Thread: Cybertruck
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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2019-11-25, 17:51

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey View Post
Long story short, we were in a pretty rural area of Michigan and he still had no issues what so ever with charge and stopped just as much as I did with my truck.
Your definition of "rural" and mine are very different. Unlike Michigan, the Tesla Supercharger map has a pretty sad story to tell in "rural" Idaho-ish, where a person would be crazy to drive a base Model 3 from Boise, Idaho to Winnemucca, Nevada (250 miles) at any other time than a perfect, 70 degree day. Even then, I wouldn't chance it. Teslas do use motor heat to supplement the heating system, but there is no supplement for "110 degrees and I need my A/C!"

The distribution is definitely getting better, and the "under construction" chargers indicate that Tesla is very aware that these things cannot be more than 200 miles apart, except that even that is pushing it with the base model cars, where 250 miles is the max—if you encounter no hills, no winters, no summers, and no lead-footing. It's getting much better, but there is still a "definitely good enough" distance between chargers that has to be much closer to 100 miles, and 75 optimally, because you have to include the many thousands of homes that are way off the normal "beaten path" that Tesla is focused on.

I don't mid stopping, but most of the places I typically stop do not (and may never) have chargers, which means I actually have to stop more than I would with a gas-powered car. And since not all people have the same driving habits and/or places of interest, there is still not a "one size fits all" solution. I, for one, do not want my freedom to move about limited by the car's ability to move there.

When the cheapest Tesla Model 3 covers 250 miles, and 25% of that range has to be immediately eliminated (for safety's sake) to cover the use of heaters, A/C, and the occasional need to pass when going uphill, it's easy to understand why the vast majority of these cars are being sold to city dwellers who use them primarily as commuter cars. I have begun considering a Model 3, but it has to cost no more than $30,000 and have a range of 300 miles, minimum, before I will pull any triggers. That tells me that electric cars still have a ways to go before I can be considered a customer.

Close, but not quite there, yet.

On top of that, I actually use my truck (A Toyota Tundra) for work that actually includes hauling heavy loads over long distances. Again, in "rural" Idaho where the distances between chargers and their "beaten path" locations are not conducive to actual "work". I honestly think the Cybertruck (and other electric pickups, as well as Ford Raptors and the like) is more befitting those truck owners who mostly just tool around town with their ATV's in the back in order to look cool. And if you're driving a Cybertruck you won't be looking "cool" by any shake of the stick!

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