Tesla3 J

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Tesla Model 3 Owning and Road Trip Experience
Report 11 by Carl Morrison, November 15, 2020
Comments welcomed at: Carl@TeslaTouring.com
http://www.teslatouring.com/carl/TeslaJ/

Early Tesla, no, Early Edison Electric Car of the 1910s. Electric Car History below.

2020 Tesla Model 3 dash

"Refresh" items on the Model 3 in October, 2020.

Even though the photo above may not show all these improvements, here is a list of the "refresh" items on the Model 3 in October, 2020, and beyond.

From the Tesla Motor Club:

The sales rep provided a list of all of the updates.

Interior Upgrades:

    Sill plates are now satin black to match the exterior trim
    Seat controls have a graphite finish and the scroll wheels on the steering wheel are metalized
    The sun visors magnetically snap into place
    Matte black replaces gloss black throughout the interior including the door release and window buttons
    Redesigned center console featuring fixed inductive charging mats for two smart phones wrapped in luxurious micro suede
    Updated front compartment with a sliding lid similar to in S and X
    Two high-powered USB-C ports in the front compartment
    Added a fifth USB port to Model 3, located in the glove compartment
    Model Y heat pump added to Model 3

Exterior Upgrades:

    Side repeaters, door handles, and bright work surrounding the windows have gone from chrome to satin black
    The new 18” aero and 19” sport wheels have sharper edges
    Model 3 Performance now sits on 20” Uberturbine wheel
    Power lift gate

Tesla Motor Club.com Source #365

Here's Every New Electric Vehicle Model for Sale in the U.S. by

Click any image on this page for a larger format image.

Range, efficiency, and base price: This guide will help you decide on the EV that works best for you. By Scott Oldham May 22, 2020

2020 Tesla Model 3 — 141 MPGe     Base price: $41,190 [Which was decreased by $2,000 at the end of Q2 and is now $37,990.]
    EPA fuel economy, combined/city/highway: 141/148/132 MPGe [Highest of all 30 EVs available in the US.]
    EPA combined range: 250 miles [Now 263 miles of predicted range.]

Regardless of how you feel about Elon Musk or Tesla products, there's no denying the sales success of the Model 3. Introduced a few years ago, the brand's least expensive model was one of the most anticipated cars of the decade, promising huge EV range for about $40,000. Today, they're everywhere, and it's easy to understand the appeal. The Model 3 is a quick sharp-handling sedan with attractive styling and enough interior space for your friends. It also offers the biggest range numbers and the lowest acceleration times for the money. Musk has delivered the bang for the buck. The rear-wheel-drive Standard Range Plus model with its 250 miles of range has proven exceedingly popular, while the all-wheel-drive Long Range and Performance models offer 322 miles of range and 60-mph acceleration as quick as 3.2 seconds.

For the full article of all 30 EVs Click Here.

Tesla Model 3 is crushing Dodge Charger as a police car when it comes to the cost of ownership as the Bargersville Police Chief who pushed to electrify his fleet shares a 1-year review of the cost of operation.

"Two big things that we were looking at when shopping for cars were obviously cost and performance. Many times when you get a car that is in our cost price range, you sacrifice performance. With Tesla, the performance is better than the cars we are currently driving. It’s amazing, it’s smooth, it’s powerful, it handles great."

The Model 3 Standard Range Plus version that they bought is a little more expensive than the Dodge Charger at ~$41,000, but they expect gas savings of about $6,000 per year, which means that the Model 3 will pay for itself over its lifetime.

They generally keep their vehicles for six years, and after they broke down the economics, they determined that they are going to save about $20,000 per car with the Model 3.

It includes not only gas savings, but the police department is also expecting some significant maintenance savings.

At this point [October 5, 2020], more and more police departments are starting to see the Tesla Model 3 as a real option for a patrol vehicle.

In Tesla’s own backyard, the Fremont [California] Police Department converted a used Tesla Model S to a patrol vehicle.

The Country of Luxembourg Police converted two Model S sedans to patrol cars, and the largest fleet of Tesla police patrol vehicles is in Switzerland. [2017]

From electrek article in 2017 - "In terms of range, the country is ideal for electric cars since it’s only 51 miles long and 35 miles wide. As for speed and acceleration, virtually all of the latest versions of Tesla’s Model S are now quicker and faster than conventional police cars, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Budget Direct Insurance Company's concept drawing of a $25,000 Tesla Model 2 announced on Battery Day by Elon Musk.

Tesla Model S owner, Leilani Munter, is a professional race car driver, but her self-proclaimed slogan “a vegan hippie chick with a race car” proves there is more to her than most competitors in the male-dominated sport.

Munter, who competes in the ARCA series, is on a mission to raise awareness about the environment in ways few players in her industry would dare go. After all, one of the biggest villains in her carbon-free movement is the fossil fuel, the very lifeblood of her sport.

In the days leading up to a recent race, Leilani embarked on a road trip in an electric car from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina to Chicagoland Speedway becoming the first ARCA or NASCAR driver to travel to a race completely oil free.

Meet rEVolutionaries #5 - Leilani Munter, Documentary filmmaker, Long-time Model S owner, Activist, and Retired Race Car driver spoke at The Tesla Owners Club of Orange County, California, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 at 11 AM Pacific. Her talk was recorded and watchable - Click Here.

Blast off from Cape Kennedy. (left) and landing of rocket after mission (Right).

(Left) Separated part drops, rocket continues into orbit. ( Right) Blastoff route and orbit above.
For the full story of the September launch of 60 satellites , Click Here.

For SpaceX Starlink music Click Here

Source.

The Chinese version of a Model 3 with some new, improved features: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qNX2EpKAE4

Console lid slides like the Model S with chrome around.

Electric cars of the 1910s.

Edison Electric Car 1913 Right, Notice the electric charging cord.

By Smith Jacobson, 16 Feb 2017

The history of the Electric Vehicle starts back with beginning of the Automobile. Contrary to popular belief, many of the first Automobiles on the roads were Battery Powered, not gasoline. This is because back in 1901 Thomas Edison invented a Nickle-Iron Rechargeable battery which could provide ample power to supply the simple drive motor.

Between 1900 and 1915, about 1/3rd of all cars were Battery Powered, with the Electric Vehicle dominating inner city transit. New York Taxi services during this time was almost exclusively powered by Battery Operated Vehicles.

The Electric Car became very popular as a choice for women and the ‘well-to-do’ because it was quieter and cleaner. The Ford Model T was, by comparison, loud, smelly, and dirty with it’s internal combustion engine producing black soot where ever it went.

Then World War I happened.

While initially this provided a boom to the Electric Car Industry - as Crude Oil was an important Strategic Resource

Rashique Shah, Btech Petroleum Engineering & Visiting and Travel, Presidency University, Bengaluru

Many people seem to be under the impression that Electric Vehicles are new. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, at the turn of the last century, electric vehicles outnumbered gasoline powered vehicles by a wide margin.

By 1902, George Fischer was building “hybrid” electric vehicles, and they were operated successfully as electric buses in London and as delivery vehicles by Macy’s in New York. His vehicles had an electric drive train for reliability and ease of control (no transmission required) and a gasoline fueled generator operating at its “sweet spot” to recharge the batteries while driving.

Although privately owned vehicles were popular early on due to their reliability, fleet use continued to be popular until the early 1920’s. The reason for their popularity was that they had limited fixed routes which had been previously powered by horses, and gasoline powered vehicles were still less reliable than electrics.

Historians generally conclude that Charles Kettering sealed the fate of electric vehicles of the era with the invention of the electric starter, which was introduced on the 1912 Cadillac. This made the gasoline engine so much more practical and convenient. Of course, it also created what we now consider the “normal” automotive electrical system. It was also another form of hybrid vehicle.

For the next 50 years, there was little interest or activity with electric vehicles. Interest in gasoline powered vehicles increased tremendously. By the 1960’s, air quality was becoming a serious issue.

The government began considering controls to reduce air pollution. We began to consider ways to reduce pollution.

The epitome of this concern was the “Great Electric Car Race” of 1968. This was a competition between Caltech and MIT. Each school built an electric vehicle, and each team left their campus and headed for the other campus. Charging stations were set up every 60 miles. Caltech used Lead Acid batteries, while MIT used lighter NiCad batteries. Caltech won by 30 minutes.

This was followed in 1970 by the Intercollegiate Clean Air Car Race from MIT to Caltech. There were 50 entries fielded by 40 schools. The categories were electric, steam, propane and turbine. There were 16 pure-electric entries.

After seeing the situations in 1970's and WWII few government responded , which was inspired by the need to reduce their dependence on foreign oil. The goal was to have 10,000 electric vehicles on the road in 5 years. It funded large and small companies alike, both to improve batteries and to build vehicles. Fewer than 1000 vehicles were actually built, and the effort was simply not sustainable.

Drive systems went from series DC motors and SCR choppers to FET choppers and separately excited DC motors. Regenerative braking became possible. However, battery technology was not up to the task. The classic “golf cart” battery saw perhaps a 10% improvement in capacity, so vehicles needed to be “battery trays on wheels”. Consequently, vehicle range was generally 40-60 miles and performance was limited.

This was followed in the 1990’s by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB tried to encourage the production of Clean Electric Vehicles.

The General Motors EV-1 was conceived to fill that role. This vehicle was groundbreaking in several respects.

First, it was a ground-up electric vehicle design.

Second, it used an AC motor controller driving a 3 phase AC motor for its drive system. This not only provided regenerative braking, but it allowed a brushless motor to be used. This meant the motor could run at a higher RPM, thus reducing size and weight. It was also designed for next-generation batteries.

Between 1996 and 1999 GM produced 660 cars as Gen I with lead acid batteries, and another 457 Gen II vehicles were produced with the new Nickel Metal Hydride batteries.

But CARB eventually backed away from the requirements, and at lease end, the cars were destroyed.

Until around 2008 ,When the other automobile industries were trying to find out hybrids and efficient ways to deal with the prices of fuel, the Prius proved that there IS a market for new technology that provides significantly better fuel economy. The Prius uses a small nickel metal hydride battery, an AC drive system and a clever transmission coupled with a small 4 cylinder engine. They have only recently switched to Lithium Ion batteries.

GM followed with the Volt, capable of all-electric operation as well as blended gasoline/electric operation. The Volt uses a moderate-sized lithium ion battery to allow 40 miles or so of all-electric range, beyond which a gasoline engine kicks in to provide a conventional gasoline-powered driving mode. Although sales were initially slow, they are increasing.

Silicon Valley startup Tesla Motors decided to produce a ground-up electric vehicle. Theirs was a no-compromise all electric vehicle.

It had acceleration to rival the best sports cars, and a 200+ mile range to satisfy all but the most extreme daily drivers.

They created their own lithium ion battery pack from the tiny 18 x 65 mm lithium ion cells found in the common laptop computer.

A 3 phase AC drive system was geared to the drive wheels via a single-speed transmission.

At $109,000, it was not cheap, but it was a unique and impressive vehicle.

Tesla sold over 1200 of them, and avoided any major mistakes in doing it. The major automobile manufacturers have taken notice, and most of them are now offering some sort of small electric vehicle, suitable for running errands or your daily commute to work.

And this year [2016?], the latest Tesla offering, the Model S, was chosen as Motor Trend Car of the year. This was probably the most radical departure from automotive technology to ever be honored with the title. The Model S is a true ground-up design. This luxury sedan has acceleration better than most, optional battery packs that give it 300+ mile range, and class leading features and execution. It has earned a 5 star crash rating proving that electric vehicles can be the safest on the road.

It has surprised many with its brisk sales. Tesla has an SUV version in the works, the Model X which promises to apply state-of-the-art EV technology to this important vehicle sector. With thousands of Model S’s on the road throughout the US, there has been only a single incident involving a battery fire, and the facts seem to point to a very unique situation as being responsible. One would expect no less from a gasoline powered vehicle.

Tesla showed the world what a determined application of technology could do for electric vehicles. The Prius and the Volt showed that Hybrid vehicles might bridge the gap. But the actual market forces have yet to play out.

Reva has been manufacturing small, low cost Electric Vehicles in India for over a decade. As fuel prices rise, the popularity of EV’s will certainly rise. Many companies, including FED EX and UPS, are currently evaluating EV’s.

Every day there is news of a new Electric vehicle being introduced, or a new battery, or a new technology in a related area. Fossil Fuels are limited, and at some point they will become too valuable to be burned in vehicles. There can be no question that the popularity of electric vehicles will grow, it’s just a matter of how fast.

There are a number of great benefits to electric vehicles (EVs) over conventional petrol/diesel cars.

Cheaper to run

Cheaper to maintain

Better for the environment

Uses Renewable energy

Uses Eco-friendly materials for manufacturing

Health benefits as an impact of using EV

Better Safety

Energy security of the country

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:

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