I’ve got 112k miles on my Tesla and still get over 250miles on a full charge, and that’s not running it to empty… just as far as I push it on a road trip. I could probably make it 275-285 easy. Never had a problem with range and have had minimal maintenance costs compared to all of the ICE vehicles I drove over 20years I drove ‘em.
eltrain123
joined 11 months ago
How long should a battery last compared to an ice engine… and how much should it cost to replace? If you actually look into the statistics, battery packs (at least on Teslas) last longer than ICE motors by a factor of 2 to 5. And their replacement costs are currently around 2x, but will come down over time. Regardless, I’d never replace a battery pack, just like I’d never replace an ICE motor.
If you run the numbers down to a per mile cost, EVs… especially Teslas… outlast and are significantly cheaper to operate than any ICE vehicle on the market. There is a huge amount of disinformation out there around EVs.
That’s not to say everyone can afford to spend the money (or get the loan) to go electric up front… but if you can manage it, it will pay off in the long run. I’ll never buy another ICE vehicle as long as I live. It‘d feel like I’m flushing money down the toilet.
I mean, you eventually need to replace the motor in an ICE car, but most people won’t… they’ll buy another vehicle instead. Most EVs lose a minimal amount of range over time… around 10% over 200k miles. Battery replacements are expensive, but not much more than replacing an engine on an ICE vehicle, unless you do all the labor yourself, and no one should be kidding themselves into believing they will actually replace a battery before they’d replace the vehicle… much like a car whose engine shits the bed. And the amount of savings you have in fuel and maintenance offsets the difference significantly, especially if you get to the 200k mark without trading up for a newer vehicle. Not to mention that there are Teslas on the road with over a million miles on them. You may not be as lucky, but 500k without replacing batteries is not uncommon.
I’ve driven a used Tesla for the last 4 years and have 110k miles on it. It’s still humming like the day it came off the line. It’s quieter, faster, has more torque and power, and I get more compliments on it than I ever did on the ford trucks, vw coupes, or Buick sedans I ever drove. I’ve only replaced tires, windshield wipers, wiper fluid, and the 12v battery and haven’t had any maintenance issues. I drive a lot, all over the country, and save around $2k a year in fuel costs compared to when I drove a Buick. I travel all around the country and have few problems finding charging stations (mostly when way off the grid… like Great Basin national park off-the-grid… but still found a charger) and have never been stranded or ran out of mileage on a given drive. A few pigtails and I can charge at any RV park or campground nationwide.
There is far too much misinformation about EVs and concerns with range or charging infrastructure or whatever the oil companies want you to be afraid of, and the savings in fuel costs outweigh any inconveniences I’ve experienced 10 times over.
Take the leap and you’ll never look back. I’ll never buy another ICE vehicle again. It feels like throwing money away.
I get that Elon is a bipolar asshole at times, but the mission to provide the infrastructure for a more sustainable future is what we need and the user experience is far better than reported.
This is how free speech works. You are allowed to say anything you want and the government can’t stop you. You are, however, accountable if what you say is false and causes harm to others.
Unfortunately, because of the way our media cycle works, the damage is done way before the perpetrator is held accountable and the corrective action is not broadcast well enough to reverse the damage from the original action. Especially, when the correction gets shrugged off while the perpetrator goes on another round of disinformation.
It’s a big problem.
I make a lot of different sandwiches before I hit the road… I guess I interchange them with wraps/burritos, too. Not just cold cuts, but leftover curries and stews smashed between bread, eggs and sausage/bacon, salad wraps… mixing and matching with different sauces and spices helps a ton. If you have the time to toast the bread or tortilla, it makes a big difference. I pick a different cuisine to use as a base for every drive… Indian, Asian, American, Italian, Mexican… you can keep it fresh.
It’s mostly just about preparing a transportable meal. I guess I also carry soups, curries, chili, gumbo, and stews in a thermos. I usually try to stay in airbnbs or suite hotels that have a kitchen, but often just use a microwave. Sometimes i use microwaves at gas stations to heat up a meal, but that’s not always an option.
The only thing I make sure to do is have something to prevent me from giving McDonald’s or Taco Bell $20 for garbage.
Pack a cooler with sandwiches, take bags of trail mix and other healthy snacks, and drink water from refillable bottles.
Fuck the leeches. Live healthier, cheaper, more satisfied lives by cutting out the “convenient” fast food that costs too much, fails on nutrition, and makes you feel bloated and gassy. Prep doesn’t take any longer than stopping along the road to order and get your food, and you can still stop at rest areas for a picnic in an actually enjoyable environment if you want.
Been traveling on the road for about a year. Life got better when I started prepping my meals and stopped eating garbage.
Nope. OTA. No need to change any hardware.
Try to understand that influencers and content creators are human beings and not infallible. I don’t think Mark or Derek are the greatest people in the world, but they are trying to put educational and entertaining content out into the world, and don’t seem to be malicious in intent.
Give them a break and see where they land down the road. If they turn out to be trash, judge em all you want. As someone that doesn’t spend the time and effort to pass my experience on to others, I’ll give them a bit of wiggle room on the politics associated with operating in the public attention economy.
Might be a reasonable argument if you didn’t have 76 years of his rotten behavior as precedent in processing the decision made by a jury of his peers…
I have a friend that uses it to make outlines for stories (with tone, setting, general plot arch, writing style) and then fills in each block of the outline with a well developed story, iterating all the way through until they are happy with it… with his kids, as a bedtime exercise. It’s a pretty awesome exercise where the family spends time together, learns about creativity and how to structure a story, and ultimately comes out the back end with a memory they can share and a story they can pass around to friends and family.
If you spend the time to learn how to use it as a tool, there is a ton of value in it, even in its current iteration. It’s a tool in the early stages of development. As it matures as a product, there are a lot of gains to be made.
The social media zeitgeist wants to push it as a terrible thing that isn’t living up to its hype… but it really just shows a lack of creativity and understanding of how to use new tools. Every story I see about how AI is a waste of resources and won’t ever amount to anything just makes me cringe a little bit and shows how disconnected media is from reality. If you can’t find value in a tool, maybe look inward to see if you have some growing to do rather than lashing out at the tool for not solving all of your problems.
Depreciation is a concern. If you buy something while the technology is improving, the resale value is going to tank as the technology matures. What you have to look at is what the cost is per mile you drive, minus the cost you can sell it for. But, fast-forward another 5-10 years and consider what an ICE vehicle will sell for on the used market. When EVs reach maturity, you won’t be able to give an ICE vehicle away without paying to dispose of it. We aren’t there yet, by a long shot, but it’s coming.
Just make sure you time it right.