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Tesla Says Its Model 3 Car Will Go On Sale On Friday (apnews.com)

Electric car maker Tesla says its keenly awaited Model 3 car for the masses will go on sale on Friday. From a AP report: CEO Elon Musk made the announcement Monday on Twitter. The car is to start around $35,000 and with a $7,500 federal electric car tax credit, could cost $27,500. Tesla says the five-seat car will be able to go 133 miles (215 kilometers) on a single charge and will be sporty, accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in under six seconds. Editor's note: the article was updated after the Associated Press, the original source, updated its report.

15 of 373 comments (clear)

  1. Re: Wrong conversion to International System of Un by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    I'm pretty sure they meant 215 km or 133 mi. That's not a lot of range for these cars.

  2. Re: Wrong conversion to International System of Un by CrybabiesArePeople · · Score: 1, Insightful

    a simple google search show that it's probably the other way around, 215miles and 346km. From TFS to the comments, a little FUD on behalf of the petroleum industry perhaps?

  3. Re:Most people need something better by Lord_Byron · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ok, so, it's range is 215 miles (according to the Tesla site, not the screwed up conversion in TFS). If you commute 30 miles each way, that's 60 miles, leaving you plenty for errands during the work day. Even if driving in traffic blows your efficiency (which should be less true of EVs, but still will have some effect) you'll not have range issues in that scenario. With it's safety, comfort, and low operating costs, it's a good commuter car if you're in the market for a nearly $30K commuter car.

    Longer trips require more planning, because we're in early days. It's a lot like when gas cars were new & you had to be sure to have a way to get enough fuel. Now, you've either got to make sure there are chargers along your route, or rent a gas-burner for the trip. It's a trade off, and people have legit points to support whichever decision they make.

  4. Depends on who. by DrYak · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Tesla cars are expensive bling, but this doesn't meet the needs of most people.

    Depends on where those people are.
    Europe being more densely populated, its actually exactly the king of thing people need.
    Which explains the success of other cars with similar characteristics have been having during the past few years.
    (e.g.: Renault's Zoe, Citroen C-zero, etc.)

    Lots of people travel 20 or 30 miles to and from work. However, we also have errands and other things to do.

    Which all fall well within ~340km / 215 miles range of the car.

    Many of us also travel on weekends and make trips a few times per year. The short range of these vehicles {....}

    Which taking into account the highway speed limitations in Europe (between 120 and 130 depending on countries - with the exception of Germany having some limit-less sections), means that the car can travel without any problem for 2 hours on a single charge (you could push it closer to 3h if you don't drive like an asshole) (actual experience driving various electric cars).

    Which means that this car can reach as far as you can before you need to take break. (Most place recommand taking break every 1h30 of driving. After 2h, you definitely need a 30min rest - by which time batteries could be fully charged again by a supercharger).
    And please don't start about driving 8 hours straigh with only a single pee brak in the middle. That's dangerous and borderline illegal (actually is under some circumstance and in some jurisdictions).

    coupled with the significant recharge time

    on normal week days, the car slowly charges over night so you don't give a damn about it.
    on trip, a supercharger can fill the battery in about half an hour which okay as you need to take a break as a driver, otherwise you are a risk on the road.

    lack of available charging stations in some areas

    Tesla has a nice network of charging station in Europe.

    European models of Tesla also use a Mennekes connector like everybody else (unlike the weird shit US models use) meanning that you can charge a Tesla on the numerous charging station that are popping everywhere.
    (Though not at full speed like on a super charger. Tesla lack the 2 extra pins of "combo" chargers and thus can only charge using AC at regular station. Though I've hread that Telsa is producing adapter (at least ChaDeMo) so it would be possible to charge faster with it).
    But it basically means you can also charge while doing your groceries, etc.

    But congratulations on making a car that people will probably buy even though it doesn't meet their needs.

    don't get me started with US' obesssion with SUVs.

    Elon Musk is even better at convincing people to buy overpriced junk than Steve Jobs was.

    It's not over priced, it's the regular price of a car once you factor in the price of the battery.
    Compare it, specially with Zoes (Renault sells them both with battery included, and with a separate battery rental - you only pay the car without the batteries).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
    1. Re:Depends on who. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      means that the car can travel without any problem for 2 hours on a single charge

      Probably 3 hours. My existing Leaf with 150 mile range can do a couple of hours in the UK. Speed limit is 70 MPH, about 120 KPH.

      Though I've hread that Telsa is producing adapter (at least ChaDeMo)

      ChaDeMo adaptors are already available... ChaDeMo is the most common type of rapid charger in the UK, but on the continent it's mostly CCS.

      It's not over priced, it's the regular price of a car once you factor in the price of the battery.

      Agreed, and depending on the base spec it could actually be very good value when you factor in fuel and maintenance savings. There are taxi companies in the UK with Leafs that have over 200k miles on them and almost zero maintenance beyond the tyres and brake pads. By the time an ICE car gets to 200k on the clock the chances are it will have had more than the cost of a battery spent on maintenance. Exhaust, filters, spark plugs, radiator, belts, starter motors, fluids, gearbox, clutch, pumps... All consumable items not rated for the lifetime of the vehicle.

      --
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      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  5. Re:Most people need something better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Reality Check.

    You don't charge Tesla's except at home (or if your lucky at work) and when you are on a road trip. It takes about 30 seconds a day to plug/un-plug your car. That means you spend a lot less time charging your car on a regular basis than people without electric cars spend putting gas in them.

    On a road trip you spend about 15-20 minutes (a Model S 100 might only spend 10 minutes) at each Super Charger. That gives you just enough power to get to the next Super Charger. That's roughly enough time to go to the bathroom every 3 hours give or take.

    If you need a full charge, which you might need if you are leaving the super charger network and there is no destination charging available, or if there is a super charger missing, then you spend about an hour. If you plan ahead, you arrange for the hour stop to be at meal time, and then you eat while you are charging. If you do count all the stopped time on road trips, I might still spend less time charging than most people spend putting gas into their cars.

    If you don't count the charging time while doing something else, such as eating or sleeping, then I spend far less time charging my Model X than I would putting gas into an equivalent ICE SUV, and I go on many road trips.

    After driving my Model X for about two weeks, I realized that I will never buy another non-electric car and I will likely only ever buy Tesla's again. They are simple that much better. The only complaint I have is that when driving twisty little mountain roads, they just go right up without any issues and remove all the fun.

  6. Re: Most people need something better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, someone posted a comment on the internet that you don't like. In your mind, that apparently justifies wishing they die a horrible death. You're also the person who, within the past few weeks, told someone in a comment to put a gun in his mouth and shoot himself. Your violent tendencies are frightening. I suggest that you seek professional help because you're pretty obviously a danger to the people around you. Or perhaps you should spend some time behind lock and key if you can't control your violent behavior. This world needs more civility, and your post is truly awful. It's also part of a pattern you've exhibited in many of your posts.

  7. Re: Wrong conversion to International System of U by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Meanwhile, neither the imperial or metric systems were invented in the 19th century.

  8. Re:Most people need something better by Immerman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sadly, it's a very limited compensation in the face of the differences. Depending on the quality of the lithium-ion battery, Gasoline stores between 53x and 129x as much energy per kg, and between 13x and 38x as much energy per liter. Even quadrupling the efficiency doesn't make that big dent in those numbers - you're still talking 13x-32x the energy per pound, and 3x-10x the energy per liter.

    The weight of the engine does make a considerable difference, but is typically well under a third of the total weight of an empty car. Add driver, cargo, and possibly passengers and that fraction falls even further. Reducing it does help mileage, but we're still a long way from being in the same league.

    That said - batteries are reaching the point where they're good enough for most people most of the time, which is impressive enough. If you can easily recharge overnight in your garage, it doesn't matter so much that you can't get away with only refilling your gas tank once or twice a month.

    For longer trips - well I've long been a fan of "backup generator" series hybrids - minimal added complexity, and you can have a finely-tuned gas turbine fairly efficiently converting gasoline to electricity to extend your range when needed.

    --
    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  9. Re:60 to 0 in 6 seconds by pezpunk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    all cars, including this one, can brake far faster than they can accelerate.

    somehow i'm missing your point.

    wait, you're not actually unaware that the car has traditional brakes and pads in addition to the regen feature, are you?

    --
    i could live a little longer in this prison
  10. Re:Not for sale yet... but will enter full product by Luthair · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'd say 20k/month is pretty optimistic. That is an increase of 300% in a year, and of the 80k cars produced last year they had to recall 50k.

  11. Re:"Sporty", zero to 60 in 6 seconds.. by pezpunk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My Model S does 0-60 in 2.3 seconds. that's in "ludicrous+" mode. I can either put it in plain old "Ludicrous" mode, which is 0-60 in about 2.5 seconds, or i can put it in "sport" mode, which is 0-60 in about 4 seconds. that's the lowest setting.

    of course, you also have the option to not fucking floor it from a standstill if you don't want to. do you normally drive with your foot stapled to the floor? if you're concerned about efficiency, simply don't drive like a maniac.

    the motor pushes energy to the wheels in proportion to your throttle input. i feel like someone with a driver's license should probably understand that concept.

    --
    i could live a little longer in this prison
  12. Re:Not for sale yet... but will enter full product by BasilBrush · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yeah, all cars produced between Feb & Oct had a faulty part. That's over half the year so more than half the cars.

    It's irrelevant going forward. It doesn't mean that percentage of cars will be recalled. Nor does it have anything to do with how many cars they will make.

    An increase of 300% over what? How many X & S they are making? Well, those production lines are not going away. This is all additive. And it's a car designed to be far simpler and easier to mass produce, and for this year at least will have no factory fitted options. Just one model. So that seems perfectly doable.

  13. Re: Most people need something better by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I dont have to understand you. I am not forcing you to buy an electric car. Buy a gas burner and be happy. Why should I care about what happens to you or what bothers you?

    There are lots of use cases where electric car makes sense. Right now the electric cars are expensive and total cost of ownership is still higher than gas burners. Let us see when, the prices are equal, how many people value your use case scenarios.

    Most people buy gas cars because they are cheaper and familiar. When electric car cost becomes equal more will switch. If, or when, electric car becomes cheaper than gas car, we will know how much people really value quick gas refills and very long driving ranges.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  14. Re:Only One Question Matters by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is he holding a gun to your head forcing you to buy an electric? Buy a gas burner, buy two, why skimp buy three. Why the gas burner owners fell so insecure if some people find electric cars viable and usable?

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact