My experience getting a dedicated EV TOU 2 electric meter with SDGE

[no_such_reality]

The EV1 would smoke a martin too. It’s the direct drive that does it.

Now they just need to figure out how to cut the price by 2/3rds.

[earlyretirement]

Hey AN. Yeah, the interior at first bothered me on the dozens of visits to the UT Mall as I thought it wasn’t nearly as luxurious as other $100k+ cars. However, I have REALLY come to appreciate the minimalistic design. I went with the black leather, the Obeche matte finish wood on the dash and the upgraded leather dash. It really looks beautiful.

The only thing that I think they need to change/add are these things to make them standard in future versions which I think they probably will:

– No lighted vanity mirrors. There ARE lights near them but they really need to add lights automatically when you open them.

– CENTER CONSOLE should come with any $100k car. Having to pay upwards of $1,000 to add a center console isn’t fair to me. My wife loves it as she can put her purse there and I’ve spoken to other owners where their wives also love it. But it’s not practical and they need some storage room. That will come out this fall and I’m told it will be $700 to $1,000 so that will be another grand down the drain.

– They need to add some storage on the side of the doors as there are none.

– They didn’t have any rear cup holders. They have come up with some solution to add them but I had to pay $150 (just ordered them as they just came out this week) and they don’t look that great but oh the joys of being an early adopter.

– The third row rear seating doesn’t have ANY AC vents back there. The area is only for kids but it’s hard to believe they didn’t put any air vents back there. Fortunately San Diego doesn’t get too hot besides a few weeks a year. I bought some after market battery operated fans that fit back in the back and that along with getting it dark tinted to 15 works really well. But they really need to fix that for future versions.

Everything else I’m really happy with. I upgraded to the Premium sound which cost $2,500 more but the sound quality is really good. Better than my upgraded Audi Q7 with Bang Olufsen speakers. I mainly upgraded so I could listen to Sirius as I listen to Bloomberg, CNBC along with some other financial stations while I’m in the car.

But the car drives like a dream and I’m sure that future generations will be amazing. Battery technology will keep improving. Depending on how things go, I’ll probably order a Model X next year. But I’m NOT the type that can order a car without test driving it.

But I was having lunch today with another Model S owner from the Tesla forum and he saw one at the Headquarters and he told me it was AMAZING!

[spdrun]

The center console in cars is an artifact of a transmission and/or exhaust hump. Tesla Model S doesn’t have one — personally, with the width of the Model S, I’d just as soon have a 3-person bench seat in front, sculpted as buckets on the left and right sides.

I like the straight-across dash. Reminds me of my uncle’s old Citroen DS 🙂

[earlyretirement]

[quote=spdrun]The center console in cars is an artifact of a transmission and/or exhaust hump. Tesla Model S doesn’t have one — personally, with the width of the Model S, I’d just as soon have a 3-person bench seat in front, sculpted as buckets on the left and right sides.

I like the straight-across dash. Reminds me of my uncle’s old Citroen DS :)[/quote]

The center console that is coming out this Fall should work well.

http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s/products/drop-in-center-console

It was supposed to come out this summer but they delayed it.

The car IS wide and long. People don’t realize just how much room there is. More than a 7 series BMW. One of my friends that is 6′ 6 was amazed this weekend he could fit in it.

The 17′ screen is mind blowing! It’s hard to believe it’s legal to operate that thing while you’re driving. LOL. I mean, other cars I’ve owned you can’t even play with the navigation (except voice commands) while you’re driving but this thing you can search on Google, read the weather, watch your stocks, favorite websites, all while you’re driving.

[spdrun]

Can =/= should.

[FlyerInHi]

Man, expensive car.

For that kind of price I’d rather buy an investment condo that will return me money every month. But I guess, I won’t be enjoying life as much.

I have a Toyota Camry, a Nissan Frontier and a Toyota Tacoma. I never bought a luxury make.

Electric is pretty cool. My condo allows people install electric chargers at their own expense but nobody has done that yet. Are those things too big to fit in a parking space? Post a picture of your SDGE setup.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Man, expensive car.

For that kind of price I’d rather buy an investment condo that will return me money every month. But I guess, I won’t be enjoying life as much.

I have a Toyota Camry, a Nissan Frontier and a Toyota Tacoma. I never bought a luxury make.

Electric is pretty cool. My condo allows people install electric chargers at their own expense but nobody has done that yet. Are those things too big to fit in a parking space? Post a picture of your SDGE setup.[/quote]

Ha, ha. Well, I already own several investment properties. I agree that cars are a HORRIBLE investment. I’m typically NOT the type of guy that buys expensive cars. I have been pretty prudent with investments all my life.

I’ve always maintained the attitude that cars are the WORST investment you can make. And this is by far the most expensive car I’ve ever purchased. Previous to this the most expensive was my car that I bought when I moved here which is an Audi Q7 TDI which wasn’t cheap. But this Tesla by far is more expensive and the expenses are still piling up with it.

But I LOVE LOVE LOVE technology and this car is about as good as it gets for me. I already own many investment properties and I haven’t bought myself anything since I’ve had kids so I figured it was time to reward myself a bit.

I’ve NEVER enjoyed driving until buying this car. I’ve been the type that would rather take planes and I HATED driving. But now I really love the experience and find excuses to drive every chance I get now.

The set up for the meter doesn’t take much room in a house. I’m not sure how complex it is for a condo but I just had lunch today with a guy that installed one in his garage. It sounded like a nightmare (you can read his follow up post to my post here: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/21255-My-experience-getting-a-dedicated-EV-TOU-2-electric-meter-with-SDGE-in-San-Diego ) But he managed. But as you can read from his post, his situation was also a nightmare getting the dedicated meter.

Sure, I’ll post a photo tomorrow of the meter but honestly it’s just a second meter next to the first one. But I’ll post a photo.

Oh yeah, another benefit is you can drive the Tela in the HOV lanes in California. Technically/legally you are supposed to wait until you get your license plates and then apply but I still haven’t gotten my plates yet.

I’ve been driving in the HOV lane alone anyway as I figure any cop will know the Tesla. And I’m happy to report so far I’ve been on I-5 and I-15 three times when I’ve ever had a cop go by me or I’ve gone by them and they just waved! I don’t have the HOV stickers on my car and probably won’t put them on as they are so ugly. But I figured I’d post about that side benefit of owning a Tesla and being able to ride in the HOV lanes.

[FlyerInHi]

Nothing wrong with rewarding yourself.

The smart phone app is pretty cool. How is the car connected to the Internet?
Do you pay a separate subscription? Or does it come built in like a kindle?

[earlyretirement]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Nothing wrong with rewarding yourself.

The smart phone app is pretty cool. How is the car connected to the Internet?
Do you pay a separate subscription? Or does it come built in like a kindle?[/quote]

Yeah, I agree. You have to throw yourself a “bone” from time to time. Since the kids were born I haven’t bought myself anything big. We do take a lot of fancy trips around the world and that is where the bulk of our spending goes but I don’t consider that something material. I consider it almost an education showing my kids different places, cultures and societies around the world. I wouldn’t change a thing that way.

Any time I’ve saved up money I’ve just turned around and bought another investment property. I just bought another apartment earlier this year and the ROI has been great so I figured it was time to treat myself.

The Iphone/Android App is SUPER cool!! The car is always “on”. The car is connected with an always on 3G signal that works VERY well. So far, Tesla includes it free but someday they will probably charge for it. But for now, it’s free and always on.

Totally amazing. For example, if I’m sitting in a restaurant and it’s too hot, 5 minutes before I leave for the car I can set the temperature to be 65 degrees and it will be at the temperature I want when I get there.

You can always see in real time the exact address your car is at. You can follow it in real time if your spouse is using the car you don’t have to ask “are you almost home”. You can see them on their path. See how fast they are going, see the route they are taking. Just amazing!!

Or if you are at a Blink charger, you can hook up and go eat, drink read the paper, etc. and you can see exactly how many miles are charging, how much to go to fill up the battery, etc. The Blink chargers are fairly slow at 15/20 miles per hour charge but it’s GREAT at the malls as there are usually spots near the front of the doors to park so you have that added benefit plus charging in what you used to get there. It’s only $1 per hour at Blink chargers so that isn’t bad at all. The lowest I’ve gotten was 15 miles in an hour for $1.

When they start charging for the hotspot I’ll probably just use my Iphone hotspot as internet. The car is set up for Bluetooth and also wi-fi works great on it as well. So I can always get a connection on my Iphone. But honestly, the 3G signal is so good.

Also the Slacker account is TOTALLY cool! No more paying for songs. You just push a button and say the name of ANY song and it instantly goes to it. For example, “Play Yellow Coldplay” will bring that up. It works with any song.

The technology is totally incredible. Plus it’s cool because when Tesla updates the software (which they will constantly do to make improvements) you don’t have to take it to the center to get it updated. It just downloads while you sleep so you wake up to cool new features. Kind of like an iPad.

[spdrun]

Can you disable “find my car” for when you don’t want to be “found?” Just asking …

I’d rather NOT have my car phone home every few seconds — would it still operate if you disconnected the 3g antenna?

[earlyretirement]

[quote=spdrun]Can you disable “find my car” for when you don’t want to be “found?” Just asking …

I’d rather NOT have my car phone home every few seconds — would it still operate if you disconnected the 3g antenna?[/quote]

Yep. You sure can. Just a matter of turning it off in the car once you’re in with the keys. If you want to go in James Bond stealth mode you can do that too so the App can’t track you.

The 3G antenna is always on though….. You can’t turn that off but you can disable the ability for the Iphone/Android App to track you.

[earlyretirement]

FlyerinHI,

As promised, here is a photo of the set up and the meters side by side.

[spdrun]

The 3G antenna is always on though….. You can’t turn that off but you can disable the ability for the Iphone/Android App to track you.

I wonder if TSLA still receives GPS location info (just doesn’t broadcast it to their apps) if it’s disabled. Having the manufacturer be able to track an object that I may have paid for outright is just a wee bit creepy. It should be: my vehicle, my privacy.

Not because we’re applying for jobs as hired hit men, but because of the principle of the thing.

Update:
Looks like Tesla may have a decent policy in place after all…

http://www.gps4us.com/news/post/New-whisper-quiet-Tesla-Model-S-electric-car-with-superior-GPS-navigation-20111007.aspx

“Tesla has no plans to store the electric car GPS location data to keep away from privacy concerns”

[an]

Don’t buy a Model S if you want privacy: http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2013/08/authentication-flaws-in-the-tesla-model-s-rest-api.html

[Coronita]

[quote=AN][quote=earlyretirement]Most younger people know the car/model already but I’ve had several older people ask me “is that an Aston Martin”. LOL. I’ve gotten that about 4 times. And speaking of Aston Martin, I thought this video review was pretty cool from the UK of the Model S smoking an Aston.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUW0l7bZn1s%5B/quote%5D
The guy did say briefly that the interior quality is not even in the same league. But he only said it in 1 sentence and never mentioned about it again. As for performance, that Aston is a dog. Saying they beat the Aston is like saying you beat the slowest kid in your class. That’s not saying much. I love to see the pit the Model S against the latest S63 AMG. Or better yet, compare it against this beast: http://blog.caranddriver.com/brabus-builds-an-838-hp-s-class-the-new-one-its-ibusiness-time-2013-frankfurt-auto-show/?src=spr_GOOGLE_PLUS_PAGE&spr_id=1458_22864379 😀

I wonder if they’ll put more battery in the Model X to greatly extend the range, since they have a lot more space to work with. Imagine a 6000lb Model X tank that can go 500 miles. I think I’ll be totally interested in that.

I’m loving all these new tech that’s hitting the car market. Love this one from Toyota as well: http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/11/toyota-yaris-hybrid-r-frankfurt-2013/#continued. Super-capacitor vs traditional batter. That’s cool. The new MBW i8 sounds cool too. For the car that size, I’m really impressed that they can get it to weigh ~3200 lb.[/quote]

There was a Tesla S at the August autocross.
It was a Model S 60.

http://www.sdbmwcca.com/autocross/results/2013-08-10.php

See “X” class section…

It was brand new, I don’t think it had a plate on it yet. Spoke to him briefly. Nice guy. He did a 100.965 on a fast course. 64/100..However, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t representative of the car, but more likely he’s a new(er) driver and probably not trashing the car as much as other people were… The fastest X class was a near bone stock 04 miata with a 87.808, but that driver is not representative of the average either..He’s really good, since he normally stomps most everyone else regularly…

If the tesla driver shows up next time, I’ll see if I can get the time when the instructors runs it on the first practice lap. A few of us are curious about it as well..

ER…

Bring out your Tesla to play….$50 membership annually and $65/event and maybe a $200 helmet if you don’t want to borrow one……

[Author]

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