Roadster 3.0

[gregd]

So, at 70A, how long would it take to charge enough to get to the next SuperCharge-with-HPWC-equiped station? About 2hrs?

My biggest fear for long trips (of which I have not taken any yet, so it's probably unfounded) is that the L2 charge locations I will depend on are all taken by other cars, and I'd be left to spend my time foraging for electrons. Then after all that, I'd still be waiting while the car sips them in a leisurely manner. Would take all the fun out of a trip.

Having a known and more-or-less dedicated source of top-tier juice along the major routes would make that fear mostly go away. And I do believe that Tesla's PR benefit would be substantial, if they play their marketing right. Presumably there'd be some sort of interlock (can the CAN bus report this?) so that the non-Tesla EVs wouldn't be supported.

Connecting back to the original topic, the increased range of the new battery pack would make my most likely long-range destination (daughter's residence) within a single charge range, but I can't really justify spending a substantial part of her inheritance on it just yet. For some reason, she agrees...

 

[supersnoop]

How did Laura's call show up on caller ID? I wonder if that's the call I missed this morning.

 

[dhrivnak]

So, at 70A, how long would it take to charge enough to get to the next SuperCharge-with-HPWC-equiped station?

No about 3 hours which is MUCH better than 9 hours at a typical L2 charger. So for me the new pack would make a huge difference as I have done many road trips in the Roadster.

As for Laura I called her, as I was not sure she was calling all owners and I wanted to ensure I got my opinion included. I was nice and she seemed sympathetic. Hopefully she hears a similar story from many of us.

 

[jeremyz]

If they only charged cars that could accept 70A of L2 charging, that would just be Roadsters and some Model S's with dual chargers.

Presumably there'd be some sort of interlock (can the CAN bus report this?) so that the non-Tesla EVs wouldn't be supported.

 

[richkae]

I find it amazing that Tesla didn't apply the lessons of the Model S performance option to this exercise.
The lesson is that people will pay a lot for acceleration. They are spending $30K on the P+L option for the Model S!

If the new battery offered any significant performance increase it would be much more tempting.
I don't need more range, but if you told me it shaved 0.3 seconds off the 0-60 I'd be thinking: people paid $20K for the Sport model to get less than that.
( Yeah I know the Sport model included other things but yadda yadda, acceleration! )

 

[JRP3]

The larger pack should allow less voltage sag under load and may in fact increase performance, though more likely beyond 60 mph.

 

[supersnoop]

So, at 70A, how long would it take to charge enough to get to the next SuperCharge-with-HPWC-equiped station? About 2hrs?

At 70A, a Roadster should gain 70 miles of range per hour charged, approximately and depending on voltage.

If they only charged cars that could accept 70A of L2 charging, that would just be Roadsters and some Model S's with dual chargers.

They could just install a charger with Roadster or Model S plug.

 

[m0rph]

I would love to get some news about the Aero upgrades. Someone backed in to be, cracking the front bumper and grille. I would be disappointed to hear about the upgrade only weeks after I replaced it with an "old one"...

 

[Habious]

I would love to get some news about the Aero upgrades. Someone backed in to be, cracking the front bumper and grille. I would be disappointed to hear about the upgrade only weeks after I replaced it with an "old one"...

Wow...Belgium must have some seriously lax laws if you're already out and free to post. In the US, I'd still be in jail.

 

[TEG]

Wow...Belgium must have some seriously lax laws if you're already out and free to post. In the US, I'd still be in jail.

Huh? Someone back into him...

Was that some comment on the "be" instead of "me" typo?

 

[JST]

Huh? Someone back into him...

Was that some comment on the "be" instead of "me" typo?

I think the joke is that if someone backed into Habious, he(?) would have murdered/assaulted/done some other bad things to him.

 

[Tesla 940]

I also got the call from Laura a couple weeks ago. Stated I might be interested in a few years but at 5+ years I'm still at 93% of new. I didn't get into any of the other issues like chargers at Supercharging locations, weight/acceleration vs. distance, cost, etc.

As for Bonnie (et al) regarding Henry's SR - while the vast majority can use it - mine won't. Destination MS chargers are therefore useless.

As for charging rates at 70 amps - my real life experience at RaboBank - Goleta was 60 - 61 Ideal Miles per hour (70 amps 234 dynamic volts). At Lloyd's in San Luis Obispo (70 amps and a dynamic 240 volts) I was getting 62 Ideal mph. RaboBank - Salinas (70amp 200 dynamic volts) I was getting 50+ Ideal mph. If anyone is getting anything CLOSE to 70 Ideal mph - I would be curious how that is happening.

 

[Habious]

I think the joke is that if someone backed into Habious, he(?) would have murdered/assaulted/done some other bad things to him.

Yes, that was the joke.

Sorry, my sense of humor doesn't always translate to a text-only medium. It's all in the delivery!

 

[m0rph]

In Belgium, the law is that IF there is no body found, THEN there is no murder case.
Good thing is that Elon quickly lent me one of his SpaceX things, so I could go hide it on the dark side of the moon.

 

[asgard]

I talked to Laura as well. Nothing to report as far as the 1.5 Roadsters. She said exactly what's on the website: "at this time the upgrade is only available for the 2.0 and higher".

 

[ecarfan]

That is all I would expect her to say. Only Elon could say anything beyond what is on Tesla's website.

 

[MileHighMotoring]

If we take Tesla at their word that the $29k price is a break-even prospect for them, and they're offering it as goodwill towards their earliest supporters and customers, then we should expect that they made efforts to offer it to 1.5 Roadsters but realized that replacing and upgrading more components would be necessary and that it would likely simply be too expensive for the consumer. Would 1.5 owners be willing to spend thousands more to get the 3.0 battery? If it were $39k would you do it? I'm sure they did some quick math, realized it would be prohibitively expensive, and that sort of made their decision for them. I'm just hypothesizing but that's where logic takes me.

 

[ecarfan]

If your hypothesis is correct, then Tesla should have issued a statement for 1.5 owners explaining the situation. That way at least we would know that Tesla was not going to proceed with a new battery for the 1.5 cars, and why. As it stands now, we know nothing.
I am still hopeful that in the near future Tesla will offer a new battery for the 1.5 cars.

 

[dhrivnak]

Has anyone actually received a new 3.0 Battery yet? If not any idea when the installs will begin? I would love to be able to drive my Tesla to see family in Pittsburgh or Tuscaloosa but will need a 300 mile battery to make such a trip reasonable. Reasonable meaning 50% longer than an ICE rather than 400% longer.

 

[ibcs]

I've been told I'm on the list and they know my Vin information. Otherwise, I'm still waiting for any new information. I asked if it would be installed by the end of the year and I was told yes by my service tech.