AWCAWD

Just one day after unveiling the Model 3 over 137,000 people (counting) preordered the car without sitting in it, without driving it, without knowing anything about its safety etc.
That is something (mostly blind faith).
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/01/tesla...elon-musk.html

mRVRsport

^
I'm guessing those people are going by their experience with sitting in and driving the big brother Model S & X as their barometer for what they "will" get if they buy the cheaper m3...

******************
funny thing, I was just telling my wife last night/this morning about their pre-order numbers. It's mind blowing to hear that they had THAT many folks put any kind of money down for a car 'sight unseen'.

AWCAWD

I understand that it is only a $1000 deposit but I still find it strange to camp out for preorder. It looks like a new Apple product launch, however, you cannot take home anything.

vr4gasmtt

iTrader: (1)

Its 198,000 preorders. I think its time I get rid of my evo

CottageLifer

We are seriously thinking of getting in line. The only issue is our old house which would be a PITA to add the charging circuit to the detached garage.

CottageLifer

$7.5 BILLION in orders the first day. Steve Jobs would be proud. Wow.

LB_Reddy

Who needs tesla? when u got evos.dont know if i buy a ev or hybrid.

CottageLifer

Up to a quarter million preorders now! Insanity. Could this be the tipping point for EVs? I would bet Mits is happy about this - their hybrids and (soon?) EVs can ride Elon's coat tails.

mRVRsport

Well... that is IF Mitsu are successful in making solid and Reliable EVs.
Just look at the Chevy Volts

battery meltdown


or the fancy pants Fisker's Karmas


a bit of a saltwater short circuit problem.

They too were wanting to sit on/chase Tesla's coat tails..

AWCAWD

To be fair to GM we should also mention that Tesla and Mitsubishi both had at least two battery fires/explosions that made news:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEVPdmzrGCM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgegbbULVYU
http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/mitsu...v-battery-fire

AWCAWD

Here are two quite interesting and useful videos about cold weather charging, regenerative braking, and battery capacity (availability) of the Model S for those, who live in cold climates:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw7Ua1Q1EYc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRODJbShMis

This is a vlog of a cold weather road trip in Canada with the Model S.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoEr9YDIyrE
The temperature is about -20 C (-4 F). It is interesting to note that on the return trip the estimated range dropped from 415 km to 268 km based on the car's computer and the actual performance at the end of the trip. This makes the available capacity of 65% (or 35 % loss). One should also note that the driver was traveling at constant 90 km/h (outbound trip) and 100 km/h (62 mph, return trip). Living in the North requires more planning if you have an electric car.
Another big question is how much the loss of the capacity of the battery is over time (the car in the video was only 8 months old). The most expensive part of an electric car is the battery pack and we do not know how much the replacement cost would be.
For Nissan Leaf this item is $5,500. The list price of the battery pack for the Model S 85D is $44,000 (it is not the replacement cost though).
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...-car-over-time

CottageLifer

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1971-1...rd-pinto12.htm Just sayin'

mRVRsport

Noted, and yes I have no doubt other have had their fair share of problem(s) however, if those melt-down issues cause their factory to burn down or set their dealer lot on fire: I'm not going to shed a tear - frankly I don't care.
BUT, if I as a customer take possession of their said EV vehicle to drive my family around or park it in my garage. I certainly expect the battery to NOT have any potential to burst into flames.

AWCAWD

Your expectation is absolutely legitimate. Li-ion batteries can be fire hazards. They caused the tragic crash of UPS flight 6 in 2010. Decades ago there were more car fires but the fuel tanks became safer and I am sure the Li-ion batteries will be safer too. I agree with you and do not want to be a statistics during this (improvement) process.
BTW, I do not know, how Tesla's CEO can claim that the model 3 will be one of the safest cars. It is not in production yet. I wonder how the battery pack behaves upon impact. Hope not like in these cases below. Besides fire hazard, the gases released are not nutritional either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rjn5BC3EOQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjAtBiTSsKY

CottageLifer

Yes, Lithium fires are real. Guys burn down houses with their RC plane batteries. Or a switch fails or an electrician makes a mistake and house burn. Or a sink valve fails and you get a quarter million in water damage (that one happened to good friends). FOTM is that some of EVERYTHING fails. Elon is likely projecting from the model S which IS one of the safest cars out there. I have no doubt that the Model 3 will be as safe or safer than the S or the X. Latest news is now that 500,000 preorders is in the realm of possibility. 20 BILLION. If that is not incentive for Mits, or Tata etc. to dive in, I do not know what is. I can easily see me in an EV sooner than later - Tesla or otherwise. Hopefully all this BS from Trudeau and Obama on carbon will translate to more and continued rebates on low fossil fuel vehicle grants/credits.