Order Accepted by Factory

[gnelson]

I ordered a brown 85P+ with every option except the child seats and the dual charger option. Did I screw up by not getting the dual charger option? I have a Blink Charger for my Chevrolet Volt and don't plan on getting a Tesla wall charger as I only have a single 240 volt receptacle.

Is it possible to alter the production if I should have ordered the dual charger? The factory just accepted my order on Friday.

The Tesla Service Center indicated that there has only been one brown Tesla delivered in Houston. I suspect it may be the least popular color. I thought it was stunning. I have 2 red cars and figured I should try another color.

I ordered the Tesla from the Houston Galleria store by phone to Denver on May 11. They can't sell Teslas in Texas (by 2PM 4 others phoned in orders from the Galleria store). I am lucky they are producing the 85 P+, because the wait is the shortest for them.

I am keeping my Chevrolet Volt and letting my 50th Anniversary Corvette convertible go. I won't be sacrificing much in performance, but I may miss having a convertible. I won't miss going to the gas station.

 

[Krugerrand]

Congratulations on your order! And thank you for not being deterred by your state auto dealer's laws.

 

[zeron]

You can always install the dual charger after delivery:

http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s/products/2nd-onboard-charger

I think most people overestimate the charging speed they really need.

 

[UMD86]

I ordered a brown 85P+ with every option except the child seats and the dual charger option. Did I screw up by not getting the dual charger option? I have a Blink Charger for my Chevrolet Volt and don't plan on getting a Tesla wall charger as I only have a single 240 volt receptacle.

Is it possible to alter the production if I should have ordered the dual charger? The factory just accepted my order on Friday.

The Tesla Service Center indicated that there has only been one brown Tesla delivered in Houston. I suspect it may be the least popular color. I thought it was stunning. I have 2 red cars and figured I should try another color.

I ordered the Tesla from the Houston Galleria store by phone to Denver on May 11. They can't sell Teslas in Texas (by 2PM 4 others phoned in orders from the Galleria store). I am lucky they are producing the 85 P+, because the wait is the shortest for them.

I am keeping my Chevrolet Volt and letting my 50th Anniversary Corvette convertible go. I won't be sacrificing much in performance, but I may miss having a convertible. I won't miss going to the gas station.

It depends on your driving habits. Let me just say once you get your MS you will fall in love with it and drive it everywhere. Having the dual chargers will allow you to charge quicker and if you decide to take road trips it will come be better for you.

 

[gnelson]

You can always install the dual charger after delivery:

http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s/products/2nd-onboard-charger

I think most people overestimate the charging speed they really need.

Thanks for the information and the link. If I can alter the order now, I can reduce the cost by $2100.

 

[Francis Lau]

I have a single charger and my MS for 6 months. I have taken quite a few road trips. Here are my thoughts:

1. Assuming 85 kWh and you drive than less than 200 miles per regular day, you only need the duals for road trips

2. For road trips, Are there chargers in your area that can charge higher than 40 amps and hence benefit for having dual chargers? For example, there are several Tesla 70 amp HPCs for road trips north and south of Seattle. There were twice that I wished I had duals, but that is twice in 6 road trips

3. When will super chargers come to your road trip routes? In my case, there are SCs coming to my road trip routes by July. So good for my choice for not buying the duals.

4. Are Chademo chargers in your area and when will we get an adaptor? Chademo is a fast DC charger and bypasses your chargers so once we have the adaptor, there is less need for duals.

5. All level 2 chargers max out at 30 amps so duals do not help

6. 2nd charger is a $1500 option when ordering but $3600 to add later, ouch! And if financing, the later purchase is not financed and is cash

So it boils down to number of road trips you will take and the availability of >30 amp chargers and when super chargers will arrive. And maybe how much you care about $1500

 

[brianman]

@Francis
Knowing what you know now, would you have ordered the dual chargers for your car? If they dropped the retrofit cost to ~$2,000 would you upgrade to dual chargers? (Or does your usage pattern not warrant / justify the cost in both/either case?)

 

[kendallpb]

I ordered a brown 85P+ with every option except the child seats and the dual charger option. Did I screw up by not getting the dual charger option? I have a Blink Charger for my Chevrolet Volt and don't plan on getting a Tesla wall charger as I only have a single 240 volt receptacle.

I'm glad I got the twin chargers. It was mostly future proofing (the charging infrastructure will "[r]amp up" over time! plus anticipating perhaps a second Tesla at some point ;-) ) and partially for those very few times--one or two a year?--when I need it. Which probably means I didn't need it, but we wanted the flexibility.

BUT: I've already benefited from it twice, going DC to Raleigh and back--the Omni Hotel in Richmond has a free 70-amp J1772 (Tesla-branded, but not HPWC) charger, which saved us time, since we needed a boost on the way there and back (the trip's a bit long). Also, there's a Tesla store with HPWC(s?) available to Model S owners in Paramus, which I expect will be useful on our occasional NYC trip to visit friends; it may also come in handy on the 200-mile supercharger-to-supercharger (DE to CT) leg on our way to Boston. We shouldn't need it, but it's good to know the option's there (plus we stop every few hours anyway--why not at a place with a fast charger?). And if I'm in a strange city and someone has a HPWC I could use, that'd be nice, too.

So I'm glad I got it and I think it's good future-proofing, but is it a must have? It all depends on your out-of-town trips. I won't say "and if there are any over 40 amp chargers" like some say, since the infrastructure improves every year, and I, for one, plan to keep my Model S a long, long time. ;-) But that's just me--I can't say "get it!" or "skip it!" for you. Just my take on it....

The Tesla Service Center indicated that there has only been one brown Tesla delivered in Houston. I suspect it may be the least popular color. I thought it was stunning. I have 2 red cars and figured I should try another color.

Great color choice! I got the brown and like it a lot. I've gotten compliments on it (not that it matters, as long as I like it--which I do). You're right--brown is one of the less popular colors. I didn't get it for that reason, but I kinda like having an unusual color. ;-)

 

[dhrivnak]

While i hope things change i have yet to see a level 2 charger greater than 30 amps in over 2 years of driving. I have to find a place i could have used the dual chargers. So you are likely OK.

 

[dsm363]

The Tesla service centers and stores often have 80A HPWCs so that is useful sometimes.

 

[Francis Lau]

@Francis
Knowing what you know now, would you have ordered the dual chargers for your car? If they dropped the retrofit cost to ~$2,000 would you upgrade to dual chargers? (Or does your usage pattern not warrant / justify the cost in both/either case?)

If I could do it again, I probably would order the dual chargers but back then, I felt like I had to stop checking those $10k and $1.5k checkboxes.

As for $2k retrofit, I still would not do it. I think my biggest reason is that the super chargers are coming and they cover my road trips routes. I just came back from Seattle-Portland weekend trip where I stayed 1 night and I drove at 70-75 MPH both ways with 40 rated miles to spare. I range charged at home with NEMA 14-50 and in Portland parking lot with Blink Level 2 charger for 12 hours. Nice trip with no range anxiety - 180 miles each way.

 

[gnelson]

If I could do it again, I probably would order the dual chargers but back them, I felt like I had to stop checking those $10k and $1.5k checkboxes.

As for $2k retrofit, I still would not do it. I think my biggest reason is that the super chargers are coming and they cover my road trips routes. I just came back from Seattle-Portland weekend trip where I stayed 1 night and I drove at 70-75 MPH both ways with 40 rated miles to spare. I range charged at home with NEMA 14-50 and in Portland parking lot with Blink Level 2 charger for 12 hours. Nice trip with no range anxiety - 180 miles each way.

It is good to know that the Blink charger worked for you. I already have one for my Volt. I wasn't planning on getting the Tesla HPWC because I don't like the boot time for the Blink when I disconnect and reconnect it. The main reason I didn't order the dual chargers was because I wasn't planning on having the HPWC. I suppose the other idea would be to get rid of the Blink and replace it with the HPWC and charge my Volt with a 110v outlet nearby.

- - - Updated - - -

Great color choice! I got the brown and like it a lot. I've gotten compliments on it (not that it matters, as long as I like it--which I do). You're right--brown is one of the less popular colors. I didn't get it for that reason, but I kinda like having an unusual color. ;-)

I found some of the pictures you posted for your brown Model S. It is a gorgeous car. I had not seen pictures of a brown Model S until I saw yours. I had only seen a brown panel in the Houston Galleria store.

 

[xray]

If I could do it again, I probably would order the dual chargers but back then, I felt like I had to stop checking those $10k and $1.5k checkboxes.

As for $2k retrofit, I still would not do it. I think my biggest reason is that the super chargers are coming and they cover my road trips routes. I just came back from Seattle-Portland weekend trip where I stayed 1 night and I drove at 70-75 MPH both ways with 40 rated miles to spare. I range charged at home with NEMA 14-50 and in Portland parking lot with Blink Level 2 charger for 12 hours. Nice trip with no range anxiety - 180 miles each way.

There are many threads debating the value of twin chargers but I find @Francis Lau's comments valuable.

I thinking future proofing is the exact reason to get the Twin Chargers. Part of the reason that there are so few high amp charging stations is because the demand has not been there. With many Model S and future Tesla cars hitting the road, destinations (hotels, etc) will be adding HPWC. For instance, my prediction is that several Las Vegas resorts will install Model S HPWC in the near future. Currently, at least 2 or 3 had already installed Roadster HPC. And I would venture to say that there will be many more Model S's descending on LV than Roadsters have in the past. Hotels and resorts would be smart to court Tesla owners business by adding HPWC. It's painful to drive in to a hotel with a Level 2 charger with low double digit range remaining and see your time to charge at 10-14 hours. With a 70 or 80 amp HPWC, that could be cut by more than half. Plus I feel guilty having to hog a charger for that long of a time period in those situations.

There's great benefit in being able to charge at 15-20 kw per hour (depending on whether its a 70 or 80 amp) instead of 6 kw per hour as with standard Level 2 chargers. Here at our local mall, there are J1772 level 2 (30A, 200V = 6 kw) chargers and a Tesla store with a HPWC at 200V, 70A = 14kw. The difference between the two is more than 2x.

I financed my car so $1500 spread over several years was worth it to me but I agree with @Francis Lau that I probably wouldn't do the $3500 retrofit option, if I was in his situation.

 

[defmonk]

+1 @xray

I haven't really had much use for the twin chargers or the HPWC (since most of my charging is at home overnight). This "home combo" has only been really useful on weekends, when I can do a quick top up if I need to do a turn around in time for dinner after a long day shuttling around town.

Otherwise, I'm betting on a future proliferation of HPWCs in higher-end hotels and other establishments.

 

[kendallpb]

I found some of the pictures you posted for your brown Model S. It is a gorgeous car. I had not seen pictures of a brown Model S until I saw yours. I had only seen a brown panel in the Houston Galleria store.

Thanks. (bowing) Those panels don't do any of the colors justice! When I saw some of the wild grey pix, I decided if I had to do it over, I'd be very, very torn between brown and grey.

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P.S. By "wild grey pix" I mean (a) pix of grey Model Ss in the wild, and (b) pictures showing how wild the grey cars are (chameleon).

/offtopic

 

[gnelson]

I saw a grey Model S using a Galleria Store charger. It was gorgeous.