Smart or Not?

[AW9nineteen]

I was relocated somewhat for work a couple of months ago and my driving turned into 58 miles one way. It’s taken a toll on my patience getting gas, let alone paying for it frequently. I’ve wanted a Tesla since 2012 and almost traded my A8 for it back then. Just could never pull the trigger, until now. I have a Model S Raven on the way and I’m wondering with so much highway driving did the decision make sense? I know at 80mph for electric the efficiency drops, where as ICE cars get better. With pretty much needing to charge every two days does it make sense?

Does anyone charge their car every night? Is that alright?

Thanks

 

[75Shappyt]

always plug in

 

[ucmndd]

I drive 120 miles per day, have 90,000 miles on my 2016 Model S.

Switching to an EV was an easy, rewarding decision with zero regrets. I save >$150/mo on fuel costs compared to my previous ICE, an already very efficient VW TDI.

Plug it in every night, never stop at a gas station again. Rest easy with the 8 year unlimited mile battery and drive unit warranty.

 

[Snowstorm]

know at 80mph for electric the efficiency drops, where as ICE cars get better

At high speeds, efficiency for both ICE and EV drop due to the same reason, air resistance. At least with EV you are paying less for gas and polluting the planet less to overcome such resistance.

EV are great for long distance driving as long as you can do a round trip without having to charge in between. With Tesla, it gets even better as autopilot makes long distance driving on the highway that much easier.

Charge every night, shallower discharges are better for battery. Charge to 80% each day and rest easy.

Great choice.

 

[AW9nineteen]

I drive 120 miles per day, have 90,000 miles on my 2016 Model S.

Switching to an EV was an easy, rewarding decision with zero regrets. I save >$150/mo on fuel costs compared to my previous ICE, an already very efficient VW TDI.

Plug it in every night, never stop at a gas station again. Rest easy with the 8 year unlimited mile battery and drive unit warranty.

The warranty doesn’t cover “wear and tear”, or degradation right?

 

[ucmndd]

The warranty doesn’t cover “wear and tear”, or degradation right?

Correct, normal language about defects in parts and workmanship.

In 90k miles, my 75kwh battery has degraded about 10%. That’s on the high side compared to most reports and so far the 100kwh batteries seem to be holding up much better. But really, it’s had zero material impact on me.

 

[Rocky_H]

I was relocated somewhat for work a couple of months ago and my driving turned into 58 miles one way.

Ouch, that's pretty rough for your lifestyle and a time suck.

I’ve wanted a Tesla since 2012 and almost traded my A8 for it back then. Just could never pull the trigger, until now. I have a Model S Raven on the way and I’m wondering with so much highway driving did the decision make sense?

It makes even more sense. It's hard sometimes to explain about electric car pricing to people. A lot of people are conditioned to only look at up front sticker price when comparing vehicles. But when comparing a gas car to an electric car, that's going to be misleading, and you really need to take total cost of ownership into account. I've simply explained this by pointing out the relative cost of what stores the energy in the two vehicles. In a gas car, it is an empty shell to hold a liquid--about $200. In an electric car, it is a highly technical system of thousands of small batteries wired together, with sensors and temperature monitoring and a liquid temperature control system--about $20,000. So the electric car stats off pretty far behind on the upfront initial cost, before you build the rest of the car around it. So then it's up to reduced marginal cost per mile with maintenance and fuel being less to see if it will make up for it. And on that end, the more miles you drive, the easier it is to make up for it with savings. You're going to be doing about 31,000 miles a year! With electricity costing about a fourth of what gas costs per mile, this is an obvious choice for you.

With pretty much needing to charge every two days does it make sense?

You seem to be thinking of this in the gas car paradigm, where you are thinking of going to a "filling station" to "go charge". The best thing about electric cars is not ever having to go anywhere to fill them if you have access to electricity at home. Do you have a house, where you can get access to some kind of electric outlet to charge from? Then this is easy. You just plug in every night and never have to worry about it.

 

[tnt1971]

Agree with all the posts but will add one dimension. You do not mention what you are driving now. I went from a Prius to a Tesla and I live in the NYC area where the cost per kWh is around 21 cents. My fuel costs did not differ much. If you compare the car to a large sedan, the fuel costs are significantly cheaper.

 

[Rocky_H]

You do not mention what you are driving now. I went from a Prius to a Tesla and I live in the NYC area where the cost per kWh is around 21 cents. My fuel costs did not differ much. If you compare the car to a large sedan, the fuel costs are significantly cheaper.

For a normal amount of miles, you might be right, but this person is driving over 30K miles per year. It would be hard for that to not come out more cost effective, even if it was compared against a Prius, etc.

 

[brkaus]

Go for it - as long as you can charge at home (or work).

Love not going to the gas station.