2021 Tesla Model S, is it now the best Tesla choice?

[OVERKILL]

And, to make matters a bit more interesting, Tesla charges nearly 30 cents per KWH at the Florida/Georgia interstate superchargers. So a Model 3 on my typical high speed highway, 800+ mile round trip, Florida to Georgia to Florida run (drains the battery fast) , will cost about 12 cents per mile. More than twice what a hybrid costs.

And it requires leaving with a full charge, (Tesla claims) charging twice on the way up, charging fully at the destination, and twice on the way home. For a total of 5 stops. The need to charge twice may be due to charger location and not range. 200 mile highway range is possible in long range Tesla's.

The Honda Accord hybrid needs to stop once on the way home.

My home electricity is $0.128/kWh right now, other charges are loosely tied to consumption, but it is not direct, so a couple hundred kWh doesn't directly translate in that much of an increase in delivery.

Gasoline here, for 91, is $1.12/L at Costco, which is $0.875/L US, which translates to $3.31US/gallon, in Canadian pesos that's $4.24/gallon.

 

[UncleDave]

Every time I hear about costco gas I chuckle.

(almost) no one gets gas at costco on a road trip as they aren't located at highway exists but usually in town- its a beginning or endpoint fill up option.

(Our own superb reoccurring posters aside) Most of the same guys that talk about how unmanageable it is to wait a half an hour to charge a tesla never bring up -

1. The time an energy for a separate trip to costco
2. The wait in line at costco
3. The trip back home

People get hilariously selective about what time they want to measure, and total amnesia about what time they actually spend doing things.

 

[4WD]

Every time I hear about costco gas I chuckle.

(almost) no one gets gas at costco on a road trip as they aren't located at highway exists but usually in town- its a beginning or endpoint fill up option.

(Our own superb reoccurring posters aside) Most of the same guys that talk about how unmanageable is is to wait a half an hour to charge a tesla never bring up -

1. The time an energy for a separate trip to costco
2. The wait in line at costco
3. The trip back home

People get hilariously selective about what time they want to measure, and total amnesia about what time they actually spend doing things.

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Yep … not the same as these guys where I like to grab some E0 … they like the super highway even in town !

New, 50,000-square-foot Buc-ee's to open Monday in Katy

One of Texas' largest convenience stores and fueling centers is officially opening its doors in Katy at 6 a.m. Monday.

www.click2houston.com

 

[UncleDave]

These guys have a nice business. The female units in my group like Buc-ee's - the restrooms are very clean and sanitary.

Like the little Americas on I80.

 

[Job]

More evs should make gas and oil cheaper. Nothing against them they are great if you like them and like to deal with charging and using a battery to heat a metal container in the winter time. Or drive around freezing like some ev drivers do. I never had ac in a house. I got another plug in hybrid so not against ev’s, just a realist. Too many people on the public chargers and a lot of them are selfish about it too. Some are nice usually older people. Is this like that fazebook where i can talk about my life to strangers?

 

[Job]

Every time I hear about costco gas I chuckle.

(almost) no one gets gas at costco on a road trip as they aren't located at highway exists but usually in town- its a beginning or endpoint fill up option.

(Our own superb reoccurring posters aside) Most of the same guys that talk about how unmanageable is is to wait a half an hour to charge a tesla never bring up -

1. The time an energy for a separate trip to costco
2. The wait in line at costco
3. The trip back home

People get hilariously selective about what time they want to measure, and total amnesia about what time they actually spend doing things.

View attachment 35826View attachment 35827

Most people gas up at Costco when they are going to Costco anyway. I can get gas within one minute of home at 10 pm if I need to, which in the past I have needed to. No chargers are that close and often they are occupied. Charging is a pain in the neck in my opinion, just owning a plug in. The people in Costco gas lines are people who value pennies over time, which makes them a Costco shopper anyway. This fazebook stuff is interesting.

 

[UncleDave]

More evs should make gas and oil cheaper. Nothing against them they are great if you like them and like to deal with charging and using a battery to heat a metal container in the winter time. Or drive around freezing like some ev drivers do. I never had ac in a house. I got another plug in hybrid so not against ev’s, just a realist. Too many people on the public chargers and a lot of them are selfish about it too. Some are nice usually older people. Is this like that fazebook where i can talk about my life to strangers?

New Model 3 and Y use heat pumps that are very efficient - no need to drive around freezing or frying.

 

[UncleDave]

Most people gas up at Costco when they are going to Costco anyway. I can get gas within one minute of home at 10 pm if I need to, which in the past I have needed to. No chargers are that close and often they are occupied. Charging is a pain in the neck in my opinion, just owning a plug in. This fazebook stuff is interesting.

That must be one difficult plug at your house.

 

[Wolf359]

Every time I hear about costco gas I chuckle.

(almost) no one gets gas at costco on a road trip as they aren't located at highway exists but usually in town- its a beginning or endpoint fill up option.

(Our own superb reoccurring posters aside) Most of the same guys that talk about how unmanageable is is to wait a half an hour to charge a tesla never bring up -

1. The time an energy for a separate trip to costco
2. The wait in line at costco
3. The trip back home

People get hilariously selective about what time they want to measure, and total amnesia about what time they actually spend doing things.

View attachment 35826View attachment 35827

I'm not sure too many people just go to Costco for gas, I also shop whenever I'm there for gas. Don't go there too often because there's two Costcos in my area, the one closer to me doesn't sell gas, the one further away does. I only go there if I happen to be going in that direction for something else and will stop there on the way. Wait times lately haven't been as bad, not as crowded as it was a few months ago. Also for me, it's not that bad because my gas cap is on the right, there's usually a bigger line for the left as opposed to the right.

 

[Cujet]

While it may be true that we don't seek out Costco for gas on a trip, gas seems to be cheaper near a Costco, as they are a form of competition.

Solar panels were brought up earlier. The 'holy grail' seems to be some form of high output grid tied solar, with a number of 'Tesla wall' battery backups, a Tesla car and an EV motorcycle. It's not cheap, and the payback is never, but it can be done, and is effective. It should be an ideal way to be somewhat self sufficient. I would very much like to have such a setup.

Whether it actually reduces fuel consumption is another matter. The answer at the moment seems to be no.

 

[OVERKILL]

New Model 3 and Y use heat pumps that are very efficient - no need to drive around freezing or frying.

So does the e-tron.

BTW, Costco lines here (town of ~100,000) are nowhere near as long as in larger areas. I only typically have to wait maybe a minute or two when I get gas.

 

[JeffKeryk]

In downtown Los Gatos, there is a big set of Superchargers (and chargers for other makes) in the back parking lot of a newer Safeway. 30 or more chargers. There can be a line.
If you leave your car on for too long after it's charged, you get fined. Ha! That dang Elon wants more of my $$.
There are numerous other places to charge; City Hall has a couple of free ones; good luck!
There are at least 10 Costcos around here. The one I go to most of the time has 30 pumps or more. I will have to count...
Wait times ain't too bad unless there's a bunch of those RVs and monster pickups in front of you. What's worse is people who don't know how to put a credit card in the pump.... Sheesh.

If I could not charge at home I would not own an EV. I don't think so anyways...
Since there are so many EVs around here, they have been kicking around the idea of using your EV to power your house during a black out so you can keep the Netflix marathon running.
All good.

 

[dareo]

Tesla had a respectable jump in Q4 delivery of the S and X vehicles, about 4k more or so. I think the price drop and range boost had something to do with it. I wish they released vehicle specific numbers instead of lumping two together. My guess is most of the sales were the S. Perhaps Elon gives another S price cut in the first half of 2021. Model S has got to have a lot of profit margin left.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Tesla had a respectable jump in Q4 delivery of the S and X vehicles, about 4k more or so. I think the price drop and range boost had something to do with it. I wish they released vehicle specific numbers instead of lumping two together. My guess is most of the sales were the S. Perhaps Elon gives another S price cut in the first half of 2021. Model S has got to have a lot of profit margin left.

Tesla is working on a refresh for the S; it is getting pretty long in the tooth.
Probably just a fairly mild refresh, certainly not a new car.
I think it has to do with the release of the 3 motor Plaid.
Having said that, the Model 3 is the bread winner. There is a reason for it.

 

[dareo]

My guess is they work the new structural battery thing in and change the interior yet again. Probably wont be a exterior sheet metal change but who knows. Its still the one i would want if i went EV.