Tesla Model S
 

I found this car on the Tesla forum a couple weeks back and flew out to DC last Wednesday. Picked up the car that afternoon, went over all the features and how to operate the car with the previous owner for a while, and drove home Thursday and Friday. It's a really well optioned car, here are the specs:

December 2013 build, 53k miles now (autopilot and AWD were offered about a year after mine)
85 kWh battery with performance package (P85)
White exterior (with OptiCoat Pro Plus coating)
Tan Nappa leather interior
Carbon Fiber spoiler
Panoramic Roof
Smart air suspension
Ultra Hi-Fi sound system upgrade (560 watts, XM, internet streaming, USB ports, bluetooth, etc)
Tech package (HID, power folding mirrors, parking sensors all around, backup cam, door lighting inside and out, GPS homelink, power liftgate)
Subzero package (heated seats even in back)
LTE upgrade (instead of 3G)
Dual chargers (can charge up to 60mph at home if you have a dedicated 100amp circuit)
Black chrome coated wheels with Primacy tires, will be my winter tires
Blackvue DR650GW 2 channel security cams (front and back). They record while you're driving and also if they sense motion or car movement while parked. Basically it's always on, and records if anything walks by or bumps the car.
WeatherTech all weather floor mats, plus trunk and frunk
2" hitch receiver which I will be removing soon
Spectra PhotoSync tint, I think it's about 50%, a little light for my taste but looks decent
Extended warranty until 100k miles or December 2021


On the drive home from DC I had to stop to charge in Somerville PA, Cleveland, Toledo, Peru IL & Coralville IA. Each charge was about 40 minutes, with one being only 30 minutes, and the longest being 50 minutes. This was where I had one of the first nice surprises. For background knowledge, the car charges much quicker when the battery is nearly empty, and slows down considerably when you get past 70-80%. So the Navigation knows your destination, battery size, and distance between stations to get home, and it only has you charge enough to get to the next station with about a 15-20% buffer in case you speed a lot. So I was normally only charging about 60-70%, I never once hit 80% because the stations are about 150-180 miles apart, and the car has about a 260 mile range (no degradation because the previous owner always left it around 50-80%). I would usually arrive with about 10% left because I was going 77-78mph the whole way home. Once when in the mountainous area going uphill for many miles I was really draining the battery and it predicted I wouldn't make it to the charging station and recommended I lower my speed to 70. Once I was going back downhill it immediately predicted I'd arrive with 10%+ charge and I was free to speed again. Basically I'm super impressed with how well the nav, maps, charging, and everything else are integrated together, it all communicates. I had zero range anxiety because it just works so well (except that first time charging going through mountains where it warned me to slow down, I was still a noob and didn't want to push my luck).

One thing I didn't expect was that power would be limited when the battery is nearly empty. I got to 10% once, and about 10 miles away from a station, I noticed there was a dashed line at about 200kW on the power meter, I couldn't use more than that because the voltage was low (max is around 310kW I believe). Then as I got a little lower battery the dashed line moved down to 160kW. Hadn't thought about that before. 160kW is still a good amount of power though, the volt only had 100 max haha.

First mod was to remove front plate bracket. It was zip tied on, and the screws they used for the plate were too long and went through the bracket into the bumper a bit. Might touch up or get bumper plugs.

Next mod will be in Spring, Mo helped me find a set of 21s with Pilot Super Sports. I'm already impressed with how well the car handles with the all seasons, I'm sure I'll be very pleased with some nice tires. I'm thinking that since most of the weight is at the bottom of the car, that helps with the handling because it doesn't feel like a 4600lb car.

Couple pics. Picking up the car in DC with my niece
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/da.../first_pic.jpg

First time supercharging, couldn't believe the 364mph charge rate
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/data/692/charge_1.jpg
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/data/692/charge_2.jpg

Dash is totally customizeable. The nav shows up on the left when enabled, but usually I have the music display there. The nav shows a mini 3d map there, and when you come up to a turn on the interstate it gives you a little picture of where to go. On the right I have my energy usage, it's a 30 mile trend. Center gauge has speed on the left, and energy on the right. Needle pointing straight right means no energy being used. Orange needle up is power being used, and if it goes down it turns green and that's how much power is being regenerated by slowing the vehicle down. Max is 60kW regen, it slows you down pretty fast, I rarely used the brakes in the car.
http://www.dsmstyle.com/photopost/data/692/dash.jpg

tl;dr - This car has far surpassed my expectations thus far. I absolutely love it. I'll post again when I get more time to fiddle with the settings, and I'll post up more pics this week.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Awesome! Can't wait to see it in person. Also,can you flip your photos so we don't have to break our necks?

Re: Tesla Model S
 

The amount of control you have from phone(ability to configure and control) or tablet is amazing. Not sure how much of.that you've played with yet.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Interesting tint! Light in color, but still very effective: http://www.prestige-films.com/auto_photosync.shtml

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Very cool. Couple questions. So I've "heard" the supercharging stations are free. I've also "heard" that the stations have like little restaurants and stuff to keep you occupied as the car charges. Is any of that true from your experience here?

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Both true. They have placed the charging stations in locations which have food options and sometimes entertainment options when possible.

Charging has been free from the beginning, but that may change in the relative future. That being said, I think the price will be fairly low.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

all I can say is wow.

I'm happy for you.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Cool! I would love a ride in it some time. Congrats on the purchase!

Re: Tesla Model S
 

I know they're planning on charging Model 3 buyers to use the stations.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

None yet. I have the app, but the IA registration hasn't been completed and I need that before Tesla will officially transfer ownership over to my account.

Yea, it's nano tech window tint.

Yep, all free, I didn't pay a penny for electricity on the drive home from DC. And my first stop was at an outlet mall, next was around some fast food and a starbucks, and the Iowa and Illinois stops were at Hy-Vee's. The other two under construction in Iowa are also at Hy-Vee's. And usually just a mile or two off interstate.

I'm guessing the Model S will remain free for the remainder of the car's life. Once it's 'enabled' I think that's it, one time fee. I know most of the Model S come with supercharging, but the base model 60 didn't, you had to pay $2k for the access. I had also assumed with how cheap the 3 was, they'd also require you to pay a similar $2k fee to enable supercharging.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

That's interesting. So in the used market, I guess that's an 'option' people would be looking for, whether or not that car has the free supercharging option enabled? Or is there a physical hardware difference, like a different plug needed that comes with that $2k price tag?

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Very nice! My coworker has two Teslas, a P85 and a Roadster. I've driven both, very cool cars. The Roadster is not for me, but I could see myself in a Model S at the right price. Congrats!

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Software enabled, just like autopilot on the late '14 and later builds. Every car has the hardware and sensors, it's just whether or not you've paid to enable it.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Gotcha, so if you bought a used one without the supercharger option, you could probably still contact them and pay for it and have it enabled. Wonder if it'd be at a reduced price.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Just a one time fee for that specific vehicle, doesn't matter if first or second buyer pays for it, price doesn't change. I'm pretty sure over 95% of the Model S have supercharging.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

I think the free supercharging is key to getting these into the mainstream over time. Kalifornia people were quick to adopt with all the tax incentives and such, but the rest of the country will take a while.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

^ Free is nice, but I think accessibility will be the biggest thing. Which they are making huge strides in. But the last time I had looked (about 9 months ago) there wasn't even one shown on their map for the Twin Cities. I see now there is one in Oakdale. For us, the wife couldn't own one because she heads to Fargo every once in awhile, and there are no charging stations in Fargo, nor between here and there. So that wouldn't work at all.

They are building more and more it seems, which I think is great, and I think continuing to building more of them will be key.

Also, I've started to wonder if there is going to be some sort of EV etiquette. Like "Hey I just drove here from Iowa, didn't have to pay a cent for gas! But now that I'm here I'm almost empty. Can I please hook up to your house extension cord and use your electric bill to 'fill me up', k thanks".

Re: Tesla Model S
 

Most people don't have a NEMA 14-50 at their house (high speed 240v charging), so if you're staying at a friend's house using 120v you might get 60 miles max (15 hours). That would cost < $2.50 in electricity. I think most friends or family wouldn't mind (I'll bring beer to compensate lol). That would be enough to get you to the nearest supercharging station assuming you had planned ahead. There are also public free stations that get you 20mph, if you can stay overnight near one.

The upper midwest is the worst for supercharging for now, they're working to expand it. And people with Bolt's or Leaf's or non Tesla's in the next few years will have a much harder time finding really high speed charging for road trips. Nissan chose Chademo, GM is using some DC combo, everyone has their own standard which makes is worse for everyone.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

You'd think they would put a standard on this, or at least some of the companies would team up to help reduce costs, i dunno.

Re: Tesla Model S
 

There's a destination charger in Fargo at a decent hotel, so it's possible, but obviously not for a day trip. I suppose when you're right down the proverbial street from the Bakken oil fields, the EV is not a popular mode of transport. :D