Striking with the hot iron!

Kevin's L3mr RWD was a pretty good deal. It caught the last of the Fed Tesla rebates and the Maryland tax rebate so it was $39,700 delivered. He later added the $5000 desparate Elon end of the month before Tesla stock took off deal for FSD. Somehow his also had basic autopilot in the base price so was all in through FSD for a total price of $44,700 taxes and tags icluded. Now I paid $9000 for the same autopilot and today one pays $12,000. Edmunds currently lists a used 2019 L3MR at $45K and doesn't mention FSD so we did all right. The only minus is he pays $100 a year for connectivity and of course Supercharging isn't free. However the mobile charger was thrown in and with the different plug heads he is good with various home charging setups. This model also had the primo sound and adjustable heated seats. Today new a RWD Model 3 with FSD is $60K with no rebate. Sometimes it pays to strike while the iron is hot. With a set of black Tesla roof racks (gift from Dad) and window tinting (gift from brother) so it looks pretty badass. Very little maintenance and it is not yet out of warrenty. One of our best family car deals ever.

A Blast from the Past

A little iMovie. Circe the Tesla Model 3 pickup 2018. Back when Catherine had the EVs of Nevada website I hoped to be her East Coast volunteer reporter but it never worked out. Still the video preserves how happy I was to pickup that early Tesla Model 3! Still the best car ever. Exported from iMovie in SD 480. Good Times!

Sadly stuck but still over the moon on my EV.

As I mentioned before the need for 4 wheel capability where I winter has forced an ICE car on me. My EV in PA is still the best with minimal issues - tires. inspection & insurance are most of it. I'm out of warranty so the one issue - is the flap door for the charger which I push closed manually. I've heard Tesla comes in at over $250 for this fix so I'm stalling. I also need to replace my 12 volt battery - not because it's out but at 4 years it's a timebomb so.... My main gripe is the up and down the Coast and gas use at my place in the sand. The CyberTruck is the answer but seems further and further away. Elon has decided Tesla can take it's time for we reservation holders while he pumps out the 3 and the Y. Understandable, building his versions of the VW Beetle and taking over the EV world. It does however try ones commitment to electric given every month I wait is more cash to the oil companies. Of course inflation is also a reason why waiting for the Cybertruck is plenty frightening. 1st World Problems, eh? I so miss Circe.

Lectured again by non owners on battery life

So lets break it down. First my original 2012 Nissan Leaf battery was only really useful for 6 years - luckily Tesla came along. That Leaf started with 85 and in 5 years was basically 40 in range. So yes pick the wrong chemistry and you may have a short lived car. I really want at least 10 years out of a car - especially at todays costs. First my Model 3 warranty vs my observed performance. 8 years or 120,000 miles on the Model 3 long range to still perform with 70% battery function. I have 52,426 miles at about 46 months - two months shy of the halfway period of the eight year warranty. My car was originally chargable to 310 miles. Somewhere around 2020 Tesla unlocked a little more - 315 on new cars although mine went to about 312 as the two year mark of ownership arrived. Here at almost 4 years I'm seeing almost 3% cumulative down or 9 miles off the 315 new mark - I can charge to 306 miles. So yearly about 3/4ths of a percent degradation a year (A little less if I properly did out the math but it will do). Now Tesla's warranty is about 3.75% a year degradation of less. Ben Sullin's Teslanomics had a bunch of stats showing across many Tesla owners the highest amounts of battery loss were in the early years and tended to plateau after so I'm guessing this rate of loss mat very good news for my car. Basically at 63, my car will almost certainly outlast me even in my 90's. Even at 75% - 235 miles of range at my age 100 and the cars age of 37, it will make a fine robofleet car as it has FSD. Then it can earn enough in my portion of the fares to buy a better flying Tesla if I'm still around. Luckily the plebes can't see me roll my eyes when they moaning 'but the batteries!'. For Nickola's sake talk to a Tesla EV owner.