Comments on: Consumer Reports ‘Impressed’ With Model S

By: Van

Van — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:09:33 +0000

Not sure what is being said here, but lets take a look. If a person wants to drive 350 miles with spending hours plugged into a battery charger, they would need at least a 60 kwh Tesla and a "supercharger" about half way. So lets say the Tesla travels 175 miles on 48 Kwh of juice. Then it plugs in and recharges for 1 hour over lunch, at a rate of 48 kw. So after a little over 1 hour, the 60 Kwh Tesla hits the road again, fully charged, or at least charged enough so it can go the remaining 175 miles. That is the best I think we can do.

In a Volt, you could drive it without stopping or only for a rest stop, dtto with a Prius PHV or C-Max Energi. And the car would cost about 1/2 as much.

By: Russell

Russell — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:24:44 +0000

To build on what @Jakub Kudlacz said, it seems logical that you would need to stop at least once for gas or a charge anyway, regardless of the type of car you drove. I know many newer cars are averaging over 300 miles per tank, but for the most part, the average is about 300 miles. Therefore, you would have to stop for gas before you got to your destination.

If as Jakub says, you could get a half charge in 30 min, then you probably could get a quarter charge, or 75 miles worth for the 85kWh batter, in about 15 minutes. That is probably about the length of your average stop at the gas station anyway. Granted, you would not have much additional range when you got to your destination, but it would definitely get you there.

With a little planning to find a charger located along your route, it doesn't seem like a problem at all to complete the trip.

By: pickupdoctor

pickupdoctor — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:33:50 +0000

Answer to your question depends on few things, so I will just provide all the possible answers. Since Model S is sold in 4 different trims: 40 kWh battery = 160 miles, 60 kWh battery = 230 miles, 85 kWh battery = 300 miles(0-60 5.6s), 85 kWh (performance) battery = 300 miles (0-60 4.4s) depending on which model you purchase or plan to purchase you may need to recharge the battery twice before you make it to your sister's house.

You have many different ways to recharge Tesla S and depending on the type of outlet you are using or charger it may take you from 30 min to get half capacity back (so 85 kWh battery will get 150 miles back in 30 min or 300 in 1 hour) or it may take whole night

VOLTS / AMPS KILOWATTS MILES OF RANGE PER HOUR OF CHARGE
NEMA 5-15 Standard Outlet 110 V / 12 A 1.4 kW 5
NEMA 14-50 RVs and Campsites 240 V / 40 A 10 kW 31
NEMA 6-50 Welding Equipment 240 V / 40 A 10 kW 31
NEMA 10-30 Older Dryers 240 V / 24 A 5.8 kW 18
NEMA 14-30 Newer Dryers 240 V / 24 A 5.8 kW 18

Either way, best case scenario would require that you charge it once on your way there, then again once on the way back.

http://www.teslamotors.com/models/charging

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:14:49 +0000

I am very interested in this car, but my one question is; is there a way to drive more miles in one trip than the 300 (or whatever your particular model allows on one charge)? Is there a back-up battery or something?

The allotted miles is great for around town, but my sister lives about 350 miles away from me and I want a car that allows me to drive to visit her. So I'm hoping there's a way the Tesla makes it work for people like me. Does anyone know?

By: Mark Z

Mark Z — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:37:34 +0000

One advantage of not carrying the extra stuff is the additional range occurring from less weight in the vehicle. I do miss a door pocket for a small umbrella. The massive center floor tray is very handy to place anything, but it’s uncovered forcing the occupants to keep it clean or covered with a dark cloth while parked in a public location.