Ownership Question

[ChosenDFW]

I live in Dallas, TX in the heart of oil country. The popularity of the Model S WhiteStar will probably be slow in this part of the country. I was wondering if anyone else had concerns about:

1. Servicing
2. Charging Stations
3. Closest Dealerships
4. Battery Life in HOT weather
5. Battery Strain for Accessories (A/C, etc...)

 

[vfx]

I live in Dallas, TX in the heart of oil country. The popularity of the Model S WhiteStar will probably be slow in this part of the country. I was wondering if anyone else had concerns about:

1. Servicing
2. Charging Stations
3. Closest Dealerships
4. Battery Life in HOT weather
5. Battery Strain for Accessories (A/C, etc...)

Too early for many of those questions. I will say not to sell Texas short on EVs. They have a respectable amount of Roadsters out there compared to other states. And not all of them are in Austin.

Hot weather and EVs are not a bad thing. Sales in CA, AZ, and FL are the biggest.

 

[dsm363]

I'm moving to San Antonio and was told they're working on getting a dealership in Texas somewhere (I assume it will be in Dallas). Apparently Texas has some weird law they are trying to get around before they can put a dealership there.

 

[Arnold Panz]

I'm moving to San Antonio and was told they're working on getting a dealership in Texas somewhere (I assume it will be in Dallas). Apparently Texas has some weird law they are trying to get around before they can put a dealership there.

There's no way they're planning on selling 20,000 cars and not having at least one dealership in Texas by 2012, or at least some other way to service Model S's (Mercedes dealerships, perhaps?).

 

[dsm363]

There's no way they're planning on selling 20,000 cars and not having at least one dealership in Texas by 2012, or at least some other way to service Model S's (Mercedes dealerships, perhaps?).

I agree. When I was told this, it was before the Diamler deal so not sure if that has changed. The person I talked to basically said Texas has some law making it difficult for Tesla to open their own dealership in Texas which seems odd. The Mercedes dealership idea would be great since really only a yearly software update and maybe breaks would probably be the only routine things.

 

[Tessier]

Servicing yes, Charging Stations no because you will have one installed at your house and if you purchase the 300 mile battery then that shouldn't be an issue, Closest Dealerships becomes a non issue if there is a service center somewhere within lets say 100 miles of me, Battery Life in HOT weather not at all living in NH it's more an issue with cold weather then hot. Cold weather will kill the batteries faster then hot, Battery Strain for Accessories (A/C, etc...) not at all sounds like the car will have all the toy's I want to see so no need for me to add additional ones. I would love to see M/B become authorized resellers of Tesla's there is an M/B dealer in town. I won't have the excess cash for a deposit till next year (gutting and remodeling a large home) but i am not interested in being one of the first few 1000 either so i'll wait on the sidelines till most of these issues are sorted out then hopefully just before release put my deposit in.

 

[ChosenDFW]

I do thank you all for your responses. While I am not on the list for the first 1,000 I do have a considerable amount of interest since I bought the hybrid Lexus last year.

And if I read correctly, we do have an option of having a charging station at our homes? That would be GREAT - just have to clean up the garage a little bit.

 

[graham]

With the Roadsters, you have an option to have a High Powered Connector installed in your garage. Mine looks like this (it is the grey box on the left with the charging cable coiled underneath - ignore the scary green thing to the right).

It is likely the HPC for the Model S will be very similar if not the same. There is talk about changing the actual connector from the HPC to the car to an upcoming standard - but everything else about the setup will likely be the same.

 

[ChosenDFW]

Thanks for the information and warning about the big scary green thing.

What was the general cost of the Connector?

With the Roadsters, you have an option to have a High Powered Connector installed in your garage. Mine looks like this (it is the grey box on the left with the charging cable coiled underneath - ignore the scary green thing to the right).

It is likely the HPC for the Model S will be very similar if not the same. There is talk about changing the actual connector from the HPC to the car to an upcoming standard - but everything else about the setup will likely be the same.

 

[graham]

Today for a Roadster the HPC costs a ridiculous $3000.

They have stated they plan to reduce this cost significantly in the future. Who knows how much it will cost when the Model S is released?

 

[DDB]

Today for a Roadster the HPC costs a ridiculous $3000.

They have stated they plan to reduce this cost significantly in the future. Who knows how much it will cost when the Model S is released?

What will be interesting is when third-party knock-offs may enter the market. Not that there would be much of a market. But with the model-S or a "universal" charge-kit...who the hell knows.

 

[vfx]

Today for a Roadster the HPC costs a ridiculous $3000.

Don't forget installation by an Electrician. Depending on how much power you have available, where it is located in relation to where you want to park while charging and possible permits, it could run up to 5 or 6 thousand. Most are in the 2K range though.