Just ordered a Tesla!

[lotos]

As a hybrid owner and for the last 1.5 yrs a Nissan Leaf (electric car) owner, I'm hooked on alternative vehicles. Living in Colorado (read:Snow) I was tempted by the Tesla but it's RWD design left me concerned, even though they've posted videos of the car in the snow doing fine. They just announced the AWD version last night so I ordered this morning, I went for the 60kWh version (225 mile range is plenty for me, we've made do with the 85-100 in the LEAF for a while now) and I can't wait until February for it to arrive.

[HJ2]

That's a long wait

[lotos]

I had to wait anyway for my Nissan Leaf lease to end, so the wait was part of my planning. Good thing is my installed wall charger will work with the Tesla, so other than some winter floormats I don't anticipate any other expenses with the car.

Now I just need to sell my old house so I can afford the damned thing. I've been refurbishing it for a year and hope to get it on the market within a month. New paint inside, new carpet, refinished wood floors, fixed the sprinkler system, and now just need to refinish the wood deck and tidy up the garage, and she should be good to go.

[tigerdog]

I suppose the fact that you'll be able to out-drag a Gallardo did not factor into the decision at all. (there's no smiley for a four-wheel burnout...)

Congratulations!

[Rambo]

I suppose the fact that you'll be able to out-drag a Gallardo did not factor into the decision at all.

I'd still rather have a Gallardo though and not save the world

[lotos]

I suppose the fact that you'll be able to out-drag a Gallardo did not factor into the decision at all. (there's no smiley for a four-wheel burnout...)

Congratulations!

Thanks! I'll be buying the 85D though, 0-60 in 5 seconds, not the P85D's 3.2 seconds. I'll put the $25k difference in my Elan Fund.

[DavidEJM]

I'd love a tesla and really did try to make the numbers work recently but at £70 or £80k for a model S specced as I wanted, it just wasn't an option.
I bought an Ampera (Chevy Volt essentially) instead and will keep saving until the model III comes out, in the meantime the Ampera is such a good fit for my daily driving and actually quite good to drive. Very tax efficient for a business purchase too!
I've become an EVangelist much to the horror of my friends!

Oh and pics please when you get it.

[lotos]

I can't afford it either but I'm planning on keeping it for 8-10 years or until I talk my kids out of going to college, whichever comes first.

[GeoffSmith]

What are the plans for the Elan Randy? Are they both going to LOG35? Any chance of there being a couple of spare seats?

[lotos]

I'm keeping the Elan for the foreseeable forever..

[lotos]

They're finally building my car! Should be in my hands within a 10-14 days I'm hoping. This is a good excuse to finally decorate my garage with all my Lotus stuff and put up the Tesla goodies I've gotten recently. Pics will follow eventually.

[lotos]

That was a looooooong four months!

[Rusty Wishbone]

I think you've made a great choice. I saw one on display in my local shopping centre at Christmas, and I was really impressed.

Enjoy yourself. And remember that the aim of every journey is to deplete those batteries!

[Jeemy]

More pics please!

[lotos]

More pics please!

Here's the first batch I took at delivery. It's at a shop getting a paint protection film applied to the entire front and doors until Friday.

http://imgur.com/a/paUmT

[tigerdog]

[Tuga2112]

looks like a jag only difference it doesnt drink like a scott. lol

[lotos]

6 months, 6,000 miles later, I really love this car. Electricity has cost me around $250 total or 4 cents per mile, or ~ 60 mpg equivalent. But no 60 mpg car goes 0-60 in 4.5 seconds

We're going on our first official road trip soon, using the Tesla Supercharger network.

Now on my 2nd EV, it's got me wondering about converting the Elan to electric, a little. It's not super easy to do, if you want to retain power brakes, steering, A/C, heat, etc. But it can be done. But then you have to find someplace to hide the batteries.

[GeoffSmith]

Petrol was about $2.50 in CO but it's about £5 or $7.50 [for a proper (imperial) gallon] in the UK so the equivalent over here is 180mpg but there again our electricity is probably 3 times as expensive. Did you go for the $2k supercharging option and have you used it Randy?

Must say I was impressed (and more importantly so was Sarah) when we visited the dealership in Walnut Creek. Not that taken with the Newport convertible conversion (at $29k ) but the rep says there may be a targa top version in a couple of years. The fast charging stations are now out to Tarragona south of Barcelona so one more in Valencia would put Moraira in reach from the UK....

[lotos]

When I ordered, they offered a 60D with the option of the Supercharger, but they canceled that model before they ever made them, so I had to upgrade to the 85D which came with the Supercharging, so I've got it! They recently came out with a less expensive 70D I would have chosen if it were available, but C'est la vie.

Don't trust any Tesla reps about anything - they don't learn anything before we do, because Tesla is paranoid about information leaks. So there's no targa version coming, nor a convertible, nor anything you can't find on the net. When they announce it, the entire "dealer" network learns about stuff when we all do!