Question for Tesla Model 3 Uber Drivers

[Olih93]

So I'm a taxi driver and know the future is green.

All diesel cars are looking to be banned in the UK by 2030, whether they extend to 2040 is another guess.

What I want to know is, what is the real world range in the city for Model 3s?

Are they as economical as people are saying or is the range in the city terrible due to stop/starting due to a lot of lights, traffic etc.

Also are they comfortable to be in for 8+ hours per day?

Cheers.

Oli.

 

[timk225]

It took a good year for my butt to formb the seat to my liking. Prior to that, on long (1+ hour) trips, taking those first ten steps out of the car was painful. Those side bolster things dug into the sides of my legs too much. But that's me at 6' and ~300 lbs, if you are skinny you might not have this problem.

Do not work for Uber, they rip their drivers off big time. Try Lyft, not saying they are much better, but I will never give a dollar to Uber.

 

[chrstna4]

The economics of the car depends on how you’re charging and what the cost is. When I charge at home, it cost 3-5 cents (US) per mile to drive. When I use a supercharger, it’s 9-11 cents per mile. The other factor in the economics is not having to do oil changes. The maintenance schedule for a Tesla is to look at the brakes and change air filters about every two years, and buy tires. Teslas tend to go through tires a little faster than ICE cars (probably the weight and instant torque). My car has 21k miles on the tires and they are crossing into the yellow for tread depth and I will probably need to get new tires in 4-9k miles.

I take 8-14 hour drives 3-5 times a month and I find the seats comfortable.

 

[jjrandorin]

So I'm a taxi driver and know the future is green.

All diesel cars are looking to be banned in the UK by 2030, whether they extend to 2040 is another guess.

What I want to know is, what is the real world range in the city for Model 3s?

Are they as economical as people are saying or is the range in the city terrible due to stop/starting due to a lot of lights, traffic etc.

Also are they comfortable to be in for 8+ hours per day?

Cheers.

Oli.

There is almost no chance at all that the "tesla model 3" that is being sold new now is going to have the same range as the "tesla model 3 that would be sold in 2030. There is even less chance that the seats will be the same, etc, so nothing anyone says about the car right now is applicable to this... unless OP is planning on buying a 2020 / 2021 model 3 in 2030 to be an uber driver.

I dont think anyone is "planning" to be an uber driver 9 years from now, but I could be wrong on that I guess.

TL ; DR, Im not sure anything about model 3s is relevant now for what would be happening in 2030.

 

[Cybr.Myk]

TL ; DR, Im not sure anything about model 3s is relevant now for what would be happening in 2030.

I’m not sure you understood the question.

 

[jjrandorin]

I’m not sure you understood the question.

The question was:

"I am a taxi driver, and diesel cars are being outlawed in 2030, what is the real world range on model 3?" The question was framed as "I am a taxi driver who is looking for a replacement car for 2030 and want to know what the real world range of model 3 is", otherwise the information about "diesel being banned in 2030" would not have been present.

 

[Cybr.Myk]

The question was:

"I am a taxi driver, and diesel cars are being outlawed in 2030, what is the real world range on model 3?" The question was framed as "I am a taxi driver who is looking for a replacement car for 2030 and want to know what the real world range of model 3 is", otherwise the information about "diesel being banned in 2030" would not have been present.

Yeah, you didn’t understand the question.

 

[KenC]

So I'm a taxi driver and know the future is green.

All diesel cars are looking to be banned in the UK by 2030, whether they extend to 2040 is another guess.

What I want to know is, what is the real world range in the city for Model 3s?

Are they as economical as people are saying or is the range in the city terrible due to stop/starting due to a lot of lights, traffic etc.

Also are they comfortable to be in for 8+ hours per day?

Cheers.
Oli.

There's no way for others to know whether a specific vehicle will be comfortable for you. Having said that, like any vehicle, you'll find some people find the Model 3 seats to be great, and others terrible. I think the seats are the 2nd best I've ever had, behind my BMW's sport seats. The key difference for me, is that the BMW had lower seat extensions, which provided more leg support.

As for city driving, EVs are far more likely to meet estimated range than in highway driving, as speed is what kills range. It's quite possible you will exceed rated range estimates. I know between 25 and 45mph, the range I get is far far better than estimated. That's the sweet spot. Whether it's economical depends upon the price of electricity in Liverpool relative to diesel or gas. Here, where I live, the electricity cost works out to about half, what a comparable gas vehicle would cost, even at $2/gallon.

By 2030, all the advantages for EVs should be even greater.

 

[camalaio]

Depends who you are hearing from regarding "as economical as people are saying".

---

RE: "Economical" from a resource (energy) perspective

They do great for around-town driving. In warm temps, I often get better than the rated range by 10-20%. EVs in general really do great at city driving for two reasons: they're just more efficient at low speeds, and they can use regenerative braking to recover energy that an ICE vehicle otherwise wastes.

Winter is definitely worse, and city driving is probably the worst for heating energy requirements relative to motion energy. Just how bad depends on your local temperatures. A decent guess is you'll experience 30% reduction compared to rated range as long as you're moving but...

Another factor is if you're just sitting in the car waiting for customers, standby with the heater on, you're using a lot of energy that isn't being used for "range". This could add up and sort of becomes a fixed cost for daily operations. Again, ICE vehicles need to deal with this too. However, Model 3 is a bit unique with all that glass for heat to easily escape. A cold, windy day will absolutely show up on your energy usage.

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RE: "Economical" from a financial perspective

Here in North America, both "yes" and "no" are appropriate answers when comparing to an ICE vehicle. A Model 3 is more expensive than most vehicles you'd use as a taxi, and generally more expensive to insure as well. If you can always charge in the cheapest possible way (e.g. at home during low rate periods), then it may eventually reach a break-even compared to ICE at some point. But if you need to rely on expensive charging to get through the day (e.g. Supercharging), then your costs may be similar to fueling an ICE vehicle.

As a business vehicle, they are attractive due to the lower routine maintenance requirements, with a huge caveat: if your vehicle requires service and is inoperable, Tesla service is slow (at least it is here). You could have a large break in your operations while your car gets fixed or waits on parts. That would probably suck, and this is why taxi companies have entire fleets of vehicles.

This all depends on your local costs. Basically, consider:

• Insurance (esp. for your intended use, if that changes insurance rates)
• Fueling costs (how, when, and where you will be charging)
• Initial costs (price of the vehicle)
• Service availability (how close is the nearest service center)

---

RE: Comfort. They're fine. Not excellent, but fine. These things are normally subjective anyways: its not the most comfortable vehicle I've driven, but it's definitely not the worst! I was definitely sore after back-to-back 12h days, but that would be the case even in my "most comfortable" car to some degree as well.

 

[ucmndd]

The question was:

"I am a taxi driver, and diesel cars are being outlawed in 2030, what is the real world range on model 3?" The question was framed as "I am a taxi driver who is looking for a replacement car for 2030 and want to know what the real world range of model 3 is", otherwise the information about "diesel being banned in 2030" would not have been present.

That was their way of saying “I see the writing on the wall and it would be stupid to replace my taxi with a diesel right now, so I’m looking at EVs.”

 

[jjrandorin]

That was their way of saying “I see the writing on the wall and it would be stupid to replace my taxi with a diesel right now, so I’m looking at EVs.”

I see. The way I see it, with the miles that a taxi driver would put on their vehicle, whatever they replace it with right now would likely be time to be replaced again buy 2030 (25k+ miles a year?). So the "diesel is banned in 2030" really threw me off as to its relevance, for a vehicle purchase right now.

If I was a taxi driver I would likely replace my current vehicle with a diesel and then if I was still driving a taxi for a living in 2030, would likely buy "some ev" at that point.

Fairly obvious I read this different than others, though.

 

[Zorg]

How many miles does a taxi drive each day?

 

[RayK]

In London, it looks like an average of 30,000 miles a year, with some independent operators (Uber and Lyft I assume) at 1,000 miles a week. If that's the case, then I'd say about 200 miles a day (5 day workweek).

ref: https://www.taxiinsurer.co.uk/conta...xi-journeys-are-completed-each-day-in-the-uk/

 

[Sam1]

$20,000 ICE car then you spend $100/week in fuel and maintenance expenses

$46,000 Model 3 dual motor, then you spend $15/week in charging (at home only)

So you roughly need to drive the Tesla for 5 years just to break even at the same price as the gas car.

*Obviously those are arbitrary numbers and price of gas, price of electric, variations in auto insurance cost because of the tesla being more expensive, if anything breaks on either vehicle beyond the usual maintenance, etc. will all come into play.

 

[holmgang]

EV cars are comparatively MORE economical than combustion cars in city driving because:
(1) lower consumption overhead
(2) more energy recuperation (more deceleration)
(3) power band is more efficient for lower speeds

[the corollary is that EV performs comparatively worse at freeway speeds than combustion cars]

>Also are they comfortable to be in for 8+ hours per day?

Seat comfort is good; the greenhouse and interior room is very airy; entertainment is excellent.... i have some issues with right knee discomfort after 1+ hour of driving, which ive ever ever had in the 10+ whatever cars ive owned in the past and any other car ive driven. Dont know if its seat vs pedal angle, seat vs pedal offset, pedal travel, pedal arc, or whatever... but its for sure a present effect

 

[Olih93]

I appriciate all the replies, and how quickly the replies have came in, too.

Apologies for the confusion of the "diesels banned by 2030" line.

What I meant by that is, if diesels are banned by 2030, or coming off the roads slowly but surely by 2030, then I would like to switch to EV before that time comes.

I have searched YouTube and Google for answers and I like the answers I see here.

I've came to the conclusion that the EV is for the long game.

And will I be a taxi by 2030 still? I don't know but the more I see and read about Teslas the better the seem.

All other brands creating EVs don't seem to come close, and I do like the minamalist Tesla interior too.

People also saying the seats are not the most comfortable but not the worst either.

Aslong as they don't give backache then they are comfy lol.

I currently drive about 100-120 miles per day 6 days per week.

I usually get between 37-41mpg in my Mercedes E class.

With diesel prices between £1.11-1.26 depending where you go.

I think everything would be even or maybe Tesla just edges it over 5 years with Tesla 46k price tag but saving in the long run it just depends on insurance quotes.

This has been helpful as many have mentioned city range is really great

 

[holmgang]

i imagine the Model S is a more appropriate taxi than a Model 3, for the same reason you run an E class instead of C class (passenger volume, cargo volume, etc)

also has longer range and better-shaped seats

 

[Pemple]

$20,000 ICE car then you spend $100/week in fuel and maintenance expenses

$46,000 Model 3 dual motor, then you spend $15/week in charging (at home only)

So you roughly need to drive the Tesla for 5 years just to break even at the same price as the gas car.

*Obviously those are arbitrary numbers and price of gas, price of electric, variations in auto insurance cost because of the tesla being more expensive, if anything breaks on either vehicle beyond the usual maintenance, etc. will all come into play.

He’s in the UK where gas is around $5.50 a gallon and a LR is around 47,000GBP ($63,000) I think. I’m not sure what electricity costs are there or rebates but I suspect this will change your math substantially! Remember this when you’re complaining about how expensive our Model 3s are in the US people!

I grew up in the UK and when I moved to the US I could not believe how inexpensive cars and gas were. I think it’s all just the tax system over there.

 

[jjrandorin]

.....With diesel prices between £1.11-1.26 depending where you go.....

He’s in the UK where gas is around $5.50 a gallon and a LR is around 47,000GBP ($63,000) I think.

When I look at a currency converter, pound sterling is roughly 1.26 US dollars, which makes whatever fuel OP is talking about less than $2 a gallon. I always thought fuel was significantly more expensive in Europe than in the US. Do I have the wrong currency I am using "the google" to convert from, or is fuel really less expensive where OP is than where I am (significantly so if this number is correct)?

 

[Olih93]

When I look at a currency converter, pound sterling is roughly 1.26 US dollars, which makes whatever fuel OP is talking about less than $2 a gallon. I always thought fuel was significantly more expensive in Europe than in the US. Do I have the wrong currency I am using "the google" to convert from, or is fuel really less expensive where OP is than where I am (significantly so if this number is correct)?

I am from the North West of England, which is hugely different from the South in terms of cost of living, in that, it is so much cheaper, so this maybe why.