Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh
I drive 160 miles a day and would consider one as a commuter if the total operating cost is near that of a gas/diesel powered car. You see empty charging stations now, but what about 5 years from now? My point is the supercharging stations only allow extended range travel between major cities on major highways systems. If you live in Iowa and want to go 300 miles north there will be no charging stations along a non-major thoroughfare route.
If you want to sit in stop and go traffic while driving from DC to NYC than fine, but most people try to avoid traffic. And besides, stop and go traffic is a net energy loss not a net sum gain from braking regeneration. The Tesla right now is great for the demographic that have short-mileage commutes, have a secondary ICE-powered (internal combustion engine) range unlimited vehicle, and are wealthy enough to own several cars, one of which is a $80K Tesla.
It's a great car no doubt about it, an engineering jewel as it were, but it nowhere near competes with ICE-powered cars in cost of ownership and freedom of range. if I had a 12-mile commute and could only afford one car, a Chevy Volt would be my choice; it will run electric for the entire 12-mile commute and have a 380-mile total range, and can be filled up with gasoline in 90 seconds and go another 340 miles (at 38 MPG).
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You keep dwelling on the things it is not designed to excel at. If you live in rural Iowa and want to take a long trip on secondary roads, it just ain't the right car for you. I also know that you don't get something for nothing in terms of energy regeneration, I was just trying to figure out what you were trying to say with regard to the lack of an alternative route and it's connection to the supercharging stations.
It is not designed to compete with ICE cars in freedom of range so it's pointless to bring up. If you could only afford one car and it was a Chevy Volt, you were not a potential Tesla customer in the first place. One is also a design abortion and the other is a gorgeous supermodel of a sedan.