The top 7 questions we're asked about owning an EV
People ask a lot about our Tesla. There are lots of EVs on the roads today, but so many people are yet to drive or ride in one. Some people are genuinely curious, while others are scornful.
I’ve decided to write something about owning and driving an electric car, because there seems to be a genuine interest. But also because there are plenty of people bagging EVs in the mainstream media. For example, tech writer David Swan wrote “The EV haters have a point ” published in the Sydney Morning Herald in August.
The article tells us range anxiety is real, that there are too few chargers, and hybrids are a better option for Australian motorists for now.
Well the haters gonna hate, right??
Is it as bad as all that? I don’t think so, but here are the real questions people ask, along with the unvarnished answers from someone with around 50,000 kilometres on the clock, after more than a year of ownership.
Are there enough chargers?
We live in Sydney City local government area and we don’t have off street parking. While many EV owners plug their vehicle in to charge at home overnight, we don’t have that luxury. This means we rely entirely on public chargers and we find it very manageable.
We have a few favourite charging stations within 5km of our home, so we make it part of our schedule to take a walk at the beach or in the park while charging our car. Another option is to plug the car in at a shopping centre when we’re getting groceries.
It has taken us time to adjust to the way we organise our time and location around charging, but now that our new routines are established, charging is seamlessly part of our lives and we rarely feel we need to go out of our way, or waste time to do it.
I would be lying if I said we never have to wait… when we last visited Canberra there were quite a few cars waiting at the Goulburn Tesla Superchargers. While the Tesla Superchargers in central Sydney are also frequently busy and we sometimes have to wait for one to be free.
So having more chargers would be great and there are more on the way. On August 17th, Tesla announced new Supercharger locations for New South Wales coming soon to Alexandria, Armidale, Bankstown, Dee Why, Gosford, Moonee Beach, Narrabri, Parkes and Waterloo.?
A word to the wise, EV companies and drivers haven’t yet established a good system to form a queue for charging. Sometimes I’ve had to approach another driver who was pushing in and firmly claim my place. But some drivers are very courteous, like one who took my number and called me when my spot came up.
How long does it take to charge?
It depends on the speed of the charge, the range you want to acquire, and how charged your battery is to start with. The Superchargers can take around 30 minutes to charge to full, but if you’re charging at home it might take eight hours.
The thing is, once you integrate charging into your life, then you no longer think about how long it takes to charge. You don’t go to the charging point and stand around like you do at the petrol pump. You plug the car in and go do something else for a while. I don’t feel I am waiting around for the car to charge, because I’m using that time for something else, whether it be walking, shopping, holding a meeting, working, or reading
Is it expensive?
An electric vehicle has saved us money. As business owners, we do a lot of driving, and that was costing us a bomb in petrol. Our monthly repayments on the car are now less than we used to pay out in petrol. Plus we haven’t needed to spend anything on servicing or maintenance. And while we use paid public charging, it’s still been a net positive impact to our budget. The icing on the cake was that we sold our petrol car and put the cash into our savings. It was the easiest business case justification for an asset purchase I’ve ever seen.
So, if you are someone who drives a lot, you should immediately crunch the numbers of owning an EV. If you are someone who drives a lot and can charge the car at home, you should definitely give this consideration. And if you drive a lot, have a garage where you can charge and you have solar panels, just stop reading this right now and… well you know what to do!
Is your dog OK in the car?
We have a Mini Schnauzer named Luna and she goes most places with us. But of course she can’t come into the supermarket and there are plenty of occasions where a fur baby is not welcome and she stays in the car.
Last summer, I was picking up some food and I’d left Luna in the car. It was a pretty hot day and 10 minutes later I returned to find two gentlemen watching the car, and more specifically Luna, who was looking out the window and waiting for me. They were genuinely concerned about her welfare.
Tesla has solved the problem of pets in cars on hot days. When Luna is waiting in the car for us, we activate Dog Mode, which essentially keeps the climate control running at a pleasant 19-21 degrees celsius. We also have a bottle of water and a small bowl, so she can always have a drink. I showed the caring men how the screen display shows that dogo mode is turned on and explained how it works. It’s an absolutely can’t-live-without feature for pet owners.
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How far can you go?
Again, this depends on a few things, like your chosen make and model and the driving conditions (stop and start, or highway). Range can be around 500 km and the current top range is held by Polestar at around 650km for its latest release.?
The furthest we’ve driven is from Sydney to Canberra and with 100% at the start of our journey that’s an easy trip. We are yet to try driving from Sydney to Melbourne or Sydney to Brisbane, but given the choice, these are trips we’d prefer to take on a plane.?
Having said that, it’s not unusual for us to clock up 300 km in a single day, driving between client sites in the greater Sydney region. If we plan to go to Wollongong or the Southern Highlands, there are ample charging options so we don’t have to start the day on 100%.
Can the Tesla display identify ghosts as you drive through a graveyard??
Yep, someone really asked me this… If you haven’t heard this question before, or have no idea what it’s about, then allow me to briefly explain. The Tesla display shows other vehicles, people and objects around you, to help you drive safely. For example, it helps you to see vehicles in your blind spots, as well as identifying people crossing the road.
My neighbour asked me if it is true that the visualisation can identify ghosts in the same way it can pick up live people. I’d never heard of this before, so he suggested I drive through a graveyard to try it out. He also let me know there are plenty of blogs about this on the internet. Do a search for Tesla and ghosts if you feel like a laugh, or a scare.?
In my experience, the answer is negative. We regularly park and charge our car near a very large and old cemetery and no ghosts have been spotted yet.
Are they nice to drive?
Yes - nice and different. But it really is quite different to driving an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car. Without a gearbox the acceleration is powerful, fast and smooth. I’ve never driven another car like it and my previous car was 2.8L and fuel injected.
Meantime, when you take your foot off the accelerator, the EV engages regenerative braking and that is very different to the coasting experienced in an ICE vehicle. This means rarely having to use the brake in the normal course of driving. If you’re coming up to a corner, you can ease your foot off the accelerator to reach a safe speed.
And without an engine, EVs are incredibly quiet, making journeys more peaceful. If you go back and forth between an ICE car and an EV, you’ll really notice this. More importantly, as an EV driver you have to be very careful around pedestrians in car parks and crossing roads, because they may not hear you coming.
Finally, change is good…
There is plenty more to know about EVs and things I could share about the Tesla Model Y in particular, like the multitude of Easter Egg features and the storage space.?
Suffice to say there are lots of delighters and we have no regrets about making the change to electric.?
But of course, it is a change. It’s more of a change than buying a new make and model ICE car and some of the differences take time to get used to. People even talk about learning to drive an EV . But the benefits of adapting far outweigh the personal effort.
And there’s more change to come. Some are predicting this decade will bring the biggest advancements we’ve ever seen in motor vehicle technologies. So perhaps it’s time to stop thinking about hybrid cars being the real end game and look to the future!
COO & Investment Entrepreneur
2 个月Since posting this, I've seen some interesting analysis coming out: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/as-ev-sales-slump-elon-musk-comes-up-trumps-20240902-p5k75n.html
hi jen! fab convo/article. The surprised looks i get when i tell them: 1. there are more charges than there are petrol stations (power points). 2. The realisation, charging is as easy as "plug into power point". 3. Those that freak out about range - like they did back in the day with talk time and stand by (mins) on the mobile phones.. and how many actually need the full range/mins. 4. But I live in an apartment and can't charge overnight to 100% - to which i ask, "do you keep your car at full tank every day?". Lots of scares and misinformation : from more likely to catch fire, too hard to charge, not enough chargers, EVs are heavier and need special tyres, it dies after warranty ends and needs battery replacement, you are killing the environment with what goes into mining for the battery components...
Principal Product Manager at SafetyCulture
2 个月We are obsessed with our Model Y! By far the best car we have ever owned. Perfect for our growing family. There is so much storage and room for car seats, prams, bikes, shopping etc all at once. We love being able to charge it at home and on the odd occasion we have needed to charge it out, the superchargers have been fantastic. Someone hit our car recently when it was parked and we were notified immediately and were able to give the footage straight to the police too. That was a really impressive feature. Absolutely love our Tesla.
All rounder with leadership, financial, product, and operations experience | I love connecting people and helping them shine.
2 个月Great article Jen. I've admired them from afar but haven't taken the plunge yet. Great to get the low down on owning an EV.
C-level Business Value Consultant | Strategic Sales & GTM Leader | Strategic API Transformation | Executive Coach
2 个月Great article. I drove a Tesla for 3 years before going back to an ICE (hybrid) and miss my EV every day. The big things I miss most: - Always having a full tank (was able to charge at home); - Enough power on demand to tackle any driving situation; - Huge savings in running costs! I resent so much now the regular, large purchases at the pump! With further innovations in battery capacity and charging speed, it'll be increasingly tough to argue against EVs, especially after owning & driving one for a while.