Some very nice people in Wilmington invited my daughter and me on the trip marked on this GE image:
Our destination was here for a "dock and dine":
Some dockers were a bit more well-heeled than the rest of us:
I've eaten at the Dockside since 1992 when my oldest twin started college at UNC-Wilmington and always wanted to arrive by boat. These good folks made that happen.
The golf cart that normally takes people to the boat was down with a flat tire, so we drove the quarter-mile or so in a Tesla Model 3. My first ride in such and now I really want one.
Drinks, crab cakes and great conversation followed by boat ride back and a brief tour of Wilmington in the Tesla. It really will go from 0 to 60 in about 4 seconds. Hands-off driving in traffic is no problem -- it stops at red lights and maintains safe following distance. Unbelievable tech.
Can't afford the boat and marina charges, but the Tesla is definitely on the table.
?ÿ
?ÿ
That looked like a fun time!
Is the ??complete autonomy? (auto pilot) still a $10K option on Tesla??s? Knowing how I am even spending that amount would be difficult and I already know that I wouldn??t trust it. ????ÿ
@flga-2-2?ÿ
Our hosts did not get the complete autonomy. They do cost-benefit analyses on virtually everything and decided against it. They did say that they grew up with human drivers, became human drivers, and thought that they would not delegate that function entirely to software.
What comes standard, though, is impressive. The little beep beep on my Edge has been replaced in the Tesla with a full camera view and a displayed measurement of the distance between your bumper and the danger, along with the beep beep that becomes more intense the closer you get.
In city traffic, setting cruise control puts the car in charge of braking if you get too close to the car ahead. You can take your hands off the wheel, but after a few seconds, it tells you to put them back.
It will limit rear-end crashes; I'm pretty sure of that.
One of our hosts told me that Elon Musk says that a plugged-in Tesla is a happy Tesla. So they plug it in every night but, and I don't know why, only charge it to 70%. They plugged a trip to Las Vegas into the GPS and, along with the route, all of the Tesla charging stations along the way were marked. About 8 bucks and 30 minutes for 80% charge.
I think the all-electric snowball is getting bigger quickly; the change-over is going to be quicker than we think.
?ÿ
?ÿ
"oldest twin"
Are we talking about a few minutes or three days?
About 3 minutes. I was not permitted in the room. Had I been, I would have that time to the hundredth of a second.
Thought perhaps one was born slightly before midnight and the other slightly after midnight giving them different birthdays.
No, same day, But it was the day after our 4th wedding anniversary. My wife always delighted in telling people that we were married on the 4th and the twins were born on the 5th.
Thanks, interesting synopsis. SWMBO (and me) traded ??her? ride in for an all electric one. It??s not a Tesla but an EV all the same. Of course there was no autopilot option on hers but if there was she wouldn??t purchase it anyway. Other than taking a month figgerin?? out how to program everything in it, the car is as closest to perfect as I have ever been and I am in love with it. (three applications of ceramic coating [SiO2])
From what I??ve read a Model 3 is the best bang for the buck in EV??s currently on the market, but be prepared to spend $500-$1000 for a 240v receptacle for your garage.
The ??Sound of Silence? experienced in a first time ride is deafening. I??m gonna load engine noises from an F1 race into an mp3 file and play it while driving this electronic marvel. ?ÿ
You will not miss ??gas stations?. ?????ÿ
@flga-2-2?ÿ
I'm sold. By the way, the Tesla touchscreen allows you to put a virtual Whoopee cushion in any of the 5 seats. Any shift by that occupant produces the same result as a real Whoopee cushion.
Elon truly did think of everything!
?ÿ
Dammit, even if that was a $4K option I would actually pay for it. ?????ÿ
Will share that story with my daughter.?ÿ They married on May 4, 2019 and their first child was born May 5, 2021.
Had a friend with a daughter who was a classmate of mine.?ÿ He would introduce her to people as, "My wife's daughter by her first husband."?ÿ He was her first and only husband.
@flga-2-2
@mathteacher My Inlaws divorced when my wife was young and remarried the year before we did.?ÿ I tell everyone that my wife was the Maid of Honor at her parent's wedding.?ÿ For some reason they didn't think that was funny.
Andy
[?ÿ ?ÿ.?ÿ .?ÿ .?ÿ ] I don't know why, only charge it to 70%. They plugged a trip to Las Vegas into the GPS and, along with the route, all of the Tesla charging stations along the way were marked. About 8 bucks and 30 minutes for 80% charge.
Several reasons:
- Slow charge rates above 80%. For example, if it takes about an hour to charge from 40% to 80% on a 220V system, it'll take another two hours to go from 80% to 100%.?ÿ It's like trying to pack that last sweater into a suitcase, hard work and stresses the suitcase.
- Chronically storing the car for days or weeks at 100% reduces the battery's life span due to accelerated cell degradation (same for storage near 0%).?ÿ Li-ion cells are happiest when stored or operating at 30-70%.?ÿ This is a red herring in that even when subject to chronic high-low charge states in use or storage the Tesla battery packs typically have shown a 200,000 mile+ service life, so if operated conservatively concerning charge states the service life (70% capacity) may exceed 300,000?ÿ miles. The present Tesla battery warranty is 8 years or 120,000 miles (typical depending on Model) which is better than an ICE car's drivetrain warranty.
- Regenerative braking is disabled if the battery is fully charged obviously, nowhere for the regen power to be stored.?ÿ Depends on the Tesla model but at somewhere around 85%+(?) charge regen drops off to near zero.?ÿ Interestingly if heading out on an urban stop and go or a hilly highway trip an 80% charged Tesla often gets better mileage than when 100% charged as regen is most efficient at lower charge states, especially with dual motor models which have 50%(?) more regen capacity due to the front motor doing most of the braking regen.
Sorry to opine and I'd buy a Tesla in a heartbeat *but* my landlord refuses to install charging stations (600 stall parking lot)?ÿ so I'm SOL.
?ÿ
Thanks. I'm about 60 percent leaning toward buying one. Have to overcome the fact that I don't need it and it's a non-earning asset.
Now, if I just knew how many years I have left to live ....
?ÿ
Now, if I just knew how many years I have left to live ....
I don??t know how old you are or your financial situation, but if you are in a comfortable position in the journey to the end by all means buy yourself something that gives you the psychological ??high? you have labored so long for. The learning curve for an EV, for me at least, was a blast and is still fun. At my age every day is a welcome adventure and so is yours. Carpe Diem.?ÿ
Like Nancy Reagan said ??Just do it?, umm maybe that was NIKE, or TROJAN, don??t remember. ?????ÿ
Um, one thing to dial into your decision is Tesla EV insurance is double the cost of an equivalent ICE car. Don't know why, they seem less crash prone than ICE's and have a track record of low cost maintenance so um, your drivetrain blowed up is really rare.?ÿ Must be the insurance companies are dialing in the what if scenario where a lotta Telsas catch on fire or in self driving mode kill a lotta people.?ÿ There's statistics?ÿ given that Teslas have been on the road for many rears now which show they're actually low risk and hopefully insurance companies will adjust their rates.
@flga-2-2?ÿ
You sound like my daughter!
