We live in an area somewhat at risk for hurricanes. When people had to evacuate FL several years ago, Tesla remotely extended battery range and made supercharging free.
Tesla (Elon, really) recommends 30%-80% for best battery life, but your manufacturer may be different.
I don’t drive a Tesla. I drive a Chevy Bolt and they recommend between 20%-80%, which is what I do unless we are on a road trip. It’s worked great for the almost 6 years we’ve had the car.
2 Likes
Tesla actually recommends charging up to 90%. I charge to around 81-84% but probably dont let it get below 35-40 before I charge it again.
But if you watch videos from other “experts” your head will spin. Charging recommendations are all over the place!!
Excellent point. I asked this very same question just a couple of weeks ago on the Tesla Model Y thread I started last year. It’s easier to charge to 90% as we only have one physical space in the driveway where the charger is reachable. The answer was that it’s fine to charge up to 90%.
Elon Musk himself said you shouldn’t charge to 100% because it negatively affects regenerative braking.
1 Like
Elon has been all over the place wrt to battery charging. He has recently tweeted that if you need 90% for you daily commute, charge to 90%. When Tesla’s first started to be manufactured, he said 20%-80%. Othertimes, I’ve seen him tweet 85%.
His battery guru, Jeff Dahn, also says 80% max for the average daily charge (again, unless you need 90%), for maximum battery life and performance, i.e., limit degradation.
2 Likes
In the country people are used to rigging things up in case of emergency. But doubtful any in the cities are equipped and if they are I doubt it’s battery powered.
You have a much better chance at a mom and pop IMO. They would have loads of tools and maybe even a pump for gas. No one is checking or reporting. Don’t know but it gets done. In our area, most people also have well water. And they have a back up tube in case the electricity fails or something happens. We do as do our neighbors. Never needed it. But the farmers have double and triple back ups on tractors and fields. They have to. Don’t know what farmers do in CA. But in NE, they are really good with getting things done even in extreme weather. Related to gas, electricity and so much more. I’m not worried at all about gas cars. The electrical grid is tougher.
Watching the news in FL right now and seeing the wait for gas near Tampa at about 4 hours… If one has EV charging at their house, to me, that would be preferable - along with solar + battery for personal electric use.
Even without hurricanes, one thing my EV owning son loves is being able to skip the gas station. Except for trips, he always recharges his at home. He only needs to do so a couple of times per week at that - not every night. On trips he just coordinates his eating times with charging. We non-EV travelers tend to do that with filling up too.
4 Likes
I saw the new Cadillac Lyriq at the Detroit auto show, and it is beautiful. If TLAT wants to dump the Tesla for an EV made by an auto manufacturer with a strong dealer network, this might be it. Unfortunately, they are sold out for the 2023 model year, and they are taking orders for the 2024 model year with deliveries 12 months out.
1 Like
People waited 2 years for the Tesla model 3. And the waitlist for the cyber truck is huge too.
And a friend waited for eons for his Lucid
Personally I wouldn’t buy a GM product. And as for design, I’ll keep waiting. 
1 Like
Not my type of vehicle, but that Cadillac is getting rave reviews from car magazines that are not normally fans of Cadillac SUVs. It’s also considered an absolute bargain for what it delivers.
2 Likes
The Air Lucids look great. I think they are trying to be the up-market Tesla (God knows, their interiors are superior), and they are the leaders in EV range. Unfortunately, they are following the same distribution model as Tesla.
Based on the JD Power initial quality survey, GM brands do well. Tesla, in contrast, scores close to the bottom.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40450082/2022-jd-power-initial-quality-study-buick-gm/
Unfortunately I don’t buy and sell my cars that quickly. 
Having spent a lifetime owning and “hands on” experience with MANY brands, also owning at least a couple GM products, I can safely say GM’s history of design and quality has been poor.
They’ve done some really dumb stuff in terms of their engine compartments and the placement of various components. I would not buy another GM product. I also wouldn’t buy a Tesla.
1 Like
Speaking only as an N of 1, my Tesla has fortunately had almost no issues in the 4 years I’ve had it (hope I don’t jinx that!) There was some known issue with the control arm that got taken care of for me while I was out of town (I dropped it off before we left). I did have to (recently) replace the 12V battery (similar to any car battery issue— lasts about 4 years). The only challenge has been the supply chain issue and lack of loaner cars, so I had to rent a car for a few days while I waited for the battery. Turns out I perhaps could have gotten one at O’Reilly auto parts but the battery was “just” still within my warranty period so went with the tesla replacement battery. So far, other than the few day car rental and a new set of tires, my car maintenance over the 4 years has cost me…… nothing. Zero.
2 Likes
They did not send a tech to do the replacement at your house? We had to do the replacement recently (car is 5 years old so no warranty), and the mobile service took care of the replacement in less than an hour. Of course we overpaid for the battery itself, but the labor chargers were reasonable, and my husband figured out that his time is more valuable. 