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Model 3 LR for LONG daily commute?

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I’ve seen threads asking if a Model 3 LR can handle a long commute and the answer is typically yes, however I have something I haven’t seen discussed...

I have a long daily commute 136 miles each way (272 daily). Please no comments about that as I can answer them quickly: Yes, the commute is for a high paying job. No, my wife will not move. No, I cannot work from home. No, I cannot find a similar job that’s closer to home. No, I cannot charge at work (although that might be a possibility). No, I do not care about depreciation or resale value.

That out of the way, I live in Jacksonville, FL so it gets hot and the winters don’t get below 30-40*. My commute is 100% highway. I’m currently paying $600/m in gas so an EV seems like a no-brainer. My problem is I’m not sure a Model 3 LR can go 275 daily (I always read to charge to 80% and not below 20%, which would leave only 210 miles). Being on the road for 4 hours a day, I’m not real interested in stopping to charge.

So my question is, can a LR actually be used for 275 daily with no charging in between?

Thanks
Hey I would firstly say, check if you can get a MIC MLR, which you can and are recommended to charge to 100%. Secondly if that is not possible, charge on your way back from work each time. You do not need to supercharge for the whole 30-40 minutes. You could just charge enough to get home and 15 minutes might do the trick. It is a change in routine, have a cigarette break or get food on the way back or whatever to save you the $600 a month in gas.
 
Read up about vampire drain too. You can lose miles while parked unplugged (up to 10-15 per day depending on options you use). I wouldn’t even consider m3 until you have a confirmed L2 charging option at work. If you’re able to secure that, the car basically pays for itself with the gas you’d save.

Another thing to think about - your battery warranty would be gone in maybe 18 months...I know I am comforted by knowing I have 8 years of battery warranty.
 
I’m currently using a Honda Accord getting 30 mpg. Sure there are hybrids that can get 40 or 50 mpg but after doing the math, it’s not much of a savings when you add in the price of a car.

Current setup: $600 gas, $50 oil change, no car payment

Proposed setup: $830 for car, electricity, and increased insurance.

So for an extra $180 all in, I’d be driving a Model 3 LR. Getting a hybrid type car would save me $240 on gas but then I’d still have car payment and regular monthly oil changes. If the finances were a wash between the two, I’d still be hitting the gas station 3x’s per week.

I just need to get an outlet installed at work and I can charge literally all day. I’m the CFO so would only have to convince one person 🤞
That is definitely the perfect solution. Depending on where you are there may be already existing options very near you. Anyway, if your parking facility already has electricity all you'll really need is anything from 208/30 or more. If amperage and/or voltage goes up that will be much faster. Without that even LR would not be comfortable. The good news is you'll never need a gas station again. Also, as you probably know there are many Tesla Superchargers throughout your area and more keep opening, so that is a convenient alternative in an unusual situation, such as heavy rain.
 
I don’t recognize this abbreviation. what make/model is this? You mention supercharging which only Teslas can do at the moment. Perhaps you are using the the generic term supercharging for any DC fast charging option
That is Made in China. Those are not sold in the US anyway. they are for the Europe and Asia/Pacific markets. After a year or so of Tesla ownership and enthusiasm you'll have a plethora of acronyms close at hand.:)
 
I had a Volt before the Tesla, I got 450 miles of combined range on long trips. The Volt had a 9 gallon tank and I averaged 45MPG on long trips. Hybrids certainly do have a lot of range. The Model 3 is a much better driving car than the Volt but it can't match the range.
If you can get a 240V outlet installed or an EVSE you would be golden. BTW if you can convince them to run a line for you the cost of a Tesla Wall Connector isn't that much more, $500. The Wall Connector will charge at a faster rate then the portable charger and it's more convenient because you won't have to take your portable out of the frunk, with the TWC all you have to do is grab the cord. There are other EVSEs that are available but they are all J1772 so you would have to use the J1772 adapter that comes with the car. The third generation TWC is WiFI connected so it should be able to tell you how much electricity was used, some third party EVSEs could do this also. The Tesla also keeps track of it's energy usage so it would be easy to figure out how much you would owe the company if they want you to pay for the electricity.
 
In MA the State will pays for 60% of the cost to install workplace chargers, check to see if your state has a program like that. Also there may be a new Federal subsidy coming. I'd wait a couple of months before buying a Tesla to see if they pass the bill which restores the Federal tax credit for Tesla's. There is a bill to give $7K in subsidies for the next 400,000 vehicles for manufacturers that have exceeded the current limit of 250,000, Tesla and GM. If it passes my guess is that Tesla will bump their price by a couple of thousand but you would still be ahead by $5K.
 
I’m currently using a Honda Accord getting 30 mpg. Sure there are hybrids that can get 40 or 50 mpg but after doing the math, it’s not much of a savings when you add in the price of a car.

Current setup: $600 gas, $50 oil change, no car payment

Proposed setup: $830 for car, electricity, and increased insurance.

So for an extra $180 all in, I’d be driving a Model 3 LR. Getting a hybrid type car would save me $240 on gas but then I’d still have car payment and regular monthly oil changes. If the finances were a wash between the two, I’d still be hitting the gas station 3x’s per week.

I just need to get an outlet installed at work and I can charge literally all day. I’m the CFO so would only have to convince one person 🤞
While you're at it, can you get _multiple_ outlets installed at work. I'm sure there'd be others who'd appreciate it.

I think that if it's just a 120V outlet you'd not get that many miles in winter, so still might have to stop.
But a 240Vx20A outlet for 240Vx16A charging would do it.

But with that commute, it sounds like comfort is a priority. Even if the range and workplace charging might be enough, the seats might not. I hope you get a good test drive.
 
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The best idea would be the 240v outlet. I could pay for it myself if needed and then split time with the EV owner (or pull rank lol).

So here’s my take, worth exactly what you paid for it ($0.00!)

With a way to charge at work, this’ll be an insanely great choice. I can’t overstate just how useful Autopilot is on long highway drives like this. It’ll take so much stress out of the commute. Really, I can’t overexplain that!

As for the charging @ work ... it’s likely that running two or even three 240V circuits wouldn’t be 2x or 3x the cost. Wonder if the Bolt owner would kick in towards the cost?

I don’t know where in the state your office is, but as the CFO, it’s worth investigating rebate and other incentive programs. Here’s a great list: Rebates and Tax Credits for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Rather than a ChargePoint, maybe something like a Clipper Creek station (which works with both Tesla and Bolt) would make sense? That’d save you time in the morning plugging in/unplugging your mobile connectors. Park, plug, go.

But I think if you can swing the circuits at work, you’d be thrilled with the Model 3. It’s a great commuter car and you’d have zero concerns as far as range with a 208V or 240V charger. (Assuming it might be 208V if the building is 3-phase ... but the electrician will know best. :)
 
Just in case you workplace is also in Florida:
Since you're in Jacksonville you might work in Georgia:
Both States have incentives for installation fo EV charging and they also can apply to multiple charging stations. That might be good to future proof your workplace garage to more BEV's.
Note: if you want the Tesla wall connector keep in mind you can have it for any power up to 11.5 kWh 48A. You can get the same power from any other connector type as long as you can have 208-240 x 60 amp wiring. You do not need that much, but it is certainly faster to have more power. FWIW, these days it is very easy to have both a Tesla connector and the generic J1772. Multiples ought to be helpful to your place of work.

FWIW, there are quite a few experts here on charging issues. I'm not an electrician nor an expert, but I've dealt with Florida EV charging issues for my own cars.

Please join Florida Tesla Enthusiasts. You can click on the link below. There are many Florida Tesla Enthusiasts members who are denizens of the Jacksonville area, probably does not mean much when you are in the largest city in the contiguous US. :)
 
I don’t recognize this abbreviation. what make/model is this? You mention supercharging which only Teslas can do at the moment. Perhaps you are using the the generic term supercharging for any DC fast charging option

The poster is from europe, and there they get some model 3s from the tesla factory in china, thus "made in china (MIC)". Those will almost assuredly never be here in the US, at least not as long as there are tesla factories manufacturing cars in the US, so that persons suggestion is impossible.
 
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I’ve seen threads asking if a Model 3 LR can handle a long commute and the answer is typically yes, however I have something I haven’t seen discussed...

I have a long daily commute 136 miles each way (272 daily). Please no comments about that as I can answer them quickly: Yes, the commute is for a high paying job. No, my wife will not move. No, I cannot work from home. No, I cannot find a similar job that’s closer to home. No, I cannot charge at work (although that might be a possibility). No, I do not care about depreciation or resale value.

That out of the way, I live in Jacksonville, FL so it gets hot and the winters don’t get below 30-40*. My commute is 100% highway. I’m currently paying $600/m in gas so an EV seems like a no-brainer. My problem is I’m not sure a Model 3 LR can go 275 daily (I always read to charge to 80% and not below 20%, which would leave only 210 miles). Being on the road for 4 hours a day, I’m not real interested in stopping to charge.

So my question is, can a LR actually be used for 275 daily with no charging in between?

Thanks
My wife has a 2018 LR First Production (RWD, Range initially 310, then bumped to 325). She commutes from southern CT to central NJ, 135 miles each way, mostly highway. She's done it 2-3 days per week for three years, though less frequently during COVID. She does have to be a little more HVAC conscience in the winter, but I don't think there's been a single day where she has had to stop for a charge, unless it was otherwise convenient. Hope this helps.
 
I have a 95 mile California commute each way (just like the OP, don’t ask why) and have been driving a Model 3 DM since Januar 2021. Overall, I can make it back and forth on one 80% charge but it does get below 50 left towards the end of return leg. I drive all freeway with AP set at 80mph.
We have chargers at work but they are not always available as there are many ppl driving EVs who show up earlier than I do.
Here is what I recommend: get comfortable charging to 100% every day. Maybe 97% if you want to leave some margin. If you can handle driving 70 mph, you should be fine. May also want to stick with the ugly aero wheels. I have the 18” ones and am sure I am losing a few % in range as a result.
 
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So I had a talk with our Plant Ops Director. Told him what I wanted and he has an electrician coming for a quote. He implied it wouldn't be a big deal.

So assuming I can charge at work, is it worth looking at a 2017-2018 Model S? :)

A model S is going to be a bit more expensive to run Its less efficient than a typical model 3 from a kWh/Mi comparison. Conversely, many model S owners would likely tell you its a perfect car for highway cruising which is likely what you are going to be doing. This kind of boils down to personal preference and what you intend to purchase.

Your use case seems perfect for buying FSD with the vehicle, but you could also get by with "standard AP" (which is basically adaptive cruise control but no automatic lane changes etc). If buying a model S and you could target one with enhanced autopilot or FSD already active ( that stays with the vehicle), and you are ok with the size of the vehicle and the fact it likely will cost a bit more to run (but still cheaper than your ICE most likely) then go for it.

I would just make sure you get one with at least some form of autopilot. Autopilot is standard equipment (regular autopilot) on model 3s since april of 2019, but would not be standard on a model S of the year you are looking at.
 
So I had a talk with our Plant Ops Director. Told him what I wanted and he has an electrician coming for a quote. He implied it wouldn't be a big deal.

So assuming I can charge at work, is it worth looking at a 2017-2018 Model S? :)
I think yes. To me, the Model S is noticeably more comfortable to sit in than the Model 3, and offers a smoother, quieter ride. It's not that big of a deal for a normal daily commute and occasional road trips. However if it's sitting in it for 4 hrs a day at highway speeds, I definitely would get the Model S.
 
Prior to getting a 2021 Model 3 I drive a 2017 MS 90D for 68k miles on my commute.
MS is definitely more quiet and comfortable. However I find the 3 to be the overall more modern and crisp driving car. Especially given the 2021 upgrades that included double paned front windows as well as power trunk. As for increased comfort, a MY May not be a bad option as it has a more compliant suspension and is roomier inside. The raised seating position also has some benefits on long drives.