If autonomous cars scare you, you will really be in shock when you realize that the first autonomous vehicles to hit the road in mass numbers will be large semi-trucks. They’re already testing them in Virginia with permission of the state. Currently they require a person in the driver‘s seat to take control if necessary. But unlike the Tesla cars which you still must drive in autopilot, the autonomous trucks being tested are truly autonomous.
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Quanta Reportedly Supplying Apple With 'Autonomous Driving Solutions'
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If autonomous cars scare you, you will really be in shock when you realize that the first autonomous vehicles to hit the road in mass numbers will be large semi-trucks. They’re already testing them in Virginia with permission of the state. Currently they require a person in the driver‘s seat to take control if necessary. But unlike the Tesla cars which you still must drive in autopilot, the autonomous trucks being tested are truly autonomous.
I have to imagine this will first find it's way into their mapping vehicles.
Just seems so beyond my little brain that there would be an actual Apple car. I'd be ok with being wrong.
Just seems so beyond my little brain that there would be an actual Apple car. I'd be ok with being wrong.
The big difference is that 1) you can find a gas station at every corner 2) more importantly, to refill a car with gasoline takes about 3 to 5 minutes and it's back at full range. How long does it take to recharge a Tesla to full range?
Apple(and all car manufactures) better start doing some R&D on battery tech for their electric cars. Recently Tesla developed a patented battery that can do 4000 cycles and have like a 10% degrade; Video. Have the car do 250miles and 4000 cycles that’s one million miles. Maybe by 2025 we’ll have EVs like in a Model 3 capable of doing 400 miles+. Range anxiety is more eminent in EVs than ICE cars as you get an exact estimate of your miles.
It takes none of my time to charge my car daily. I plug it in the garage and it’s done. On a road trip it is a little different. Most of us only take a few road trips a year. There is an app to show you where you should use each supercharger and for how long. Most of the time it’s 20 minutes. Every safety expert says that you should stop every two hours to stretch your legs. On the 500 mile road trip I take once a year, which is my longest road trip, by rated range with 15% to spare I would only need one 45 minute stop. In reality it is smarter to stop three times, all less than 20 minutes. One of the stops I will eat and the other two stops will be a quick 10 to 15 minute restroom stops. No different than with an ICE car.
Finally, there is my 2 to 3 time a year road trip of about 140 miles one way to my favorite two resorts. In this case there are no stops and the resort has a free customer charger. That’s less time that I used to spend filling up at the gas station.
I have never gotten stuck with my Tesla, but it does take a tiny bit of planning.
In daily use it takes as much planning as charging your phone. I have power in my garage, so I just come home and plug in. In the morning the car is topped off.
On trips. the Tesla itself does most of that for you since when you punch in a destination it adds in charging stops and time along the way. But it does depend where you drive. On almost all major roads in the US there are Superchargers or other fast DC chargers, which quickly fill the car, usually 20-30 minutes or less. They tend to be co-located with restaurants so by the time you eat and use the restroom the car is ready to go. In a pinch you can use AC chargers, and some of those are free, but they are slower. I usually only use those when I stop for the evening.
All and all I can't ever see buying another ICE car. Our other car, a BMW 3 series, just collects dust. We drive it maybe once a month to keep the battery charged.
The Model X was never designed for off-roading. It is too heavy and too CUV like. So while the air suspension gives it great ground clearance. The approaches overhang with bad clearance fore and aft causing issues off-road. If is really closer to a tall Model S.
With that said, given that 99+% of SUVs never go on a real trails, it is a fine car for most trips. For us it does fine on ski trips which usually only have 4-5 inches of snow on the road. And it is fine visiting to the Grand Canyon, Moab, Yosemite, and other National parks. They even have Superchargers located along the way. And most are co-located with food. So by the time your order, eat, and use the restroom the car is topped off and ready to go. And for me, Supercharging is free.
And from what I understand, Model X owners have done fine on the "loneliest highway in the US", US route 50 in Nevada. They had to change at RV parking lots which have 240/30A or 240/50A circuits. So that can 3 hours instead of 30 minutes to charge.
And regarding Breckenridge, there is a Supercharger at the Outlets at Silverthorne. Looks like foodwise they have Wendy's, Starbucks (right next to Supercharger), Chipotle, and WhichWich. So not the best, but you can get something.
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Those minutes must be precious. I hope they're worth the price of the car.
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Ah, so that's where those precious minutes go. Eating burgers while you refuel.
Yep. I own a Tesla and FYI, companies like AAA are starting to carry portable generators in some cases, where they can recharge a dead Tesla battery to get you back on the road, at least to make it far enough to get to the nearest Supercharging station to finish charging it up the rest of the way.
Unless you have to take a 400 mile trip across several states in the midwestern winter where there are insufficient fuel charging stations to make the journey. On the other hand, there are plenty of truck stops and gas stations on the route. Additionally, the cold weather isn't really going to mess with your fuel overnight if you're not in a garage, but it will definitely lower the range on your EV the next day.
EV's are fantastic for local driving or if you live in a nice climate. Midwest winter with travel? Prefer a petrol.
I agree. Owned a used 2014 Tesla S for a while and decided to trade it in and buy a 2017 Model X (again, used). I can't afford a brand new Tesla, but after someone else has eaten the initial depreciation -- they've become possible. And honestly, even a brand new Model 3 is finally in my "possible to swing the monthly payments on" range, too. But I wanted something a little bit bigger than that.
I've lost just about all interest in owning another vehicle that uses gasoline. And I was a Jeep Wrangler 4x4 and a sports car owner before this! You can't really buy anything from Tesla (yet!) that substitutes for the Wrangler - especially with the modifications I'd done to mine like the winch and rock rails on the sides. But Bollinger is working on a possible option. And it'll probably be on the market with used ones available cheaper by the time I'm financially ready to buy something else, anyway.
Once you spend the money running a dedicated 220 volt, 60 amp circuit out to your garage and wall mount a charger -- that's another incentive to stick with electric vehicles. At least, it is for me!
People always try to "educate" me on why it wasn't financially smart to pay more for a Tesla, because "you'd never use enough gasoline over the time you own it to offset what you're paying for one". But they don't get it. To me, there's the value in never having to stop for gas, because like you say -- it charges overnight and that's plenty for everyplace I ever drive during a typical day. So it adds convenience and saves time, as well as the cost of the gas purchases. The power it uses has a cost, but it's probably like paying about $1/gallon for gas. Doesn't put a noticeable dent in my monthly electric bill. And meanwhile, I'm driving a vehicle with instant torque and acceleration that blows away any of the gasoline powered vehicles I owned before. I'm enjoying technology like a GPS that's linked to Google and gives me live traffic information without paying some auto-maker $150 or more per year for an updated map DVD. I'm getting regular software updates downloaded to the car, too. So no more going in to the dealer for a flash update, and potentially paying for it, IF you can even find out it's available. And Tesla is even paying for a full time LTE cellular connection on the car, so I get built in streaming Internet radio at no charge. Saves me the $100+ per year I used to pay for Sirius/XM to listen to a similar but inferior music mix!
They're also super quiet when driving, and while they have their own maintenance challenges? At least you rarely hear of a motor failing on one, vs problems with car engines. And if they did fail, they're covered for 8 years and unlimited miles -- which is better than any factory engine warranty I've seen on ICE vehicles?
I've lost just about all interest in owning another vehicle that uses gasoline. And I was a Jeep Wrangler 4x4 and a sports car owner before this! You can't really buy anything from Tesla (yet!) that substitutes for the Wrangler - especially with the modifications I'd done to mine like the winch and rock rails on the sides. But Bollinger is working on a possible option. And it'll probably be on the market with used ones available cheaper by the time I'm financially ready to buy something else, anyway.
Once you spend the money running a dedicated 220 volt, 60 amp circuit out to your garage and wall mount a charger -- that's another incentive to stick with electric vehicles. At least, it is for me!
People always try to "educate" me on why it wasn't financially smart to pay more for a Tesla, because "you'd never use enough gasoline over the time you own it to offset what you're paying for one". But they don't get it. To me, there's the value in never having to stop for gas, because like you say -- it charges overnight and that's plenty for everyplace I ever drive during a typical day. So it adds convenience and saves time, as well as the cost of the gas purchases. The power it uses has a cost, but it's probably like paying about $1/gallon for gas. Doesn't put a noticeable dent in my monthly electric bill. And meanwhile, I'm driving a vehicle with instant torque and acceleration that blows away any of the gasoline powered vehicles I owned before. I'm enjoying technology like a GPS that's linked to Google and gives me live traffic information without paying some auto-maker $150 or more per year for an updated map DVD. I'm getting regular software updates downloaded to the car, too. So no more going in to the dealer for a flash update, and potentially paying for it, IF you can even find out it's available. And Tesla is even paying for a full time LTE cellular connection on the car, so I get built in streaming Internet radio at no charge. Saves me the $100+ per year I used to pay for Sirius/XM to listen to a similar but inferior music mix!
They're also super quiet when driving, and while they have their own maintenance challenges? At least you rarely hear of a motor failing on one, vs problems with car engines. And if they did fail, they're covered for 8 years and unlimited miles -- which is better than any factory engine warranty I've seen on ICE vehicles?
I was more focused on the photo than on the headline.
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It only takes 5 minutes to fill gas, and there are tons of stations everywhere.
Electric charging stations? Not many, plus takes time to charge.
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For regular in the city driving is OK, just for long trips of 350 miles or more, which I take several times a year.
Cost as much as a Toyota camry hybrid (after EV incentives). Cheaper if you factor in cost of gas for a few years (even after $500 installation of an EV plug in the house). My local gym has free EV charging and I haven't paid for gas for my daily commute in over a year.
10 minutes * 52 weeks = 9 hours of your life wasted inhaling gas fumes every year.
"I love the Macbook Pro! Just that once it runs out of battery, you are stuck."
"I love the iPhone! Just that once it runs out of battery, you are stuck."
"I love the iPad! Just that once it runs out of battery, you are stuck."
"I love my Galaxy Note 8! Just that once it runs out of battery, you are stuck."
"I love my Toyota Prius! Just that once it runs out of gas, you are stuck."
Well said. That's how I feel. I have the AWD LR Model 3 and I love my car. I never have any issues getting from point A to point B. Usually, most people will not understand the use case of buying a Telsa or pros of owning one.
There's a supercharger a little over 10 miles away from Breckenridge.
There are superchargers in all directions of Mesa Verde. Do a quick 15 minute charge before you come into the park. Likewise with Yellowstone.
Jackson supercharger about 30 miles away from Grand Teton.
Over the next year, Tesla is installing V3 chargers which realistically can charge a substantial portion of the battery in 15 minutes. I tried the V3 in LA and it was very quick
I've never driven in snow, so I know nothing about driving an EV in snow, but so far people with Model S and X have been able to do it without much issue. Even the 3 works fine in snow. Handling works great since the battery pack is at the low center of the car. You do use a little more energy heating up the battery.
Why are you comparing against 100D? Makes no sense. It's a luxury performance car and somehow you're comparing it against your 4Runner. Compare against a long range Model 3 or the upcoming Model Y which has 4x cargo space than the 3. Plenty of range and space for a price that's comparable to your 4Runner.
Extrapolate 8 years of gas savings/maintenance and the cost of ownership lowers substantially. Next year, the Model 3 battery will be rated at 1 million miles. Current drivetrain is rated at 1 million miles. Maintenance of my Model 3 basically consist of tires and occasional air filter replacements.
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Only takes 15 minutes to recharge a substantial portion of the battery in a V3 charger. Sure there are very little V3 chargers, but more and more superchargers are being installed every week. V2 chargers are fine when stopping for lunch. You don't really wait at all when charging over a meal. Plenty of hotels offer destination chargers which can fully charge overnight.
There are 77k electric chargers in United States as of last year. Compare that to the current 168k gas stations. Yes it takes longer to charge but also people usually charge at home. You just need plenty of chargers placed on popular road trip routes. Only problem currently is if you take a road trip during crowded holidays which Tesla is addressing by installing more and more V3 superchargers.
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Tesla has placed Superchargers strategically so that you really can drive anywhere with a Tesla in the United States. Plug in any destination in the Supercharger map and it'll show you it's possible to get there with the lowest range Tesla.
Plenty of EV owners in Ontario. Some of the largest EV YouTube channels are based in the province.