Drive The Future

If y’all were paying attention to the most recent software update, which in my case was Update 2024.44.25.2, you might have noticed that Tesla added an Apple Watch app. ‘Not A Tesla App‘ describes this new feature as follows:

“Tesla for Apple Watch allows you to pair your watch as a key and unlock and lock your vehicle without ever pressing a button – just like phone key. You can also see the state of your vehicle’s battery with a watch face complication and perform actions such as opening the frunk or trunk.”

Having spent a whole day testing the app, I can honestly say, this IS the best thing since apple pie, and you can quote me on that. But if you’re interested in trying this app out for yourself, I need to tell you a few things you’ll need to know.

First, it can be expensive! You need to buy a Tesla (40k and up). You also need an iPhone and an Apple Watch, but not just any old iPhone or Watch. Here’s exactly what you need, neither of which I had when I began this adventure. Here goes (assuming you already own a Tesla):

Your iPhone MUST support iOS 16.0 or later and your Apple Watch must support watchOS 9.0 or later. That said, I had a really old Apple Watch so decided to buy an Apple Watch SE on sale at Costco which set me back $220 (not a bad price for an Apple Watch). Then I realized the new Apple Watch wouldn’t work with my really old iPhone, so I ordered a refurbished iPhone SE Gen 3 from Walmart for $164 (not a bad price for an iPhone either). So now I have a watch and a phone that the Tesla app will actually work on – great! Just verify that the Tesla app version on your iPhone is 4.39.5 or later (mine is 4.40.0-3104 so I’m good in that department) and after that everything else is smooth sailing.

Within the Tesla app settings on your iPhone, just make sure ‘Show App on Apple Watch’ is checked on, and the app will appear on your watch. To check this setting, go into the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and chose the Tesla app.

This screen will appear to verify that the Tesla all will appear on your phone:

OK, so what is this actually good for, and why did I go to so much trouble and expense to get it working. First, you’ll always know the SOC (state of charge) of your Tesla. Good to know! Then select that ‘complication’ in the upper left of this particular watch face.

And you’ll get this screen. This gives you a few shortcut button’s (I’m still trying to figure out if I can change these – I probably can’t).

Roll the scroll wheel (aka digital crown) on your watch and you’ll get more shortcut buttons. The horn is the only one not displayed in the images below.

And at the bottom is your VIN, and software versions for your car and for the Tesla app on your phone.

But that’s not even the best part, nor why I went to all this trouble. I did it so I could use the Apple Watch to unlock and drive my car. And it works, really well. For now I’ll be turning off the ‘Phone Key’ option on all my smartphones to see just how well this Apple Watch thingy works.

Oh, and I’ll always be carrying my key card just in case. By the way, having a key card on you at all times is ALWAYS the best policy. Ask me how I know…

One more image. This is what your Tesla’s in-car display will show once it sees the Apple Watch app. I had to select ‘Reset Watch Key’ on my Apple Watch before this would work properly.

And now for a quiz: How many different key options are there for the Tesla models 3 and Y?

If you said 5, you’re pretty close.

There’s the key card you get a couple of when you bought your new car:

Then there’s the smartphone app which works great on an Apple iPhone or Android – just be sure to enable the ‘Phone Key’ option under ‘Security & Drivers’:

Next up is the Tesla Ring. CNICK is a good place to get one, though you can also get one from Aliexpress if you want to save a few bucks:

And now the Apple Watch:

And finally, the one I don’t own. A Tesla Key Fob for the low, low price of $175. This is SO cool! But I do think I have the key thing covered without it… four is enough.

Actually, it’s ALWAYS a good time to buy a Tesla! But right now, there are several deals you’d be crazy not to avail yourself to, including, but not limited to:

1. Federal TAX Incentives are still a thing. And this applies to specific models whether you elect to finance, pay cash, or lease (which leads me to the next deal).
2. That is, Tesla now offers new ‘lease-end options‘. For those familiar with leasing autos, this is commonplace for most other manufacturers, but is new for Tesla.
3. Use your own, or another person’s (like mine – https://ts.la/glen27381), Tesla referral code and save another $2000 off your new Tesla.
4. 0% (or low %) financing for those who qualify, or certain models. Here are the caveats:

As of November 11, 2024, Tesla is offering 0% APR financing on the Model 3 and Model Y for borrowers with excellent credit. However, there are some conditions to this offer: 

• The financing is only available for 72 months. 
• The buyer must purchase the Full Self-Driving (FSD) semi-autonomous driving system. 
• The buyer must make a down payment of at least 15%. If the buyer can’t make the down payment, the interest rate increases to 0.99% APR. 
• Removing the FSD option increases the interest rate to 5.29%. 

And here is THE BEST DEAL in town, in my humble opinion:

And to add icing on the cake, you can buy this car at the end of the lease, which I know you’ll want to do – there’s a lot to love about this car! Your lease-end buy-back for this car is $28,522 plus a $395 disposition fee plus a purchase fee ‘up to’ $350 plus taxes…

My advice is to invest the $28,500 the car will cost you in 3 years in TSLA stock (or NVDA) today and leave it there. Not only will you be able to afford to buy out your lease, but you’ll likely have recovered all of your lease cost.

If I didn’t love my 2023 Model 3 so much, I’d be jumping on this deal. Or, of course, wait a while and there will be other deals from Tesla you simply can’t pass up. And just for grins, here’s my 2023 Model 3 RWD (not long range).

And the 2024 Model 3 RWD (long range)

The 2024 IS a better car, just not better-enough to replace my faithful stead…

If you’re really interested in all that’s planned for Tesla’s 2024 holiday update (aka update 2024.44.25.2), I recommend you head over to ‘not a tesla app‘ right now. They provide excellent coverage of such things, and would be my primary source for this information anyway. But I want to highlight a few items in this update that I find especially useful.

1. Apple Watch – Yes, I want to use my Apple Watch as a phone key, in addition to my key card, CNICK ring, and smartphone. And why not?
2. Weather Overlay – with winter weather on the horizon, this information will be incredibly useful.
3. Cross Traffic Alert – I’m just so tired of bumping into pedestrians when I back out of a parking space. Hopefully this will help prevent all those annoying dents and dings to the back of my car when I miss seeing the random baby carriage passing behind me in the parking lot.
4. SiriusXM ‘Internet Streaming’ – But ya know, I’m pretty happy with Spotify right now, so I might just pass on this new app. But for those who can’t live without SiriusXM, there will be a 3-month trial, then some pretty great early signup deals ($9.99/mth for 2 years). This will be a hard one to say no to.

And there’s SO much more.

I own a 2023 Tesla Model 3 rear wheel drive (single motor) EV with a LFP battery. This was a pretty good EV when I bought it, then the 2024 (Highland) Model 3 became available which was better in any ways. And after several months the base Model 3 (with LFP batteries) was dropped and replaced with the Model 3 ‘Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive’ (non-LFP) version that you can lease today for $299/month. With a 363 mile range (EPA est.) this is an ‘almost’ perfect EV and an exceptional value. This is the car I would buy today (with the trim and interior shown below). The only thing I wish I could add is a ‘Premium Sound System‘… which is not available from Tesla on this trim.

OK, so why do I say ‘almost’ perfect? Because it’s a Model 3 and not a Model Y, which is the car I’ll ‘upgrade’ to next. BUT the current Model Y is aging and anticipated changes coming with Project Juniper will (should) make this car a perfect choice for those considering an EV in 2025 and beyond. The Tesla Model Y is already the best selling car in the world. And making it even better will allow it to continue outselling the competition (EV and ICE). As was the case with Highland, which we didn’t know a lot about it prior to its release in China in 2024, there’s not a lot we know about the next-generation Model Y. But here are some photos that give us some clues:

Guess you have to use your imagination with these photos. But others start putting the pieces together and come up with these images. These are just renderings, but leave less to the imagination than the obscured images above (source):

Or this – no rear light-bar on this one, and more Highland-ish (source, source):

Or these images, which appear to be the most realistic (source):

Tesla is going to knock the Model Y refresh ‘out of the park’, and you can quote me on that. I’m not a Dodgers or Yankees fan, but I am a Tesla fan and if the Model 3 refresh is any indication, the Model Y refresh will be even classier. All that said, you still might want to buy a Model 3 or Y this year since the incentives for doing so are phenominal! Inventory discounts, low or no APR deals, Fed and state tax incentives, etc. There are SO many ways to save a bunch of money on a Tesla, so this IS a great time to buy or lease.

In 2023 I traded my 2017 PHEV Prius and paid cash on the balance for my Model 3, and even though it had CATL’s LFP batteries it still qualified for the $7500 tax incentive (not so in 2024). This made my purchase price very reasonable, and I’m glad I did what I did at the time I did it. Today, I would go for the 3-year lease option and invest the money I didn’t spend to help cover my monthly payments. This way I could upgrade or downgrade in 3 years as EV technology evolves. EV owners often complain about the low resale value of their vehicles when it comes time to sell or trade their cars. When you lease, especially when the lease deals are so good, you don’t have to worry about depreciation since it’s already built into the lease.

So, back to my original premise. The only reason the 2024 Model 3 is ‘almost’ perfect is because the 2025 Model Y WILL BE PERFECT! I believe the Model Y will continue to be the best selling EV in the world through 2025 and beyond. It’s just a great car getting even better with the Juniper refresh. I can’t wait to see what it looks like for real, and how it’s received. I have high hopes!

Now Elon, get off your crazy horse and focus on the job at hand. Don’t disappoint me!

What’s ‘Ridiculous’? Well, for starters, the performance of my 2023 Tesla Model 3 ‘RWD ‘standard range’ is ‘ridiculous’ at 5.6 seconds from 0 to 60 mph. For a Tesla, that’s ridiculously slow, but when compared to most ICE cars on the road, it’s pretty quick, ridiculously so.

So, like the Tesla Model S Plaid (which is ridiculously fast at 2.1 seconds 0 to 60 mph), I thought I needed a badge to place on the boot of my car to indicate just how ridiculous it is. The Plaid badge looks like this:

And my ‘Ridiculous’ badge looks like this:

And here it is on the boot of my car (TSLA is not my actual plate number, but it should be):

So now for a little back story. I didn’t know till recently that the idea of branding my car as ‘Ridiculous’ was not an original idea. So let me introduce you to a movie from 1987 titled ‘Spaceballs‘. This is a VERY strange movie, but after watching it I realized that Elon must have watched it a while ago as well, and hence the concepts of ‘Ludicrous’ mode and ‘Plaid’ were ‘borrowed’ from this film. In addition, my use of ‘Ridiculous’ mode was also used, so I can no longer claim that as my idea. Bummer…

If you have a few minutes, check out this short excerpt from the film that will help make sense of all this nonsense: Spaceballs (4/11) Movie CLIP – Ludicrous Speed (1987)

So, having watched the ‘Ludicrous Speed’ segment on YouTube you now understand the references. Now to add a bit more context to the discussion, I have already disclosed my car’s 0-60 mph acceleration time at 5.6 seconds, and the Model S Plaid time at 2.1 seconds. That’s some difference. But what you might not know are the performance numbers for the Model S and X models equipped with ‘Ludicrous Mode’, and the difference between Ludicrous and Plaid.

Let’s start with Ludicrous: “The Model S and the Model X, among others, can be equipped with a performance boost called Ludicrous Mode. It’s simply a mod that boosts the car’s acceleration.” (source)

• 2017 Tesla Model S P100D ‘Ludicrous’ – 0-60 mph 2.4
• 2020 Tesla Model S Performance ‘Ludicrous+’ – 0-60 mph 2.4
• 2017 Tesla Model X P100D ‘Ludicrous’ – 0-60 mph 2.8
• 2020 Tesla Model X Performance ‘Ludicrous+’ – 0-60 mph 2.6

And now for Plaid: Unlike Ludicrous and Ludicrous Plus, which offer a burst of extra power, Plaid’s maximum thrust is always available. As with the Ludicrous and Ludicrous Plus modes of yore, the Plaid grade doesn’t gain additional performance by increasing battery size. Instead, it does so by adding a third electric motor.

• 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid – 0-60 mph 2.1

So now you know! When you see the badge on the rear end of my car, you can say ‘That’s just Ridiculous’ and you’ll be correct.

Note: In case you were wondering, the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance is not called the Ludicrous, but it does have several performance-enhancing features: 

• Top speed – The Model 3 Performance has a top speed of 162 mph. 
• Acceleration – The Model 3 Performance can accelerate from 0–60 mph in 2.9 seconds, which is 0.2 seconds faster than the previous model.

After watching Jason Fenske’s recent YouTube video entitled ‘How To Ruin Your Electric Car’s Battery – LFP Edition!‘, and after writing a piece my own blog which can be found here (LFP batteries – revised advice), I decided to read a large percentage of comments about Jason’s video and came across one that got me a bit tweaked. Here’s the specific comment (without reference to who wrote it):

“EVs aren’t ready, EVs are too complicated, etc. So, I can either get additional education in mathematics, engineering, and chemistry, and read these studies with only a mild hope of understanding them. . .or I could “just own an internal combustion-engined vehicle until they become illegal” (or maybe a hybrid, because their batteries don’t cost >$20.000 to replace)? I’m 57 and I drive like a grandpa, so I choose option 2. Have a nice day. Thanks for posting this video, and helping me make the decision.”

To unpack this comment, let’s start at the top:

• “EVs aren’t ready” – I’d rather look at EVs as an evolutionary process, and depending on your needs, EVs are very much ‘ready’. What needs the most work at this point is charging infrastructure buildout and battery recycling facilities.
• “EVs are too complicated” – what are you talking about? I got rid of my plug-in hybrid because it was too complicated (mechanically). There is nothing less complicated on the road than my 2023 Tesla Model 3 RWD – nothing! Battery, electric motor, computer – that’s it.
• “Get additional education in mathematics, engineering, and chemistry (to) read these studies with only a mild hope of understanding them” – then don’t. An ICE (internal compustion engine) car is REALLY complicated, but most people don’t care about the alloys used in cylinder walls, lubricant and cooling fluid science, nor everything about the fuel that powers our cars, from where it comes from, how it’s processed and where it goes when our engines are done with it. We just buy the car, drive it till it falls apart then buy another. We can treat EVs the same if that’s what we want to do, or take a little time to understand the technology. It’s a choice.
• Or “just own an internal combustion-engined vehicle until they become illegal” – OK, now I think we’re treading on political thin ice. I see where this is going…
• But there is hope – “or maybe a hybrid” – hybrid automobiles really are a good choice for many consumers who just want to buy and drive and not really worry about the tech at all. So there is that…
• But then he drops the ageist ‘grandpa’ reference, and that’s where I came unglued. This is a 57 year-old whipper snapper suggesting that ‘older people’ have impaired driving abilities. As a card-carrying older person (I’ll be 70 this year – sheesh) I have always loved driving, am a safe driver, but am in no way impaired, nor would you know it by the way I drive when I’m out and about. Take also my Mom. She’ll be 100 this month and my whole life she was (and still is) a driving maniac. She’s a safe driver, but in my mind she has always driven too fast for my comfort. In my teens, I remember how joyful she was driving our ’65 Corvette Stingray Fastback (with 3 kids tucked in the back). I think she too would be offended by the ‘grandpa’ reference.

Anyway, EVs are for grandpas too. EVs are simple, reliable, safe, efficient, AND FUN. And this grandpa wants to leave behind a better world for my grand kids than my parents left for me, and EV technology is a more sensible way to begin that process than if I put my head in the sand and continued to invest in ICE and fossil fuels. Add to this the fact that EVs last a really long time (for my car 200,000 to 250,000 miles or more), which means my car will easily last 30 years and is probably the last car I’ll ever need to buy. Not sure I like that thought.

I’ll stop my rant here, but just want to reiterate EVs are for Grandpas too! You can quote me on that…

Let’s start with a little background. Many electric vehicles on the road have batteries that use a NMC, or Nickel Manganese Cobalt, chemistry. NMC is a type of lithium-ion battery that uses a cathode made of nickel, manganese, and cobalt. NMC batteries are popular for their long lifespan and high energy density, which allows them to store a lot of energy in a small, lightweight package. And the best advice for extending the life of a NMC battery is:

• Don’t let it get too hot or too cold
• Don’t store your car’s battery at 100% for long periods of time 
• Don’t wait until the battery is low to recharge it unless absolutely necessary
• Don’t regularly charge to 100%, better to charge often to 70 to 80% SOC (State of Charge)

That’s a lot of Don’ts. Then on the Do side of the ledger, there’s DO keep your NMC car plugged into your home charger whenever the car is not in use. We call that the ABCs (Always Be Charging).

So, when I got my 2023 Tesla Model 3 RWD with an LFP battery (lithium iron phosphate, aka LiFe or LiFePO4), I thought the ABC rule applied to it as well. It turns out it doesn’t, and I’ll explain why. But before going there, ’cause that part gets really complicated, I’m going to summarize how you should treat your LFP battery:

• Do charge to 100% at least once per month so your vehicle accurately displays the charge percentage (Ford recommendation), or (at least) 100% once per week (Tesla recommendation)
• When storing your car for extended periods of time store it at a lower state of charge (ex. Ford recommends 50%, probably the same for Tesla)
• Do operate at lower state-of charge ranges when possible – charge up to 100% only on occasion, or as recommended by your car’s manufacturer
• Only plug your car in when you need to*

What? That’s right! No ABCs for your LPF… But why?

*Small charge cycles are really important to extend the life of a NMC battery, but not for LFP. And here’s why… I told you this would get technical!

Sources:

• How To Ruin Your Electric Car’s Battery – LFP Edition! (video)
• The Operation Window of Lithium Iron Phosphate/Graphite Cells Affects their Lifetime (pdf)
• EV Battery Health with Dr Jeff Dahn (video)
• Your Battery Questions Answered with Dr. Jeff Dahn (video)
• The Operation Window of Lithium Iron Phosphate/Graphite Cells Affects their Lifetime (pdf)

Explanation:

Transcript from Your Battery Questions Answered with Dr. Jeff Dahn, starting at 17:56

“If you look at the voltage versus state of charge for the NMC 811 which is a very common vehicle battery (the black curve), you can see the voltage varies significantly and almost smoothly with the state of charge. So by measuring the voltage per cell of an EV pack you pretty much know where you are. For example, if you measure 3.75 volts you know that you’re about 62.5% state of charge it’s very simple, but for LFP, the red, imagine that you’re in this region between about 70 and 100% state of charge where the voltage curve is very flat. Then a voltage measurement doesn’t tell you where you are because the voltage is the same across this large region of state of charge.”

“So what the battery management system does is rely on charge counting, so when it’s discharging it’s counting the number of electrons that are being used to discharge the cell. When the cells are charging it’s counting the number of electrons and the accuracy of these charge counters is not perfect. And after a week or so without resetting all the way to 100%, they lose range accuracy. So you need to reset the charge counters by charged 100% from time to time. Now this is not a problem with LFP batteries at all. You don’t have to worry about it. Just to go ahead and charge 100% happily and it’s not going to matter. So the point of this is by operating the battery in your EV in a way to extend battery life you can keep more value in the battery.”

Quote from “The Operation Window of Lithium Iron Phosphate/Graphite Cells Affects their Lifetime“, page 11

“We propose a degradation pathway shown in Fig. 7 (not included) to explain why the LFP cells cycled across a higher average SOC fade faster than the lower SOC cells. At higher SOC, there is more exothermic heat flow produced from faster SEI growth and electrolyte reduction. This leads to VC (vinylene carbonate) being depleted at a faster rate in high SOC cycles. Additional factors that accelerate VC consumption are high temperature and higher surface area graphite (AG2 in this work). Once VC is consumed, then new SEI growth cannot come from VC reduction, so lithium alkoxides form from linear carbonate reduction and DMOHC (dimethyl-2,5-dioxahexane carboxylate) begins to form on the imperfectly passivated graphite. At the same time, iron dissolution from the positive electrode and deposition onto the negative starts to occur.

We propose that the Fe dissolution is caused by lithium alkoxides, and this chemical mechanism is verified in Fig. 8 (not included). After the Fe dissolves from LFP and transports in the electrolyte, Fe deposition onto the negative electrode is accelerated at high SOC (on lithiated graphite). New electrolyte reduction at those Fe sites on the graphite leads to more rapid capacity fade through lithium inventory loss. Therefore, cycling LFP cells over high SOC has two mechanistic reasons for accelerating failure. First it causes faster electrolyte additive consumption due to the increased reactivity of highly lithiated graphite which accelerates the production of lithium alkoxides. Second, these lithium alkoxides cause Fe dissolution and subsequent deposition on the graphite negative electrode which accelerates Li inventory loss.”

And page 12, “Based on these results, we would recommend that LFP cells for long lifetime applications operate at low states of charge on average, with charging up to 100% only on occasion. This raises several questions: how practical is it to cycle a battery cell in only low SOC
ranges? There is clearly a tradeoff between useful capacity and capacity retention. It is not realistic to recommend cycling LFP cells between 0%–25% SOC only, because that is a waste of capacity. However, we propose that LFP cells cycled between 0%–80% (or 0%–60%) would have a reasonable capacity and a longer lifetime than cells cycled between 0%–100%.”

Pages 12-13, “Overall, this work shows that there is a trade-off between cycling LFP/graphite cells at low average SOC for improved cycling stability at the expense of a lower capacity output in the limited range cycles. Understanding this trade-off is important for EV users and grid storage operators to optimize their usage of current LFP/graphite cells. For example, in a Vehicle to Grid (V2G) scenario, electric vehicle owners could choose to operate their LFP cells between 20 to 50% SOC when they are supplying power to the grid, to maximize the cells’ lifetime for their vehicle. If there is a network of vehicles connected to the grid, the lowered energy density from any given vehicle is less of a disadvantage. Therefore, this tradeoff between energy density and lifetime is use-case dependent. The focus of this work was to show the mechanisms behind this tradeoff, especially how lithium alkoxides cause Fe dissolution and how operation at high SOC increases Fe deposition and capacity fade.”

Pages 13-14 (Conclusions), “Cycling near the top of charge (75%–100% SOC) is detrimental to LFP/graphite cells. Our results show a correlation between the average SOC of battery operation and capacity fade rate, meaning that the lower the average SOC, the longer the lifetime, in these 2500 h of testing. The average SOC was found to be the most critical factor influencing capacity fade for LFP cells, over the factors of temperature, depth of discharge, electrolyte salt choice or graphite choice. Cells cycled in the conventional 0%–100% SOC window showed capacity fade rates intermediate to 0%–25% and 75%–100%. Therefore, the time spent cycling at high states of charge is critical to minimize. The degradation mode of LFP/graphite cells can be summarized as lithium inventory loss from electrolyte reduction on the negative electrode, also called shift loss.

Using isothermal microcalorimetry to measure parasitic heat flow from lithiated graphite pouch bags reacting with electrolyte, we show that elevated SOC causes incrementally higher reactivity. This degradation mode at high SOC most likely affects all lithium-ion cells that use a graphite negative electrode. Specific to LFP cells, iron dissolution and deposition is another degradation mode, accelerated by high temperature, imperfectly passivated negative electrodes, and time spent in high SOC cycling rather than in storage. The chemical mechanisms for LFP/graphite cell degradation, which are accelerated at high SOC involve: (1) faster electrolyte additive depletion, (2) lithium alkoxide generation from linear carbonate reduction once VC is consumed, (3) lithium alkoxide migration to the positive electrode to cause iron dissolution by ion exchange with lithium into the LFP, (4) deposition of this iron onto the reactive lithiated graphite electrode surface, and (5) electrolyte reduction on the deposited Fe sites causing additional lithium inventory loss.”

I told you this was complicated! But to conclude, how does this information impact me as a the owner of a car with a LFP battery? Well, this changes EVERYTHING… and nothing+.

• No more ABCs for LFP.
• Without plugging in, you’ll just need to monitor the SOC. I do have a charge limit of 50% (which is as low as Telsa will allow) set during the week and will plug in if/when a quick charge is needed.
• I plan to charge my car to 100% once per week or so to make the BMS happy, or before starting out on a long road trip.
• When road tripping, charge to whatever level Tesla’s navigation system (or ABRP) recommends to limit time spent at chargers. And you do NOT need to charge your LFP battery to 100% when visiting a supercharger.

Just to be clear, Tesla recommends that you keep your charge limit set to 100%, even for daily use, AND that you also fully charge to 100% at least once per week.

According to the battery engineers referenced above, this doesn’t make sense and WILL reduce the longevity (and value) of your car’s battery. Yes, charge to 100% ‘periodically’ to calibrate the BMS. That you should do. But keeping the charge limit at 100% for ‘daily use’ is crazy talk! Don’t do that!

+OK, so why doesn’t this change anything? If you’re coming from a ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle you fill your tank (to 100%) when the fuel indicator gets to about a quarter tank (25%). That’s what we’re doing here. Treat your LFP car like an ICE car. When the tank says 25% stop and fill to 100%, and not before. Constantly ‘topping off’ your EV battery is just not what it wants or needs.

PS – During the winter months in PA, there will be a question about preconditioning, which I do recommend when the ambient temps get below about 50° F. In this case, I set my max charging level during the week to 50% and plug in when the car is not in service.

I’m writing this post to highlight a few cool features that arrived with the most recent software update for my 2023 RWD Model 3. Unfortunately, the long-awaited FSD update wasn’t included. But what I did get follows:

Update screen

1. Weather – Outside temperature now appears at the top of the screen and when you tap on it you’ll get a nice weather report. Now that’s ‘cool’, because it’s 76 outside and not 96. I think fall temps are around the corner…

2. Parental controls – Kids are out of the house, and knowing how well parental controls worked on their PCs, I’m not hopeful your new driver won’t figure out how to defeat these controls as well. But if your kids are starting to drive, and you’re actually letting them drive your Tesla (yikes!), then this is for you.

And here are your choices…

3. Charge scheduling – This is a welcome update, and although I haven’t tried it out yet, here are our options. Go to the ‘Schedule’ tab:

Select ‘Charge’:

This is actually pretty cool since I have an LFP battery in my Tesla and I typically charge to 100% (per Tesla’s recommendation) each Saturday night. With this scheduler I can now set my car to charge at midnight on Saturday. All I need to remember is to set the charge limit to 100% for the Saturday night charge. Then on Sunday I reset the charge limit to 65% which is where it sits during the week. That’s my routine, and I fully expect my LFP battery to outlive me at this rate…

4. Amazon Music – More music options! How cool is that… I subscribe to Amazon Music, as well as Spotify, so this gives me another 100 million or so listening choices. I guess this is good, though I’ll probably still only listen to Spotify which works well for me. Anyway, here’s an image of the current app menu – pretty impressive for this computer on wheels!

And this last item isn’t a new feature, but it’s a question for y’all. With this most recent software update I’m still seeing 3 options for ‘Stopping Mode’ – Creep, Roll and Hold. Personally, I’m a ‘Hold’ fan. But my question is, do you still see all 3 options? I hear that these options are going away and ‘Hold’ with the default.

I’m sad that FSD didn’t see an update with this release, but that’s just around the corner – right? My subscription is on hold at the moment, just waiting…

What’s this about, and why should you care? Good questions!

When you first install the Tesla mobile app on an iPhone or Android device, the default display includes four ‘control’ icons on the quick-start bar as shown below (lock, climate, charge port, and frunk in this example) charging port icon is grayed out since the port is currently in use:

And you probably already figured out how to change the ‘control’ icons on the quick-start bar, if the one’s provided by default weren’t optimal. For example, in the winter (in Pennsylvania) I would substitute the frunk icon with something like ‘unlatch door’ in case my door handle is frozen. I also like having the ‘window vent’ icon as a quick-start icon during the summer months. By pressing any one of the icons on the quick-start bar for a short time the rest of the available control icons will appear. Simply touch and slide the new icon onto the quick-start bar and the right-most icon will be replaced. You can also rearrange icons on the quick-start bar the same way, by touching and dragging to a preferred location. Easy!

What’s not so easy, nor obvious, is how to add a 5th control icon to the quick-start bar. But before getting into the process, one might ask why you would want to do this. The best answer is, “because you can”. I also find it handy to have more control icons available in quick-start, so there is that. And I think you’ll agree, once you have added the 5th icon, so here goes:

To add a fifth quick control icon to the Tesla app, try these steps:

1. Touch and hold any of the first four control icons until the rest of the control icons appear
2. Select an additional control icon and hover it over the fourth icon on the quick-start bar
3. Without releasing the icon, tap and hold the first icon and drag it over the second icon
4. Release and now you (should) see 5 icons on the quick-start bar

That wasn’t so hard, was it? Gauging Gadgets put together a very short video explaining the process as well. I recommend watching this as well. He makes it look so easy…

PS – If all goes well and you were able to add the 5th icon, here’s what you display should look like now:

I was driving home this afternoon and witnessed this:

The drivers of both vehicles appeared to be fine, the white car and trailer not so much. I called 911 to report the incident, then filled out one of these for each of the drivers:

As you know, your Tesla sees (and records) everything! So if you’re in a similar situation, tap the video record button to save the current clip which can then be provided to the police, insurance company, etc. As a Tesla owner, this is so easy to do, and could make a big difference when it comes to the question of liability and insurance claims for the parties involved.

Here are my Dashcam recording settings (Auto and On Honk):

But when I see something happen and want to record a clip without honking the horn, I just press the square camera button at the bottom of the screen, and voila, the video is saved – easy!

Really, you should do this. Accidents, and especially post-accident recall by those who were involved, can be very complicated to make sense of sometimes. Being able to provide a video recording of the incident is invaluable and you now have the tools to provide it.

PS – Having provided each driver with the ‘incident card’ shown above, my contact information was added to the police report even though I wasn’t physically present. The police called later in the evening and I told him what the video showed (which, by the way, is much more reliable than I would have been as a visual witness without the video record). I expect the next call will be from the insurance company asking for a copy of the recording, and that’s fine. Again, I’m not claiming to be a ‘reliable witness’, but instead must let the video speak for itself. The video has been saved off to my PC for safekeeping…

** update **

The next call was actually from the driver of the white car who wanted a copy of the video. It’s hard to imagine his response seeing the whole thing replayed again from a different viewpoint! This additional perspective adds a lot of information that would otherwise be lost or ‘imagined’. I’m just thankful Tesla gives us this capability by design, and that we can be a service to others as a result.

So it must be OK!

This doesn’t sound like a typical ‘Drive The Future’ post. I’m going to try to make it relevant to the purpose of this site, but mostly I just need to put this out there. So here goes…

I was following a car yesterday that was the same color as mine and they had a smoke bubble license plate cover and I thought how great that would look on my car. And as you know, ‘everybody is doing this’ so it MUST BE OK – right? Answer – NO, IT’S NOT!

Here in Pennsylvania there is a law, Title 75, section 1332 of the Pennsylvania Code, and it says:

It is unlawful to display on any vehicle a registration plate which:

(1)  is so dirty as to prevent the reading of the number or letters thereon at a reasonable distance;

(2)  is illegible, obscured, covered or otherwise obstructed in any manner which inhibits the proper operation of an automated red light enforcement system in place pursuant to section 3116 (relating to automated red light enforcement systems in first class cities) or 3117 (relating to automated red light enforcement systems in certain municipalities) or any other automated enforcement system authorized by this title or an electronic toll collection system as authorized under 74 Pa.C.S. § 8117 (relating to electronic toll collection);

(3)  is illegible, obscured, covered or otherwise obstructed in any manner at a reasonable distance;

(4)  is illegible, obscured, covered or otherwise obstructed in any manner which inhibits the visibility of the issuing jurisdiction at a reasonable distance; or

(5)  has a tinted plate cover

Bottomline: If you have a tinted cover over your plate or a license plate frame that covers any letters or numbers where they can not be seen at a reasonable distance, you are breaking the law. And section 1332 states that any person who violates this law commits a summary offense and can be sentenced to pay a fine of $100 if they are convicted.

So, where does this leave us? Should I buy that cool smoked license plate cover from Amazon or not. It’s only $15 and I might not get caught. Besides, everybody does it and I don’t see them getting stopped…

Here’s why I’m not going to do it, as cool as it might be. First, “because everybody else does it” has never been a good reason for doing anything. Second, because it’s illegal! And third, because this practice of obscuring license plates is running rampant and needs to STOP! Consider it as a form of ‘theft’. If your license plate can’t be seen, then red light enforcement, toll collection systems, etc. simply can’t work, and they must! And when these safety and payment systems don’t work others pay more or are endangered by those who think our laws simply don’t apply to them. And I don’t want to be one of those people!

There’s lots of interesting coverage online about this topic. This article talks about the issue in NYC: New York City loses $100 million yearly to drivers with obscured license plates, speed camera audit finds

And this video provides a deeper dive: New York City resident on a mission to expose fraudulent license plates which implies that ‘city officials’ might also be part of the problem. I encourage you to watch this video since it does a good job of highlighting the challenge for NYC, but also ends with the real reason this is so important, and that’s ‘safety‘.

So, I’m encouraging you to become familiar with the laws in your state regarding license plate covers and play by the same rules as everyone else on the road. Pay your fair share. Drive safely. And as cool as that license plate cover might seem, don’t do it. Just don’t!

Yes, there is a way to perform a comprehensive battery health check for your Tesla, but it’s certainly not something you want to do often since it’s time consuming and hard on your battery. Here’s a link to that process: https://evchargersguide.com/how-to-check-tesla-battery-health/

But I’m here to tell you that if all you need to know is “Is my battery healthy or not?” then this is the quick and easy process you’ll want to use:

• Open the Tesla app on your phone
• Tap on the ‘Service’ option

• Click on ‘Request service’

• Then click on the ‘Battery & Charging’ option

• Select ‘Range’ 

• Type in ‘Loss of Range’ or something similar to describe your concern
• Click on ‘Next’
• You will see the ‘Running Diagnosis’ wizard
• Wait for a few moments

• Once the battery diagnosis process is completed, it will show the results. You’ll hopefully get back a ‘Vehicle Range: No Issue Detected’ response – this is good.

Anything else would suggest performing a more thorough battery test, and/or schedule a service appointment.

Let’s start with a small disappointment. I thought 2024.14.x would include FSD V12.4.x – not so. It appears that FSD update will come with 2024.15.x. But that’s OK since there’s a lot of cool changes included in 2024.14 that are worth discussing. If you want a good account of all the changes, check this out: Update 2024.14.6 – Release Notes. But what I would like to do here is provide a full review of the settings I’m using with this release and a brief explanation why I use certain settings and not others. So here goes, starting from the top:

New charging stats and audio controls are provided in the left panel. Also, the power/regen status bar is now vertical on the left side of the screen versus across the top as it was in the previous version. When the car is parked, this shows state of charge and when it’s under way, power, regen, and regen plus brakes when appropriate.

Or you can extend the display with a new visualization screen.

The ‘Controls’ screen hasn’t changed, though I need to remember to change my wipers to ‘auto’ since this function has improved. Truth be told, I thought ‘auto wipers’ had been working OK.

‘Dynamics’ used to be ‘Pedals & Steering’ – no change otherwise.

‘Charging’ is the same as before. Even though my car has LFP batteries which can be charged to 100%, I leave max charge at 65% during the week, then charge to 100% each Saturday night, or before a long trip.

The next 3 slides apply to ‘Autopilot’ (which should probably be renamed to something like ‘Driver Assist’). Remember, YOU are still in control at ALL TIMES! Just because you can take your hands off the steering wheel doesn’t abdicate your responsibility as the driver!

Note: Even though I have my FSD profile set as ‘Chill’, the car still accelerates and decelerates much too quickly for my taste. I’m hoping this is something Tesla will fix with V12.4.x! I would like my car to drive like I drive, nothing more or less.

New here is the ‘Expanded FSD Visualization’, which is off by default. I turned this on to experience the changes. I expect I’ll have to toggle this on and off to really understand what it does.

The only thing to note here is ‘Forward Collision Warning’ being set to ‘Late’. This practice is intended to reduce ‘phantom braking’ incidents. I don’t know if this really works, since I have never experienced this issue with my 2023 Model 3. So I guess I’ll just leave it set to ‘Late’ for now.

‘Locks’. No changes here.

No changes on the ‘Lights’ screen, though there should be some improvement in ‘Auto High Beam’ response. This is an area that could use improvement from the previous version.

‘Display’. No changes here.

‘Trips’. No changes here.

‘Navigation’. No changes here.

‘Safety’. Not much new here. Just be sure to keep ‘Sentry Mode’ off since it’s a known battery hog, and I set ‘Dashcam’ to Auto and On Honk, but know that you can always save a dashcam segment manually as well, even with these settings as shown below. Oh, and do turn on ‘View Live Camera via Mobile App’. This will come in very handy if/when you get a Sentry alert to your phone.

‘Service’. This is the screen from the previous release.

And in the current release, ‘Remove Saved Locations’ has been added (second screen shot).

‘Software’ is next.

‘Wi-Fi’ has been added.

As has ‘Bluetooth’ settings.

Easy access to audio controls is now available at the bottom of the left panel,

or at the bottom of the Expanded Visualization screen.

And the browser can now be viewed in Full Screen. Yeah!

And finally, FSD version information is now available in the Tesla mobile app.

Then once on the road, you’ll notice the larger speed indicator. Thank you Tesla for that! Now it’s not only in the right place on the screen, but it’s the right size as well. And don’t worry that FSD is driving 13 mph over the posted speed limit. It’s set on ‘Auto’ and that’s just what it does. It tries to keep up with traffic, which can be a good or bad thing…

It also appears the traffic visualizations have been improved somewhat. The stoplight monitor will track the light through the intersection, and might even turn red if you’re still in the intersection on a stale yellow (which seems to happen a lot in PA).

As mentioned at the outset of this post, go here if you want to see all the changes with this release: Update 2024.14.6. Now, if only FSD V12.4.x was coming soon. Can’t wait!

Answer: Tesla launches limited-time 0.99% APR loan rate on U.S. Model Y orders

So here’s the deal; Tesla’s offering a 0.99 percent APR interest rate for buyers who finance a Model Y on an order placed by May 31, 2024. The promotional financing can be used on loan terms ranging from 36 to 72 months, and it’s available on all three Model Y trim options.

What to do; Go to Tesla’s ordering website, select your preferred Model Y, sign up for the promotional interest rate for 60 months (or whatever term makes sense up to 72 months for this promotion), pay $4,250 down, and drive off with your spanking new Tesla. But that’s not the end of it…

Now that you got that once in a lifetime financing deal from Tesla, I want you to go over to Vanguard, open an account, and immediately invest all the money your just saved in a 5-year CD currently yielding 5.25%.

When all is said an done, I think this will be the least expensive car you have ever owned after factoring in car operating expenses and investment yield. Someone else will have to do the math for me, but this sounds like the best deal ever, for the best car ever!

Oh, and did I forget to mention that this car also qualifies for the $7,500 federal tax credit, which you now get at point of sale if you qualify! So what are you waiting for??

** update **

OK, I have done some calculations and think I have an answer for how much you’ll spend on interest on Tesla loan and earn on your Vanguard investment. Here’s what I came up with:

For a Long-Range AWD Model Y

• Purchase price: 47990
• Amount down: 4250
• Amount financed: 45130
• Monthly payment (P&I, 60 months, .99% promo): 772 (according to Tesla website)

• Total interest paid on the loan after 5 years: ~1153
• Amount invested (Vanguard 5 yr CD @ 5.25%): 45000
• Interest earned on investment over 5 years: ~13120

By my calculation, you’ll be ahead approximately $12,000 in 5 years versus buying your Tesla for cash today. To me, that sounds like a smokin’ deal! (Unless a math wizard can prove me wrong)

And should you actually decide to buy, don’t forget to use another Tesla owner’s referral code, preferably mine: https://ts.la/glen27381 – thanks!

That’s a very strange title! What do these two companies have in common? Tesla is a car company (that thought it might be good idea to make a smartphone), and Apple is a smartphone company (among other things) that thought it was a good idea to make an electric car. In my mind, each company should stay in their own lane and continue to do what they do best, but who am I to counsel Jobs (RIP) or Musk? But in my mind these two companies have a lot in common!

First Apple: Steve Jobs was the main man when it came to establishing Apple’s vision for the future (definitely disruptive and futuristic). 1984 was when I started paying attention to Apple’s ambitions in the personal computer arena with the Macinstosh computer. Then Jobs hit another home run in 2007 with the first iPhone. So innovative, so exciting (for the techies among us). And granted, it wasn’t just Jobs that brought these things to life, but his identity was so tightly connected with the vision and the product that it was hard to separate the two, which was both good and bad for Apple’s shareholders. But from my perspective the products just got better and better, and that’s what I care about.

Then Tesla: Elon Musk, like Steve, established a vision for Tesla Motors (a company established by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003) that produced its first car, the Tesla Roadster, in 2008 when Elon assumed the role of CEO. Like Steve, Elon’s methods were very unconventional, but both had a vision for the future that drove their teams to produce something completely new, that would position their companies to continue to innovate well into the future, and well ahead of the ‘competition’. Sandy Munro says “I would say that Tesla is at least 5 or 6 years ahead of everybody…and I have no idea how other people are going to catch up.” (source)

Here’s my point in drawing a comparison between these two ‘interesting’ individuals and their companies: both are/were visionaries, both had unique and largely unconventional ways of driving (aka ‘motivating’) their teams for success, and both left/is leaving an indelible mark on humanity. Jobs created a computing ecosystem that for many drives their work and home life. And Musk wants you to drive EVs to/from your work place and home, because EVs are ‘more sustainable’ then the alternative.

Having worked in tech since the early 80s, there is noone like these two ‘characters’ that have had quite the same impact in quite the same way. As controversial, and sometimes odd, as Elon and Steve are/were the world is a better place because of them! And for the techies among us, their innovations absolutely ‘spark joy‘.

A shout-out to Ryan Shaw for his excellent coverage about everything-Tesla on YouTube. Having recently watched his YouTube video entitled ‘NEW Tesla Model Y Launched In US | They Changed Everything‘, something I have been wondering about has been clarified – mystery solved!

So, what’s the mystery? Well, it was my understanding that both the Model 3 and Model Y standard configuration (aka single motor/RWD) were using LFP batteries sourced from CATL in China. However, when the new Federal tax credits were announced, the base Model 3 fell off the list, but the base Model Y stayed on it for the full $7500 tax credit (now deducted from the purchase price at time of sale for those who qualify). So, why the difference if both use CATL batteries?

Sourced from the transcript of Ryan’s video, Ryan says:

The standard-range Model Y was always in a bit of a weird spot in the US since Tesla didn’t introduce it for a while. Elon said the range did didn’t meet Tesla’s standard of excellence so they got rid of that and then eventually they did bring it back but with a 260 mile range instead of the previous 240 mile range which raised some questions as to the battery pack. And now, with recent changes to Tesla’s lineup, we have learned that Tesla was secretly selling these customers long-range cars that were just ‘software-locked’.

This past week, Tesla finally introduced the all-new long-range rear wheel drive Model Y this is a trim they originally announced for this car back in 2019, but it truly never came to market. The only way to get a long-range Model Y was to upgrade to all-wheel drive. That’s great, but for many customers that second motor actually isn’t necessary, and they’d rather have the increased range of a single motor. Elon Musk announced this car saying the standard Tesla Model Y now has a 320 mile range although it is rear-wheel drive. The precision of Tesla’s electric motors means it still has great traction on snow and ice with All Season tires.

As we can see on Tesla’s website, that trim now has replaced the standard-range Model Y but with a slight price increase of $2,000, so now the base price of the Model Y is up to $44,900. In any case, this rear-wheel drive Model Y gets a 320 Mi range, 10 m higher than the all-wheel drive. The same 135 mph top speed and 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds making it the ‘slowest’ available Tesla. Upgrading to induction wheels drops the range from 320 down to 295 miles. And it’s worth noting that these are using the new EPA testing standards so range predictions here should be more accurate than previous years.

Ryan continues, I think it’s a very smart move by Tesla and this car will be extremely popular. Range is very important to people even if they don’t really need it and a $2,000 price bump to take 260 Mi up to 320 is well worth it for many. With that said, many customers over the past couple of years purchased a standard-range Model Y and we have now learned that they were actually buying this car. Elon Musk tweeted, saying ‘the 260 mile range model built over the past several months actually have more range that can be unlocked for $1,500 to $2,000 with gains of 40 to 60 miles of range depending on which battery cells you have.’ So this whole time Tesla was selling a software-locked version likely due to battery sourcing.

It was probably just easier and cheaper to create a lower range version of this car that they could sell for less than it was to make and source an entirely different battery pack for production. They have done this in the past a few times especially with the Model S. It definitely sounds odd at face value but when an unlock like this is offered, it can make a lot of sense. The interesting thing to keep in mind here is let’s say you have a standard-range Model Y and that they offer a $2,000 upgrade that gets you 60 more miles of range, matching the 320 mile estimate for the long-range rear wheel drive. Today, this is a long-range battery, so your advice is going to be that for battery longevity you should charge to 80% daily and reserve 100% charges for road trips.

In practice, that will actually mean that you are daily using 80% of your battery’s potential, or 256 miles of it, versus if you don’t pay for that range unlock you can charge up to 100% or around 260 miles each day, so really this software unlock will only truly benefit those who need to charge to 100% on a semi-regular basis. Once Tesla offers that upgrade that will definitely be a consideration since you only want to charge to 80% each day. Anyway, is unlocking the full battery necessary for your personal needs? Either way this is an exciting upgrade for the Model Y and I still hope to see the return of the standard-range version, just with its own actually smaller (hopefully LFP pack) in the future. Most of this comes down to scaling and tax credit eligible battery sourcing…

End Quote

So, I was confused, and perhaps many others are as well. When I order my Tesla, what battery technology does it have? Is it software-locked or not? How should I charge my Tesla for best battery longevity? Etc… My hope is that you, the consumer, will be better informed now about the choices you are making, and Tesla will be more transparent about the options available to you.

In the meantime, Ryan’s video did clear up my questions about why certain cars qualifiy for tax credits and others don’t, and what battery tech is offered in the Model Y base model, which I think many will consider to be the BEST EV on the market today – that is until the Model Y ‘refresh’ in 2025, in which case it will be even better!

I’m probably not alone wanting to put a bicycle rack on the back of my Tesla to haul my e-bike(s) to the trails. But what’s missing from my Tesla’s UI is the ability to tell my car that there’s a bicycle or two on the rack and that I probably shouldn’t open the trunk for fear of scratching the paint on my trunk lid, or worse.

And now with the ability to open the trunk merely by being in close proximity to it, I might be in even more peril. What I REALLY need is a setting in my car’s UI that allows me to override all the ways the trunk can be opened until I have removed all obstructions and then physically reactivate all trunk opening options.

There are many incidents reported on the web where Tesla owners have made the mistake of opening their trunks with bikes on the back, all with bad results. Tesla needs to remedy this oversight, and not just for their tow hitch installation package, but for aftermarket tow hitch installations like mine as well. I’m using a Stealth Hitch from eTrailer and the Sport Rider SE Bike Rack from Hollywood Racks. This hitch and bike rack combo work really well, but I have to be SO careful when hauling bikes on the rack so as to not damage my car. I have been lucky so far, but having another level of protection provided in Tesla’s software would be very helpful!

Thanks for listening Tesla!!

I asked Gemini the following question:

“Tell me about the impact China will have on Tesla”

And Gemini’s response, which I think is fairly accurate:

China’s influence on Tesla is a two-sided coin: opportunity and challenge.

Opportunity:

• Market Growth: China is the world’s largest auto market, and the electric vehicle (EV) segment is experiencing explosive growth. Tesla benefits by having a large and potentially loyal customer base.
• Manufacturing Hub: Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai is a major production center, allowing them to produce cars for the Chinese market efficiently and avoid import duties.
• Data & Innovation: Approval for full self-driving software in China could be a game-changer, providing Tesla with valuable data for autonomous driving development.

Challenge:

• Competition: Chinese domestic EV makers like BYD are rapidly innovating and offering feature-rich cars at competitive prices, putting pressure on Tesla’s market share.
• Supply Chain: China dominates the EV battery supply chain, so any disruptions there could impact Tesla’s production.
• Regulations: Navigating China’s regulatory landscape can be complex, and Tesla needs to maintain good relations with the government.

Recent developments show promise for Tesla. They secured data security clearance and are making progress on getting full self-driving approval for China-made cars. This could be a turning point to counter declining sales and regain a competitive edge.

However, competition is fierce, and Tesla will need to adapt and innovate to stay ahead in the ever-evolving Chinese EV market.

And some useful references from this inquiry:

• The effect of China’s EV dominance on the global automotive sector
• China’s BYD set to overtake Tesla as world’s most popular EV maker
• Tesla Shanghai becomes world’s largest production volume Gigafactory
• China – Country Commercial Guide
• More than 123 Chinese automakers are challenging Tesla for supremacy in the EV market
• Musk’s big win in China: Tesla clears data security, full self driving hurdles for locally-made cars
• Tesla Wins Data-Security Clearance in China

Ok Gemini, I have another question for you:

“What about China government incentives with respect to competition in the electric vehicle market segment?” My concern here is that Tesla might not be competing with Chinese EV companies on a level playing field. Here’s what Gemini says:

China’s government incentives have played a major role in fostering competition in the electric vehicle (EV) market, but their approach has shifted recently. Here’s a breakdown:

Previous Policy (Subsidies):

• Financial Support: From 2009 to 2022, China heavily subsidized EV companies through direct cash handouts and tax breaks. This helped reduce production costs and make EVs more affordable for consumers.
• Boosting Domestic Players: The policy also aimed to nurture domestic EV companies by offering them a financial edge, allowing them to compete with established automakers.
• Impact: This strategy was successful. China became the global leader in EV sales, with domestic players like BYD flourishing alongside Tesla.

Current Policy (“Dual Credit System”):

• Market-Oriented Approach: In 2023, China phased out direct subsidies and replaced them with a credit system. Automakers now earn credits for producing electric vehicles and lose credits for selling gas-powered cars.
• Encouraging Innovation: This system aims to promote competition by rewarding companies that develop more efficient and technologically advanced EVs.
• Leveling the Playing Field: The shift intends to create a fairer market where competition is driven by innovation, not just government handouts.

Overall Impact:

China’s government incentives have undeniably spurred competition in the EV market.

• Increased EV Production: The previous subsidy policy significantly boosted EV production in China, making them a much larger market share.
• Rise of Domestic Brands: Chinese companies like BYD were able to leverage the incentives to establish themselves as strong competitors to Tesla.
• Shifting Focus: The new credit system aims to push the industry towards further innovation and efficiency in EV technology.

This ongoing competition will likely benefit consumers by driving down prices and offering a wider range of feature-rich electric vehicles. However, it also puts pressure on Tesla to keep up with the rapid advancements of Chinese EV companies.

And some more useful references from this inquiry:

• China’s Electric Vehicle Market: A Storm of Competition Is Coming
• Electric vehicle sales leapt 55% in 2022 – here’s where that growth was strongest
• Following a boom, China’s electric vehicle industry now faces weak domestic demand and heightened geopolitical risk – The story of China’s EV industry.

In closing, here’s a good NPR article entitled “Chinese electric carmakers are taking on Europeans on their own turf — and succeeding“. In time, Chinese automakers will reach the US, probably via Mexico – China’s BYD plans new electric vehicle plant in Mexico. Elon Musk is concerned. He ‘predicted that Chinese automakers will “demolish” global rivals without trade barriers.’ The Alliance for American Manufacturing echoes this sentiment:

“The introduction of cheap Chinese autos – which are so inexpensive because they are backed with the power and funding of the Chinese government – to the American market could end up being an extinction-level event for the U.S. auto sector.”

The phrase ‘The Elephant in the Room’ means there’s ‘a major problem or controversial issue that is obviously present but avoided as a subject for discussion because it is more comfortable to do so.’

So, you’re considering buying a new car and you have had your eye on a specific Tesla model for a while, but this guy named Elon Musk has been in the news, like every day, making crazy decisions:

• On Monday, Tesla’s not going to build an ‘affordable EV’ for the masses, but is planning to announce a ‘RoboTaxi’ on August 8.
• On Tuesday, deliveries are down so Elon thinks he’ll lay off 10% of Tesla’s workforce (and those that were laid off found out when the security guard at the front gate wouldn’t let them enter because their employee badge didn’t work anymore).
• On Wednesday, the Tesla Supercharger team is gone – all of them! What’s up?

This is the pace of changes going on at Tesla with Elon at the helm…

The ‘elephant’ can wait a moment while I give you a bit of personal history. In the 80s I worked for Boeing in Seattle. And with the market for airliners being a cyclical thing, we were always either hiring or laying off staff. I survived these layoffs by just being in the right place at the right time, but many friends lost there jobs along the way. Then I worked for Intel during the 90s and early 2000s. As a manger for part of that time, I got to know how the employee ‘retention’ system worked so we were always prepared for the next downturn. Intel’s business was also very cyclical. Staff is expensive and it’s one of the first places management looks to trim cost.

Enter Tesla (and Elon). During the first quarter of 2024 Tesla delivered 386,810 cars, a 20.1% drop from the previous quarter. Why the downturn? Well, I have an opinion:

• Lots of discounts during Q4 2023 to reduce inventory, plus Federal tax incentives were still in effect (many of which were likely to disappear for certain models in 2024)
• The 2024 Model 3 ‘refresh’ (Highland) that many decided to wait for started to ship in Q1 2024, but not in large quantities, while there’s still considerable 2023 unsold inventory.
• A Model Y ‘refresh’ (Juniper) is on the horizon (2025?), so if you’re not in a hurry to buy now then this is something to wait for. If the Model 3 refresh is any indication, it will be worth the wait!
• Tesla prices are bouncing all over the place. “Am I getting the best deal, or should I wait?” “Will the Performance Model 3 (just announced) qualify for the Federal tax credit?” What do you know, it does! OK, that’s the car I want, but I know I’ll have to wait a while… etc.

So, let’s get back to the elephant. Elon’s in the news. Elon’s getting lots of heat. We, the EV consumer, only see and hear about the crazy things Elon does and says (of which there are many). But what about Tesla (we’ll leave the CyberTruck out of this discussion for the moment)? Tesla has:

• Best supercharger network
• Best software
• Best self-driving capability (that’s constantly improving)
• Good build quality (that’s constantly improving)
• Great products, becoming ever more affordable
• Best Net Promoter Score (customer loyalty) score in the industry
• And the Model Y is the ‘best selling car (of any type) in the world!’)

Will Elon’s latest decrees help or harm the Tesla brand? In the press, there’s lots of speculation, some of which get’s back to Elon’s mental state (ah, there’s the elephant). Is Elon being ‘rational’ when making these decisions? Good question(s)!

I’m going to climb out on a proverbial limb and say that I think Tesla is fine. I agree that Elon adds quite a bit of drama to the equation. Also, there’s a lot of credible competition on the horizon (here’s a good recent video from Ryan Shaw on this topic). But Tesla leads the industry in innovation that makes their cars more efficient, more reliable, and for Tesla’s benefit, more profitable than any of their competition (we’ll leave the discussion about China for another post). See also: Sandy Munro: Tesla’s NEW innovation is light years ahead.

What I’m not saying is that ALL of Elon’s decisions are ‘rational’. But he has built the best car company in the world and I think he cares that it continue to be the best, and he believes that his decisions are in line with that objective.

PS – Yup, that Kool-Aid tastes great!

There are Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) lovers and haters out there. The lovers paid a small fortune to be FSD ‘beta testers’ for Tesla, have lived through good and bad FSD characteristics during its evolution, and can honestly say that the version (v12) on the streets today is far superior to previous versions.

On the other hand, the haters say I want to be in control of what my car does, not some computer. And not only that, but I don’t want to always be second-guessing what my car is going to do next, then have to take control at the last moment (which might be too late anyway). There are plenty comments like that, but the one that resonates with me the best is this comment: “I equate my experience so far over the last couple days to it being like driving with a new teen driver.” I found this comment on Reddit, and put together this image that echoes this sentiment (Please Be Patient – FSD v12 Driving):

So, do I love or hate FSD? Neither. I think FSD v12 works really well in many situations, and not so well in others. Living in Pennsylvania, we have potholes that will eat your whole car if you let them. FSD doesn’t know about potholes, and invariably aims right for them. That’s a problem! And FSD sometimes gets confused. But the real issue for me is that it doesn’t drive like I do. FSD wants to accelerate more quickly, decelerate more quickly, wait too long to turn on a turn signal, etc. What this means is on local streets I’m not going to use FSD. But on the highway where things are more predictable I will. Besides, I LIKE DRIVING. With FSD I’m not driving, I’m monitoring and correcting. This is actually more stressful than just driving, and not as enjoyable. My Model 3 is actually a real joy to drive, so why would I give up that job to my car?

Then there’s the question of cost. Is buying FSD for $8000 USD worth it for me. Absolutely not! $1500, maybe. OK, so Tesla also just reduced the subscription amount to $99/month. Is this worth it for me? Maybe. My free month just finished and I started my subscription because I knew I was going to put on some freeway miles this month. However, I’ll probably drop the subscription in June and only start it again if there’s a road trip coming up. The subscription lets me do this, which is ideal for the way I use my car.

The bottom line for me with respect to FSD is use it where it makes sense and doesn’t pose a danger to you or to those around you. Otherwise, enjoy driving your Tesla! You own a really good car that wants to be driven. It’s fast, it’s safe and reliable, it’s comfortable and it handles really well. All that said, I’ll opt out of FSD for most of my daily driving, but thank you Tesla for giving us all the opportunity during April 2024 to try it out for ourselves. For some, this improves their Tesla driving experience. For others, not so much. And that’s OK…