Survey: Tesla as primary car?

[EdA]

His and hers Model S's in our house. Just back from a ~1200 mile road trip.
We have a Honda Civic for our college aged kids but they're the only drivers of that car.

 

[DMA]

Same here. MS is the primary car.
I'm even considering replacing my wife's ICE with a LEAF or equivalent.

 

[Olle]

Hi Olle,

When were those articles written? :wink:

I see that you got your Model S just after the Signatures closed out in North America. At that time, at the beginning of 2013, if you had done a survey you might have received a different answer since the Supercharger Network had not yet been started. At the time many of the early adopters, including myself, felt that an ICE backup vehicle would be required for those out of town trips beyond the Model S's range. With the state of the electric infrastructure at the time it certainly would have been prudent to worry where we were going to get a charge past 200 miles.

However, as was previously alluded to, based on national averages most one-way daily trips (about 95%) are less than 35 miles and trips over 90 miles are a fraction of a percentage. So even back in 2013 a Model S with a range of about 265 miles per charge was going to be able to accommodate the vast majority of trips without the need to charge at the destination and still could have been considered the primary vehicle even if a ICE was required for long distance trips.

Today Florida has the second most numbers of Superchargers behind California,... (way behind) :biggrin:. Anyway, traveling long distances across the state in a Model S with an 85 kWh battery, or even to other states, no longer presents the challenge it did when you and I first got our cars and a backup ICE may no longer be required. The only exception is for people whose temperment is such that they can't stand to wait at Supercharging Stations or invest the extra time to plan out a long route. I think if we are honest, we will have to admit that even with the vast improvement in the number of Supercharger Stations, that a Model S owner still needs to spend a little more time preplanning a long trip than an ICE driver.

Larry

Hi Larry,
There are a good number of articles saying Tesla is rarely a primary car, often based on no evidence. The latest one is yesterday's consumer reports, here: Talking Cars with Consumer Reports #76: Tesla Model S P85D: Final Test Results - YouTube at 19:45.

It is odd to say that, when most Tesla owners we meet in real life, and in this survey, in fact have the Tesla as primary.

However, I agree with you that still to this day, road trips can take a little longer in a Tesla than in an ICE.

Olle

- - - Updated - - -

I'm living in downtown in a large city with cramped parking. I'm planning on keeping my 10 yo ICE, when I get a MS, to use for the areas parking is tighter and the MS as my daily driver for work.

I used to live in UES Manhattan with my Model S. Once I had organized with the parking garage that they always put the car in a spot with 120V outlet and plugged it in for me, it was actually more convenient than my ICE (which I soon got rid off) since never needed to venture out to the gas station and line up with all the yellow cabs.
For the days I drove a bit longer they had a 208V beam charger in the garage. It was a bit more involved since I needed to walk inside and swipe my card (still a lot easier than a gas station though). Only happened once a month or so.

 

[Cyclone]

I was one of those who stupidly kept the ICE car. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Sold it quickly after getting the S. Should have put those dollars into getting a better S.

Not stupid in my case as I've put 2x as many miles on my ICE since buying the Model S.

 

[Larry Chanin]

Hi Larry,
There are a good number of articles saying Tesla is rarely a primary car, often based on no evidence. The latest one is yesterday's consumer reports, here: Talking Cars with Consumer Reports #76: Tesla Model S P85D: Final Test Results - YouTube at 19:45.

It is odd to say that, when most Tesla owners we meet in real life, and in this survey, in fact have the Tesla as primary.

However, I agree with you that still to this day, road trips can take a little longer in a Tesla than in an ICE.

Olle

Hi Ollie,

Sorry I missed your reply until today, but I didn't miss the article that you referenced. In fact, as it turns out two days ago I provided a response to it in which I criticized missing the mark with regard to charging infrastructure.

Larry Chanin 2 days ago
Great show, but as others have pointed out you totally missed the point regarding charging infrastructure.

About 100 years ago when the Model T revolutionized the automobile scene fueling was an issue. There were no gas stations. A car owner had to go to the blacksmith or pharmacy to get his/her fuel. I guess if you were reviewing the Model T it would have gotten some really bad marks on fueling convenience versus the horse. ;-)

Today, the Model S marks the same point in the electric vehicle revolution, the beginning of the roll-out of charging infrastructure. However, there's a BIG difference. It's safe and cheap to install a home charger and it’s much more convenient to refuel than a gasoline vehicle. Every morning the car is topped off and with more than 200 miles of range there's no need to go out of your way to fill up for the vast majority of typical daily trips.

For those situations where you do need to drive beyond the range of a Model S Tesla has built out their Supercharger network to a point where you can drive across the country. They achieved this feat in less than three years. How long did it take to build the gasoline station infrastructure?

You failed to mention that the cost of charging at a Tesla Supercharger Station is zero. While it is true that more needs to be done to expand the nation’s charging infrastructure, we are just a few years into this new revolution. Imagine where we will be in just three more years!

Larry

- - - Updated - - -

I use mine for both long trips and local use. I do careful trip planning, but it differs from my pre-Tesla planning only because I include Destination Charging in my plans.

To your point, I have had the car only six months so I never knew the trials of pre-Supercharger days, nor of serious lack of charging infrastructure otherwise. My spouse and I were discussing that issue last night. She commented that we plan the same amount but we've changed where we stay overnight. Now we stay in Select Registry and other properties with charging, although the odd one is only level 1.

That single point does make a tiny difference in spontaneity now. I suspect we'll regard this as old-fashioned planning soon, maybe within a year or so. :biggrin:

Hi JC,

Yes, it will only get better. That was my closing point in my response to the Consumers Report video show that I discussed in my previous posting here.

Larry