SF Bay Area to L.A., long range model required?

[amoeba]

I'm contemplating whether to get the long range model for my annual trip to L.A. From my house to L.A. is about 360 miles plus a 4000 elevation mountain in between. Would getting the long range make a difference if I plan for 2 stops?

Ideally I would like to do it with two short charges (40 min) at Harris Ranch and Tejon Ranch. I have a SUV for long trips, but the idea of autopilot for this 6hr drive is too tempting to not try. I kind of doubt there will be any ways to charge at the hotels, so getting around LA after we arrive could be a problem as well...

A gas/hybrid car with autopilot features would be really nice for these trips...

 

[mach330]

required...no. you have to stop at least once (more like twice as you stated) so it won't matter. I personally like to have some more buffer so I would go LR if you can afford it.

 

[Trips]

I really like using A Better Routeplanner but am not familiar with your area. You can see the different between a SR and LR.

 

[T34ME]

required...no. you have to stop at least once (more like twice as you stated) so it won't matter. I personally like to have some more buffer so I would go LR if you can afford it.

I will be doing this same trip. I will do it with the standard range battery, aero wheel covers, and at 65mph, stopping twice (maybe once with tailwind), with no range anxiety. HOWEVER, I would think twice about the trip north if strong prevailing winds are blowing against me. I will pay a range penalty in that case and plan to stop 3 times.

 

[gregincal]

The only issue is that with the short range you either need an extra charging stop, or you need to charge to a higher percentage of the battery, so slower charging. As a wild guess the short range could add 30 minutes to the journey (for the long range you might only need to charge 25-30 minutes each time instead of 40 minutes). Only you can answer whether an extra 30 minutes a couple times a year is worth $9000 extra dollars.

 

[Tam]

...Would getting the long range make a difference...

You don't need more range but my philosophy is: Range is King!

Thus, I am willing to pay for more range as a cost for convenience: faster charging rate and an option to skip a Supercharger or two as needed.

Once you got there in Los Angeles, Tesla Supercharger at Redondo Beach is actually in the parking lot of Hilton Garden Inn!

 

[K-MTG]

I have done it from the OC to SF many times with just two stops on my Model X 90D. One in buttonwillow/bakersfiled and the other in Gustine (Peasoup Anderson)

 

[gambit48]

No, you don't need LR if you only do that trip a couple times a year. I only go up/down the state about twice a year as well. I'm getting LR mainly because of a weekly @225 mile round trip where I don't want to stop to charge at all. The SR is right at that cutoff so no way I'm risking it, plus I'd basically be running down to zero every week. If I didn't have that trip and was just the SF to LA, then the SR would have been fine. I don't want range anxiety (especially in LA traffic) so I might have gotten LR anyways.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

"Annual Trip"? Once per year?

It's $9,000 + taxes + insurance + financing + efficiency loss extra for the long range version. If that's your only reason for wanting the extra range, I'd say that it's very expensive range.

 

[mach330]

I have done it from the OC to SF many times with just two stops on my Model X 90D. One in buttonwillow/bakersfiled and the other in Gustine (Peasoup Anderson)

i'm curious how the superchargers wait time/crowded on these in between stops (assuming you don't drive in the middle of the night)?

 

[Kipernicus]

I do the trip every year in my old 60. 197 max range charge, requires a stop at Gilroy, Atascadero/Harris, and Oxnard/Tejon (depending if we go 101 or 5). I need to get pretty close to 100% for some of the legs, so it is important to time it to coincide with a meal.
Having destination charging in LA helps immensely, otherwise we have to go find another supercharger.

I recommend spending on range and saving on autopilot.

 

[gregincal]

i'm curious how the superchargers wait time/crowded on these in between stops (assuming you don't drive in the middle of the night)?

I imagine it will take a while before the 40 stall Kettleman supercharger gets crowded.

 

[amoeba]

Ran some scenarios on A Better Routeplanner

It seems to optimize to reduce time spent at charging station. Don't know if it takes elevation change into consideration. This is what I got.

Home -> LA 100% start, 30% end, 15% charger arrival:
SR 4 stops of 20 min, 6:46
LR 2 stops of 30 min: 5:51

LA -> Home: 70% start, 15% end, 15% charger arrival
SR 4 stops of 30 min, 6:48
LR 3 stops of 20 min, 5:57

 

[Tam]

...elevation change...

I wouldn't worry about Tejon Pass 4144 foot elevation in normal driving. On the way down, my S/X would gain additional 3 miles at the speed of 65 MPH or 6 miles at the speed of 55 MPH.

It seems not the reduce the range as a whole.

Why not only stopping once in Harris Ranch and arrive to your Hilton hotel Tesla Supercharger, Redondo Beach that's 207 miles away?

 

[d21mike]

I'm contemplating whether to get the long range model for my annual trip to L.A. From my house to L.A. is about 360 miles plus a 4000 elevation mountain in between. Would getting the long range make a difference if I plan for 2 stops?

Ideally I would like to do it with two short charges (40 min) at Harris Ranch and Tejon Ranch. I have a SUV for long trips, but the idea of autopilot for this 6hr drive is too tempting to not try. I kind of doubt there will be any ways to charge at the hotels, so getting around LA after we arrive could be a problem as well...

A gas/hybrid car with autopilot features would be really nice for these trips...

I recently bought the Model S 75D (9/28/17). It has a 259 Rated Range. To get the 100D would have cost me an extra $20 (when originally reviewing it the cost would have been $24k). And after they changed the 0-60 speed they were about the same. However, had it only been $9k I would have gotten the 100D. For me the ONLY reason that I started looking at Tesla was for AutoPilot so there would be absolutely no way I would not get EAP. In my case I also got FSD knowing full well the status of it (not even in beta yet). I picked up the car in Fremont then went to Madera (for a visit) then home. The stop in Tejon Ranch was very pleasant where I had a bit to eat and relaxed and chatted with other Tesla Owners. If you can "easily" afford the LR I would say get it because you do not know what your future plans are. But I personally would not get it just for the 1 trip to LA per year. BTW. I actually live in Torrance so the Redondo Beach Marine Super Charger is pretty close. And the hotel looks pretty nice. I have driven over there 3 times and all 8 stalls were full once and 7 or 8 were full the next time and the last time was about 1/2 full and I decided to charge up (for fun). Seems to me a lot of hotels that I might go to for weekend trips have destination chargers. You may want to review that in more detail. Remember a lot more chargers are being installed during 2017 and 2018. Check the Tesla SuperCharger map for future locations.

 

[oktane]

Rent a car or fly in for a once a year trip. Unless you anticipate making the trip regularly, I would not let this factor into your decision.

 

[wayner]

Elevation shouldn't make too much of a difference as long as you regain the elevation later on and the regen will put that potential energy back into your battery. The Tesla is pretty efficient so if the net elevation change is close to zero then it wouldn't matter - the only issue is if you have to climb that pass when your battery is low.

 

[K-MTG]

i'm curious how the superchargers wait time/crowded on these in between stops (assuming you don't drive in the middle of the night)?

The ones on the 5 are fairly empty...so you shouldn't have a wait issue at Bakersfield or Gustine. You want to avoid Tejon Ranch and especially Dublin... Dublin was crowded at 11 PM when I needed to charge...got the last spot open. Though I prefer to drive at night anyways because of traffic during the day

 

[azred]

"Annual Trip"? Once per year?

It's $9,000 + taxes + insurance + financing + efficiency loss extra for the long range version. If that's your only reason for wanting the extra range, I'd say that it's very expensive range.

Maybe, maybe not. I believe electric cars with a range of less than 300-400 miles will soon take a big hit in the resale market. How soon is the question. But range anxiety is real and many people will never be comfortable driving with a nearly “empty tank.” My S range of 249 is fine for me but as the battery ages and loses range and much longer range cars come to market, I expect to be penalized when I sell. However, my intent to drive the car for at least ten years will cushion the hit. I wasn’t planning to spend LR money on my 3, but I want more range cushion than the 220 rated miles. Will I get a big chunk of that $9000 back when I sell the 3 in ten years or so? Doubtful but I’ll bet demand for my car will be many times greater than the demand for the SR version. By that time I would think 400+ will be common and people will turn up their noses at a car that will by that time struggle to even have a 200 mile range.

(My calculations would probably change if I leased or otherwise flipped cars often.)

 

[azred]

The ones on the 5 are fairly empty...so you shouldn't have a wait issue at Bakersfield or Gustine. You want to avoid Tejon Ranch and especially Dublin... Dublin was crowded at 11 PM when I needed to charge...got the last spot open. Though I prefer to drive at night anyways because of traffic during the day

The big unknown of course is how this situation will change as Model 3s crowd the chargers beginning just a few months from now. Will Tesla grow the Superchargers to approximate the growth in usage? No one knows.