Official Tesla Model S thread

[Herm]

They should also offer Naugahyde as an option.

 

[EricBayArea]

I just saw a Model S this morning on my drive over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. It was a black Model S and from the back I couldn't quite tell what it was but once I got closer I saw the Tesla logo and the "Model S" emblem. The lights on the back did NOT look like these (picture was found on the web):

Instead they were more individual circles that were read, yellow and white. I wish I had had my wife photograph it but I thought about it too late.

The front looked very nice - very Maserati'esk. It had dealer plates but had some stickers that were masking certain parts of the body and it had a number snickered to one window (like a stock number, not a racing number).

Overall a very nice looking car and the driver gave me a nod as rolled by. He was driving it at a very leisurely pace.

 

[grommet]

On Tuesday, I saw a police officer with a beta Tesla Model S pulled over on the left at 237 & El Camino in Mountain View. Not sure if he just wanted to check it out, or he was issuing an actual ticket. :lol:

 

[Christopher]

Somebody has posted a picture on the Tesla Motors Club forum of the information display on the Model S. It's interesting to see and compare to what we have on the LEAF. It looks like they have an analog-like dial showing speed on one half and power consumption/regeneration on the other half. (Up to 320 kW output and regen up to 60 kW.) This is centered around digital readouts of speed and mileage remaining estimate and a "progress bar"- like display which I presume is remaining charge.

On the right is a graph showing power usage/regen over distance in Wh/mile including a display of the average. This display is presumably changeable and people mention that the Tesla Roadster lets you switch between 5, 10 and 15 miles. As some have wished for a way to "see the data" behind the LEAF's estimate of remaining range, I suppose that this is essentially that.

Here's the link to the thread:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/8867-Real-World-Range-Calculations" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[EricBayArea]

Pretty neat, thanks for sharing.

Someone should tell that owner that they have a lower tire warning

And check out that 230Kw max power - wow :shock: Makes our 80Kw max look like child's play. Oh and to have 123 miles remaining at less than half battery power. Some day.

Also, I like the little touch of the Day and Date at the bottom. Something I typically wouldn't have thought of but its nice to see it now that its there.

 

[Stoaty]

I don't care for the analog nature of the center gauge. Reminds me of cars from the 70's.

 

[EVDrive]

Cool new videos about the model s being produced.

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/06/19/watch-tesla-model-s-assembled-painted-details-opportunity-console/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Amazing how the can get 300 miles out of a battery pack that looks the same physical size as the pack in the leaf.

 

[Boomer23]

EPA MPGe for the Model S is out: 89 MPGe. It was bound to be lower than the LEAF's and the other economy leader EVs because of its weight, but way better than the Coda's 73 MPGe, at least. BTW, has the curb weight of the 85 kWh Model S been released yet?

EDIT: And... 38 kWh/100 miles

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/06/20/tesla-model-s-officially-rated-at-89-mpge-with-265-mile-range/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Technical question: Might the 40 kWh base Model S be lighter, and therefore more energy efficient?

 

[Herm]

Technical question: Might the 40 kWh base Model S be lighter, and therefore more energy efficient?

I'm sure it would be lighter, but the range might be marginal.. if you want energy efficiency there are electric bicycles available that do a good job.

 

[adric22]

I don't care for the analog nature of the center gauge. Reminds me of cars from the 70's.

Agreed. With any luck, maybe the user can customize it?

 

[edatoakrun]

EPA MPGe for the Model S is out: 89 MPGe. It was bound to be lower than the LEAF's and the other economy leader EVs because of its weight, but way better than the Coda's 73 MPGe, at least. BTW, has the curb weight of the 85 kWh Model S been released yet?

EDIT: And... 38 kWh/100 miles

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/06/20/tesla-model-s-officially-rated-at-89-mpge-with-265-mile-range/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Technical question: Might the 40 kWh base Model S be lighter, and therefore more energy efficient?

A bit more is reported below:

...88 MPGe city, 90 MPGe highway...

http://www.electric-vehiclenews.com/2012/06/tesla-model-s-epa-rating-89-mpge-265.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think a significantly higher (still undisclosed, AFAIK) vehicle weight, may be the principle explanation for the inversion of the city/highway MPGe numbers for the 85 kWh S, as opposed to the higher "city" MPGe rating, for every other BEV.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evsbs.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anyone know how much of the total 85 kWh is available to the S driver?

Does the S also have a "Long life" lower charge level, such as the LEAF and (IIRC) the Tesla roadster have?

 

[cdub]

I can say without a doubt that a Tesla will be my next car... in 10 years when I'm done with my 2011 Leaf.

 

[DaveEV]

Anyone know how much of the total 85 kWh is available to the S driver?

Hard to say. Though if one extrapolates the EPA data: 265 mi / 100 mi * 38 mi / kWh = 100.7 kWh / charge. I have to assume they are using quite a bit of it, or have significant overhead while charging. Or perhaps it's a result of Tesla using the 5-cycle EPA test to determine range instead of using the 2-cycle EPA test and applying a 30% correction factor like the LEAF is rated?

Does the S also have a "Long life" lower charge level, such as the LEAF and (IIRC) the Tesla roadster have?

So far it appears that everyone on the Tesla forums is assuming that it will be same as the Roadster - a standard charge mode ("long life") and a range charge mode which allows them to access additional SOC at the top and bottom of the pack.

 

[surfingslovak]

Anyone know how much of the total 85 kWh is available to the S driver?

Or perhaps it's a result of Tesla using the 5-cycle EPA test to determine range instead of using the 2-cycle EPA test and applying a 30% correction factor like the Leaf?

Their EPA range is very impressive, and I have to agree with your comment. The Leaf would have likely fared more favorably with the 5-cycle test.

 

[edatoakrun]

Anyone know how much of the total 85 kWh is available to the S driver?

Or perhaps it's a result of Tesla using the 5-cycle EPA test to determine range instead of using the 2-cycle EPA test and applying a 30% correction factor like the Leaf?

Their EPA range is very impressive, and I have to agree with your comment. The Leaf would have likely fared more favorably with the 5-cycle test.

The new 5 cycle test will also be used to rate the 2013 MY LEAF, correct?

So, the LEAF may be bumped up from 73 miles range to...?

 

[tbleakne]

Technical question: Might the 40 kWh base Model S be lighter, and therefore more energy efficient?

The 40 kWh battery should definitely be lighter than the 60 kWh battery, because they share the same battery technology. The 85 kWh battery may not be any heavier than the 60 kWh battery, because it is rumored to have a higher-density, more advanced (and expensive) design, possibly involving a Li-Si electrode and/or nano technology.

The lighter weight of the 40 kW battery will not affect the aerodynamic drag, which dominates, but it will reduce the drag due to rolling resistance. Measurements with my LEAF led me to a value of .1 kWh per mile for RR in my spreadsheet model for a LEAF with one occupant. In the absence of other data we can scale that value when we learn the Model S weights for each battery.

<Edit>
There will be more significant savings going up a grade, but when coming back down the lighter car will have less potential energy to recover, so there would be no net savings if regeneration efficiency was 100%. If the downgrade is steep enough to generate regeneration, and regeneration loss is significant (like the LEAF), the lighter car would save some energy. </Edit>

Since all 3 batteries share the same outer battery case, I would expect the weight savings for the 40 kW size will be less than 1/3 the 60 kW weight.

 

[GRA]

Technical question: Might the 40 kWh base Model S be lighter, and therefore more energy efficient?

The 40 kWh battery should definitely be lighter than the 60 kWh battery, because they share the same battery technology. The 85 kWh battery may not be any heavier than the 60 kWh battery, because it is rumored to have a higher-density, more advanced (and expensive) design, possibly involving a Li-Si electrode and/or nano technology.

The lighter weight of the 40 kW battery will not affect the aerodynamic drag, which dominates, but it will reduce the drag due to rolling resistance. Measurements with my LEAF led me to a value of .1 kWh per mile for RR in my spreadsheet model for a LEAF with one occupant. In the absence of other data we can scale that value when we learn the Model S weights for each battery.

There will be more significant savings going up a grade, but you should get most of that back when coming back down, less the regeneration losses.

Since all 3 batteries share the same outer battery case, I would expect the weight savings for the 40 kW size will be less than 1/3 the 60 kW weight.

I read sometime back that the pack weight for the 40kWh battery was ~1,000 lb., with the 60 and 85 kWh packs running ~1,200 lb, the difference in capacity being due to use of Li-Si batteries (Panasonic IIRR) in the 85kWh pack. Unfortunately I don't remember where I read all this, so can't give a reference.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Big day for Tesla tomorrow.

Do Tesla aficionados have the equivalent of MNL? (don't worry I won't post :lol: )

 

[grommet]

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[grommet]

The new 5 cycle test will also be used to rate the 2013 MY LEAF, correct?

So, the LEAF may be bumped up from 73 miles range to...

The tests are equivalent already. Only way the 2013 will improve is if Nissan tweaks the design.