As of today, we’ve had our Tesla Model 3 for one month. Is the thrill gone? Well, some of the early tingles and excitement have of course worn off, but the core point and core feeling is the same: this is the best car on the market. There are basically just four difficult things for me, which I’ll note at the end. First, though, I’ll run down the main items.
Marty Morrise is the dynamic Founder and President of Tesla Club–SoCal. The club was founded in 2018 and has already amassed more than 500 members. As the Southern California club continues to expand, Marty is focusing on ways to bring the Tesla community together. One way she does that is through her passion for music.
We attended yet another National Drive Electric Week event this past weekend, this one (CleanTechnica’s 4th? 5th?) was in Oldsmar, Florida, and went quite beyond electric vehicles.
Consumer interest in electric vehicles is rapidly growing Down Under. The latest report from Aussie EV industry group the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) describes major increases in the number of consumers that are researching and/or considering buying EVs.
I wrote the other day about how crazy it is that there are still tens of thousands of Americans buying Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords month after month. Amidst the hundreds of thousands of views on that story, some people griped that the purchase price of a Model 3 is considerably higher than the purchase price of an Accord or Camry. A point I alluded to repeatedly is that the Model 3, despite a higher purchase price, may well have a lower 5 year cost of ownership than an Accord or Camry for many people. Yes, I’m sure there are some Accord and Camry buyers who couldn’t get financing for the ~$39,000 base price of a Model 3, but there are certainly many other Accord and Camry buyers who could quality for financing for a Tesla Model 3 — and then would reap financial savings over time while enjoying a much better car. But that’s all moot for the focus of this article — luxury cars.
A leaked photo of a white Tesla Model 3 on the assembly line at Tesla Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai indicates the first Chinese-made cars may find their way into the hands of customers before the end of this year.
A 7 year old Tesla Model S with nearly 100% original battery capacity, $1.01/watt commercial solar pricing from Tesla, a quick-as-hell Tesla Model S on the Nürburgring, the coming Tesla Model Y, and more — check out the most popular CleanTechnica stories of the past week in case you missed any of them! And be sure to share all 20 stories on all 107 social media networks. Or else.
A few days ago, we wrote about Tesla earning the Top safety score (TOP SAFETY PICK+) from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). I had publicly asked them last month why they hadn’t yet tested the car and was happy to get a reply that they were working on it. I’m not surprised how things turned out.
Louisiana hosted several National Drive Electric Week events, and I got to go to two of them, the Abita Springs one last week and the Gonzales one today. In Gonzales, Plugin Louisiana and Louisiana Clean Fuels teamed up with Tanger Outlet Mall to help bring awareness about electric vehicles and clean energy. I got to tag along with Karen Rudisil, owner of a Tesla Model X.
Honda and Toyota have been smart, logical choices for American car buyers for decades. Once upon a time, they were the new kids on the block and they had to prove themselves with strong “performance for the money” or “value for the money” propositions. They did so, repeatedly, and they grew their market shares as a result.
