Tesla Model S Owner from CA

[CA_PA]

Hi guys,

Newbie here - be gentle!

I am a Model S 75 (think front wheel drive) owner here in SoCal moving to Philadelphia suburbs in November and I have some naive questions:

- Never lived where it snows so that will be interesting. How will my Tesla do there in winter (including the day it snows) in terms of range etc.
- I have a high registration renewal cost in CA (~$700+) in CA. What should I expect to pay in PA? I see on the website that it's sub $75 bucks (!!) but not sure if there are any additional surcharge on electric cars etc.
- I am a little concerned about the charging infrastructure in PA...or put it this way (and maybe I haven't researched) I think the charging infrastructure, both superchargers and private chargers is great in CA and my sense is it's not so great (definitely superchargers) there in PA. Is that fair to say?
- Related to charging, do most of you guys/ girls charge at home and if yes are there suitable electricity plans? In CA it can get very expensive to charge at home even with an electric vehicle friendly plan.
- Do I need to change tires?
- Any other guidance for an out-of-state relocation?


Really appreciate any guidance.

 

[ElectricEel]

-therea no front wheel drive only Tesla, your car is rearwheel.
--if you are worried get snow tires, you will be fine.
--battery degredation does happen in the cold, it varies how cold try a quick Google search for different experiences.
--check the Tesla supercharger map.
--check the local elecric companies for cost of electricity.

Not trying to be a dick but almost all of your questions could have bee. Googled.

 

[Raechris]

It’s not battery degradation (OP error) in the cold - it’s the battery ability to hold electrons with a cold battery in winter temp. Using heater (battery and cabin hvac) takes the most kWh. As example I have 75D in Boston. Last winter was brutal and I saw 275-400 w/h per mile vs 250 with summer AC use. 185-225 without hvac. This was the same as my volt. Expect +/- 30% from mpge at the extreme. Use seat and wheel heater more than cabin heat and keep her plugged in at night if possible. Short answer you will adjust and be fine

 

[Tam]

...very expensive to charge at home...

That depends on what plan you enroll on.

For SCE territory, plan TOU-D-B for any time from 10PM to 8AM and the cost is $0.12 per kW.

Your car is 75 kWh x $0.12 = $9.00

I understand that there are people who cannot charge at home because they have to park on the streets but if you have an access to an electrical outlet, it's much better to charge at home while you can do some other things and not waiting in a Supercharger.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

37 cents/kw! Holy crap! I know it’s during peak time but still. Wow

 

[BurntOC]

37 cents/kw! Holy crap! I know it’s during peak time but still. Wow

If you don't know what BS Cali power costs are then let me tell you our peak for SDG&E is 53 cents per kw.

 

[xyeahtony]

Hi guys,

Newbie here - be gentle!

I am a Model S 75 (think front wheel drive) owner here in SoCal moving to Philadelphia suburbs in November and I have some naive questions:

- Never lived where it snows so that will be interesting. How will my Tesla do there in winter (including the day it snows) in terms of range etc.
- I have a high registration renewal cost in CA (~$700+) in CA. What should I expect to pay in PA? I see on the website that it's sub $75 bucks (!!) but not sure if there are any additional surcharge on electric cars etc.
- I am a little concerned about the charging infrastructure in PA...or put it this way (and maybe I haven't researched) I think the charging infrastructure, both superchargers and private chargers is great in CA and my sense is it's not so great (definitely superchargers) there in PA. Is that fair to say?
- Related to charging, do most of you guys/ girls charge at home and if yes are there suitable electricity plans? In CA it can get very expensive to charge at home even with an electric vehicle friendly plan.
- Do I need to change tires?
- Any other guidance for an out-of-state relocation?


Really appreciate any guidance.

PA has vehicle inspections, but theyre cheap and mostly safety related.
In cold weather, prepare to have a 30% loss. Unless you drive more than 100 miles a day, this really isn't a big deal.
There are a lot of superchargers on the east coast. Not as concentrated as CA, but not as crowded as CA either. Check Tesla.com/findus and you'll see.
Basically 90% of tesla owners charge at home.
Winter tires are recommended during the snow, but not a requirement. Teslas have good traction control and they're pretty good with salting/plowing the roads when it snows. The average joe with his standard car doesn't have snow tires either.

 

[Oldschool496]

If you don't know what BS Cali power costs are then let me tell you our peak for SDG&E is 53 cents per kw.

I used to live in Northern California, 30 years ago it was an expensive place to grow up and live in. I had no idea your paying that much for electricity. That's crazy. Hydro is in big use there. With the draught in recent times, things must have shifted quite a bit.

I moved to South Florida long ago, yes hot and during the summer its humid, but its 8.5 cents per first 1000 kWh and 10.6 cents per Kwh after the 1000 kWh here all day and night.

I used 2900 kWh last month, as August is the hottest month and we had guests that like it cold 72 degrees in the middle of the day?, in SoCAL at .53 that would have cost me $1500.00 Wow. My bill with taxes added $348.

At work we use 12,000 kWh per month $1191 with taxes added. thats .10 per kWh

I'm thankful I moved thirty years ago. Solar while it may do well here besides the rain and clouds, there is resistance from the utility after installing all this NG power.

Everything switched in the past five years to Natural Gas generating through turbines. Was oil fired for a long time. The utility needs to pay for this switch over the next 30 years.

Our house keeps getting bigger and the AC bills, Electric keeps going down. Even with a Model S now, Craziest thing I have ever seen.

 

[Struja]

It’s not battery degradation (OP error) in the cold - it’s the battery ability to hold electrons with a cold battery in winter temp. Using heater (battery and cabin hvac) takes the most kWh. As example I have 75D in Boston. Last winter was brutal and I saw 275-400 w/h per mile vs 250 with summer AC use. 185-225 without hvac. This was the same as my volt. Expect +/- 30% from mpge at the extreme. Use seat and wheel heater more than cabin heat and keep her plugged in at night if possible. Short answer you will adjust and be fine

+1 to this... but I experience even more winter loss than you.

On our coldest days, I have about a 40% reduction in range, so yes, you have to make adjustments. Luckily, I garage park my car at work and at home so that helps (a bit) but when it is -30c outside, range starts to vanish.

 

[CA_PA]

Thank you for the helpful responses. I am getting a good sense re: the transition. I am likely to live around Wayne/ Paoli/ Radnor etc. It's a little bit of world far away so thanks for entertaining basic questions.
- What is the avg kwh cost to charge at home? I know it's dependant on the plan but is 9 cents a good estimate? Are there plans that have weekend or nights free charging? FYI I will be using the trains to commute to work so my car will be purely weekend and odd weekday runs
- Should I assume the registration cost is sub 100 dollars?

Best

 

[schang]

Hey CA_PA, did you move over to PA? How is your experience in PA compared to owning a Tesla in CA?