Tesla Alternative?

[spdpsba]

Citation needed. Though it does make sense
If Tesla have any sense they will have realised that the UK more so than many places has a rapid charger issue and keeping Tesla well ahead of the pack on that is going to be a big benefit.
I wonder if this will impact their plans to open up the UK network in the UK?
The SuC network was enough of a benefit went I renewed after 3 years of M3 ownership that I did not even look elsewhere and I don't even rapid charge that often! Having it work when I need it still counts for a lot even so.

Apologies, protected by NDA.

 

[Mullermn]

Volvo XC40 recharge (all electric) I think is worth a look but like all alternatives there are a few things that are better and others aspects that can’t compete with Tesla.

My parents were interested in one of these but (as of a few months ago) the Volvo dealer wouldn't even take their order because lead times were so long.

 

[WannabeOwner]

if you are a rare SC user on days when you do long trips you don’t have to look for subscription and worry about broken chargers and how you are going to charge in one of those long motorway drives. .... And that is super important to me, may be not for others!

Super important to me too. Since 2015 I have charged at non-Tesla a dozen times. Universally bad experiences, by comparison with Tesla Supercharger. Even when I had the right APP and it had funds on it the connect time was far too long and on more than one occasion required calling the company to get the charge started. The only good experiences I had were with Chademo adapater ... don't suppose I'll use that ever again!

 

[Sean.]

And from reliable sources, Tesla/Elon had taken note of the SC congestion during the Christmas break in UK and they are planning to rapidly increase the numbers in UK - the target is to reduce waiting time to single digit (in minutes - I suppose ) rather than hours. I can hear critics laughing at another Elon’s time but having witnessed few things from close quarters I am confident they are trying to rapidly increase the SC numbers.

Laudable but they will still be at the mercy of planning and more importantly DNO capability and network capacity. Some of these issues are quite intractable and take a long time to overcome.

 

[WannabeOwner]

but they will still be at the mercy of planning and more importantly DNO capability and network capacity

Indeed.

I'd be thrilled if Supercharger rollout speeds up ... but the promise, each year, that rollout was going to speed up has been touted in each of the 7 years I've owned a Tesla. Way more locations now than then ... but no significantly increased number of sites each year - although new sites have more stalls now than original sites did back then.

 

[Sean.]

Super important to me too. Since 2015 I have charged at non-Tesla a dozen times. Universally bad experiences, by comparison with Tesla Supercharger. Even when I had the right APP and it had funds on it the connect time was far too long and on more than one occasion required calling the company to get the charge started. The only good experiences I had were with Chademo adapater ... don't suppose I'll use that ever again!

As comparables to Superchargers I’ve had good experiences generally at Ionity, Fastned and Gridserve EFs.

There is still lots of work to do to make non-Tesla Plug & Charge as bulletproof and reliable on these networks as it is with Teslas proprietary system. But it’s a step in the right direction. As is Multi-contract Plug & Charge.

It would also be laudable if Tesla took a few further steps into third-party Plug & Charge but it’s relative early adopter days yet.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Plug & Charge

I saw an article (Fortune I think) that it would cost the providers "nothing" to start charging the moment that the car is plugged in whilst the connectivity stuff then happens. The number of deceitful uses would be tiny, and if someone was at very low SoC then just the few minutes of attempting (and failing) to get connected would give them a few miles to try a different location (and likely that they would remember that "good service") along with successful charges spreading the news of "Brand X starts charging immediately" to all their mates ...

I'm not aware of a single provider that is doing that ...

 

[Zilla91]

Apologies, protected by NDA.

Surely the NDA refrains you from even acknowledging the NDA?

 

[spdpsba]

Surely the NDA refrains you from even acknowledging the NDA?

It is not my NDA - the sources.

 

[Zilla91]

I'm sure they'll be over the moon to see you're posting that information on a public forum and letting everyone know that they've broken NDAs

 

[Mullermn]

Laudable but they will still be at the mercy of planning and more importantly DNO capability and network capacity. Some of these issues are quite intractable and take a long time to overcome.

Hopefully Tesla know somewhere they can get some batteries that would enable them to spread their demand.

 

[Sean.]

the problem I have with these stats is with the "petrol equivalent". Performance wise most Tesla's are almost a supercar which might be why they are using about 24mpg as the benchmark for the "petrol equivalent". If I did not have the Tesla I would not be driving a car that did 24mpg

Yeah a bit of nonsense that. I just posted to show my charging splits aren’t 99% home & work only. Like I suspect they aren’t for very many folks - otherwise SuC and third party chargers would be like tumbleweed.

 

[Sean.]

Hopefully Tesla know somewhere they can get some batteries that would enable them to spread their demand.

They’ve got megachargers for grid store here but none at SuC sites that I’m aware of.

They semi-trailer / HGV them around in the states at busy SuC times with extra pedestals. They’ve been known to catch fire too from time to time both static and mobile.

 

[rincewind]

I think BYD looks really exciting. People will say, “it’s an unknown quantity” and “there’s no infrastructure, what happens if it breaks down?” Well in the early days Tesla were an unknown quantity, infrastructure was very limited and the build quality was appalling. That didn’t stop the early adopters.

I think BYD will be pretty big here within 5 years.

I'm seriously looking at the 2 motor BYD Seal, which should be in the UK sometime this year. After 3 year with the Model 3 I want to try something else (I do almost all of my charging at home). I love the looks of the Seal, and the interior. All the articles I've seen are positive too. Many unanswered questions, but already they have 5 UK importers signed up, with more to follow.

 

[Sean.]

Many unanswered questions, but already they have 5 UK importers signed up, with more to follow.

Separate / parallel UK importers?

Sounds like a recipe for confusion at best and disaster at worst.

Maybe hold off for a wee while until they get their dealer network bedded in

 

[Astrape]

I think BYD looks really exciting. People will say, “it’s an unknown quantity” and “there’s no infrastructure, what happens if it breaks down?” Well in the early days Tesla were an unknown quantity, infrastructure was very limited and the build quality was appalling. That didn’t stop the early adopters.

I think BYD will be pretty big here within 5 years.

Octopus EV orders 5,000 electric vehicles from BYD

As part of the agreement, Octopus EV will also become BYD’s recommended salary sacrifice partner for their business customers in the UK.

www.fleetnews.co.uk

 

[Zilla91]

Hard pass from me. You won't ever see me driving around with a car that has "Build your dreams" written on the back of it or a car called the "Seal".

 

[Mullermn]

Hard pass from me. You won't ever see me driving around with a car that has "Build your dreams" written on the back of it or a car called the "Seal".

Hopefully this isn't going to spoil your Tesla for you, but you're currently driving around with a car with a logo that very closely resembles a contraceptive coil on the front and back... Intrauterine Device (IUD) | University Health Service

 

[Sean.]

Hopefully this isn't going to spoil your Tesla for you, but you're currently driving around with a car with a logo that very closely resembles a contraceptive coil on the front and back... Intrauterine Device (IUD) | University Health Service

thanks for the gynaecology lesson

 

[Billbrown1982]

Has anyone ever taken a serious look at the Mach E? It was on my radar for a while before I ended up taking the punt on my model 3.

I'm going to be in a position to get Ford's at a very good price in the future and I'm just wondering....when my model 3 warranty starts running out, what will I do.

Although to be perfectly honest i'd be sorely tempted to just go full mid life crisis and get a V8 mustang convertible for next to nothing or a stonking kitted up ranger.......argh.