWD. His claim is basically that the AWD of the Audi is superior and could handle the Michelin A4 Pilot. Now were they similar profile tires, I don't know. That can make a big difference (using the same tire).

We've had the opposite experience. The traction control on the all-wheel drive M3P is so good (due in part to how quickly drive levels can be modulated compared to ICE) that we've been able to get away with all season tires. Now we're not talking about driving through 3 feet of snow, but the weather in New Hampshire is nothing to write home about. And compared to some powerful rear wheel drive cars that I've owned, the model 3 is a revelation in snow. But I guess it's all about what you expect. I would never expect that in a snow belt area I could get by with All Seasons or Ultra low profile wide tread snow tires. Not smart. You want high profile and narrow tires that will bite into the snow

 

[spinbackwards]

Low profile tires are not good in snow. This is true with any car. It is not a TESLA-specific. I once had a SAAB Aero (FWD) and changed to snow tires mounted on smaller rims in the winter. My current S with all weather tires does fine here in NE. It does not have 20" rims.

You guys are like an old girl friend who keeps calling me.

Baloney. You don't know what you're talking about.

I had a 2017 A7. Stage 4 tune. 475 hp to the wheels. Smoking hot car. I had Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's in a 255/40/19. I dominated the road.

I put the same, freaking tires on the P3D+. I was driving with my tail between my legs. Okay. The A7 tires were not quite as low, they were 19's. Close enough.

Here's the receipt:
25451 NRM 4 235 /35 R20 92V XL BSW .00 297.00 1,188.00

MCH PILOT ALPIN PA4
WARRANTY: MILEAGE- 30,000 SEE REVERSE SIDE FOR WARRANTY DETAILS
COMMENT: BOLT PATTERN: 5-114.3
COMMENT: INFLATION F:42 R:42
80017 NRM 4 CERTIFICATES FOR REFUND, REPLACEMENT .00 41.75 167.00
80075 NRM 4 STATE REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL FEE .00 .55 2.20
80224 NRM 4 WASTE TIRE DISPOSAL FEE .00 2.50 10.00
80219 NRM 4 INSTALLATION & LIFE OF TIRE MAINTENANCE

 

[spinbackwards]

I hear these kinds of comments from Bright well-educated people all the time and I'm frankly puzzled. The assumption is that Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, et al. could easily equal Tesla if they would just get over their addiction to ICE. There's really no evidence to support that assumption at all and an enormous body of evidence against it.

First of all you cannot create a competent E V with a ICE template with the notion that you're just going to swap out the motors and put a battery somewhere. You need to start with a clean sheet of paper the way Tesla did. Tesla took what they had learned often times from painful and many mistakes on the models before the model 3 (namely the S and X) to design a more integrated set of systems. They are probably very conservatively 3 to 5 years ahead of anybody else in terms of the critical Triad of Battery Technology, electronics, and charging infrastructure. Possibly more years than that. And when you have Audi releasing their supposed Tesla killer e-tron with a fake grille you have to wonder how much they've understood the design principle outlined at the beginning of this paragraph. In other words, this looks more and more like it's just a regular Audi with a battery and an electric motor swapped out for a gasoline one. I doubt it will be truly competitive, and, also suggesting that it is a kluged design, its weight is obscene, suggesting that they did not start with a clean sheet of paper. So you've got a long wait if you think Audi is going to create something in a matter of a year or two that is better than a Tesla.

Can Tesla be fairly criticized for building what is in many ways an ingenious car without the support structure to service it? For sure. But look at any disruptive technology and you will see this gap between technological innovation, reliability, and service structures. That's the way it works. You want something revolutionary you're going to have these kinds of hiccups at least for a few years. If you don't like it, I would recommend that you buy an Audi as I almost did. It's a great car, but it's not even in the same universe with the model 3. And after you get it we should race for pink slips..

What are you trying to say? Please speak in English.

 

[spinbackwards]

Low profile tires are not good in snow. This is true with any car. It is not a TESLA-specific. I once had a SAAB Aero (FWD) and changed to snow tires mounted on smaller rims in the winter. My current S with all weather tires does fine here in NE. It does not have 20" rims.

Gong.

See my post about the tires I had on my A7. Haven't had very many performance cars, have you cowboy?

 

[spinbackwards]

Not every car will satisfy all people, I get it. Some love certain brands and some hate others. But this entire winter driving complaint is not on Tesla. With over 40 years of winter driving experience in some very harsh conditions with GM, Ford, Subaru, BMW and Dodge, I can tell you that winter will play havoc with most cars no matter who makes them. It took me several years to realize a great set of winter tires make driving so much safer. I’m still surprised people will drive during the winter without them. It’s not only for your safety but others using the roadways as well. If you can afford a Tesla, you should be able to afford a proper set tires. Don’t blame the manufacturers, this one is on the owner.

What part of I had snow tires did you miss?

I hear these kinds of comments from Bright well-educated people all the time and I'm frankly puzzled. The assumption is that Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, et al. could easily equal Tesla if they would just get over their addiction to ICE. There's really no evidence to support that assumption at all and an enormous body of evidence against it.

First of all you cannot create a competent E V with a ICE template with the notion that you're just going to swap out the motors and put a battery somewhere. You need to start with a clean sheet of paper the way Tesla did. Tesla took what they had learned often times from painful and many mistakes on the models before the model 3 (namely the S and X) to design a more integrated set of systems. They are probably very conservatively 3 to 5 years ahead of anybody else in terms of the critical Triad of Battery Technology, electronics, and charging infrastructure. Possibly more years than that. And when you have Audi releasing their supposed Tesla killer e-tron with a fake grille you have to wonder how much they've understood the design principle outlined at the beginning of this paragraph. In other words, this looks more and more like it's just a regular Audi with a battery and an electric motor swapped out for a gasoline one. I doubt it will be truly competitive, and, also suggesting that it is a kluged design, its weight is obscene, suggesting that they did not start with a clean sheet of paper. So you've got a long wait if you think Audi is going to create something in a matter of a year or two that is better than a Tesla.

Can Tesla be fairly criticized for building what is in many ways an ingenious car without the support structure to service it? For sure. But look at any disruptive technology and you will see this gap between technological innovation, reliability, and service structures. That's the way it works. You want something revolutionary you're going to have these kinds of hiccups at least for a few years. If you don't like it, I would recommend that you buy an Audi as I almost did. It's a great car, but it's not even in the same universe with the model 3. And after you get it we should race for pink slips..

Are you suggesting I'm bright and well educated? I dropped out of school in the 9th grade. I have to carry a dictionary with me when I listen to Michelle Goldberg.

 

[spinbackwards]

Excellent point and I strongly agree with you. It's a bizarre complaint when people somehow think that radical Max performance summer Tires in a 35 series are safe in the winter and are going to be usable in cold weather. And then they slam Tesla for that! Do your homework guys!!. Nobody recommends driving those 20 in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, arguably the best street Tire anyone's ever made, in Winter conditions. That's just plain dumb and stupid. And that stupidity does not rest with Tesla, although you could criticize them if their sales people don't warn customers about this issue. They certainly should.

This isn't correct- it's odd you'd think it was when you explain why it's not correct immediately below.



Exactly.

The model 3 lacks that hardware.

That's why it's a software problem, and why comparing it to tech that works perfectly for 20 years in other cars doesn't work since this car doesn't have that tech.

Previous cars simply actuated the wipers based on that hardware sensors told them.

The model 3 is trying to use SOFTWARE to understand camera input and guess at what the actual rain situation is and actuate the wipers to fit the situation it thinks is happening.




The software has been updated numerous times already to improve it.

When the Model 3 first launched it didn't even have automatic wipers. It was added with a software update.




Once again it looks like 2 different people wrote your post.

One who understands Tesla is using a camera instead of an industry standard rain sensor... and one who doesn't.

Tesla is trying a completely different, much more software dependent, system in the model 3 (and newer S/X cars too).

Originally it didn't work at all.

Then with updates it worked, but terribly in most conditions.

Now with further updates it works kind of decently in some conditions but not all of them.

Presumably they'll keep improving it with further updates.

The car goes good with the 18's. It's fine. The old lady says it's not as good as our Audi's, I think she's right. But she digs the car. I dig it too. ICE cars are nowhere. Maybe one of these days Elon will fix the wipers.



I would definitely suggest you take their advice.

Especially since you've threatened to do the same thing in several of your previous posts going back a couple of months now....

Oddly you mention in this thread you founded a software company- and yet in another one wrote this-

I feel for you. Keep in mind that I know a few people whom saved 70,000 USD for the AWD, they thought buying their first and only premium car, an EV, and they feel duped. Duped and financially irreversibly duped..

What you want sound like a Porsche, or a BMW. BWM makes not descent EVs yet (not the i3) and taycan is coming. A company that tops Reliability surveys (again, yesterday) and, unlike Lexus, never corrodes and is ULSAB space age materials. The Taycan will likely exceed all your demands and it is no shame to pay for decades long reliability.

Consumer Reports just lynched Tesla Model 3 for soem of the very issues you mentioned, and way nastier ones too. Suspension, windows, irresponsive touchscreen etc..

 

[spinbackwards]

The old lady says the car isn't as good as our Audi's. But she digs it. I dig it too.

And now that I have the good wheels and tires, I'd send her and my son out in a blizzard in it. Scratch that. Not until Elon fixes the wipers. Eh, maybe not. I'd worry about the door handles freezing and her and the boy not being able to get in the car.

So I'd have to send one of our dogs with her, as protection.

 

[Knightshade]

You guys are like an old girl friend who keeps calling me.

Says the dude who posted this 5 days ago:

I’m not posting here any longer.

I wanted to share one last post.

 

[Mr. Ed]

Who in the heck needs auto wipers anyway? I have turned them off on every car I ever owned. I use rain x and rarely even use the wipers. I was traveling in a car once at twilight on the interstate that had the auto wipers on. We ran into a fresh hatch of bugs and the auto wipers came on. We had to quickly pull over and clean the windshield in order to continue the trip. If you can't figure out how to turn on the wipers yourself read the manual.

 

[spinbackwards]

The other test is, can the car get up our long and steep driveway when it's buried in the snow, before the Craig gets here to plow?

Yes. So could our other cars. I'd be super pissed if not. Our HIPEVAN goes up fine too (AWD with studded Nokians, good karma)

The driveway is 7 degrees or so. It doesn't get much sun, stays snow packed all winter.

So far the most snow we've had this winter when we had to leave before the Craig got here was 8" or so. No problem. Zipped right up the driveway.

There's more.

My cost of juice has gone waaaay down. Check this out:

It's been cold and snowy. I've gone 135 miles since my last charge for a cost of less than $4 bucks in electricity (we pay $.098 per kWh). How much would that have cost me in my Audi? Like, a lot more. I was getting about 23mph, less if I stomped on it.

Audi took Primo petrol. Right now up here Primo is $3 bucks a gallon.

I'm no genius (surprise!). But I think, according to my math, that's 5.8 gallons of gas to go the same distance. 5.8 gallons of petrol X $3 bucks a gallon is $17.40.

So in my Audi, I would have spent $17.40. @@#$% Audi! Glad I got rid that tin can, money pit. I spent less than $4 bucks in the Tesla -- I'm goin' to the Sizlah! Wait. We're vegan's.

There's more. We drive the Tesla everywhere - because it's so cheap (surprise!). For every buck the old lady spends at the grocery, she gets discounted gas in town. Since we drive the Tesla everywhere, we don't fill up the HIPEVAN but like once a month now. The last time the old lady filled up the HIPEVAN (we put Primo in it), it only cost $30 bucks.

Jeezus. Tesla kicks arse! This was a good idea!

So there. Something positive. Some good news.

 

[Futuresystem]

It absolutely fascinates me when people say auto wipers, because of their lack of reliable operation, are a “safety hazard.”
I’ve previously never even owned a car with auto wipers, and guess what, I turned them on manually when needed and we did not run off the road OR run into anything.
(I also usually use Rainex which works so well that often I don’t turn wipers on at all.)

Model 3’s initially had no auto wiper function.

Then it arrived via an update and is slowly getting better, but works well much of the time. (I have two fiends with Model 3’s.)
Get over it- turn them on manually when needed, no big deal.

As for driving in extreme winter conditions on the wrong rubber..... hmmm what can I say except.....
It ain’t Tesla’s fault.
Whilst I don’t deal with extreme cold where we live, (usually quite the opposite) I have in the past done plenty of extreme winter driving, mainly in Western Europe.