There Are EVs And There Are Teslas. They Are Not The Same.

American Thinker ^ | M. Walter

[RoosterRedux]

It’s become vogue on the right to trash electric vehicles. And, mostly, we’re right to. Most of them are garbage retrofits that rely on a garbage network of chargers which are made by garbage ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) manufacturers who have absolutely no idea what they are doing. What they are manufacturing is virtue-signaling, not cars with anything even remotely resembling good EV—or any other type of—engineering.

And then there’s Tesla.

There are EVs, and there are Teslas. And though they are both clearly electric cars, they are two completely different animals. This article aims to give you a permanent mental “ka-chunk” when you think about EVs in general and Teslas in particular because they absolutely, positively should not be grouped together.

I’ve found it most helpful to analogize them this way: think of the entire ecosystem of PC computers and then think of Apple computers. Yes, they are the same in that they are both computers made up of software + hardware, but we all know they are very different animals for a variety of reasons. The most salient difference between them, for the purposes of our discussion, is that Apple manufactures its software + hardware under the same roof, from the ground up, to work together and work in harmony.

...

Well, Tesla manufactures its cars like Apple manufactures its computers; holistically, from the ground up, software + hardware, with the single purpose of making one “organism,” in this case a car, a Tesla car, in which both the software + hardware work in harmony. They do this, importantly, in factories built to do nothing but build these rolling synergies of software + hardware. No other car company, EV or ICE, can claim the same thing.

And that’s why Tesla owners are as cult-like as Apple computer owners.

[EVO X]

A Tesla (actually any EV!) is essentially a vehicular toy for the wealthy particularly the wealthy who want to virtue signal.

The current base Tesla Model 3 lists for $42K and is even cheaper with the $7.5K tax rebate. Even at $42K you don't have to be wealthy to buy one. The average selling price of a new car is a bit over $48K.

[Reily]

How much to replace the battery?

It’s my understand that the car has no frame its essentially a motorized battery rack. Any wreck means replace the whole thing.

Toy for the wealthy!

[Tell It Right]

As an EV owner (not Tesla), here’s my math/algorithm for if an EV is practical. If you can set up charging at home, drive at least 12K miles/year on home charged miles, have a second car (like a lot of married couples) to be the gas car for times an EV won’t do. Also, assuming the EV is the newer of the two cars and therefore is the one you want to take on most trips, research before buying the number of fast chargers on the trips you most often take. And don’t do trips up north in the winter if you want to charge in 10-15 minutes.

The above number (12K miles) is based on Alabama gas prices, home power prices, and Alabama’s extra annual $200 fee for EV owners (to pay for road maintenance since we don’t pay gas taxes). It’s also based on price differences between gas vs hybrid vs BEV prices of crossover cars in 2022. I’m not hip to price changes since then.

How it works for us. My wife and I no longer say “her car” or “his truck”. It’s “the EV” and “the truck” with the idea that whoever drives the most that day takes the EV and saves on gas (unless that day involves pickup chores). We drove ours 26K miles last year, with 16K of those charged at home. Plus, we have tons of home solar, my wife is retired and I’m quasi-retired, working from home a lot. In other words, when we charge it, it’s usually during the day when the sun is out.

It cost about $2K hiring an electrician to install two charging circuits with NEMA 14-50 outlets (dryer outlets) into the garage. That’s not including the other things I had him do while he was there. I used a HELOC to pay for that work plus tons of other work like making the house more energy efficient, installing solar, and after being happy with a small solar system I upgraded it and converted my two natural gas appliances to electric (hybrid water heater, variable speed heat pump with heat strips when it’s too cold for the heat pump). I now have energy costs of only $86/month power bill, plus the HELOC payment (since it paid for the energy equipment), plus a little bit of gasoline (what little we drive the gas pickup), plus whatever we spend on trips (either power or gas, depending on which car we take). This is instead of paying a high power bill plus high natural gas bill plus lots of gasoline at the pump.

But all of that works only if you first tediously look at your energy consumption habits, your driving habits, your climate, etc. to make sure some or all of what I did would work for you without changing your driving or home habits.

[Democrat = party of treason]

Anyone who has been using battery powered power tools in their home for the few couple decades knows why you don’t want a battery powered automobile...

[Tell It Right]

However, there are many advantages to EVs in urban environments, that have nothing to do with saving the planet.

I respectfully disagree. Urban owners tend to not drive enough miles for the gas savings to be worth the extra costs of owning an EV. See post #43 for my breakdown of practical decision making on if an EV is good or bad for a couple to have. The are probably more rural or urban folks who meet the parameters of EV ownership being a better fit than urban dwellers.

[redangus]

I don’t want to drive a computer. This article was obviously written by an Apple-phile, soy boy, who sees cars as an appliance. I owned one Apple computer and hated it. It was expensive (Tesla), couldn’t be upgraded, (Tesla or any EV), and would only work with other Apple products (Tesla). It was pretty, but as a usable business computer it was worthless. I’d say the same about Teslas and EVs in general. Limited range, long recharge times, heavily effected by temperature, and can’t tow or carry heavy loads if it’s a truck. A rolling technological wonder that does none of the things a motor vehicle is supposed to do as well as an ICE vehicle and cost more. Very Apple like.

[Cronos]

olog government trying to force electric vehicles on us.

Nobody is forcing anything

[Omnivore-Dan]

I’m curious as to what the EV cost, what the solar setup cost, and other things you had done that was connected to the purchase, charging and maintenance of the EV. Then compare that to the price of a high mileage gas car and the cost of the gas for that. Seems like a lot of money up front to save a little. How long do the batteries last in your EV? I hear between 5 - 10 years depending on the model. One of our cars is our “beater car” that is 13 years old, has 195k miles on it and gets 40 mpg, runs fine.

[Omnivore-Dan]

Seems like every time I need one of my drills I need to wait for it to charge. They don’t have the power of an electric corded one either.

[redangus]

All the things he thought were cool to me are good reasons not to buy a Tesla. I don’t want to have to carry a cellphone to start my car. Nor do I want everything on a touch screen. I want to be able to reach and touch a button or dial I can operate without looking at it while driving. That’s even becoming a bigger issue with regular cars. Using a touch requires taking your eyes off the road. Not a good thing when driving. I don’t want to charge my car overnight, I want to be able to fill it up in 5-6 minutes, and I want to be able to drive 400 miles without stopping for 45 minutes twice.

I own an electric riding lawn mower and love it, but I want a real car that can do real car stuff well.

[kickstart]

All new cars, both electric and ICE, are fancy toys with many bells and whistles. Give me an ICE from 1970 or earlier. Back then, when you worked on the car, you were a mechanic. A few linkages, wires, hoses, and bolts were removed, and the engine popped out. Repairs were simple mechanics. Carburetors were simple to tweak. Manual transmissions were easy. I could tune a car with a screwdriver and the feel of the motor.

Today, to work on an automobile, you have to be a mechanic, an electrician, and a computer hardware/software expert.

[woodbutcher1963]

i have a customer/friend who has a Tesla model S Plaid.
It is their top model. He is a conservative. He lives in Idaho Falls, ID. Used to be Mormon.

All that being said, they get the majority of their electricity in that area from the dams on the Snake River.
This hydroelectric power is also some of the least expensive/Kilowatt in the country. This is also one of the reasons why he has a Tesla.

He also had the electrician from his company wire up the charging station at his him. It has a 50 amp breaker. Which is the only thing he really had to pay for to hook it up. This breaker is similar in size to what you would install for a hot tub. So, he says that the increase on his electric bill to charge the car at home is less than what he was spending on gasoline for his previous car a Porsche 911 Turbo. Which the Models S will absolutely blow the doors off.

His other vehicle is a full size Dodge 4WD pick up truck.
The model S was about $125K when he bought it. It is NOT an inexpensive car. I visited him two July’s ago. Hee picked me up in the Model S. We drove to the outskirts of town. From sitting still we hit 135 mph in less than ten seconds.
It is the fastest I have ever gone in an automobile.

[CodeToad]

It’s a car. Point A to point B. People wanting infotainment or thinking zipping through traffic are the accident makers.

[EVO X]

You don’t replace the battery. You get rid of the car when it is no longer useful. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure

[Reily]

That’s a strong argument for gettone!

[Reily]

gettone = getting one

[EVO X]

Laptop/smart phone owners know this as well.

[Tell It Right]

I project replacing the EV battery on the 10-year anniversary. Assuming some inflation, that might be $13K. But that's if I want to replace it. Since my main gas savings if from local driving, not trip driving, I may not replace it because range isn't an issue for local driving. It'll probably depend on if my old pickup has to be replaced by then. If so, then a newer pickup might be the one we take on trips anyway (thus I won't replace the EV battery).

The EV cost $65K after taxes and such. I count about $15K of that as luxury/fun because I chose to buy a nicer one as our only new car in our marriage. I could have gotten a $50K EV crossover with less luxury. This was in 2022 when all cars were expensive (I looked at a couple of used gas crossovers for $10K with 100K miles). I can't remember how much the new gas crossovers were.

If you want more details, I spec'd that out in a FR post 2 years ago at . More details on how the various components work together better than the sum of their parts is at https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4183380/posts?page=138#138.

My payoff date is now calculated at March 2032. That's the point at which the total energy costs savings (estimated at $67K) will equal the balance left on the HELOC. That assumes a 3% inflation rate in power costs + gasoline costs + natural gas costs (saving more in each future year than each past year). It doesn't account for Trump probably lowering energy costs. But it does account for the HELOC monthly payment going down as the HELOC balance is paid down.

The current total cash flow savings is $4,500. That's before I get the last solar tax credit refund and pay down on the HELOC (not using my enter tax refund, just the portion that came from the solar tax credit). Most of that cash flow savings is after fall of 2022 (in that summer I bought the EV, and later in the fall I upgraded the solar after studying the telemetry for a year and seeing how much to upgrade each component to take advantage of the economies of scale, but not upgrading so much that I fight the law of diminishing returns). And after the EV is paid off next year, the cash flow savings starts going through the roof.

[deport]

Today, to work on an automobile, you have to be a mechanic,
an electrician, and a computer hardware/software expert.

***************

Times be changing that is for sure. Today you can float in
outer space, take nourisment via injection/table throw your
waste out and let it circle the globe. Over time not sure how
you would keep yourself interested and not bored to death

[willk]

I don’t own a Tesla but I do own a Ford Lightning and a Hyundai Ioniq 5. Of the 38 vehicles I have owned in my life they are the best. I am not virtue signaling. I just like new technology. I recently test drove a Tesla Cybertruck and it is really the top when it comes to technology. Drive by wire and rear wheel steering. I’m really tempted but my Ford Lightning is so comfortable and easy to drive.