Teslas

These are still a very rare sight in the UK but in the last 3 days I have seen 3 of them in Central Scotland. I was lucky enough to be able to get a look inside an S. It would suit my needs really well and there is a 4WD version on the way. Yes they are expensive and certainly in Scotland Tesla charging points are very few and far between. I was most impressed by the quality and finish of the interior - certainly well above the expectations I have of the run of the mill cars built in the USA which are usually pretty low unless they are built by BMW (in South Carolina) or a Japanese company. Pity that I ahve to go to London to get a test drive of one as there is no Tesla outlet in Scotland.

here in the states tesla has set up showrooms in malls all around the country. they're selling direct in most states. they keep a few cars in the mall's parking garage for test drives.

they do their showrooms up nicely.

doody.

(28-10-2014 10:11am)XFullFatTim Wrote:  These are still a very rare sight in the UK but in the last 3 days I have seen 3 of them in Central Scotland. I was lucky enough to be able to get a look inside an S. It would suit my needs really well and there is a 4WD version on the way. Yes they are expensive and certainly in Scotland Tesla charging points are very few and far between. I was most impressed by the quality and finish of the interior - certainly well above the expectations I have of the run of the mill cars built in the USA which are usually pretty low unless they are built by BMW (in South Carolina) or a Japanese company. Pity that I ahve to go to London to get a test drive of one as there is no Tesla outlet in Scotland.

They are all over Norway, and you get (free) charging points everywhere, plus preferential free parking also with free charging.

Amsterdam Airport has a taxi fleet of 167 Teslas.

The UK's only outlet for them is in a shopping mall in west London, charging is the same in the UK, my local NCP has 6 charging slots that will take all the other brands but don't appear to be Tesla rapid chargers. It is interesting that they are so popular in Norway - my main concern about owning a range extender EV isn't the range but how well they hold charge in the winter when the temperatures plummet well below zero and if cold weather seriously reduces range. Mind you today and yesterday's travels for me totalling 500 miles would have meant finding a hotel with a suitable charging point to charge it overnight. The nation hotel chains should think about having them installed on their sites

I've been looking at Teslas as well.

The P85+ D, AWD, with close to 700bhp is a gem.

Add to that the fact that Tesla Superchargers will give you free charges 80% in 40 mins is amazing.

Also, UK Tesla owners have come up with a home charging sharing club.

This car is unique and will revolutionise the way we look at electric cars.

I see that there is now a Model X SUV (about as versatile offroad as an Audi TT as it hasn't much more ground clearance than a saloon car) and that is the one that appeals to me. I've sent Tesla an email with a load of questions I need to have answers to like
How does cold weather effect the batteries, if left parked for a long time does the battery loose charge or need to be kept hooked up to a trickle charger, when will the modelX come to the UK............... having just had 32 solar panels put up on the house roof can I recharge on sunshine!

(28-10-2014 06:10pm)XFullFatTim Wrote:  The UK's only outlet for them is in a shopping mall in west London, charging is the same in the UK, my local NCP has 6 charging slots that will take all the other brands but don't appear to be Tesla rapid chargers. It is interesting that they are so popular in Norway - my main concern about owning a range extender EV isn't the range but how well they hold charge in the winter when the temperatures plummet well below zero and if cold weather seriously reduces range. Mind you today and yesterday's travels for me totalling 500 miles would have meant finding a hotel with a suitable charging point to charge it overnight. The nation hotel chains should think about having them installed on their sites

It certainly gets cold in Norway and no-one seems to have any problems, plus most people don't garage their cars. As regards 'topping up', because so may dedicated parking spots have chargers, you routinely see them being charged when presumably not urgently needing it, so maybe that gets round the trickle-charge problem. They really get a good deal, and many Norwegians complain that the perks for electric car owners are getting out of hand - there is pressure now from some quarters to limit these.

What surprises me is how sleek and sporty the Teslas are, sometimes quite out of place in the environment they operate. It puzzles me why there aren't more utilitarian versions appearing on the streets - so many identical Teslas also gets a bit 'samey'!

I like the idea of having chargers at hotels - for the cost involved, that could be a winner in attracting customers to the hotel.

Tim, there are loads of videos out there of Teslas in varying road conditions.

The batteries seem to be very good.

Also they are developing the battery pack removal/swap. Takes about 90 seconds, drive in, stop, battery pack un bolted from the underside of the car and removed, fully charged pack slides into place and re fitted. Very quick, very clever.

I had a missed call and an email from Tesla today while I was in a meeting, they will be calling me back tomorrow