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Why I sold my Tesla Model 3 Performance & went back to gas

MonkeyMD

Autocross Champion
But tell us how you really feel.

Jk

Great writeup
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Could you expound a little? 🤣

I'm all for technology, and will switch to electric when they last 100k miles, go 300 miles per charge, and can charge in 15 min or less.

I know it'll happen. Until then, both our cars get 30 mpg and we drive them less than 7,000 miles a year, so I'm not too worried about my foot print. I'm going to do solar panels on the house instead. It's crazy how few houses in the Sunshine State have solar panels.
 

Bernb6

Go Kart Champion
Bobby, great write-up. We seriously looked at a Tesla early in 2020 but ultimately decided against it based on its impracticality to do road trips. Thanks for sharing your experience.
 

golfdave

Autocross Champion
You raise many points which I feel a lot of the eco lot, politicians, etc ignore regarding full electric cars..

I used to work for the local electric company & know the carrying capacity & layouts of the cables from the substations to your house (here in UK). I recently placed a nice article on the EV section in another Car forum...the thread went dead....!!!!..

They couldn't cope with the fact that basically if the UK Gov want all fossil fuels to be ditched as "BAD", then to fit electric heating to every house & electric car charging to every house.....you'll have to install the whole existing electric cable/substation network AGAIN to double the capacity as they don't realise the existing stuff is "derated" & you can't draw the whole 100Amps that your incomer states...well you can, & maybe two other houses on your incomer line can...but the other 7 houses on the same incomer then get sweet FA...otherwise the cable in the street melts & the fuse at the substation trips!
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
You raise many points which I feel a lot of the eco lot, politicians, etc ignore regarding full electric cars..

I used to work for the local electric company & know the carrying capacity & layouts of the cables from the substations to your house (here in UK). I recently placed a nice article on the EV section in another Car forum...the thread went dead....!!!!..

They couldn't cope with the fact that basically if the UK Gov want all fossil fuels to be ditched as "BAD", then to fit electric heating to every house & electric car charging to every house.....you'll have to install the whole existing electric cable/substation network AGAIN to double the capacity as they don't realise the existing stuff is "derated" & you can't draw the whole 100Amps that your incomer states...well you can, & maybe two other houses on your incomer line can...but the other 7 houses on the same incomer then get sweet FA...otherwise the cable in the street melts & the fuse at the substation trips!


Absolutely the "eco types" are not taking infrastructure into account as they legislate.

At the same time, we'd be much farther ahead had oil companies not flat out lied for the last 50 years and obstructed progress.

At the end of the day, large areas of the planet are fucked and it's too late at this point to stop it.

Not to turn this political, but this is a good read about how oil companies got away with selling leaded gas for so long. They've used the same tactics to deny man caused climate change.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/arstec...100-years-despite-knowing-health-risks/?amp=1
 
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jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Could you expound a little? 🤣

I'm all for technology, and will switch to electric when they last 100k miles, go 300 miles per charge, and can charge in 15 min or less.

I know it'll happen. Until then, both our cars get 30 mpg and we drive them less than 7,000 miles a year, so I'm not too worried about my foot print. I'm going to do solar panels on the house instead. It's crazy how few houses in the Sunshine State have solar panels.
Because the cost of adding solar to an existing house is so great most people either will not stay in the house or live long enough to recover the initial investment.
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Because the cost of adding solar to an existing house is so great most people either will not stay in the house or live long enough to recover the initial investment.

It's cheaper than buying a Tesla. 🤣


But seriously, the cost of solar has dropped significantly in the past several years. A decade ago, an average 6 kilowatt hour residential solar system could cost more than $50,000. Now, the outright cost of a typical home installation ranges from $16,200 to $21,400. Electricity in the county I live in is really cheap and our house is pretty efficient and well insulated, so our bill is between $150 and $230 a month. Let's call it $200 for easy of doing the math. That's $2,400 year, but let's call it $2000, because $400 of so a year she just connection fees and you're legally required to stay connected to the electric utility in Floriderp. You can currently sell back excess, so let's say no battery, so we'll call it $1,500 savings a year, including wattage you use at night. 11 - 15 years isn't bad, and that's a very conservative estimate, because my neighbors nets them $0 bills, with the exception of connection and transmission fees.

So a few years ago, I'd totally agree. Today, I think the math is a lot more favorable, and the ROI today is pretty favorable even if you don't stay forever.
 
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jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
It's cheaper than buying a Tesla. 🤣


But seriously, the cost of solar has dropped significantly in the past several years. A decade ago, an average 6 kilowatt hour residential solar system could cost more than $50,000. Now, the outright cost of a typical home installation ranges from $16,200 to $21,400. Electricity in the county I live in is really cheap and our house is pretty efficient and well insulated, so our bill is between $150 and $230 a month. Let's call it $200 for easy of doing the math. That's $2,400 year, but let's call it $2000, because $400 of so a year she just connection fees and you're legally required to stay connected to the electric utility in Floriderp. You can currently sell back excess, so let's say no battery, so we'll call it $1,500 savings a year, including wattage you use at night. 11 - 15 years isn't bad, and that's a very conservative estimate, because my neighbors nets them $0 bills, with the exception of connection and transmission fees.

So a few years ago, I'd totally agree. Today, I think the math is a lot more favorable, and the ROI today is pretty favorable even if you don't stay forever.
I hadn't checked in quite a while but you're right the cost has come down. But depending upon the size of your house and if you want to be completely free of any electric bill and sell the excess to the electric company it is still pretty expensive. Just depends on your Sq ft and how big of a kW system you would need.

https://modernize.com/solar/panel-cost-calculator
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
I hadn't checked in quite a while but you're right the cost has come down. But depending upon the size of your house and if you want to be completely free of any electric bill and sell the excess to the electric company it is still pretty expensive. Just depends on your Sq ft and how big of a kW system you would need.

https://modernize.com/solar/panel-cost-calculator

Yeah, still not cheap, but doable. Crazy that Florida, the Sunshine State, goes out of its way to discourage solar.
 

sterkrazzy

Autocross Champion
Yeah, still not cheap, but doable. Crazy that Florida, the Sunshine State, goes out of its way to discourage solar.
FPL ain't havin none of that!
 

JC_451

Autocross Champion
Yeah, it's not altruism and concern for the future pushing EVs.

It's just another thing to get rich off of for people that already control 99% of the money.

EVs arriving from China (or the parts for them) on huge container ships wastes WAY more energy than will be saved having those cars on the road.

None of this is real, we're not making any progress.
 

GTI Jake

Autocross Champion
My twin sister has a Model 3 & I made it half way through the OP’s write up, which basically confirmed every issue I have with her car.

She (& her husband) are basically the worst Tesla owners from a charging perspective. Often trickle charging on 110v or super charging & nothing in between. A few months ago I installed a dedicated 50A outlet at their new house, so finally as of yesterday they’ve moved in there and can reasonably keep the damn thing charged. Personally planning your day or week around charging a EV is the exact opposite of how the whole convenience is supposed to work.

B6485787-3DE6-4B1B-A362-09E865F089AE.jpeg


Driving her car was extremely underwhelming. It’s not the performance model, but it’s considerably slower than my wife’s stock GLI. I’d rate the interior & ride quality as about equal, so there’s no justification for the 10k + price hike on the EV IMO.

Im curious, what did the OP get (or plan to get) as a replacement?
 

Mr. Conundrum

Go Kart Champion
Great write up! I've felt for a while that the battery/energy storage technology is lacking for BEVs to be an ideal replacement for ICE cars. Since most of your complaints come from limitations of the batteries, it seems that's still the case.

Having driven a Tesla myself, I do wonder how much enthusiasts' dislike of the way EVs drive is down to their experience being in a Tesla versus an EV in general. Tesla makes consumer electronics as vehicles, not vehicles for people who actually like driving. I'm very curious how conventional manufacturer's EVs will drive. The Taycan seems like a step in the right direction, and I'm excited to see how Dodge's EV muscle car and whatever Hyundai N comes up with will drive.
Driving her car was extremely underwhelming. It’s not the performance model, but it’s considerably slower than my wife’s stock GLI. I’d rate the interior & ride quality as about equal, so there’s no justification for the 10k + price hike on the EV IMO.
That's odd. I just rented a Model 3 standard range, RWD and it was about as fast as my Stage 1 GTI. Maybe her's was low on juice? The one I drove was ~85% charge when I got on it. (It kinda just points back to the battery tech needing more time in the oven)
 
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