Official Tesla Model S thread

[edatoakrun]

TSLA down ~6% today, coincident with this announcement from CR:

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-consumer-reports-tesla-models-20151020-story.html

Consumer Reports yanks recommendation for Tesla Model S

Consumer Reports withdrew its recommendation for the Tesla Model S – a car the magazine has previously raved about – because of poor reliability for the sporty electric sedan.

The turnabout comes after the influential consumer magazine handed the luxury car a “worse-than-average” rating in its annual report on the predicted reliability of new vehicles issued Tuesday.

MODERATORS NOTE - reduced size of quote to comply with Fair Use Copyright guidelines - drees

Exactly where are "Fair Use Copyright guidelines" you refer to located, Drees ?

Whatever they are, they sure seem to be irrationally and arbitrarily imposed on this forum.

The quote I posted above and you butchered, for example, was from an article paraphrasing CR's original report of Tesla's downgrade.

For that reason (and others) I find it hard to understand how anyone could consider the relatively short quote I posted on an insignificant on-line forum as a copyright violation.

The LA Times article mentioned instances where the traction motor required replacement and the charging system failed. How common are those problems on a Leaf?...

Extremely uncommon, as are other problem with the LEAF, as reported on this forum, and from multiple quality surveys.

From the LAT article, in the quote I posted, and deleted by drees:

...The Model S ratings are not representative of new-technology electric cars, Consumer Reports noted. Nissan’s electric Leaf earned average reliability marks this year and generally has rated above average in previous years...

Back on-topic, See the Tesla forum for extensive reports on the same problems identified by CR.

The Tesla drive units in particular are a weak point in all Tesla-engineered BEVs, the Toyota and Mercedes compliance BEVs, as well as the S.

If you have time, read the Tesla forum thread that started this AM and is up to ten pages already:

100% drive unit failure rate??

given all the attention to the Model S reliability recently (thanks CR), I thought it might be interesting to point this out:

take a look at the data here Plug In America if you click on the top 25 highest mileage drivers, ALL of them have had drive unit swaps, and almost every one of them have had multiple swaps. this surely seems to indicate a 100% failure rate...

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/56055-100-drive-unit-failure-rate

 

[Rebel44]

With Ludicrous mode engaged and using the new launch control feature, 60 mph in the Tesla comes in a staggeringly quick 2.6 seconds with the driver experiencing a peak of 1.1 g up through 14 mph. Given the Model S P90D hangs with hypercars in acceleration from 0 to 60 mph, the list of cars the P90D beats to 60 mph is a long one, including everything from the vaunted Nissan GT-R to the big, bad Lamborghini Aventador and Bugatti Veyron. Only two cars that we've tested can outright beat the P90D to 60 mph: the Porsche 918 Spyder and Ferrari LaFerrari. As for the "other" hybrid hypercar, the McLaren P1, the Tesla ties it in a race to 60 mph.
.......

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/2015-tesla-model-s-p90d-ludicrous-upgrade-first-test-review/

 

[palmermd]

With Ludicrous mode engaged and using the new launch control feature, 60 mph in the Tesla comes in a staggeringly quick 2.6 seconds with the driver experiencing a peak of 1.1 g up through 14 mph. Given the Model S P90D hangs with hypercars in acceleration from 0 to 60 mph, the list of cars the P90D beats to 60 mph is a long one, including everything from the vaunted Nissan GT-R to the big, bad Lamborghini Aventador and Bugatti Veyron. Only two cars that we've tested can outright beat the P90D to 60 mph: the Porsche 918 Spyder and Ferrari LaFerrari. As for the "other" hybrid hypercar, the McLaren P1, the Tesla ties it in a race to 60 mph.
.......

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/2015-tesla-model-s-p90d-ludicrous-upgrade-first-test-review/

Notice that the only ones to beat it have an electric motor (hybrid).

 

[GRA]

Somehow I don't think this compensates for CR's removal of its 'recommended' status, but then anyone spending that much for a car is unlikely to be worried by maintenance issues. They can always take one of the other cars in their stable.

 

[Valdemar]

Somehow I don't think this compensates for CR's removal of its 'recommended' status, but then anyone spending that much for a car is unlikely to be worried by maintenance issues. They can always take one of the other cars in their stable.

It will be interesting to see if there will be many takers for out of warranty Teslas down the road.

 

[lorenfb]

Based on the 2015 YTD U.S. Tesla sales estimate from InsideEVs, Tesla sold 17K units, of which 6 were
Model X. Assuming that U.S. sales comprise about 50%, that would indicate a total WW estimate of 34K units.
Since Tesla's latest downward guidance is 53K, i.e. versus the original 55K, that requires that 19K units be
sold in Q4 or at about 6.3K WW per month for the next three months. This run rate is more than any monthly
sales rate in the past.

We'll have to wait a few more days for Tesla to report what Q3 really did and what their 'gameplan' is for
the balance of 2015, e.g. whether the Model X with "30K reservations" will be the 'Hail Mary'. Hopefully,
those Model X double hinged doors don't cause an 'interception'.

Tesla released the Q3 sales number, 11.5K units, which results in a YTD 2015 number of about 33K.
My YTD number of 34K was a little high, so Tesla needs to sell about 20K units in Q4, i.e. basically
double any previous quarter.

So, based on the YTD U.S. numbers from InsideEvs http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/
Tesla only sold 1900 units in Oct. down from 2500 is Sept., resulting in a total YTD for the U.S. of 18.9K.
Since the U.S. is about 50% of WW sales, that equates to about 38K YTD. So based on the latest "guidance"
of 50-55K for 2015, Tesla needs to sell/ship on the low side 12K in the next two months or about 6k WW per
month, i.e. exceeding any previous monthly sales/ship record. We'll have to wait for today's 'spin' from Elon
on his latest "guidance".

 

[scottf200]

Several videos of different cars drag racing against the P90DL

P90DL drag races several cars

 

[reeler]

Tesla renewed its referral program without kickback to the current owner, but the new buyer saves $1000. Full details are here: http://www.teslamotors.com/support/referral-program My link is http://ts.la/thomas106 if anyone is thinking about buying one. I compiled a list of other ways to save at http://tesladiscountcoupon.com in the hopes of making these affordable.

FWIW, I love my Nissan Leaf for a daily commuter. My RAV4 EV will get me to the mountains barely without running the heat, but I am looking forward to having a Model S to get me to the mountains safely and still be able to run the heater.

 

[Zythryn]

Tesla renewed its referral program without kickback to the current owner, but the new buyer saves $1000. Full details are here: http://www.teslamotors.com/support/referral-program My link is http://ts.la/thomas106 if anyone is thinking about buying one. I compiled a list of other ways to save at http://tesladiscountcoupon.com in the hopes of making these affordable.
...

I'm very happy they eliminated the credit for the current owners. I'll be much more likely to mention this option to people.
I do wish they had increased the discount to $1500, but that is a minor quibble.

 

[pkulak]

http://www.teslamotors.com/support/referral-program

Free Supercharging is available in most cities now. My wife takes her Model S to the mall 5 miles from our house once a week and saves about $10 on each fill. Free fueling!

:roll:

 

[reeler]

I'm very happy they eliminated the credit for the current owners. I'll be much more likely to mention this option to people.
I do wish they had increased the discount to $1500, but that is a minor quibble.

They really paired down the incentives. Free tickets to PR events, one Powerwall for NA and one new car. Compared to the last round, this set of incentives is lame. I agree, they could have gone to $1500 or even $2000 and still have had less expense for the incentive program. There are very few folks doing much referring this time.

Follow the Leaderboard here: http://my.teslamotors.com/forum/for...m-officially-renewed-1231-updated-leaderboard

 

[Zythryn]

I'm very happy they eliminated the credit for the current owners. I'll be much more likely to mention this option to people.
I do wish they had increased the discount to $1500, but that is a minor quibble.

They really paired down the incentives. Free tickets to PR events, one Powerwall for NA and one new car. Compared to the last round, this set of incentives is lame. I agree, they could have gone to $1500 or even $2000 and still have had less expense for the incentive program. There are very few folks doing much referring this time.

Follow the Leaderboard here: http://my.teslamotors.com/forum/for...m-officially-renewed-1231-updated-leaderboard

True, fewer referrals are happening so far.
However, I would argue that last time around a large percentage of the referrals were not new customers.
People were nabbing referrals from people that had already gone to a Tesla store and test driven.
People were posting referral links on web sites and forums, even selling them on eBay.

These didn't grab new customers, they simply gave people already considering buying $1000 off.
They needed to remove the profit for the referrer, or at the very least, reduce it dramatically.

 

[lorenfb]

Based on the 2015 YTD U.S. Tesla sales estimate from InsideEVs, Tesla sold 17K units, of which 6 were
Model X. Assuming that U.S. sales comprise about 50%, that would indicate a total WW estimate of 34K units.
Since Tesla's latest downward guidance is 53K, i.e. versus the original 55K, that requires that 19K units be
sold in Q4 or at about 6.3K WW per month for the next three months. This run rate is more than any monthly
sales rate in the past.

We'll have to wait a few more days for Tesla to report what Q3 really did and what their 'gameplan' is for
the balance of 2015, e.g. whether the Model X with "30K reservations" will be the 'Hail Mary'. Hopefully,
those Model X double hinged doors don't cause an 'interception'.

Tesla released the Q3 sales number, 11.5K units, which results in a YTD 2015 number of about 33K.
My YTD number of 34K was a little high, so Tesla needs to sell about 20K units in Q4, i.e. basically
double any previous quarter.

So, based on the YTD U.S. numbers from InsideEvs http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/
Tesla only sold 1900 units in Oct. down from 2500 is Sept., resulting in a total YTD for the U.S. of 18.9K.
Since the U.S. is about 50% of WW sales, that equates to about 38K YTD. So based on the latest "guidance"
of 50-55K for 2015, Tesla needs to sell/ship on the low side 12K in the next two months or about 6k WW per
month, i.e. exceeding any previous monthly sales/ship record. We'll have to wait for today's 'spin' from Elon
on his latest "guidance".

The 11/15 YTD number from InsideEVs indicates that the U.S. sales number for Tesla was 22.1K units.
Again using the 50% number for the U.S. versus worldwide (WW) sales, that would indicate about 44.2K
for WW. So to achieve the revised guidance of 50-55K for 2015, Tesla needs to achieve the same sales
number WW, i.e. 6.4K, for December as it did in November. Obviously, this assumes that the non-U.S.
sales continues at 50% or better of U.S. sales and that the U.S. sales continue at the same rate.

 

[Urs]

Just thought some people might like to know this: Climate XChange is raffling off a new Tesla S or X:
http://climate-xchange.org/tesla-raffle/
-- urs

 

[edatoakrun]

Another S fire, this one at a supercharger.

Whatever the cause, photos (at link) show results that suggests the battery pack was involved.

Bad idea, IMO, to use flammable battery packs in any BEV.

Particularly in a vehicle where the cost savings cannot be justified by a low purchase price.

Translation by Google:

Tesla caught fire and burned out completely

It caught fire in a Tesla who was charging at Tesla's fast-charging station on Brokelandsheia Friday afternoon.

At 14.30 o'clock Friday afternoon parked Tesla-owner car at charging station in Brokelandsheia in Gjerstad. Having sat in the quick recharger walked driver and a passenger away from the car.

Soon afterwards the car was on fire, and emergency services were alerted.

- The car was completely ablaze when firefighters arrived. The only thing we could do was to cordon off the area and cool with foam, said duty overbefal Steinar Olsen in East Agder fire departments to Fædrelandsvennen...

The fire started in connection with charging on Tesla's fast-charging station, police said...

The car was completely destroyed in the fire. Police said that until further notice is not possible to charge the Tesla charging station on Brokelandsheia.

http://www.fvn.no/lokalt/aust_agder/Tesla-tok-fyr-og-brant-helt-ut-2945743.html

 

[pkulak]

Bad idea, IMO, to use flammable battery packs in any BEV.

Particularly in a vehicle where the cost savings cannot be justified by a low purchase price.

I doubt they use such a reactive chemistry for cost savings. It's all about the energy density. If you put a Leaf pack in that same space, a Model S would have an 100-mile range.

 

[keydiver]

Another S fire, this one at a supercharger.

Whatever the cause, photos (at link) show results that suggests the battery pack was involved.

How do you get that conclusion from the picture? I'm not seeing it.

 

[Zythryn]

Another S fire, this one at a supercharger.

Whatever the cause, photos (at link) show results that suggests the battery pack was involved.

How do you get that conclusion from the picture? I'm not seeing it.

Some people like jumping to conclusions.
For an owner of an EV though, it is quite surprising.

Personally, I'll wait to see what the investigators find out.

 

[pkulak]

Another S fire, this one at a supercharger.

Whatever the cause, photos (at link) show results that suggests the battery pack was involved.

How do you get that conclusion from the picture? I'm not seeing it.

Steel, aluminum, glass and leather tend to not burst violently into flame.

 

[edatoakrun]

Video (showing what looks like a probable pack fire to me) is here:

http://ekstrabladet.dk/112/norsk-tesla-bryder-i-brand-under-opladning/5892116

Note the explosion in the initial seconds, and another at ~50 seconds.

Later explosions look to me like tires blowing.