Tesla
3 Rebates, Clubs, and Formula-E Experience
by Carl
Morrison, August 5, 2020
Comments welcomed at: Carl@TeslaTouring.com
http://teslatouring.com/carl/TeslaE/
Click any Gray or Neon underlined links below to open the link. Asterisks (*) indicate a link at the end of this report.
Clean Air Rebate Program for EVs
In Southern California we have the SCE Clean Fuel Reward Program for
$1,000 for purchased or leased Electric Vehicles. If not in the
SCE area you might check with your power provider to see if they have a
similar program. Even a $450 rebate if you purchased or
leased your vehicle before 2019.
The eligible vehicles listed in LINKS at the end of this report.
Any
image with a gray or neon border can be clicked for a larger copy.
Official location and access to the Clean Fuel Reward Program:
The SCE Clean Fuel Reward Program Team
Administered by:
Center for Sustainable Energy®
3980 Sherman Street, Suite 170
San Diego, CA 92110
Office (888) 851-2723
info@scecleanfuel.com
https://www.evrebates.sce.com
Clean Fuel Reward Program is a Southern California Edison (SCE)
rebate program for eligible EV owners. Center for Sustainable Energy
(CSE) is the third-party program administrator on behalf of SCE. Please
refer to https://www.evrebates.sce.com for any questions.
Tesla Owners' Clubs
I have fond memories of taking our
1956 Chevy to car shows, both Chevrolet-only shows and all-classics car
shows. Tesla Car Clubs offer the same fun of talking with
like-minded EV owners. There are Electric Vehicle shows where
owners and dealers show up to answer questions by both ICE owners and
EV owners. Some EV events that I have attended and reported on
are listed in the LINKS at the end of this page.
The Orange County Tesla Club* has held several outings which I have attended with Steve's, creator of this website, Model X.
Dennis Pascal of the Orange County Tesla Club is a creative writer when
he sends e-mail about future events of the club. He used
"rEVolutionaries" , Electric Vehicle owners, a term originated in 2012
and popular now. He also used "Elon-gated Community" which
includes Tesla, SpaceX, Boring, etc. which he created 7/26/2020 to
announce an event.
Phantom Drain on Electric Vehicles
Phantom Drain represents the amount of charge an electric vehicle
loses when it is not being driven or operated by a person, similar to
how smart phones lose battery power while in standby mode. In the case
of Tesla vehicles, the battery discharges while the car is not being
driven in order to provide power to its onboard electronics and
auxiliary functions, such as the battery’s thermal management system.
Power is available whenever the
vehicle is considered "awake". The vehicle may be awake for many
reasons. For example, when using features such as Summon, or when
features such as Cabin Overheat Protection, Keep Climate On, Dog Mode,
Sentry Mode, etc. are enabled. The vehicle is also awake whenever the
12V battery is being charged or is in use, during 12V charging, when the
vehicle is communicating with the mobile app, etc. Leaving an accessory plugged in does not deplete the 12V battery.
About the Battery
Model 3 has one of the most sophisticated battery systems in the world (2170 battery cells).
The most important way to preserve the Battery is to LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE
PLUGGED IN when you are not using it. When plugged in, Model 3 wakes up
when needed to automatically maintain a charge level that maximizes the
lifetime of the Battery.
Note: When left idle and unplugged, your vehicle periodically uses
energy from the Battery for system tests and recharging the 12V battery
when necessary.
There is no advantage to waiting until the Battery’s level is low
before charging. In fact, the Battery performs best when charged
regularly.
Battery Care
Never allow the Battery to fully discharge. Even when Model 3 is not
being driven, its Battery discharges very slowly to power the onboard
electronics. The Battery can discharge at a rate of approximately 1%
per day (2.5 miles in my case), though the discharge rate may vary depending on environmental
factors (such as cold weather), vehicle configuration, and your
selected settings on the touchscreen. Situations can arise in which you
must leave Model 3 unplugged for an extended period of time (for
example, at an airport when traveling). In these situations, keep the
1% in mind to ensure that you leave the Battery with a sufficient
charge level. For example, over a two week period (14 days), the
Battery may discharge by approximately 14%.
To protect against a complete discharge, Model 3 enters a low-power
consumption mode when the displayed charge level drops to approximately
0%. In this mode, the Battery stops supporting the onboard electronics
and auxiliary 12V battery. Once this low-power consumption mode is
active, immediately plug in Model 3 to prevent a jump-start and 12V
battery replacement.
Caution: Do not use the Battery as a stationary power source. Doing so
voids the warranty. [ I wish this would change so we could use
all the capacity of the Tesla battery to run a house during a blackout.]
Finally, who really cares about Phantom Drain while driving your Tesla
to work or within the range of your model around home since you can
plug it in each night and fill it back up at 3 cents or less a mile.
Owner's Manual P. 155
California Clean Air Vehicle Decals
In California, if you
drive a vehicle that meets certain emissions standards and other
criteria, you may be able to get Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decals and a
CAV decal identification (ID) card, which allow single occupancy use of
High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV, or carpool) lanes.
From: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/
The Application (<<<Click to download) for Clean Air Vehicle Decals is in a Link at the end of this report.
Model 3 or Model Y.
When we picked up our Model 3 on June 9, 2020, there had been some "sightings" of the Model Y, usually blue.
I was surprised to see that the Buena Park Tesla delivery showroom had
a blue Model Y on the floor. I thought that all the talk by
YouTubers would change from the Model 3 to the Model Y. Little
did I know, but now appreciate, is that all the talk about the interior
is exactly applicable to our Model 3. When they move outside the
car, and go to the back, there is the hatchback with more cargo
space. So Model 3 owners, keep watching Model Y videos for
something you might have missed on your car. Some comparisons
from Brooke Crothers, Tech Contributor, at Forbes, July 12, 2020.
*Pricier Model 3 configurations offer up to 322 miles of range.
**The
Model 3 with rear seats folded has “almost comparable cargo capacity
[to the Model Y], not as bad as those numbers from the owner's manuals
suggest,” according to Motor Trend.
This table is comparing the Model Y
Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive, with the Model 3 Standard Range Plus with
Rear Wheel Drive (single motor).
Source of the comparison image and table above, click Source.
Needless to say, I surely was not disappointed that I bought the Model
3 because the $12,000 difference to carry more suitcases is not worth
it. Keep in mind the Y is on the 3's chassis. And,we have a
Chrysler Town and Country minivan for those many suitcases.
At the end of this report is my Referral Number which you can use for
free 1,000 miles of Supercharging if you buy any Tesla vehicle or other
benefits for other Tesla products.
A more in depth report, from Model3Man,
who has a 2018 red Model 3 and compares it to a friend's Model Y,
at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWC21mm4ULk His summary
starts at 16:48. (He says, why switch from 3 to Y.)
Best Selling Electric car in the USA and Europe.
I guess electric vehicle engines are rated as kWh and the SR+ is 50
kWh. A Tesla Powerwall stores 13.5 kWh of usable
electricity. So the Tesla 3 SR+ battery is 3.7 Tesla Wall Units.
As of March 2020, the Tesla Model 3 is the world's best-selling
electric car in history, with more than 500,000 units delivered. The
Model 3 was the world's top selling plug-in electric car in 2018 and
2019, and also the best-selling plug-in car in the United States. The
Model 3 was also the top selling plug-in car in Europe in 2019....Model
3 sales surpassed the Nissan Leaf in early 2020 to become the world's
all-time top selling plug-in electric car. Many more statistics and the
history of the Model 3, click here.
kWh defined.
In the average home, one kWh of electricity means the ability to:
watch 10 hours of television,
wash 12 pounds of laundry,
cook a hot breakfast for 4 people,
listen to 20 hours of radio, or
use the computer for 5 to 10 hours.
According to The World Factbook, the United States alone--and it's the
second-largest consumer of electricity in the world, behind
China--consumes 3.832 trillion kWh of electricity annually.
From: Kate Rowland at ORACLE
This chart shows the time to charge the Tesla is between 10 pm and 8 am.
Checking one's
emporia energy app shows starting to charge the Tesla at
12:30 am and lasting 68 minutes. Which put 30 miles in the tank
at $.02 to $.03 per mile.
The spike before 12:29 was the dishwasher. The level line on the left was TV, lights, etc. at night.
Formula E Street Racing
Any
image with a gray or neon border can be clicked for a larger copy.
Most passenger car owners like to follow race circuits with motors
made by the same company as is in their own car. This is true for
Teslas, almost, since there is Formula E. I like to follow the
only American team in this International race:
From: https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/championship/teams-and-drivers
If you go to the "teams and
drivers" link (above right) I think it is amazing that they all
use the same body, only the paint jobs make them look very different. I like this paint job the best:
One of 24 FIA Formula E cars (above).
The Formula E championship currently consists of twelve teams with two cars and two drivers each. The
sport features electric-powered race cars similar in style to the
hybrid-drive cars of Formula One. Racing takes place on temporary
city-centre street circuits which are 1.9 to 3.4 km (1.2 to 2.1 mi)
long.
Gen2 car (2018-2020)
Stoffel Vandoorne driving a Gen2 Formula E car at the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix.
The second generation ("Gen2") Formula E car was
introduced in the 2018–19 season, and features significant
technological advances over the previous Spark-Renault SRT 01E car –
its 54 kWh battery and power output rising from 200 kW to 250 kW and
top speed rising to around 280 km/h (174 mph). The arrival of the Gen2
car also sees an end to the series’ mid-race car-swaps. The new cars
are equipped with Brembo braking systems, chosen by Spark Racing
Technology as the sole supplier. The new cars are also equipped with
the Halo, a T-shaped safety cage
designed to protect the driver's head in crashes, and to protect them
by deflecting flying objects. Michelin remains as tyre manufacturer,
supplying all-weather treaded tyres.
Gen3 car (2022– )
The Gen3 Formula E car is planned to be introduced for the ninth
Formula E season (2022–23). Power levels for the car are expected to be
350kW in qualifying and 300kW in the race, whilst regeneration levels
will be allowed on both front (250kW) and rear (350kW) axels for a
maximum of 600kW recovery under braking. The battery will also be
designed to be able to handle ‘flash-charging’ at rates of up to 800kW,
allowing pitstop recharging into the championship for the first time.
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_E
Photo Credit: Carl Morrison
I attended the only Formula E race on the west coast in Long Beach in 2019, and my report, with many photos, is at: http://teslatouring.com/carl/LongBeachFormulaERace2016/. The "halo" was not invented yet.
In my next report, I talk about Tesla Ss drag and field track racing.
Tesla Mobile Service
I
had seen, near home, two of those white Tesla sedans with Tesla logo (above right). Not until I watched Tesla3Man
did I see the image he posted above. He mentioned that he wanted
his tires rotated on his RWD Model 3, so a vehicle like one of the
white ones above, came to his house and rotated the tires and fixed two
other things under warranty and charged him $92 and he did not have to
take his Tesla to the Service Center. As the graphic above shows 80% of repairs can be done outside of a Service Center.
What vehicles does Tesla use for the Mobile Service? In an excellent video, Road/Show shows that they use Model S, X, and Ford vans in 2 sizes. Click Here to: See inside a Tesla Mobile Service Vehicle and the type of work they can do on the road. They say, Tesla
tells us that about 31% of its Takata airbag recalls have been
completed by Mobile Service technicians in the field with an average
replacement time of about 30 minutes
If you have questions about a Model 3, please e-mail me at Carl@TeslaTouring.com
My Referral Number is https://ts.la/carl41979 Just click
the URL to the left to go to the Tesla.com site that will explain the
benefits of using a referral number:
LINKS
[ List of Vehicles eligible for $1,000 SCE rebate and Carpool Sticker | Application for California Clean Air Vehicle Decals | Orange County Tesla Club | Tesla Club LA |
EV reports by Carl at TeslaTouring.com: National Drive Electric Week Event Los Alamitos, 2018 | National Drive Electric Week Diamond Bar, CA, 2018 | National Drive Electric Week Event Diamond Bar, CA 2017 | Pedego Electric Bike Fountain Valley, CA, 2016 | National Drive Electric Week, Long Beach, CA, 2016 | Armed Forces Day at Battle Ship Iowa, Long Beach, CA 2016 | "Wine and Wheels" Lunch and Wine Country Drive in Temecula Wine Country, CA 2016 | FIA Formula E ePRIX Long Beach, California 2016 |
Complete Description of Formula-E race cars and circuit. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-13/take-a-peek-at-the-insane-formula-e-racecar-that-launches-in-2019
