How to take a Tesla on a road trip

Discussion in 'The Pub' started by bing!, Jul 13, 2014.

  1. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    The super charging station network is pretty impressive.

    http://www.freep.com/article/20140722/BUSINESS0104/307220066

    A team of drivers from car-shopping site Edmunds.com says it set a record for cross-country travel in an electric car, driving a 2013 Tesla S from Redondo Beach, Calif. , to New York, N.Y. in 67 hours and 21 minutes.

    I still think electric cars are pretty straight forward and no dramatic leaps have been made as yet. This is sorely needed in the power density of batteries. EV batteries are pretty much the same as what's in your cellphone. This charging station network is a game changer.

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  2. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    This is not something I'll be ever prepared to deal with. I leased my last German car just because I was afraid of repair costs. I can understand a tranny rebuild at around 120-150,000 miles. And even then, I expect to pay between 2,000 to 5,000 depending on the make and model that is within my range. But $15,000? Add in the $ 30,000 bill for a new battery, I don't know.

    There are reports that at 100k miles, battery life is at 70% and one guy who is confirmed at 150k miles, only get a 62 mile range from his og pack. http://www.plugincars.com/tesla-roa...udy-85-percent-after-100000-miles-127733.html

    https://autos.yahoo.com/news/tesla-model-drive-unit-replacements-big-problem-134145361.html

    "Edmunds.com, the widely-read automotive website, bought a Tesla Model S for long-term testing in February 2013. After nine months and 11,000 miles, the car developed an ominous grinding noise under acceleration and deceleration.

    ......Then, just last month, the third drive unit started to make a "milling sound" after completing a 5,000-mile coast-to-coast round trip. The solution: Install drive unit No. 4. Four drive units in 30,000 miles, all in full view of thousands of car-savvy readers.

    What were the odds I'd be on the hook for a drive-unit replacement, rumored to cost $15,000?

    A Tesla Motor Club poll of 87 Model S owners revealed that a startling 28 of them had had their drive units replaced, a rate of 32 percent. Five of them (6 percent) had had multiple replacements.

    "Every car in my area has had at least one DU replaced," noted one. "I'm on my fifth drivetrain at 12,000 miles," reported another."
     
  3. giantschwinn

    giantschwinn Member

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    bing, sounds like instead of researching to buy GoPro stocks, you should look into shorting Tesla stocks. ;)

    Porsche is not known for it's mechanical reliability and volume but it has done well in the past few years. Tesla is basically marketing itself as an electric version of Porsche. So far this strategy is working, until it tries to be a volume producer and realize that it can't deliver on its promises....
     
  4. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    Ive looked into Tesla quite a bit. I think there is still too much risk in there for me, not to mention the absurd valuation. One tenet I live by is "the trend is you're friend". I would never take a short position on a stock that is driven by such high expectations as Tesla. Being right in the market has no benefit unless your right at the right time :)
     
  5. giantschwinn

    giantschwinn Member

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    Toyota invested in Tesla from when the stock was cheap and just last month they sold off all Tesla stocks and is betting on hydrogen. If Toyota is dumping Tesla stocks and betting on a different technology, I question the fundamentals of Tesla.
     
  6. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    That is possible. I am no expert. I do have a feel for when a stock is good value. Tesla is not a value play, but rather a tech company. With my personal investing objectives, homie dont play that no more. :)
     
  7. trestles126

    trestles126 Member

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    lamen here.... didn't elon musk just share all his designs and patents with every other manufacture so that there can be more competition and what not...

    to me the guys a class act. i have a good friend that works for space-x my company always does crane work at spacex...... top notch and very impressive facility.

    i feel this country needs more people like him.... a lot of jobs in so cal
     
  8. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    Yes and no. He is an amazing entrepreneur. He is building a giga-factory for batteries and is rolling out a fast charging station network. Sharing the patents was a move to direct the industry into a tangent that benefits Tesla. This is not a bad thing. It is a strategic move on his part.

    "Tesla also stands to benefit if its roadside charging stations become the industry standard." http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/07/17/rethinking-patent-enforcement-tesla-did-what/

    As far as technology on electric cars being shared, there is no real patent on an electric motor attached to a battery installed in a chassis.

    We do need more people like Elon Musk. Hopefully we'll get a batch that be do stuff without the need for government seed money.
     

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