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I've seen the Tesla Model X can tow horses, camping trailers, cars and boats without breaking a sweat. The power consumption naturally goes up and towing someth

by perbu 9y ago

I've seen the Tesla Model X can tow horses, camping trailers, cars and boats without breaking a sweat. The power consumption naturally goes up and towing something heavy for hundreds of kilometers is problematic if you're going outside the Tesla supercharger network. The X is quite expensive, though. Hopefully there will be more affordable models coming to market over the next few years. But the technology to build a SUV capable of towing several tons is already here. Quite a few cities will likely ban diesel driven cars from entering the city core at some point in the near future and this will to a certain extent obviate diesel powered cars.

briandear 9y ago
The problem with electric SUVs is that if you’re in the back country for days or weeks at a time, the ability to carry extra fuel or have the reliability required is a major selling point. When you’re up in the mountains or in very rural areas, the last thing you need is to wonder where a charging station might be. Additionally, in emergency situations when power might be down, you can’t easily charge a vehicle from a generator, but you can easily (and quickly) fill up from storage tanks. I also wonder about a model X’s ability to cross high water or remain capable in harsh conditions. For example, what’s the Model X performance in Alaska or Yukon style subarctic conditions? I would be not particularly good. However, the vast majority of SUV users are essentially commuter vehicles so electric might be a suitable replacement. Most people don’t use SUVs for their intended purpose, but more as a stylish minivan – an area an X would seem to excel. It’s essentially a rich soccer mom car. $100k for a Tesla X is a bit ridiculous. I could buy a nicely equipped Land Rover for that and not have to worry where the closest supercharger might be. I also can be confident of cold and harsh condition performance. Obviously this will change as tech improves, but for the near term, an electric SUV isn’t a serious car, but a show-off toy, albeit a very expensive and nice one.
- kbart 9y ago
  "what’s the Model X performance in Alaska or Yukon style subarctic conditions? I would be not particularly good." There are many Teslas in Norway, which is also known for its harsh conditions, so I'd guess it's not that bad at least.
  - justadeveloper2 9y ago
    For whatever reason, when I think of Norway, I don't imagine hard-working blue collar type people who work out in the cold or need to get to work in sub-zero temps the way we do here in the northern US states and Alaska. I'm sure some people in Norway can't screw around with unreliable crap, though, right?
- eecc 9y ago
  Thing is: most SUVs don't ever see a dirt track. So sure, you may want a real truck when crossing that river in Patagonia, but to drive downtown and make a pecking order statement at your company's garage I guess electric is more than adeguate and actually a little less damaging for the rest of the community
- eecc 9y ago
  Thing is: most SUVs don't ever see a dirt track. So sure, you may want a real truck when crossing that river in Patagonia, but to drive downtown and make a pecking order statement at your company's garage I guess electric is more than adeguate and actually a little less damaging for the rest of the community
- justadeveloper2 9y ago
  Exactly--completely impractical for a lot of areas of the US. Just drive across Montana and then get back to me. I swear that most people never leave a major city their wholes lives! Parts of the US are tough on conventional vehicles and what I am seeing is that more and more cars have become a mess of bad engineering compromises due to CAFE standards. Eight and ten speed autos are marvels of engineering, but they aren't as reliable as older, five and six speed boxes. You can barely find a manual anything, which I find repugnant since manual transmissions are the gold standard of reliability. Another matter of concern is that there are almost no SUVs with a V8 for towing and I'm talking gasoline, no diesel here--the only diesels are pickups of various sizes and a few luxury makes. That's it. Every decent V6 (and I6, e.g. BMW) engine is morphing into a 2.0L turbo, which is just shit in comparison. Yes, it saves weight, but the trade off is reliability.
drewg123 9y ago
The problem is that towing for any distance decreases the range dramatically, and most superchargers are not equipped for towing. Most superchargers require you to back-in, which would involve unhooking your trailer. Even the superchargers that are pull-through are often not set up to safely leave a trailer attached. This review came up in the Tesla forums recently. It is a blog entry about towing a trailer in a Model X: https://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-x/2016/long-term-road-test/2016-tesla-model-x-towing-a-teardrop-trailer-to-flagstaff.html https://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-x/2016/long-term-road-te...

by perbu 9y ago

briandear 9y ago

The problem with electric SUVs is that if you’re in the back country for days or weeks at a time, the ability to carry extra fuel or have the reliability required is a major selling point. When you’re up in the mountains or in very rural areas, the last thing you need is to wonder where a charging station might be. Additionally, in emergency situations when power might be down, you can’t easily charge a vehicle from a generator, but you can easily (and quickly) fill up from storage tanks. I also wonder about a model X’s ability to cross high water or remain capable in harsh conditions. For example, what’s the Model X performance in Alaska or Yukon style subarctic conditions? I would be not particularly good. However, the vast majority of SUV users are essentially commuter vehicles so electric might be a suitable replacement. Most people don’t use SUVs for their intended purpose, but more as a stylish minivan – an area an X would seem to excel. It’s essentially a rich soccer mom car. $100k for a Tesla X is a bit ridiculous. I could buy a nicely equipped Land Rover for that and not have to worry where the closest supercharger might be. I also can be confident of cold and harsh condition performance. Obviously this will change as tech improves, but for the near term, an electric SUV isn’t a serious car, but a show-off toy, albeit a very expensive and nice one.

kbart 9y ago
"what’s the Model X performance in Alaska or Yukon style subarctic conditions? I would be not particularly good." There are many Teslas in Norway, which is also known for its harsh conditions, so I'd guess it's not that bad at least.
- justadeveloper2 9y ago
  For whatever reason, when I think of Norway, I don't imagine hard-working blue collar type people who work out in the cold or need to get to work in sub-zero temps the way we do here in the northern US states and Alaska. I'm sure some people in Norway can't screw around with unreliable crap, though, right?
eecc 9y ago
Thing is: most SUVs don't ever see a dirt track. So sure, you may want a real truck when crossing that river in Patagonia, but to drive downtown and make a pecking order statement at your company's garage I guess electric is more than adeguate and actually a little less damaging for the rest of the community
eecc 9y ago
Thing is: most SUVs don't ever see a dirt track. So sure, you may want a real truck when crossing that river in Patagonia, but to drive downtown and make a pecking order statement at your company's garage I guess electric is more than adeguate and actually a little less damaging for the rest of the community
justadeveloper2 9y ago
Exactly--completely impractical for a lot of areas of the US. Just drive across Montana and then get back to me. I swear that most people never leave a major city their wholes lives! Parts of the US are tough on conventional vehicles and what I am seeing is that more and more cars have become a mess of bad engineering compromises due to CAFE standards. Eight and ten speed autos are marvels of engineering, but they aren't as reliable as older, five and six speed boxes. You can barely find a manual anything, which I find repugnant since manual transmissions are the gold standard of reliability. Another matter of concern is that there are almost no SUVs with a V8 for towing and I'm talking gasoline, no diesel here--the only diesels are pickups of various sizes and a few luxury makes. That's it. Every decent V6 (and I6, e.g. BMW) engine is morphing into a 2.0L turbo, which is just shit in comparison. Yes, it saves weight, but the trade off is reliability.

drewg123 9y ago

The problem is that towing for any distance decreases the range dramatically, and most superchargers are not equipped for towing. Most superchargers require you to back-in, which would involve unhooking your trailer. Even the superchargers that are pull-through are often not set up to safely leave a trailer attached. This review came up in the Tesla forums recently. It is a blog entry about towing a trailer in a Model X: https://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-x/2016/long-term-road-test/2016-tesla-model-x-towing-a-teardrop-trailer-to-flagstaff.html https://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-x/2016/long-term-road-te...