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OP
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Tesla charging stations are free to owners, I assume he just uses those to quick charge, then pootles about daily business?

I'm in the very lucky geographical position to be within 10 minutes drive of 3 separate Tesla Supercharger sites, I don't think anywhere else in the UK has it quite so good. That said, technically, I am "abusing" the network as it's intended for long range travel enablement rather than me charging for free. I wouldn't mind paying but my garage is a communal space and I am having a right old battle with the building managers getting power to my space (I have no home charging facilities yet). If I didn't live so close to the superchargers I'd be in big trouble. Currently I just take 30-40 mins out of a weekend morning to grab a coffee and read the news whilst it's charging to 80% ready for any trips in the week ahead - I don't yet find it arduous but we'll see what I think in 6 months time ...

M40 J9a always has a row of Teslas on charge. Awesome looking cars, but I think I'd find it really hard to let a DB9 go.

It's hard seeing photos of it as it's such a glorious looking car, but knowing it has gone to a good home (plus I'll see it every now and again) makes me feel a bit better. No doubt they'll appreciate in the future but it was, for me, a chunk of cash tied up plus £2000+ a year running costs for what amounted to 1500 miles driving, albeit good driving! The Tesla absolutely does not have the sense of occasion the DB9 had and ofcourse the theatre of acceleration (due to the noise and power delivery) is unmatched but technology the Tesla has in spades. I am a software developer by trade so I love technology as much as I love cars/motoring so it's the perfect mix for me.

I understand Tesla P90's delivered up to 3 weeks ago are not compatible with Autopilot v2. Must be slightly annoying :/

I can't say I didn't feel a pang of annoyance when I saw the announcement so soon after I took delivery but some people on the Tesla forums are insane! They are so upset about Tesla making their cars 'obsolete' and 'outdated', some suggesting they should delay their technology so existing owners feel better. Crazy talk I say... I almost hope they make my car as obsolete as fast as possible as I love technology progress - Autopilot v2 will be a revelation - Tesla are so far ahead in this game it's actually quite scary. Good luck to them I say - I strongly believe in Musk's vision and will support it whatever way I can.

Thanks for all the nice comments - Any more questions please ask and I'll do my best to answer!
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Jul 2008
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4,912
Jealous of the Tesla for sure. And of the old DB9. That looks pretty much like the one I went to see a few months back.

I see a lot of Teslas when I'm at work in Norway. Due to the way they tax cars, the P90D ends up costing about the same as a 530d does. If they were that cheap here, I would be all in. Right up for almost free motoring.

I do get the point on monster drives though. I planned out a route to London a few months ago for me. Baring in mind I am coming from NE Scotland. I would, admittedly, have to stop at least once more than I would normally (so 3 stops instead of 2), but that also assumes that the range is relatively accurate. Which I doubt it is. So I would more than likely need to fit an extra stop in there somewhere.

I do fancy a Model X though. I'd just have to see how much they cost first, and a realistic range on them too. An extra couple hundred a month doesn't seem so bad when I'd be saving a couple hundred a month in fuel costs.
 
Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2013
Posts
9,121
I'm in the very lucky geographical position to be within 10 minutes drive of 3 separate Tesla Supercharger sites, I don't think anywhere else in the UK has it quite so good. That said, technically, I am "abusing" the network as it's intended for long range travel enablement rather than me charging for free. I wouldn't mind paying but my garage is a communal space and I am having a right old battle with the building managers getting power to my space (I have no home charging facilities yet). If I didn't live so close to the superchargers I'd be in big trouble. Currently I just take 30-40 mins out of a weekend morning to grab a coffee and read the news whilst it's charging to 80% ready for any trips in the week ahead - I don't yet find it arduous but we'll see what I think in 6 months time ...



It's hard seeing photos of it as it's such a glorious looking car, but knowing it has gone to a good home (plus I'll see it every now and again) makes me feel a bit better. No doubt they'll appreciate in the future but it was, for me, a chunk of cash tied up plus £2000+ a year running costs for what amounted to 1500 miles driving, albeit good driving! The Tesla absolutely does not have the sense of occasion the DB9 had and ofcourse the theatre of acceleration (due to the noise and power delivery) is unmatched but technology the Tesla has in spades. I am a software developer by trade so I love technology as much as I love cars/motoring so it's the perfect mix for me.



I can't say I didn't feel a pang of annoyance when I saw the announcement so soon after I took delivery but some people on the Tesla forums are insane! They are so upset about Tesla making their cars 'obsolete' and 'outdated', some suggesting they should delay their technology so existing owners feel better. Crazy talk I say... I almost hope they make my car as obsolete as fast as possible as I love technology progress - Autopilot v2 will be a revelation - Tesla are so far ahead in this game it's actually quite scary. Good luck to them I say - I strongly believe in Musk's vision and will support it whatever way I can.

Thanks for all the nice comments - Any more questions please ask and I'll do my best to answer!

Cant the update just be retrofitted for a cost?
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Oct 2009
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19,892
Location
Wales
Nearest supercharger is 65 miles from me (Warrington). There are only 4 'destination charger' locations in North Wales, each with only 1 Tesla connector, and all at hotels that offer it for patrons by reservation only. Still seen a handful of them around though.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
21 Feb 2006
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29,300
Caterham yes, lots of fun and win.

Milk float no, not for me, but I get why people buy em.

Aston was getting long in the teeth and range of 34 miles on the M5 is tiresome
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
7,005
Location
Melksham
And?

on those sorts of drives people stop on an average twice.
For at least 30 Mins+.

if you planned the stops at Tesla stops you would get 100 miles of charge added per stop

Just curious but do you have a source for that? Probably fairly accurate as I'd imagine lots of long trips being families etc with kids/dogs to sort out.

Personally I do a semi-regular 200 mile drive to/from a customers site, I try not to stop at all but usually make a very quick stop to go to the toilet and pick up a coffee to drink on the remainder of the journey. I know that's within the range of the higher level Tesla's but then no charging at the hotel I stay at, or customers site, would make it awkward for me. But then I'm not exactly the intended market for Tesla anyway so meh :p

Love the Caterham though, would love to have the time/funds for something like that as a second car/track days etc
 
Associate
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Cant the update just be retrofitted for a cost?

No, not for autopilot V2 unfortunately. They have different B pillars (integrated cameras), side indicator bulbs with cameras built in and a different 3 tri-camera rear view mirror pod - not to mention a Nvidia Pascal GPU under the hood which mine doesn't have.

The only retrofit that I've been offered is £10,000 :eek: for the Ludicrous upgrade (10% faster to 0-60mph bringing it to 2.8secs and a bit more above 60 too) which I'm not sure they're offering anymore.
 
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OP
Joined
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Location
London
Personally I do a semi-regular 200 mile drive to/from a customers site, I try not to stop at all but usually make a very quick stop to go to the toilet and pick up a coffee to drink on the remainder of the journey. I know that's within the range of the higher level Tesla's but then no charging at the hotel I stay at, or customers site, would make it awkward for me. But then I'm not exactly the intended market for Tesla anyway so meh :p

That is a genuine concern - I always need to think about where I'm stopping on longer journeys and have had to go out my way to get to a supercharger. Especially with the lack of charging points at hotels and destinations in the UK, you also need to consider the return journey most of the time. Unlike in Norway where I rented a Tesla for 10 days, every single hotel I stayed in had charging facilities (albeit slow ones - not an issue for overnight stays) which meant I started on 100% every day, none of the hotels charged for this service.
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2012
Posts
10,803
Just curious but do you have a source for that? Probably fairly accurate as I'd imagine lots of long trips being families etc with kids/dogs to sort out.

Personally I do a semi-regular 200 mile drive to/from a customers site, I try not to stop at all but usually make a very quick stop to go to the toilet and pick up a coffee to drink on the remainder of the journey. I know that's within the range of the higher level Tesla's but then no charging at the hotel I stay at, or customers site, would make it awkward for me. But then I'm not exactly the intended market for Tesla anyway so meh :p

Love the Caterham though, would love to have the time/funds for something like that as a second car/track days etc

Only source i have is Word of mouth from my Father in law who has a Red P90D with Ludicrous mode :p hes done 2k miles in under 45 days :O
 
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