[I.Greyhound Fan]

Here in MN if you charge after 9pm, I believe it is 3 cents a kw/hr, which is down from 14 cents.

[WGH]

We went with a Subaru outback. When my second car dies we will be buying electric for sure. The battery Tech is moving very fast, the battery range is getting very good.

I'm still happily driving my '77 Jeep Wagoneer, which I get thumbs up from strangers a couple times a week (that never happens to Prius drivers) but it is 40 years old. The 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid (plug-in) looks interesting for a 2nd car and probably 1/2 the price of the Tesla 3.

[avahifi]

The new Teslas I saw at the Tesla store (kinda like an Apple store but much bigger) all appeared just fine but I did not make a close inspection of any other than the one I drove.

Warranty is 4 years and 50K miles on all the routine stuff, 8 years, unlimited miles on the drive train and batteries.  Some worry about battery replacement costs, but their efficiency and cost should go way down during this time.

Note the Tesla gets routine software upgrades improving functions and features as time goes on, directly thru your wifi network.

Frank

[jhm731]

My golfing buddy finally got his 3.

His $1K deposit on a $35K car turned into a $55K(less tax) car delivered on Maui.

I like the 3 better than the S I drove, but it's still not as comfortable as my Honda Accord, especially in the back seat.

He has solar, so maybe it will be a good investment.

For $55K, I'd rather have a new Honda or Toyota sedan and a truck.

[rlee8394]

Asghar,

My roof will be a 13.2 kw system. Maryland has net metering and the three Powerwalls will indeed allow me to use solar generated electricity on a daily basis. Just switched power company with a 7.19 cents per kw/hr for the next 36 months.
Sounds like your system wasn't properly designed for your adjusted annual usage of electricity. 7.1 kw system seems a bit small for a typical household.

Ron

[jhm731]

Ron,

"7.19 cents per kw/h," you're a lucky man.

On my last bill the rate was 36 cents per kw/h.

[WGH]

we charge my Sons Leaf after 11 PM but I notice that the Bill goes up not down its 3.5 hours to charge and I approximate it to be about $ 3 to $ 10 a night

What? I drive every day and don't put $70 a week into my old Jeep. Exactly how much coal does it take to charge a Leaf? It is sort of like my Dynabrade random orbit sander I use at work, light and powerful (like a Tesla) but the compressor that runs it has a 5 hp motor that runs constantly.

The average high temperature in Tucson was 103 degrees last month and my average daily cost on the electric bill was $3.79 (0.15/kWh). The winter bill is $1.40 per day. No solar, all on the grid.
How much would an electric or hybrid add to my bill?

[FullRangeMan]

Iam appalled by the enthusiasm for these battery powered cars, for China to produce an automotive battery it is necessary to ship chemicals from the four corners of the world to them.

The process of producing automotive batteries is very toxic and extremely polluting the environment, as this environment is in China the friendly media press never mention it.

[A_shah]

My Solar rate is 11.3 cents for tier1 usage, 
@ ron,
13. 2 KW  is a pretty large system ! I don't know anyone in my neighbour hood that has such a large system my house is 2750 Sq feet  and Solar city wanted to keep the system to 6.4 KVA so we choice SunRun(Sungevity) for 7.1 system with a power purchase agreement with option to buy in 5 years
@WGH
That is the point I am trying to make their is a lot of hype and finagling of numbers when it comes to solar power companies Yup charging the Leaf burns more coal and is  less environmentally  friendly than a ICE Vehicle, but than we live in California with all these incentives and rebates and Wind power  in San Joaquin county and high taxes so might as well take advantage of Solar and Electric car .
The nice thing about T-3 is that it is lighter than model S and has a pretty good ride like a Lexus So at $ 58 K it will cost me less $ 7500 for Federal Tax Credit and $ 7k as rebates go figure what my final cost is going to be depreciated over an 8 year period of course one is stuck with high monthly payments for 72 months   

Asghar

[soundofrockets]

Asghar - does SJ county has additional rebates for EVs?

[Tone Depth]

I could be interested in AVA DAC OTA software upgrades...

Note the Tesla gets routine software upgrades improving functions and features as time goes on, directly thru your wifi network.

[A_shah]

Asghar - does SJ county has additional rebates for EVs?

Yes it does you can go on their website and check out all the rebates for Clean air Vehicle
https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng

Asghar

[soundofrockets]

Thanks for the link.  Is it income related or simply applicable for everybody?  Is it different than the CA state rebate ?  Seems like T3 has rebate of $2500. 

[A_shah]

Thanks for the link.  Is it income related or simply applicable for everybody?  Is it different than the CA state rebate ?  Seems like T3 has rebate of $2500.

I don't know if it is income related but it is 2500 plus 4000 at least that is what my college going son got on his Leaf in 2016

[OzarkTom]

An African, has Invented a car that never needs charging. He will have a hard time getting this one on the market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viGjXV38qvY

[ohenry]

Iam appalled by the enthusiasm for these battery powered cars, for China to produce an automotive battery it is necessary to ship chemicals from the four corners of the world to them.

The process of producing automotive batteries is very toxic and extremely polluting the environment, as this environment is in China the friendly media press never mention it.

Not to mention tax breaks for the well-healed while the infrastructure crumbles and people go hungry.  Elon smiles...

[sts9fan]

No one brought up the price of this marvel, or government "credits" or incentives for buying one. BTW, the use of highly corrosive salt in Minnesota will take its toll on any machine in Minnesota. I also understand the University of Minnesota did a study on electric cars and found that they actually pollute more then regular, gas powered machines. The reasons were that most of the power in the Minnesota area was generated by fossil fuels, and the construction of the batteries was an environmental nightmare.

Links this data please.
Regardless power plants are more efficient then ICE.

I’m a EV lover. I acknowledge that battery production at this time is a disatvantage. Do you expect the technology to wait until a battery can be made pollution free and get 100 miles per charge? Serious question, how would you want new better technology rolled out?
The joy of driving an EV is very high. Do not discount how nice it is to never go to a gas station. Full every morning. So quite and smooth.
I own two Bolts and love it.  You don’t have to own an EV to save the world. They are just better.

[sts9fan]

Ron,

"7.19 cents per kw/h," you're a lucky man.

On my last bill the rate was 36 cents per kw/h.

Those seem crazy high and low.
I pay $0.19 delivered

[DaveC113]

No one brought up the price of this marvel, or government "credits" or incentives for buying one. BTW, the use of highly corrosive salt in Minnesota will take its toll on any machine in Minnesota. I also understand the University of Minnesota did a study on electric cars and found that they actually pollute more then regular, gas powered machines. The reasons were that most of the power in the Minnesota area was generated by fossil fuels, and the construction of the batteries was an environmental nightmare.

Yup! How does it make sense to burn fossil fuel to produce electricity, then use that electricity to charge a battery to power a car rather than burn the fossil fuel in the car? Combined with the environmental catastrophe required to obtain the materials to manufacture the batteries and motors and this is a really bad idea. The only thing that makes sense is using power at night to charge the cars while there is a production surplus, but this depends on where you're located and there is only so much surplus anyways.

EVs are the car of the future... no doubt... but they are not a good solution for right now imo. We need to advance past fossil fuel for electricity generation and come up with better battery tech for this to really work out. 

Meanwhile Tesla vehicles are a way for rich folks to feel better about their lifestyle... with the government chipping in to help them pay for their expensive luxury car... but the truth is they are deluding themselves. If you want to conserve resources buy something like a Honda Fit. 

[JLM]

Making sense of EV's requires a review of the total cradle to grave economic and environmental analysis that includes production/disposal of batteries, generation/distribution of electricity, and maintenance of the above technologies versus drilling/refining/distribution of liquid fossil fuels and maintenance of those technologies.  Batteries have horrible impacts on the environment to produce/dispose of.  Coal/oil is filthy to mine/drill, then must be shipped, requiring more oil.  2/3rds of electricity generated is lost in distribution due to resistance.  EV's are expensive, have a short range, and take a long time to recharge.  So neither option is a clear winner from an economic or environmental stand point. 

The ideal solution is to stay at home and source locally.  Use locally based solar to generate hydrogen (store at home in propane tanks for home/automotive use) once fuel cells have been made practical.