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The “Tesla Stretch” — Proving Car Buyers Will Pay More For A Tesla Model 3

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Published on January 9th, 2019 |

by Matt Pressman

The “Tesla Stretch” — Proving Car Buyers Will Pay More For A Tesla Model 3

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January 9th, 2019 by Matt Pressman

Originally published on EVANNEX.

The Tesla Model 3 is turning out to be an electric car that’s seducing car buyers across multiple market segments. According to a CleanTechnica report, “45% of current electric car drivers plan to buy a Tesla next.” Okay, that’s understandable. Non-Tesla EV drivers might be interested in a Tesla. That said, it’s extraordinary how many gas-powered car owners, from vastly different auto segments, are transitioning to Teslas.

Tesla Model 3 (Photo by Zach Shahan, CleanTechnica)

Bloomberg reports, “When Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk first revealed the Model 3 at a late-night party in March 2016, the vehicle was expected to compete in the premium sedan market against the likes of Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes. Instead, owners of mass market cars like the Honda Accord and Toyota Prius are opening their wallets for the sedan, signaling that the vehicle is pushing Tesla beyond its luxury niche and more into the mainstream.” Buyers are also coming from the BMW 3 Series, and surely other luxury cars, but luxury car sales are not down much and Tesla appears to be pulling much more from lower classes.

“For Earl Banning, getting behind the wheel of a Tesla meant spending more than he ever had on a car. The 43-year-old Air Force neuropsychologist from Dayton, Ohio, ponied up $54,000 for a Model 3, figuring he would save on gas and keep the car for a long time. It was almost double what he had previously paid for a fully loaded Honda Accord,” reports Bloomberg.

The most common cars traded in for a Model 3 according to Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk (Chart by Bloomberg)

Banning says, “I call it the Tesla Stretch — everyone I’ve met who owns a Model 3 is willing to spend more to get into a Model 3.” For example, a former Nissan Altima owner, 36-year-old Eric Snapat, spent nearly $60,000 on his new Tesla. And 26-year-old Robert Preston actually charges $155 a day to rent out his Tesla on Turo to help pay for his new Model 3. “Every weekend I have someone renting it,” Preston said.

“Tesla recently said that more than half the trade-ins for the Model 3 were from vehicles priced below $35,000. And there are signs that the sedan’s popularity is adding [some] pressure on rival carmakers. … In October, sales of cars such as the Accord and Prius continued to slip as deliveries of the Model 3 ramped up,” according to Bloomberg.

⇒ Related: Honda Accord Sales & Civic Sales Drop 80,000 In 2018

A Tesla Model 3 charging in Florida. (Photo by Zach Shahan, CleanTechnica)

“Tesla has captured lightning in a bottle,” said Jeremy Acevedo, manager of industry analysis at researcher Edmunds. “It’s hard to even benchmark the Model 3 against other cars because it’s broken the mold in so many ways.”

⇒ Tesla Model 3 = Lightning, Model Y = Thunder

About the Author

Matt Pressman is all about Tesla. He’s a TSLA investor, pre-ordered the Model 3, and loves driving the family's Model S and Model X company cars. As co-founder of EVANNEX, a family business specializing in aftermarket Tesla accessories, he’s served as a contributor/editor of Electric Vehicle University (EVU) and the Owning Model S and Getting Ready for Model 3 books. He writes daily about Tesla and you can follow his work on the EVANNEX blog.

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Ghosn defends legacy as bail prospects look remote

Lawyers warn he faces another 6 months in jail despite emotional court testimony Go to Source

China: SenseTime backs WeRide; Starquest leads funding for Miaoshou Doctor

January 9, 2019 Autonomous driving startup WeRide has announced fresh investments from artificial intelligence (AI) unicorn SenseTime and a subsidiary of the Agricultural Bank of China, while Starquest Capital has led a 500 million-yuan ($72.77 million) Series C+ round of financing for Miaoshou Doctor. SenseTime invests in WeRide Level 4 autonomous driving startup WeRide (formerly known… Continue reading China: SenseTime backs WeRide; Starquest leads funding for Miaoshou Doctor

Ousted Nissan exec Greg Kelly released from Japanese jail, but Carlos Ghosn still in custody

Kim Kyung-Hoon | Reuters
Greg Kelly, the former deputy of ousted Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, is seen in the car, as he leaves after being released from a detention centre in Tokyo, Japan, December 25, 2018.

Former Nissan executive Greg Kelly got a belated Christmas present as he was released from a Tokyo Detention Center overnight after being held for more than a month over corruption allegations.

Kelly was arrested along with Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn as they arrived in Japan via corporate jet on Nov. 19. They were accused of a variety of financial misdeeds, including allegations that Kelly assisted his boss in hiding tens of millions in pay.

Though prosecutors in Japan normally have just 10 days to retain a suspect, they found a way to keep the two men in custody by raising new allegations. Kelly's attorneys finally convinced a court to end his detention, and the executive was released on 70 million yen ($633,699) bail. Ghosn remains in detention and won't have a chance for release until Jan. 1.

According to the Associated Press, Kelly, wearing a beige jacket and glasses, walked out of the detention center and into a waiting black vehicle, where he was seated next to his lead attorney. He was expected to be taken to a local hospital for treatment of a chronic neck problem.

In a video appeal for the one-time Nissan executive's release last week, Kelly's wife, Dee, said he suffered from stenosis, a condition in which the spinal cord is compressed and a person can suffer numbness or shooting pain.

“Release Greg and allow him to come home and have the surgery he needs,” Dee Kelly said. “That is our family's Christmas wish.”

Prosecutors attempted to retain Kelly, along with Ghosn, in custody, arguing they are flight risks. The court rejected that argument, but his release comes amid strictures on his movements. It is unclear how long Kelly will have to remain in the country. No trial date has yet been set.

Kelly did not comment to the crowd of reporters who had gathered outside the detention center to witness his release. He did issue a statement, however. “I believe my innocence will be revealed in the trial,” he said. “I would like to have a judgment of non-guilty and restore my impaired reputation, and then return to my family as soon as possible.”

The arrest of the two once high-flying executives took the auto industry by surprise. Ghosn had been credited with saving a near-bankrupt Nissan in 1999. He then knitted together an alliance with France's Renault. With the 2016 inclusion of a smaller Japanese automaker, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has become one of the top-three best-selling auto groups in the industry. But the arrests have revealed serious strains between the French and Japanese side of the alliance.

Some skeptics have gone as far as to suggest that corporate politics are playing a central role in the case. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa has made it clear he opposed the full takeover of his company by Renault, which currently holds a 43.4 percent stake in the Japanese partner. Nissan, in turn, holds 15 percent of the French automaker's stock.

Japanese prosecutors have denied those allegations and have, in turn, been expanding the list of charges, particularly those facing Ghosn. He was originally accused of hiding about $36 million in income through 2015, while also misusing corporate funds for, among other things, the purchase of homes in Lebanon and Brazil.

Prosecutors added charges of breach of trust on Friday, allowing them to extend Ghosn's detention until at least Jan. 1. The government has not said if it will then try to continue his stay in custody. The latest charges allege Ghosn shifted personal trades to Nissan to cover losses of 1.85 billion yen ($16.7 million).

Ghosn has indicated through his attorney that he will hold a news conference following his own release and will stress his innocence.

If tried and convicted, Ghosn could face up to 10 years in prison on each of the corruption charges. Kelly faces similar penalties.

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A Look Inside The Tesla Cold Weather Testing Facility

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Published on January 7th, 2019 |

by Steve Hanley

A Look Inside The Tesla Cold Weather Testing Facility

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January 7th, 2019 by Steve Hanley

All automakers test their cars in cold conditions to see how freezing temperatures affect their operation. Tesla is no exception. It uses a cold temperature testing facility out in the middle of nowhere about 2 hours south of Fairbanks, Alaska. It is a private compound used by the military to test tanks and armored personnel carriers, among other things. Tesla has created its own test track at the site, complete with twisty roads, steep hills, and skid pads that allow its engineers to learn how well the cars handle slippery roads and Arctic conditions.

Photo by Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

Cold weather and electric cars are not friends. Batteries are like people. They are happiest when the temperature outside is between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold batteries don’t charge or discharge as fast as they do when they are warm. Heating systems eat up a lot of battery power. All those range estimates you see quoted by the EPA are determined by tests conducted indoors at room temperature with the heater and air conditioner turned off.

When a CNET Road Show writer visited the area — the first journalist allowed inside — he found the Model S P100D he was given to make the drive from Fairbanks to Delta Junction where the testing facility is located got about 30% less range than expected. Some of that may be attributed to the Pirelli Sottozero winter tires fitted to the car. Some of it may be due to snow and ice on the road surface. And some of it may be down to the heater working overtime to keep Stevens warm during the journey.

Most people who have driven an electric car in sub-freezing weather would probably not be surprised by the results. My 2015 Nissan LEAF also gets about 1/3 less range when the mercury in my thermometer goes into hibernation during the winter. It’s a common occurrence with all electric cars, one that the manufacturers seldom talk about at the time of sale.

During his time in Alaska, Stevens had a chance to drive a Model S, a Model X, and a Model 3 through their paces on snow and ice. For some of the driving, Tesla engineers turned off the stability and traction control systems that normally protect drivers from hazardous conditions, something owners cannot do themselves. Here’s some of what he had to say:

“With everything off, I cut onto the freshly groomed field of snow at 65 mph and jerked the wheel left and right and then was instantly thrown into one heck of a tank slapper. The car swerved back and forth as I frantically sawed at the wheel to keep up. I tried this maneuver a number of times and maybe caught it twice, but that’s with a decade of high-speed ice driving experience at my disposal. While I mean no offense to your average Model S owner, your average Model S owner would have spun every time.

“Re-enabling the car’s stability and traction controls took a quick reboot and then I went and tried it again. Same speed, same field of snow, and try as I might I couldn’t get the car to spin. I yanked the wheel left and right with all the finesse of a thoroughly endorphin’d Crossfitter and yet the car always kept itself inline, moving quickly enough to miss the imaginary moose, then calmly settling itself.”

Stevens explains that all Teslas have open differentials — the kind that deliver power to the wheel with the least traction. Older readers may recall this is what made driving your mom’s Pontiac station wagon on snowy roads such a challenge. But Tesla uses the brakes on each individual wheel to stop them from spinning. Combining that with precise control of how much torque each motor delivers permits the car to tame the most outrageous slides.

A video popped up on YouTube recently of a Model 3 traveling on an icy road with Autopilot activated. That’s not a smart thing to do — ever! — but you don’t have to be smart to own a Tesla. The car was on the brink of spinning out completely when the Autopilot caught the skid and returned the car to a safe path.

The driver, Eric Lapierre, noted that he didn’t touch the wheel at all. Of course, he shouldn’t have been using Autopilot at all in those conditions, but he proudly posted the video from his dash cam anyway.

Stevens was impressed by how the Model S and the Model X handled the snow and ice. A 30% slope coated with ice down center “resulted in a slow and occasionally unnerving but ultimately clean ascent. With the e-differentials disabled (again, not something you can do at home), the thing started the climb, spun its tires, and then promptly (and rapidly) skidded backwards down the hill.”

The Model 3 Performance, however, blew him away with its ability to tolerate extreme slip angles without spoiling the fun until the car was poised to tip over the edge into a full fledged disaster. “In Track Mode, the Model 3 will let you hang the tail way, way out, getting some properly lurid drifts going before it cuts the fun. Yes, it will cut the fun if you get things too far out of shape, killing the car’s power and automatically deploying the brakes at the appropriate corner. But, the car gives you an awful lot of rope to hang yourself with before it kindly and reliably steps in to lift the noose from your neck.

“By building the Model 3’s control software in-house, Tesla’s engineers have even more ability to vector torque from front to rear both under acceleration and under regenerative deceleration. This means the car can react more quickly and more precisely, again letting you push it that much further before cutting in.” The Tesla engineers told Stevens an upgrade to Track Mode is in the works that will allow the driver to manually adjust the torque split between the front and rear motors. First we’ve heard of that!

Finally, Stevens addressed some issues Model 3 owners in cold climates have experienced — things like frozen door handles and windows that won’t go down when the world outside is frozen. Tesla has addressed the latter with a software update, but a solution to the door handle issue is still in the works. Stevens says, “Every new model has some teething problems. It’s how the company reacts that’s the important thing.”

How Tesla reacts is one of the greatest assets the company has. It doesn’t hide behind legalese or excuses. It steps up and addresses problems in a forthright and proactive manner, often with direct responses from the CEO on Twitter. What was his name again? …

When something goes wrong and a company stands behind its product, that’s a bonus that costs the manufacturer next to nothing but can be priceless to the customer.

About the Author

Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and anywhere else the Singularity may take him. His motto is “Democracy is socialism.” You got a problem with that?

You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

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