# I guess I won't be buying a Tesla **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 23, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677 "2012-02-23T00:40:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/1 "2012-02-23T00:40:13Z")
… even if I could afford one. Looks like they have a [rather big problem](http://theunderstatement.com/post/18030062041/its-a-brick-tesla-motors-devastating-design). A battery that can’t be recharged from zero charge, costs tens of thousands, and isn’t covered by insurance? :eek: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/2 "2012-02-23T00:50:13Z")
Yeah, I saw that. Quite an expensive and unexpected “brick”! ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/3 "2012-02-23T00:52:51Z")
Isn’t there a simple electrical circuit that could prevent a current drain below a set threshold? “The parasitic load from the car’s always-on subsystems continually drains the battery…” That wouldn’t protect against long-term self discharge, but it could give the owner a little more time to react. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/4 "2012-02-23T01:59:45Z")
Good lord. That’s way worse than I’d read. In my lottery-winning dreams, I would have gotten a Tesla… now I’m not so sure/ ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/5 "2012-02-23T02:49:21Z")
I’m a little shocked that the car’s “always-on subsystems” take so much current that an owner could have accidentally “bricked” his car by simply leaving it plugged in through a 100 foot extension cord. I know that those cords reduce your available current, and probably the guy used a cheap electrical cord with thin-gauge wire, but surely those subsystems can’t take more than forty or fifty watts when the car’s off, right? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/6 "2012-02-23T03:42:53Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Isn’t there a simple electrical circuit that could prevent a current drain below a set threshold? “The parasitic load from the car’s always-on subsystems continually drains the battery…” That wouldn’t protect against long-term self discharge, but it could give the owner a little more time to react. imagine the car sitting in the garage while owner is on vacation. At least they should program in some kind of suicide note so the owner knows what happened. This is, BTW, why I use Ni-Cads in my power tools. I don’t want to babysit them between use. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/7 "2012-02-23T16:38:36Z")
My car lets me know when I am low on gas (lights up “low fuel”) so I have to assume the Tesla has such a feature when it is low on battery. Maybe create an app for your phone that will let you know when it is down to 10% and call you non-stop to let you know? That way, if your power cord is unplugged or not working correctly, you will know before it is too late? Or at least you could call home have your butler go out and plug it in? You would also think they would have a secret button to disable the battery completely to at least get the car to be pushed onto a tow truck. I just find it sort of amazing/stupid that they couldn’t come up with a crisis option on a car that costs that much. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/8 "2012-02-23T17:18:58Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > I’m a little shocked that the car’s “always-on subsystems” take so much current that an owner could have accidentally “bricked” his car by simply leaving it plugged in through a 100 foot extension cord. I know that those cords reduce your available current, and probably the guy used a cheap electrical cord with thin-gauge wire, but surely those subsystems can’t take more than forty or fifty watts when the car’s off, right? the average conventional car uses a handful of milliamps when off (after the bus goes to sleep.) I can’t imagine the Tesla takes that much more, unless they went under the assumption that it’d “always” be plugged in when not in use, and accepted a higher key-off current draw. if they did, then, wow. > [@DMark](#): > > You would also think they would have a secret button to disable the battery completely to at least get the car to be pushed onto a tow truck. I think it’s more that battery power needs to be _present_ in order for the car to be taken out of Park. Probably a solenoid of some type. > [@](#): > > I just find it sort of amazing/stupid that they couldn’t come up with a crisis option on a car that costs that much. I know the hybrids I’ve encountered have a contactor/disconnect for the traction battery to protect repair and rescue workers. I’d have to assume the Tesla has one as well; seems like they’d recommend opening the disconnect if the car is to be left sitting for an extended time. ‘course that wouldn’t stop the cells’ own self-discharge, but I don’t remember how long that is for a Li-ion cell. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/9 "2012-02-23T17:28:49Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > I’m a little shocked that the car’s “always-on subsystems” take so much current that an owner could have accidentally “bricked” his car by simply leaving it plugged in through a 100 foot extension cord. I know that those cords reduce your available current, and probably the guy used a cheap electrical cord with thin-gauge wire, but surely those subsystems can’t take more than forty or fifty watts when the car’s off, right? Just a WAG but perhaps the charging circuitry won’t kick on unless the input voltage is above some threshold not too far below 120V and the long extension cord caused too much of a drop. Otherwise, yeah, it seems hard to believe that it wouldn’t provide enough power to keep things running. But then it is also hard to believe that there isn’t some battery protection circuitry that would disconnect the batteries once some lower limit is reached, so who knows? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/10 "2012-02-23T17:32:11Z")
That is a pretty bad problem, but lets put it into perspective here: who buys an electric car and doesn’t plug it in for SIX WEEKS? Its in the language of the paperwork, and I am sure that Tesla salespeople warn potential buyers in some way or another about keeping the car charged. I agree that its a pretty egregious flaw though. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/11 "2012-02-23T17:42:50Z")
Not that it isn’t a problem for Tesla specifically, but I see this as being indicative of how much batteries in general suck. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/12 "2012-02-23T17:43:57Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Not that it isn’t a problem for Tesla specifically, but I see this as being indicative of how much batteries in general suck. 🙂 See what you did there! ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/13 "2012-02-23T17:44:08Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > That is a pretty bad problem, but lets put it into perspective here: who buys an electric car and doesn’t plug it in for SIX WEEKS? I have a truck I rarely use that might not visit a gas station for six weeks or more. Why should an electric car be any different? I know people who have (gasoline) cars stored for long periods of time when they are out of town, usually over the winter. They have someone check the battery or start it up once in a while, but the worst thing that happens if they don’t is the battery needs charging for a few hours. It doesn’t become a $40,000 brick. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/14 "2012-02-23T17:46:46Z")
I am just devastated. The Roadster (And later the “X”) has been my dream-car for years. There has to be some way to re-route power to the car long enough to put it into “Tow” mode at least. Even a standard “Jump-start” conenction should be enough to accomplish that. My cell phone can turn itself off when the battery gets to a certain point, and even keeps enough “invisible” power available that I could call “911” and display my location if needed. I find it difficult to believe that these “Always-on” subsystems couldn’t be programmed in the same manner. If nothing else, they could make it automatically flip into “Tow” mode with the last few drops of juice. Also, the idea that the “always-on” subsystems can out-strip the amount of power continuously provided by it’s being plugged in via extension cord is ridiculous. This implies that the only way to re-charge the car is to be in a purpose-built charging bay. Not at all realistic. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/15 "2012-02-23T18:17:04Z")
Drill, Baby! Drill! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/16 "2012-02-23T18:32:31Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Also, the idea that the “always-on” subsystems can out-strip the amount of power continuously provided by it’s being plugged in via extension cord is ridiculous. This implies that the only way to re-charge the car is to be in a purpose-built charging bay. Not at all realistic. > > ☹ That to me is the most baffling thing. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/17 "2012-02-23T18:45:35Z")
[This guy says](http://www.itworld.com/it-managementstrategy/252452/false-scare-tesla) the other guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. > [@](#): > > Here’s the primary fact that the blogger in question doesn’t understand: the Tesla battery pack is not a battery. It’s a collection of more than 8,000 individual batteries. Each of those cells is independently managed. So there’s only two ways for the entire battery pack to fail. The first is if all 8,000 cells individually fail (highly unlikely except in the case of something catastrophic like a fire). The second failure mechanism is if the battery management system tells the pack to shut down because it has detected a dangerous situation, such as an extremely low depth of discharge. If that’s the case, all that needs to be done is to tow the vehicle to a charger, recharge the batteries and then reboot the battery management system. This is the most likely explanation for the five “bricks” that the blogger claims to have heard about. They probably aren’t actually bricks, but cars in need of servicing. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/18 "2012-02-23T19:03:52Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > [This guy says](http://www.itworld.com/it-managementstrategy/252452/false-scare-tesla) the other guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Wow, that’s…odd. Now we don’t know who’s telling the truth, and moreover, whether or not we can all go out and safely get our Teslas! I was going to go get one today! ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/19 "2012-02-23T19:35:45Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > [This guy says](http://www.itworld.com/it-managementstrategy/252452/false-scare-tesla) the other guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. That’s nice, but he doesn’t address whether or not the 5 cars actually required a $40,000 repair, and if so, why. Saying “that event couldn’t have happened for the reasons he explained” is a far cry from saying “that event did not happen.” If there’s any way to get your car to where it requires $40k in repair through nothing but benign neglect, then the manufacturer really needs to make that frighteningly clear up front. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677/20 "2012-02-23T19:53:59Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > [This guy says](http://www.itworld.com/it-managementstrategy/252452/false-scare-tesla) the other guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The comments indicate that it’s Mr Jaffe who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-i-wont-be-buying-a-tesla/613677.md?page=2)