I’m certainly looking forward to the Supercharger V3. Rumors are that it’ll enable 200+ kW charging. Depending on the charge curve, that could give a 10-60% charge for the M3-LR in around 11 minutes.
The Model Y will, according to tweets, not have the Falcon Wing Doors, and have similar styling to the Model 3. Seems pretty much inline with expectations. It also apparently has 75% parts commonality with the 3.
There’s been a ton of backlash on the unexpected price drops on the Model 3 from people who bought them recently, and especially from those who bought the autopilot features.
I kind of get it, but I think of the advice I got when I bought my last few cars: “You thought it was a fair deal when you signed the papers… now avoid any discussion of the price of cars and enjoy your purchase, because you’ll always be pissed off that someone else got a better deal than you.”
On the prediction front, I bet as the advanced cruise control features become more common or even standard on other makes/models, the cost of the basic autopilot for Teslas will probably drop a lot in the next couple of years. For me, there’s no damn way that adaptive cruise control is worth $3k. Maybe in three years, it could cost $750 to activate it, at which point I may consider it.
I’ve not really looked into buying a Tesla, although I like the concept, because I can’t really afford to spent even $35-grand on a vehicle. My brother did buy a model S some years ago (paying cash for it) and is generally happy with it, but various bits keep having to be replaced. For example, he’s on his fourth flat screen panel and he was really happy he got the extended warranty. I just quoted him what the Saturday radio computer-tech guys say, “Pioneers get arrows.”
That’s where I’m at. Maybe I’m extra resistant, having always been close to the computer industry, so that stuff depreciating by 50% a year is the rule rather than the exception.
I think Musk said that early FSD buyers will get early access to various improvements, which seems like a nice low-cost way of throwing a bone to them.
I don’t think test drives are going away completely–Tesla isn’t closing all of their stores. It’s just the buying part that’s moving to 100% online. But they will probably get harder to schedule.
That said, tests drives do seem a bit old fashioned. There’s so much information available now that there really shouldn’t be many surprises after the fact. Also, many of the subjective aspects (engine noise, transmission feel, etc.) are no longer relevant with an EV. The 7-day/1000 mi return policy should help with the comfort level, and Tesla wouldn’t be offering it if they thought many people would be actually doing it (they have a shorter policy now, and it doesn’t seem to be causing much pain).
And as I mentioned, there’s Turo. If you’re the type of person that is really sensitive to subtle aspects of the driving experience, you probably want something longer-term than a test drive anyway. Costs around $100/day around here.
Ha ha. If you’re really close to the computer industry, you know what that statement is code for. “We are going to take our most loyal customers, the ones least likely to complain, and make them beta testers.”
The reason it works is because people like it. Same deal with early access on video games. Yeah, it’s done because it’s free QA. And yet the early access games I’ve played through (Minecraft, Factorio, Kerbal Space Program, Oxygen Not Included) have all been amazing. So it ends up being beneficial for both developers and users.
Like I said, it’s low-cost for Tesla. Maybe even negative cost, depending on how you do the math. And yet people will get some value out of being able to try things earlier than everyone else. So users come away satisfied that they didn’t get completely screwed out of $X and Tesla doesn’t go bankrupt offering retroactive discounts to everyone.
As a more general point, it’s actually kinda nice for there to be a closer connection between developer and user. It makes for a better product in the end even if there is some friction during the development process. The old way of a product being handed down from on high, where the users can take it or leave it, isn’t sustainable any longer.
I’m definitely on side with that concept. If consumers and producers listen to each other the product usually ends up better in the end. The only caveat to that is “The Homer” factor (Early Simpsons reference). As to test drives, my recently purchased Focus ST is the first car I’ve ever bought without test driving one first. I sat in a few, and cars like it and I don’t regret the purchase (although I wish the $35k Model 3s had come out 6 months earlier…). I did have a Focus before so I had an inkling of what I was getting though. About the only benefit that I can see to a test drive is doing one for 3-4 hours to see how you feel in the seat that long or taking one over the weekend. Two of my cars were purchased that way.
There’s always owners whining about this in the forums every time there’s a version out with new/better hardware that they missing out on purchasing by xx days, how it equates to a “slap in the face of a loyal customer”, or some other nonsense.
I like the battery heating program. If you’re headed for a charging station the battery will heat itself to the best charging temperature in anticipation.
Yeah, that’s really great news for people in cold climates. I know that can be a big factor in charge time at sub-freezing temperatures. Not a big deal for us Californians, but EVs need to appeal to everyone.
One other thing that I think Tesla could improve is the way they handle regen loss in cold temps. Currently, they just reduce the amount of regen you get, so that you depend more on the friction brakes. Really, they should regen at the full rate, but put the excess energy into heating the battery. The energy would be lost anyway, so you may as well put it to good use.
People put up money for the privilege of waiting a year for shoddy workmanship in order to be beta testers and you think it’s nonsense for them to expect parity in treatment with new buyers?
No one is talking about quality/workmanship issues in this instance. Those problems should be fixed under warranty, and I can certainly understand someone being very vocal/upset when it isn’t done in a timely matter, or having to put up with it at all, especially if the #of defects are above industry averages.
But every time Tesla does something like increase the max power of the motor by 5%, cut prices , add bolstering to the seating, or add certain features to the Model 3 (like the v3 supercharging) that the older S/X aren’t capable of, you always get people coming out of the woodwork on the forums completely outraged that Tesla made any improvements to the design or the pricing structure whatsover, and how any non-retroactive improvements to later models somehow invalidate their older car.
In some way it’s understandable, given the pricetag and the fact that Tesla doesn’t use model years to segregate all of their design changes, so you could miss out on a new feature by days. But geez, if you were happy when you bought it, and its the same car as what was promised when you bought it, why are you upset when there’s something new out there?
Just a reminder: Model Y unveiling tonight, 8 PM Pacific. Watch the livestream here.
Good chance at a “one more thing,” too, but who knows. Elon’s been talking up the truck a bit–not impossible that we’ll get a glimpse. Or maybe something Roadster related.
The Model Y came in pretty much as expected–basically a Model 3 in a crossover form factor. It looks pretty good, IMO–I still prefer the 3, but compared to the X vs. the S, the Y looks much better in comparison. The X just looks kinda puffy, but the Y actually has decent proportions.
I was surprised at there being a 7-seat model. Beyond that, prices and lineup pretty much match what’s been said. First deliveries in Fall 2020, so there’s still a bit of a wait. Maybe they’re waiting for the Chinese factory to spin up.
Pulled up on the right side of a Model 3 at the light yesterday and I noticed a camera built into the door pillar aimed about 2 o’clock and downward. Did that have something to do with the autonomous driving?
Yes, the cameras are used for autopilot, as well as the lane change/blind spot alert system. The Model 3 has nine cameras total. Three front facing; the two in the B pillars, that you saw; two more in the chrome arrow shaped thing on the front fenders; a backup camera; and an interior selfie camera, which is currently not used for anything.
The eight exterior cameras (though I’m not sure about all of the front cameras) along with the forward facing radar and sonar sensors are used for autopilot, emergency braking, traffic aware cruise control, and proximity alerts.
The front and fender cameras are also used for the dashcam recording feature. Stick a USB drive in and it will continuously record video from these cameras. Hit the onscreen button after an incident and it will save the recordings permanently.
A truck tried to change lanes right into me the other day and the dashcam recorded the whole thing. Fortunately, there was no collision, but if there had been one I’d have his license plate number and video proof of what happened. There’s a side view as well, though you can’t see as much.
Dashcams are pretty common of course, but it’s nice that this is all built in and doesn’t require rewiring or extra blobs of hardware on the windshield.
