General vehicle thread

[Gman]

I still don't get how they cleared their backlog so that I can get a Tesla in 2 weeks??

Sales are down in China with the impact of the tariffs and a number of folks cancelled their deposits when the subsidies were reduced.

I think a number of folks were hoping to get a $35K Tesla with a bunch of further discounts.

[Jer]

I went to the Home and Garden Show last week.
The Tesla 3 was being displayed.
I asked about delivery time and was told if I ordered today, I would have it by the end of this February.
What?
We talked tax credits, charging stations - they own Solar City and turned me over to a rep of Solar City to tell me about adding solar to my house and include a charging station.
They haven't made a combination offer yet, but they are working on it.
I still don't get how they cleared their backlog so that I can get a Tesla in 2 weeks??

The lead time on new Teslas has been greatly over-hyped. Last I saw they were producing 7k Model 3's per month alone and are laying off production staff to let the automation process do what it was designed to do. Higher quality, faster production and fewer human hands... it's a win win but if you listen the MSM the sky is falling. GM lays people off to bolster profit margin and the MSM claims it's a good move and the stock goes up. Tesla does it, the MSM claims they're going to fold up shop and go away and the stock goes down. Makes no sense.

FWIW, even during the time (November-ish) they were still trying to ramp up production and in "production hell" as the saying goes my wife's boss ordered a Model 3 on a Friday and took delivery of his new car on the following Monday. No exaggeration. Now, if only they could get the title work to buyers and customer service in timely manner they'd be awesome. It's not all roses but they've acknowledged the deficiency and have committed to addressing it. We shall see....

[Jer]

Sales are down in China with the impact of the tariffs and a number of folks cancelled their deposits when the subsidies were reduced.

I think a number of folks were hoping to get a $35K Tesla with a bunch of further discounts.

This was the plan all along with the Model 3 and it will still happen this year (most likely... the China factory coming online will go a long way in being able to reduce costs) but those who thought a $35k Model 3 out-of-the-gate would be a thing haven't paid too much attention to the Tesla business model which has been very smart to this point. Rather than follow the previous new car business model deployed by the likes of Honda, Toyota and more recently Kia and Hyundai of "make a cheap turd, bank capital and then work like mad to try to turn your image into something of quality or even luxury" they decided to go with "start at the top of the cost food chain, sell expensive sports/lux cars to maximize profit from the rich early adopters to build cash flow and experience to streamline the process of building more affordable and mass production cars with narrow margins later" and has shown that model to be quite attainable with the right product.

I too had my eye on a $35k car I could get $12,500 tax credits (fed & state) making it a helluva sweet deal on a very nice EV but that didn't happen. The fed credit went down only by $3,750 and Tesla reduced their MSRP across the board $2k to help level out the difference. This pissed a lot of current Model 3 owners off but who cares? They were early adopters and that's the price you pay to be the first on your block to have one. Personally, I didn't value that enough to pay a premium so I was content to sit on the sideline and watch it unfold. We bought a couple of used Model S cars instead and I couldn't be happier with my decision.

[BladesNBarrels]

We bought a couple of used Model S cars instead and I couldn't be happier with my decision.

How do you handle the charging?
My neighbor was an early buyer and he built his own charging station in the garage.
Later, he added solar to his house with Sun City, but that was before they were bought by Tesla and he did not get a charging station included. His power goes out with no back-up, just like regular grid users.
I was impressed by Solar City's new approach - they were commenting that Mr. Musk's first passion was to convert the world to alternate energy and solar is part of that plan.
Now Solar City has storage panels for the solar energy it produces, so that you still have power and it switches faster than your clocks and computers can shut down.
They wouldn't give a cost estimate until you set an appointment to have their technicians come out and evaluate your needs - not even ballpark.

[Gman]

Tesla has had a "Powerwall" for a while. It has only been available in limited markets at introduction. Since Tesla owns Solar City, that's likely the storage you're referring to.

Solar installers are struggling to find Tesla Powerwall battery systems

There’s plenty of demand for Tesla Inc.’s Powerwall home battery systems. The trick is finding installers that have them.

Only 12% of U.S. companies that install solar panels and residential batteries carry the Powerwall, a study Tuesday from Boston-based EnergySage and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners found. Meanwhile, about 55% of customers shopping for home-storage systems want them, according to the 871 installers surveyed in the report.

“Installers have indicated their frustration that the most popular battery is not available,” said Vikram Aggarwal, chief executive of EnergySage, an Energy Department-backed company that collects data on the solar industry and runs a website where customers can solicit quotes from solar installers.

Tesla declined to comment. One reason independent installers who participated in the survey may have a hard time finding Powerwalls is that Tesla shifted its strategy last year to sell most of its systems through its website and stores rather than third-party channels.

Another reason is the company converted some production lines for home- and business-storage systems to produce vehicle batteries instead. “Otherwise we would have done quite a bit more in stationary storage,” Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a call with analysts last month. Tesla plans to double its energy storage installations this year, to more than 2 gigawatt-hours.

“Customers want brands they recognize, from manufacturers who have produced their television, fridge or car,” Hugh Bromley, an analyst at BloombergNEF, said in an interview.

[Jer]

How do you handle the charging?
My neighbor was an early buyer and he built his own charging station in the garage.
Later, he added solar to his house with Sun City, but that was before they were bought by Tesla and he did not get a charging station included. His power goes out with no back-up, just like regular grid users.
I was impressed by Solar City's new approach - they were commenting that Mr. Musk's first passion was to convert the world to alternate energy and solar is part of that plan.
Now Solar City has storage panels for the solar energy it produces, so that you still have power and it switches faster than your clocks and computers can shut down.
They wouldn't give a cost estimate until you set an appointment to have their technicians come out and evaluate your needs - not even ballpark.

All you really need is to install a NEMA 14-50 which is a very common 240v 50A outlet. I got lucked out and was able to drop one about a foot below our breaker panel in the garage so total cost of materials was like $39. To have an actual electrician install it would have probably been a few hundred bucks or so if you don't know what you're doing. Our average daily use is under 30 miles and this outlet will put that back in in less than an hour. The Tesla cars are VERY friendly in this manner. A simple 14-50 will charge faster than most other EVs charge station which is kind of expensive to have installed.

My plan is to add solar panels very soon. The efficiency is finally to a place where a break-even usually occurs in less than 10 years with warranty on these panels being over twice that. I will eventually add a Powerwall but I'm not sure I can justify the cost up front to go with that since our local Muni doesn't have a different rate for electricity on and off peak. Once they update their metering system it will make a lot more sense to add a battery back-up to use battery whenever we're on-peak and then use the cheaper electricity when the rates are lower. It's super cool being able to say that your 4 second 0-60 sedan runs on the sun's rays.

Just know that you really don't need to plan to overhaul your entire life to add one of these EVs if you buy the right one that suits your needs. You can if you want but if you're not ready to take on such a massive undertaking you can really make these suckers fit your existing lifestyle and they'll make it better even if you don't go all-in with solar and back-up solutions. I tell people that even if you don't get into the environment aspect these are just the absolute best cars I've ever driven. No qualifiers. If you end up being able to help the environment by driving a bad ass car that's just and added bonus IMO.

[Jer]

Tesla has had a "Powerwall" for a while. It has only been available in limited markets at introduction. Since Tesla owns Solar City, that's likely the storage you're referring to.

Solar installers are struggling to find Tesla Powerwall battery systems

Not sure where you got your info from but they're installing all over the country at a pretty rapid rate these days. I know plenty of folks in Colorado with multiple Powerwalls in their solar setup.

For a fun fact take a look at the project Tesla just finished up in Australia and what the upgrade is doing to their grid.

I worked with a local energy provider in my previous job that also is installing their system and Longmont is up next and they plan to save the residents about a million bucks per month.

What they're able to do with these is pretty damn impressive and is only the first generation of things to come once battery tech improves.

[Great-Kazoo]

Not sure where you got your info from but they're installing all over the country at a pretty rapid rate these days. I know plenty of folks in Colorado with multiple Powerwalls in their solar setup.

For a fun fact take a look at the project Tesla just finished up in Australia and what the upgrade is doing to their grid.

I worked with a local energy provider in my previous job that also is installing their system and Longmont is up next and they plan to save the residents about a million bucks per month.

What they're able to do with these is pretty damn impressive and is only the first generation of things to come once battery tech improves.

Really a million? Based on cost per i really doubt it, which is sad as i'd like a few.
.

Considering the availability is less than the demand . I don't see all of longmont opening their wallets for a $7K per unit, anytime soon

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...ers/ar-BBTNjR6




Look I know you're all gung ho on EV, tesla specifically. But I miss your taco and crossfit post. Or have you given upon the tacoma for tesla?

[Jer]

Really a million? Based on cost per i really doubt it, which is sad as i'd like a few.
.

Considering the availability is less than the demand . I don't see all of longmont opening their wallets for a $7K per unit, anytime soon

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...ers/ar-BBTNjR6




Look I know you're all gung ho on EV, tesla specifically. But I miss your taco and crossfit post. Or have you given upon the tacoma for tesla?

I meant savings of one million bucks per year using these massive Powerpacks. Not a million bucks savings per month but still impressive.

The other one I was talking about was the United Power project in Brighton. I worked with them in my previous role with ESC Engineering and this is one of the first few state-side that will prove to save tax payers lots of money similar to what's happening in Australia in addition to several other large scale projects all over the world.

This is different than the Powerwall that is also being discussed in this thread for residential solutions which is similar but on a much much smaller scale. Click the two links I've posted in the last few posts and read.

I still have the Tacoma and still do Crossfit so going EV doesn't have to totally change your current lifestyle.

As to the supply v. demand situation of the Powerwall... there's a LOT of red tape that has to go down before you can even connect one up to your little piece of the circuit so I wouldn't let that scare you away. I've seen people waiting half a year or more before they can officially throw the switch so there's no use having it on your wall degrading that entire time anyway. Start now and you'll be lucky to clear the bureaucratic BS before fall.

[BushMasterBoy]

I'll probably buy an electric car when there is a whole parking lot full of used ones. If fuel goes short, I am fully prepared to run on ethanol. First Ford trucks ran on ethanol from sugar plantations.