And in case it still isn’t obvious–does anyone really think that no executive at Chrysler has said Fuck! This stupid cruise control recall is going to cost us like a billion dollars and months of bad press, while fuckin’ Tesla pushed out an update in a week for like a grand in cell phone fees. Why can’t we do that?
Of course they’re talking about this, but they’re years behind in their ability to do so.
And in the wholesome Tesla news department:
My parents had a big Memorial Day party, at which we had a mini “car show”. I brought my Model 3 of course. Lots of people were interested, but the most interested was a ~10 year old kid who somehow knew everything about Tesla but hadn’t actually been inside one! Of course I gave him the full tour, put him in the driver’s seat and let him play with all the controls. Super-excited. Found out later that he wanted to be an automotive engineer. I hope I gave him a little further nudge in that direction–though I doubt he needed it!
Teslas are a dime-a-dozen in the Bay Area but even a short drive off they’re a lot less common. And to the adults, I hope I dispelled a few myths about them. There’s still lots of misinformation out there about really basic stuff, like range and the cost of charging. The more EVs are out there, the better picture people will have of them. Not just Tesla, of course, but all EVs.
I’ve decided to put a deposit down for a Model 3. My lease expires next summer, so I figure that it’s better to get in line now for a base model, and decide later if I want to go with the Model 3, or choose another option in a little over a year. My guess is that it will be Model 3 vs Bolt, and I’m not sure which one I’d choose. I’m curious about the other cars that may be coming soon – like the Kona and 2019 upgraded Leaf, and maybe even the Niro – but I’m not quite as sold on those yet.
It seems like they’ve already made several changes to the vehicle from some of the earlier VINs to address feedback- they’ve lowered the tire pressure, modified the spring and dampener, modified the front seats, changed the rear seats to provide more thigh support (I’ve seen reports of an increased height of~2"), and changed the front glass sealing for wind noise. I’m happy that all of these seem to be present on my car, but yeah, kinda sucks for the early adopters/beta testers.
Nice! One of us. One of us. If you need a referral code for an X or S, let me know 
Great! Just send me your address and I’ll mail the complimentary Cult of Elon indoctrination booklet, the desktop shrine, and reality distortion sunglasses. We’ll get you on board in no time!
I think the tire pressure thing wasn’t a production change; just a suggestion that one can trade off noise/ride with efficiency. Reducing pressure from 45 to 39 is safe and gives a better ride at the expense of a tiny amount of range.
I know I have the older front seats–not sure about the rear yet. I know I have the new suspension, though, as they made that change pretty early on.
Ze Germans did a teardown of a Model 3 LR and had some interesting findings:
A Redditor with access to the full article had some additional notes:
All in all, it sounds very good for Tesla if they can continue ramping up production.
My doorjamb says 42psi - I assumed this had been changed from 45psi.
I’ve seen some indications that they’ve changed both the springs and the dampers- the springs were early-on, but idk.
What’s an aero?
What effect, other than cost savings on a $40/lb material, does reducing the cobalt have?
This. Cobalt supply may be the rate limiting step if EVs really take off.
Are you kidding? It costs a fortune to buy up all those Chevies, grind them into a paste, and put them into your batteries!
Not sure. Might be referring to body panels.
DSeid’s article was reasonable. But in summary, it’s protection against an expected future spike in price due to demand.
Cobalt has problems with regard to mining. Most of it comes from the Congo. Purchasers (Tesla, etc.) are under pressure to only purchase from “ethical” sources–that is, ones with a documented supply chain showing that it came from sources that don’t employ children, have reasonable safety standards, etc. Unfortunately, there are still a number of “artisanal” mines with no regulatory oversight.
All of this constrains the supply. There’s the prospect of opening new mines in Canada and elsewhere, but it’s slow going.
All current high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries use cobalt. It may be that there are chemistries which don’t need it–Tesla thinks that’s a possibility. But even if not, reducing cobalt use is a big competitive advantage.
People don’t want to wait or bad reviews?
23% doesn’t seem that bad, all things considered. If Tesla can maintain even a 50% conversion rate I think they’ll be doing well. Note that they haven’t stopped taking new reservations.
One thing you can read directly from the chart: not a small number of lost reservations are from upconversions to Model S and X. The green line was already significant by July 2017, and those must have been entirely S/X.
Probably a fair number are “reserved two, cancelled one” from people that thought they might have had some small chance at buying two, but decided against it. A refundable $1000 isn’t going to break the bank for most customers. I’ll bet they can figure that out from their data.
I’d cancel mine if there was something else out there I wanted. I’m looking for an all electric based on a sports sedan not an economy car. If all I cared about was livable electric transportation for $30-40k, I’d have cancelled for a Bolt 4 months ago. If all I cared about was a sports sedan I’d have canceled for a used S4 (or whatever).
My guess is that the non S/X conversions are canceling after three delays of the base model. I’m nursing along a 135k VW, but if I had a lease that was expiring I’d be forced to cancel.
This story cracks me up:
I’m waiting for the fanbois to post about how they will never buy a car or EV that doesn’t have their own dedicated nationwide network of squeegees!
I wonder where you’re finding all these people that would only accept Superchargers and nothing else. I lurk on several Tesla forums and I don’t really see these people. There are a few whose needs essentially require it, of course–they do a lot of long distance driving for their job, for instance–but most seem to have a realistic view. I don’t think I’ve ever said Supercharging was an absolute requirement for me, though it was certainly a tick in Tesla’s favor.
Really it’s the non-enthusiasts (Tesla “haters” or otherwise) that seem to have the least realistic view regarding fast charging. As has come up several times in this thread, charging on the road just isn’t frequent enough for most people that fast charging is more than a nice-to-have feature.
I only used gas station squeegees when I was truly desperate. Unless the windshield is truly filthy, it’s almost certain to make it less clean.
Tesla shareholder meeting today. Some notes here.
They say all Model 3 lines are demonstrating 500 car/day output. That’s not the same as a sustained 3,500/wk, but it sounds pretty good. They claim they’re still on track for 5,000/wk at the end of the month.
They’re the best-selling midsize premium sedan in the US, ahead of Mercedes C-class, Audi A4, BMW 3-series, and Lexus IS. ~30% market share in May.
Still expecting positive cash flow in Q3/Q4. They were kinda specific–I wonder if this means they plan on having a couple of profitable quarters, and then go CapEx heavy again when they start investing in Model Y. Would be a nice “hey, we can make money” demo if they can pull it off, even if it’s only temporary.
Musk stays as chairman of the board. Some moron with 12 shares managed to bring it to a vote (i.e., does Tesla kick Musk and a few others off the board), and failed miserably.
You know, in some places it is unheard of for a CEO to also be chairman of the board. Just saying.