Tesla Model 3: Pre-order to Ownership Discussion

You are funny~ That’s like kissing your wife with your eyes closed hard and imaging that your are kissing a super model. Enjoy your Bolt fantasy~

For EVs, it is the opposite. For electric motors, they have an optimal RPM-Rotations Per Minute (probably too for ICE, but I’m not sure how that would work given no ICE car has two engines that I know of). One motor is optimized for higher speeds and one motor is optimized for lower speeds. So, depending on what speed you are traveling at will determine which motor is primary. The AWD versions have better efficiency, better acceleration, and better range compared to the single motor versions.

For model S and X, the wheels must be powered to used regenerative braking (using the rotation of the wheels to generate power to recharge the battery). With AWD you get 2x as much regenerative power as RWD. There is some question on if this applies to the Model 3 or not. Some details in public disclosures to the EPA seem to state that all 4 wheels provide regenerative braking even on the RWD models. If that is the case, it is something new and slightly decreases the incremental value of AWD.

All the above are benefits are before you consider the traction stability. I live in the Pacific Northwest and deal with rain most of the time and go skiing most weekends in the winter. Winter tires on the Model 3 are good enough, but sometimes the mountain passes require either AWD or chains, so having AWD makes it much less of a hassle to cross the passes even though the RWD with winter tires probably provides good enough traction.

TLDR: I want AWD for the performance and efficiency improvements. Not having to deal with regulations requiring chains when AWD or chains are required is a nice benefit. The additional traction is nice to have but not the primary factor.

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I actually didn’t know that AWD on EVs didn’t decrease the efficiency like on a traditional car, thanks for the explanation.

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You’re not following.

  1. I don’t like the Chevy Bolt. I don’t like any EVs. I recognize they are awesome technology, but for the money, I don’t feel like they are worth it (to me).
  2. A better analogy would be comparing getting married to two different brain surgeons. One is average looking, willing to marry you now, and doesn’t require an engagement ring. The other is much better looking, won’t tell you when she’s going to marry you, requires an engagement ring, and a $14,000 ceremony if you want to get married sooner rather than later.
    I wouldn’t say there is anything wrong with someone choosing the second brain surgeon and getting jerked around for a few years if that’s what they wanted. For all I know, when the guy finally gets married, it’s going to be great. But if they try to act like they aren’t getting jerked around during the engagement, I’m going to point out that they’re just blinded by their lust for their fiance.

Everyone values technology differently. You probably buy a cheap Android phone since you can’t justify the cost of iPhone. But to me Apple quality is worth the price.

If there is another $50K EV on the road that can offer more than Model 3, please let me know.

BTW…you sure spend a lot time in this discussion for someone who doesn’t like EVs:wink:

Historically, I’ve bought the flagship android phone and just used it longer than most people. I haven’t bought a phone since the post-paid companies stopped subsidizing new phones with a renewal of a 2 year contract though. I will probably buy a one model year behind flagship phone next go round since I hate paying full retail and have never done so for a new phone. This is FD, a continuation of FWF after all.

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I got to sit in a Model 3 today and play with the controls. It felt very natural. I didn’t really notice how minimal it was, the controls just kind of disappeared and you could focus on looking out the window. I didn’t drive it, so maybe it is different when driving. I expected the AC to be quieter with the different design, but it was about as loud as the AC on my car.

What was more surprising was when I got in my car to drive home. Everything felt much more cluttered and distracting. The effect went away after awhile.

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Apple quality? That explains a lot.

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Lucky you. How did you get a chance to sit inside Model 3?

The Tesla show room near me has a model 3. They had it for the last couple of weeks, but this is the first time I had the chance to visit.

If you have a showroom near you, I assume they have a Model 3 by now.

Also, the sales person at the store said he expected they would finish up with current owners in the next three weeks and start delivering to non-owners. I firmly believe that he has no inside information and was just speculating and we probably are more educated than he is. Companies don’t share this type of information with front line sales until much later. So take it with a very large grain of salt.

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This past Black Friday, T-Mobile has BOGO offer on iPhone 8 plus and Note 8. I wanted to get 2 of iPhone 8 plus but store had only 1 left and I couldn’t take advantage of BOGO promo. So I ended up getting 2 of Note 8. Big mistake. Nothing works consistently on Note 8. When someone sends me a text, audio alert is hit and miss. Face recognition doesn’t work unless in a bright environment. Samsung Mirror app to see mirror image of your phone screen on Samsung HDTV freezes up. Nothing worked consistently on Note 8. I got rid of Note 8 and went back to iPhone. Big difference in user interface. Now I understand why people line for new iPhones but nobody lines up for new Galaxy phones.

If the current owners are finishing up in about 3 weeks, then Tesla’s estimate for March to May delivery may actually be right on time. I better start looking into getting a charger for my upcoming Model 3. I may get a good news by end of March :slight_smile:

This recent article points to the Model 3 as being most in jeopardy from the upcoming tax credit phase out:

The vanishing Tesla tax credit

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Repeat of old news and discussion. Everyone is expecting $7,500 credit good till end of June. If lucky, maybe September.

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I don’t believe Tesla will reach 200,000 US deliveries during the first quarter so the $7,500 tax credit should be good until at least the end of September.

Yep. I test drove a Model S this past weekend. I am leaning a lot further towards a Model S right now. I think that the Model 3 needs to top out closer to $45k, full-loaded, for it to really compete against a Model S in terms of value. You can get a used Model S for around $50K, and right now with the tax credit and the fact that there are more things standard, like AWD and premium pack, the Model S looks like a better buy for folks that would fully-load the 3.

Yes to all of this.

And if you’re in CA the loss of carpool for 3 year old Model S next year will drive those prices even lower.

That would be great news and gmay give me a chance to get AWD with $7,500 tax credit

So can get $7,500 tax credit on used Model S?

Definitely not. It is a used car. But a used Model S for 50K that already has free supercharging… I still view that as a better value than a loaded Model 3 that I can’t get until next year and definitely will not get the tax credit, either.

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