As the title suggests. Firstly, I do love the plethora of features of a Tesla as well as the smooth and fun driving experience. However, for my usage, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. My M3 does not have the LFP battery, which means I can only charge it up to 80% for daily driving. In the winters, the battery drain is horrible. It’s taxing having to ensure you car stays between 20% and 80% when it’s cold winter and you don’t have a home charger. Road trips are another burden - I’ve realized that a long road trip with an EV means losing a minimum of 2 hours. Road trips with an EV is an absolute nightmare in the winter, and good luck if you happen to be stuck in traffic. I’m positive that EV infrastructure is going to get better, and so is EV battery technology. With other issues such as battery degradation, higher insurance costs, as well as repair costs, an EV is still not convincing enough to switch from a gas car for most people. I would love to hear about experiences about people here who have switched back to gas or are considering it!
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I’ve realized that a long road trip with an EV means losing a minimum of 2 hours. Road trips with an EV is an absolute nightmare in the winter, and good luck if you happen to be stuck in traffic
Others might realize you probably never owned an EV, much less a Tesla.
First tell is that EV’s stuck cold Winter traffic do better than ICE vehicles on energy usage and risk of running out of energy/gasoline.
Second tell is that with Tesla’s SC network, 2 hours is 2,000 miles…a very long road trip and you’d lose 1 hour on gassing rest stops vs. 2 hours for charging rest stops on a 2,000 mile trip so it means losing a maximum of 1 hour on a 2,000 mile round trip.
And the point of driving EV’s is not saving an hour on once a year 2,000 mile trips. It’s not putting 1,521 pounds of planet killing emissions into the air on 2,000 mile trips.
“… and good luck if you happen to be stuck in traffic.”
This statement alone makes me think this is a troll and you don’t have an EV. Unlike an ICE, if you are stuck in traffic there is no idling and power is not consumed beyond trivial incidentals. This would be like suggesting ICE vehicles run out of gas if parked too long.
There are other troll indicators as well but this is the one that jumped out.
I was saying that in reference to being on a road trip with less charge. Often times, Tesla shows that by the time I reach a supercharger I will have 15-20%, which tends to be incorrect in colder weather.
I use my wife’s Subaru for road trips but honestly if it came to it I’d rent a car like I did when I needed a pickup for a weekend. I have no idea how much road tripping you so but if it’s like once a year that would be cheaper than buying a new vehicle by far
I have owned 3 Teslas over 7 years. They are good enough for us but I feel OPs pain. Degradation of our 21 MY is a real 11%, the 80% limit tor daily driving is a recent Tesla annoyance and I have seen over 40% loss of range in mildly cold weather. Definitely the Tesla range estimate is not accurate especially in the cold. 900 mile trip last year required 7 stops and almost 3 hours of charging. I am an EV evangelist but I always warn people long trips will take longer. To be happy with an EV you need to be prepared to accept some amount of inconvenience.
Finally someone who actually acknowledges what I’ve said! I’m not a car geek, but I do know my car pretty well. The 10% degradation in cold weather has absolutely killed my range - which would’ve been manageable if I atleast had a home charger. I would never recommend anyone to get an EV without a home charger (not even if they had one nearby!). Range anxiety is absolutely real
How long are your roadtrips ?
I’ve been roadtripping mine for over 5 years without a problem. Overhead is a little under an hour on a 9 hour trip but honestly, I’d probably take 30min overall with gas anyway. I’m surprised to see a model 3 owner make the switch.
An ICE vehicle would need to get 70MPG to match the CO2 emissions of a EV. But an EV requires more CO2 to produce than an ICE vehicle so thats brings us down to maybe 60MPG for an ICE. Seems like the 60MPG is a a reachable target and wouldn’t require turning the planet upside down to convert us to a technology that we’re not even sure will be more sustainable in the log run.
I know few friends go 2nd car for long distance. But with $7500 rebate EVs are cheaper than gas vehicles. Tesla is going to reduce rebate to $3750 starting January 2024?, Just read medium article check out here. Not sure why? Also depends on situation, i have few friends just became parents and got minivan.