A Virtual Tesla Meetup

Our esteemed leader Kevin Sadeghian of the Northern Virginia Tesla Owners Group, like all of us, misses our occasional Tesla meetups. The last time we met, I was late, without #CO2Fre, and had just voted, and so was a bit out of it, not even appearing in the group photo. That was just the start of the Week from Hell for me, which was the same weekend I got a $1,800 bill from Tesla and was at the whim of lackadaisical Uber drivers.

So Kevin, realizing we’re all at home, Sheltering in Place, created a virtual meetup. He took an empty parking lot, with a photo of his Tesla, and invited all of us to photoshop our Tesla in there with him, as if we were actually meeting. Starman, my good friend Mel‘s Tesla Roadster, #PascalTesla from my dear friend Margie Hunter, and many other members.

Unfortunately, because of the events from the Week from Hell. Fast forward to today and with the scare surrounding the Weather and Safety Leave, which I’m still not willing to talk about publicly, I was so afraid when I researched that last weekend that I would not be paid because of some documents I read on the Internet. I thus refused to add #CO2Fre to the photo, decrying that I was worried I would not be able to keep here if I was to go for months without pay on Weather and Safety Leave. I am still facing one week of unpaid leave due to the Week from Hell, bringing the total cost for that seven day nightmare close to $5,000 out of my pocket—not to mention my Hedge Fund has tanked to July 2017, initial levels after just making a $2,300 commission payment in December.

However, when the office confirmed I would be on paid leave, I figured I could in fact weather the storm. I would be bankrupt and #CO2Fre would doublessly be repossessed if one more tragedy befell me, but for now, I’m just okay. And so I put #CO2Fre right next to #PascalTesla.

Virtual Tesla Meetup
Here, #CO2Fre is parked next to #PascalTesla with #Starman and of course our wonderful leader Kevin’s ride and others. © 2020 Northern Virginia Tesla Owners

Vive la #CO2Fre! Until we cruise again!

The Hidden Costs of Owning a Tesla Performance

Well, I have the Autopilot Hardware Version 3 installed, that’s the good news.

I took my car in for a slow leak in my driver’s rear tyre last Thursday, also asking them to check the squeaky breaks and to rotate the tyres as I’ve not done that in a while. As mentioned before, I got a call to install the 3.0 version of the Hardware during the same visit. The whole thing would have cost $409.50, mainly because of the $234.00 brake inspection. They expected to be finished by Friday just before our Northern Virginia Tesla Owners meetup at Fuddruckers on Saturday.

Then I got text just before the car was supposed to be done telling me that the tyres were fine, but I needed new rims. New rims!?! I had no choice but to authorize it.

Today, my car should have been totally fixed and But they haven’t even got the rims in stock yet and it might not be before Thursday!

I look forward to when the car will finally be fixed and I won’t have need to order any more Ubers after my final drop-off at Tyco.The Uber may be covered by the Tesla Voucher, but I still have to pay the tips, and those range from $3–$11 per trip! At least, though, I don’t have to drive and every driver I’ve been with deserved his tip.

The thing is, though, those Aluminium rims are expensive. The tyres themselves aren’t cheap either, and in 41,877 miles of driving #CO2Fre, I’ve had to replace no less than 5 tyres and 7 rims for a total of $7,701.70 over the last 18 months!

Date of ServiceNumber of TyresNumber of RimsTotal Cost
2019-03-0401$807.90
2019-04-0822$2,336.60
2019-05-1011$1,168.30
2019-11-0411$1,178.90
2020-01-0310$426.00
2020-01-30(Patch Only)0$78.00
2020-03-0202$1,706.00
2020-03-3120$842.00
Total77$8,543.70

I have no original tyres and am almost on a complete set of second rims! Because I495, the Capital Beltway, is so prone to potholes, there’s, like 4,000 of them! And that doesn’t even include the fact that I have no original glass, be it windscreen, roof, or back. I’ve had to replace my roof twice, in fact, and the latest panel doesn’t even have the cool, reddish sheen.

But my point is this: the Performance Tyres are too expensive, especially for everyday driving. I can’t afford keep dropping nearly $8,000 every 18 months. I’ll have depleted my saving account before I can even pay off #CO2Fre.

It’s come to the point where I am seriously debating cutting my losses and getting some cheep, wide-profile tyres and just give up on my beloved Performance Tyres. If I do go to cheap tyres, I’d still like my Performance Tyres for the track, when, someday, I’m able to bring #CO2Fre to the track, but otherwise just use regular tyres. The thing is, I’d have no place to store the Performance Tyres when I’m not using them, never mind have nowhere to store them.

If I give up my Performance Tyres, I’m probably giving them up for good. $4,000 or more, down the drain, a sunk cost. I just don’t know. It’s a little over $425 per month in addition to the loan payments to maintain the Performance Tyres, and that’s more than I earn in the same period. I just can’t afford to keep them. But I don’t want to lose them either.

On the other hand, since the major expense is the rims, could I just get steal instead of aluminium so they don’t bend so easily? I don’t mind the slightly reduced range if I can save $5,125 a year in tyre and rim replacements!

What do I do?

Update 2020-04-01: As of 1 April 2020, the total cost has risen to $8,543.70 thanks to a follow-up to the 2 March service when #CO2Fre started to have a squeaking sound in its steering and breaking under humid conditions. The table above has been updated accordingly.

V3 SuperCharging, Kind of…

After Loudoun County Writers Group, I decided to visit the new Tesla V3 SuperChargers that just opened up in the Broadlands, outside of Ashburn, VA, two days ago.

The stations are across from a Harris Teeter.

Harris Teeter, Broadlands
This Harris Teeter is the home to one of the first V3 Tesla SuperChargers. © 2020, Jeffrey C. Jacobs

I pulled in and all the stalls were opened. Of course, you can see the price of Petrol, but #CO2Fre rides this fuel, free for life!

Broadlands Charging with Gas
8 Stalls at Broadlands, all V3 SuperChargers. Since #CO2Fre has free, unlimited supercharging, what do I care the price of Petrol? © 2020, Jeffrey C. Jacobs

I pulled in straight, and plugged right in.

Broadlands Charging
The Broadmands Chargers just opened up two days ago; no-one was there so I had the the V3 SuperChargers all to #CO2Fre. © 2020, Jeffrey C. Jacobs

The nice thing about the Broadlands SuperChargers, besides being 250kW max, is that it has dedicated, Handicapped parking.

Broadlands Charging for Handicapped
The Broadlands SuperCharger even has parking for Teslas needing Handicapped Parking! © 2020, Jeffrey C. Jacobs

I decided to check how far #CO2Fre was charging. Just 20kW, but then, I was almost full when I got there. I’ll have to try again on Wednesday when I drive to work, then Bowie, and back for the Bowie Bevy of Brainy Books when my Charge Level will be much, much lower.

20kW at Broadlands
In theory, these units can go more than 10 times that fast, but since I was almost full, 20kW was the best #CO2Fre could do. © 2020, Jeffrey C. Jacobs

I wanted to see if I could get a view of #CO2Fre and the Harris Teeter so I stepped behind this car and took this shot.

Broadlands Charging From Behind
This is the back of the Charging Station at Broadlands. You can see Harris Teeter in the background. © 2020, Jeffrey C. Jacobs

And what do I find, sitting behind one of the trees, but one of my good friend Margie Hunter‘s Tchotchke to promote the Northern Virginia Tesla Owners Group. How Flatulaless!

Margie Scavenger Hunt Broadlands
Margie Hunter is a very creative friend who has hidden a number of Tesla Tchotchkes at area SuperChargers with a QR code for the Northern Virginia Tesla Owners Group. It says Flatulaless! © 2020, Jeffrey C. Jacobs

Thank you to Lanny Hartmann at Plug-In Sites on twitter for bringing this new station to my attention! Check out his amazing site for all kinds of Electric Car news.

Have an eclectic, electric Day my friends!