# Tesla - Taking the Plunge **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 3, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091 "2016-01-03T20:54:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hayden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/91b2a8/32.png) [@Hayden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hayden)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/41 "2016-01-05T04:13:15Z")
Congrats on the P90D! I checked one out at my local dealer (oops, “store”) and was impressed with many aspects of the car. I’ve been hesitant to be get excited about EVs, but the 90D’s acceleration is ridiculous. If you don’t mind me asking, what Porsche will you be sacrificing on the trade? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/42 "2016-01-05T10:33:02Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > How much does it weigh, and how will it affect your range and handling? [A YouTube video to answer your question about weight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVeMU-o8Lsk). As far as its effects on range and handling, I’d say negligible to none at all, although you should consider that I am speaking with absolutely no first-hand experience in this regard. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/43 "2016-01-05T11:00:36Z")
> [@Hayden](#): > > Congrats on the P90D! I checked one out at my local dealer (oops, “store”) and was impressed with many aspects of the car. I’ve been hesitant to be get excited about EVs, but the 90D’s acceleration is ridiculous. > > If you don’t mind me asking, what Porsche will you be sacrificing on the trade? 2012 Boxster S. This is my second Boxster. My first was a 2004 that I traded in for this one. A lot of people disparage the Boxster but I love it. It is easily mod-able by the owner, is a kick to drive, and turns heads, especially with the hard top. My Boxster is a garage queen and not my daily driver, but my daily driver, a 2011 Honda CRZ, which I am also trading in, is almost as small as the Boxster…I like small cars, which is why the Tesla is going to be such a transition for me. The Model S is huge compared to my current vehicles, and will be the largest car I have ever owned, by far. I keep my Boxster in car show condition and even entered it in Porsche’s Concours d’Elegance two years ago. Nope, didn’t win a thing. 🙂 Tesla gave me better than expected trade-in value for my Boxster, and about what I was expecting for my Honda. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/44 "2016-01-05T11:21:15Z")
A couple of photos of my 2004 Boxster shortly before I traded it in: [Here](http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x363/finkleas/20140503_191833.jpg), [here](http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x363/finkleas/20140503_191807.jpg), and [here](http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x363/finkleas/interior2.jpg). That car was a blast to drive and tinker with. I still miss it. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/45 "2016-01-05T11:46:29Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > A couple of photos of my 2004 Boxster shortly before I traded it in: [Here](http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x363/finkleas/20140503_191833.jpg), [here](http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x363/finkleas/20140503_191807.jpg), and [here](http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x363/finkleas/interior2.jpg). That car was a blast to drive and tinker with. I still miss it. Make that “a few” photos. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/46 "2016-01-07T17:32:01Z")
Guys, I am going back to Tesla this Saturday to speak with my sales advisor so if you have any questions you would like me to ask, post them here. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/47 "2016-01-09T21:50:39Z")
Just got back from my visit to Tesla. I added a center console for the back seats, which provides storage, armrests, and cupholders for back-seat passengers. I Went for another test drive, this time to test the auto-parallel parking feature, which is nothing less than amazing. Today, I received a notification that the latest Tesla software update was deployed. Among all the modifications in the update is a new feature called ‘Summon’, which allows an unmanned Tesla to open the owner’s garage door, drive and park itself in the garage, and then close the garage door. Conversely, it can open the garage door, drive itself out, and then close the garage door behind it…a very cool feature. The update has been out for only a few hours and there are already many YouTube videos on it. Another new feature is the ability for the car to now park itself in a perpendicular parking spot. It is very similar to the auto-parallel parking feature. I cannot wait to receive my Tesla! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/48 "2016-01-10T00:18:54Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So does anyone have experience with a Tesla or another electric car during a cold, snowy winter? One of the nice things about a car with an ICE engine is that there is plenty of heat, so I can be comfortable in shirtsleeves even when it’s twenty below zero out. Presumably in an electric car, you need supplemental heat to be comfortable. Not the tesla, but I drive a cmax energi, which is a plug in hybrid. We drive it in electric mode until the battery runs out, and then it switches to hybrid mode. When in electric mode, it is a little slow to warm up, and I use the seat-warmers. (once in hybrid mode, it has access to the engine’s waste heat, just like any ice.) But the heat is okay, the more serious problem is the hit to the battery range. My car will go about 20 miles on battery in warm weather, but more like 12 when it’s cold. (even if I leave the heat off, which I often do if I started from the garage, and the car wasn’t all that cold to begin with. I tend to run warm, and my winter coat is uncomfortabley warm in heated places. I do use the heat of the car was sitting outdoors, though.) A friend drives a volt, and he says his volt really doesn’t keep him warm when it’s cold out. ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/49 "2016-01-10T03:25:05Z")
That’s the difference a huge battery makes. The Tesla can heat the cabin fast and still have plenty of range. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/50 "2016-01-10T03:40:53Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Not the tesla, but I drive a cmax energi, which is a plug in hybrid. We drive it in electric mode until the battery runs out, and then it switches to hybrid mode. > > When in electric mode, it is a little slow to warm up, and I use the seat-warmers. (once in hybrid mode, it has access to the engine’s waste heat, just like any ice.) But the heat is okay, the more serious problem is the hit to the battery range. My car will go about 20 miles on battery in warm weather, but more like 12 when it’s cold. (even if I leave the heat off, which I often do if I started from the garage, and the car wasn’t all that cold to begin with. I tend to run warm, and my winter coat is uncomfortabley warm in heated places. I do use the heat of the car was sitting outdoors, though.) > > A friend drives a volt, and he says his volt really doesn’t keep him warm when it’s cold out. Speaking of heat, my sales advisor confirmed that the Tesla will heat the vehicle and maintain any temperature I set in any season. The only challenge is heating (or cooling) will give a hit to range even at a standstill, with the largest impact in extreme temperature conditions. I haven’t confirmed the math yet, but my advisor said if it is approximately 35 degrees fahrenheit outside and I maintained a 70 degree temperature in the car for 7 hours (for example if I slept overnight in the car), I would use up between 25 and 30 miles of range. Speaking of sleeping in the Tesla, this would not be a problem, nor is there an advisory against it, as not only can the vehicle maintain a comfortable temperature, there is no concern about carbon monoxide poisoning or oxygen deprivation. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/51 "2016-01-10T03:49:18Z")
> [@zwede](#): > > That’s the difference a huge battery makes. The Tesla can heat the cabin fast and still have plenty of range. Hey **zwede** , have you played around with any of the settings or features from today’s update? I see they nerfed autopilot for local and residential roads, but I don’t consider it a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/52 "2016-01-10T04:01:27Z")
[YouTube video of the brand new perpendicular parking feature](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic8T-kUbaRM). ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/53 "2016-01-10T11:55:21Z")
Here is one of Bjørn Nyland’s videos from a few months ago demonstrating [automatic parallel parking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cz9TBAwKto). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/54 "2016-01-10T13:26:26Z")
Lol, the ad attached to that video was for the BMW i3, a competing electric car. 🙂 My cmax has automatic parking, as do most of the high-end fords these days. As usual, the interface isn’t as nice ss tesla’s. You have to press a button to tell it to look for a parking space, and it tells you “back up slowly”, "drive forward slowly ", instead of just doing it. I assume that’s to control their liability – the car obviously knows what to do, but the driver has to pay attention and is responsible if he smashes into another car. But the cmax controls the steering, and tells you when to go back or forth, and parks much better than I do. ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/55 "2016-01-10T14:56:22Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Hey **zwede** , have you played around with any of the settings or features from today’s update? > > I see they nerfed autopilot for local and residential roads, but I don’t consider it a bad thing. My car is pre-autopilot so it looks like the only thing I got was automatically opening the garage door when I approach. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/56 "2016-01-10T15:04:15Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > … But the cmax controls the steering, and tells you when to go back or forth, and parks much better than I do. My Skoda Yeti has assisted parallel parking in the same fashion as your cmax, and it’s 5 years old. ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/57 "2016-01-10T22:08:58Z")
> [@zwede](#): > > My car is pre-autopilot so it looks like the only thing I got was automatically opening the garage door when I approach. Tried it out today. Works well. After I pull out of the garage the car closes it for me, and when I get back it opens it as I approach. The distance the car has to be when it opens/closes is adjustable. Neat. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/58 "2016-01-10T22:11:27Z")
> [@zwede](#): > > My car is pre-autopilot … Can you retrofit it? Have you looked into how much that costs? ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/59 "2016-01-10T23:54:51Z")
> [@zwede](#): > > My car is pre-autopilot > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Can you retrofit it? Have you looked into how much that costs? I haven’t looked into retrofitting. I’d think if it was even possible it would be more expensive than selling the car and buying one new enough to have the AP hardware. There’s a windshield camera, plus several ultrasonic sensors in both bumpers. I’m sure the wiring harnesses with and without AP are quite different. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091/60 "2016-01-11T04:42:45Z")
Question for you, **zwede** : Are you getting the rated range in your 85+, or at least near it? I know there are circumstances that affect range, such as outside temperature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-taking-the-plunge/742091.md?page=4)