Anyone who buys that Tesla should be on a watchlist
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Did you know the Tesla is amphibious? Iām not kidding. Could be very useful in Houston.
It pitches with either hand?
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Like calling an electrified Escape a āMustang.ā Good branding for sales but not very respectful of their history.
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The Lightning at least looks like a Ford truck.
The press materials say that the extended-range battery (300 miles) can charge from 15% to 100% in eight hours on the 19.2kW fast charger. With some back-of-the-envelope math, thatās about 175kWh (give or take) to fully charge the battery. I pay $0.129/kWh for electricity, so thatās $22.58 for a fill-up.
The gasoline F-150 has a 26-gallon tank. I paid $2.69/gal in Austin this morning. So thatās $69.94 for a fill-up.
Now multiply the EVās charging cost by two since the range is roughly half of the gasoline F-150 (300 vs. 575-ish for combined city/highway driving), so itās about $45 vs $70. And the EVās charging cost is predictable over months or years depending on the length of your contract with your electric provider. The price of gas, of course, is volatile.
Routine maintenance might be way lower, but youāll really pay the piper when it comes time to replace the battery. Some cursory googling says that a typical Tesla battery replacement may cost $3k-5k but can be as high as $13k. Those costs will undoubtedly go down over time as EVs become more ubiquitous, but itās still something you need to account for.
ETA: Tesla battery replacement can be $3k-5k per battery module. Replacing the whole battery pack can routinely be in the $12k-15k range.
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Hopefully Ford is using someone different to source their batteries than Apple doesā¦
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Soā¦youāre saying my lightening cable may not work? I have to buy ANOTHER cable?
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I think thatās the main thing I have against the new Lightning.
Watch battery?
Iāll be very happy when they engineer a heavy duty electric truck
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My Casio beater is quartz. Itās actually $49 well spent.
Itās going to be fun when Spider-Man is frantically trying to hotwire the arc reactor in his Iron Spider suit into the stalled cooling system of a nuclear power plant thatās on the cusp of meltdown, but the day is saved when a dude backs up his F-350 Lightning, steps down from the cab, hitches up his jeans and flops an extension cable out of the frunkā¦
One of those āfree nights and weekendsā electricity plans can further reduce those charging costs.
A friend has a Tesla Powerwall that can supply his 4,000 sf house (maybe 90% during summer days). He charges the Powerwall and his Model S at night on a free nights electric plan. His monthly electric bill is well under $100.
Obviously, the Powerwall and install isnāt cheap, but Tesla gave it to my friend for free as a concession for some warranty/service screw-up on his Model S a few years ago.
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If youāre unaware, itās really easy to change electric plans. I change mine every year and am currently paying $.058/kWh on a 100% wind plan. And itās not one of those weird ones with bonuses or free nights, etc. Just takes a little research though.
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Yep, Iām aware. But I have solar panels and am limited to providers that have 100% solar buyback plans. There arenāt a whole lot, and they tend to have higher rates.
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I use Real Simple Energy, and have no complaints. Iām currently paying 6.9Ā¢ / kWh.
They shop your business every six months and move you as necessary based on your preferences and usage profile.
(Obligatory) Nice!
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Just to add, your bill always comes from Real Simple Energy, so you donāt have to worry about flipping your automatic payment if/when they switch you to a new plan. They offer balanced billing and guaranteed cost options too.