Time for an update. Third party warranties are available now for batteries and drive units. Did some math and if I use my free charging it basically pays for the warranty. So I have been trying to charge at the super charger as much as possible. Only times I have plugged in at home is when I had a road trip the next day and one day where I had a charging error and could not charge. Another 300 mile trip tomorrow and I will break 650 kWh for the last 30 days.
A couple observations. If the dc fast chargers is within 5 minutes of somewhere you were going anyway this really hasn’t been a big deal.
But then there is the cost if it wasn’t free. I would have paid about 160$ for 440 kWh. I wish Tesla showed how many miles I drove of the last 30 days.
Thoughts on my first real road trips. Same route twice stoping at the same charger up and back each time. The EV takes 45 minutes longer only if you don’t ever stop. Add a drive through, bathroom stop and a fill up in there it really only takes 20-25 minutes more.
I got to use the self driving for most of the two trips. It’s ok I don’t like how it drives in stop and go traffic. Definitely programmed by California drivers. Other than that is really quite nice and probably something I would splurge on for a road trip vacation if I could get it by the month. Right now enhanced autopilot (which drives itself on interstates) which is all my Tesla can do (and chime at green lights) costs $6000 if were to buy it. I do think for an attentive driver it adds a level of safety.
We had a Doctors appointment go long and we were late getting back home. I wasn’t sleepy but it had been a long day and the traffic was light for the last 90 miles. It made the drive more enjoyable. There is a difference in cognitive load at 70 mph on a nearly empty interstate and say 85 mph with lots of traffic.
My biggest issue is keeping enough pressure on the steering wheel but not too much. I was raised in a farm and when you drove you had two hands on the wheel with a firm grip. “You never know when a tire could blow out” or you “get a little too close to ditch and into the soft dirt” the consequence is my firm grip will sometime be enough to disengage autopilot when the car makes a fast correction. But with one hand like I would drive a tractor I don’t put enough pressure on the wheel and it thinks I took my hands off the wheel. First world computer self driving problems.
I have 12k miles on the tires about 18 months and I have one down to wear bars in the next 2-3k. I think it got out of alignment or it’s a bad tire. It’s going to eat tires. But it Charges for free!! How many time do think I’ll spend that money I saved?
A second silver Model X just like ours now lives on our street. So I get to see what I look like driving around. Definitely not turning heads while in motion. Still getting stares when the doors go up. But it’s much less this summer. By now everyone has seen my or my neighbors doors.
