When I left my Model 3 Performance, the battery of the electric vehicle was charged up to 69%.

BHPian mobike008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

If your phone was on stand-by mode, how long will it last before it conks out of battery? 2-days, 3-days, maybe maximum of 4-days?

I was out of the country for 3 weeks and returned over the weekend. When I left the States, I charged the battery to 69%.

After 3-weeks of just sitting idle in the garage, the battery of my Tesla dropped by just 4%.

This is the sheer technology and battery optimization brilliance of Tesla. Hats off to Musk.

Before leaving, I had ordered this center armrest leather cover. It fits like a glove and adds that extra "oomph" to the interior glamour of Rosso Diablo.

Finally, this marvelous piece of "computer" crosses 5,000 miles in 6.5 months.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

It's a 2020 model and the battery range of the EV is still holding up.

BHPian bruce recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hey, it's been a long while since I posted here.

Here is my Tesla Model 3 Performance 2020, 2nd owner since 2020, first owner was a leasing organisation. Driven 8K till now. Yes, haven't driven much except for some school runs.

What I like

1. Car's performance (0-60 mph in 3.1 secs)
2. Max bhp is 450bhp
3. Re-gen braking, I hardly use brakes in the city and it has made driving so fun
4. Simplicity
5. Tesla's Supercharger network
6. Warranty and service

What I don't like

1. Shoddy finish by Tesla
2. So many issues with condensation (replaced taillights, fog lamps, and spoiler all under warranty)
3. Noise level

Battery range is still holding up. I get about 316 miles for 100% averaging all year (winter and summer).

All that I have done to the car is added some alloy protection for the 20" Überturbine Wheels, that is it.

Here's what BHPian mobike008 had to say about the matter:

Congrats on your M3P. Where in the UK do you live?

When did you purchase the car from the 1st owner?

3 years and just 8K miles? Sounds quite unbelievable even if the owner has more than 1 car. It’s such a waste of solid fun sitting in the garage. LOL!

Mine is 6 months old and I alternate between my other car and M3P regularly and just shy of 5000 miles.

Tesla has improved the build quality by tons on a month-to-month basis and not just on year to year. Now the known issues (Panel gaps, rattling of windows etc) are more or less taken care of. But, with the amount of cars they are producing, the quality will take a beating by a little margin and buyers just have to pray that they are not one of the unfortunate souls to get one of the bad apples.

Mine is a 2023 (3 years later model) and has none of the issues that you faced.

Build Quality- Of course, it’s not a tank like my BMW but, I am quite pleased with the build quality as well as the luxurious feel of the interiors (again, not as good as my BMW). Zero rattling issues or any loose components.

Noise Level- 2020 M3P comes with single-pane window glasses. Teslas now come with double-pane windows and that has improved the NVH significantly.

This is where I am not too happy. How do you calculate that you are getting 316 miles assuming you charge to 80% or 90%?

I have a solid lead foot and my M3P returns about 275 miles for 100% of battery. I use the CHILL mode only when the family is onboard. Otherwise, it’s SPORTS all the way and that eats into the battery quite a bit.

Also, when in Sports I am usually unable to stop with REGEN as the speed that I carry is too much for REGEN so I have to use the brakes.

Considering the insane acceleration and thrill we get from this car, I still feel 275 miles is something one should not be complaining about.

I always charge to 80% (Rarely to 90% and never till date to 100%) and recharge after it drops to 20%. So my calculation is based on the miles that I drive for that 60 % range (80%-> 20%)

Not sure if there is a better way to calculate the exact miles.

Can you please share what protection have you added to Ubertine wheels?

I am also worried about them scrapping curbs or they may get damaged if I land in a pothole at high speed.

Thankfully, we have absolutely brilliant and butter-smooth roads in entire Washington except for some areas in Downtown Seattle.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

It asks for your vehicle registration number & based on that, the car and recommended tyre pressures are known to the system.

BHPian carthick1000 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Smart pump experience

Few days ago, me and my wife went to a nearby village for some work. We have never been to this place before. So we thought we will park the car in the parking terrain at the edge of the village and walk by. While on the way to the village, I was telling my wife that we need to check the tire pressure as it was lower than 2.9 bar (Recommended 3.1 bar for winter tyres).
Call it a coincidence, because, in the parking where we parked, there is a newly installed smart pump.

This pump has a display and a contactless card payment system integrated. It runs on solar power and has inbuilt batteries to store energy generated by Solar panels. So even on non-sunny days, the compressor in the smart pump can work with battery power alone. Also, the installers don't have to depend on the availability of electricity supply. So it can even be installed in remote parking lots.

The idea behind this company is private industries with parking lots and/or municipalities can lease these smart pumps and this company will install and maintain the smart pumps. In the case of the one we used, the local municipality installed this. As a user, it is free to use and if you want you can also donate using the integrated contactless payment system.

The working is as follows

• You park at the designated spot
• Click on the push button to wake up the touchscreen
• It asks if it is a car or another type of vehicle

• It asks for your registration number. Based on this the car and recommended tire pressures are known to the system.
• Then it asks for a few more questions like: Have you driven for 15 minutes or more than 5km? (to assess the warm or cold tire), Is this a winter tyre? (Winter tyres usually need slightly higher pressure) and Do you want to save fuel and save money? (Answering yes adds an extra 0.2 bar to the setting). Based on the yes/no answers the tire pressure is determined.

On the next page, it shows the tire and pressure levels. You have to take the nozzle and pump up the respective tyre shown in the display. There will be a visual and audible notification when the pressure is reached. It also shows an option to pump up a flat tire. This setting probably allows the compressor to run for longer.

After you are done with all 4 tyres, the next page shows how much cost (eur), fuel (liters), tire wear (in kms) and CO2 emissions (kg) you saved for the upcoming 5000kms. This is probably an educated guesstimate based on the user input and the data they collected.

As the curious cookie I am, stepped into a nearby office facing this pump and checked with the receptionist how frequently this pump is used and she said it is used quite a lot. Her clients seem to love it and also in general, at least 20+ cars use it per day.

I am also freelancing for our village sustainability work group and discussed it with my fellow members and they were all enthusiastic about it too. We will be taking this initiative soon in our village too.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Mercedes uses Burmeister & BMW uses Harman. I read somewhere that Tesla's is actually a better-sounding system than the $12,000 optional unit in the Audi R8!

BHPian mobike008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Tesla Model 3 Performance Music System Review

To set the basic context right before we begin the brief review of the M3P Music system.

I’m an amateur audiophile and usually critical of the music quality that I listen to. And, I do listen to a lot of music. I roughly peg the time per day to about 2-hours of music during various activities like driving, biking, walking or just relaxing at home with my feet up. This average amount of time goes up when driving.

I’m making an effort to write a review dedicated to a music system (which I never did in approximately 13 cars that I owned till date), so you can imagine the impact it made on me.

The only other time I made an effort was to install a full-on music system back in the day in my Accent Viva CRDi including damping the entire car and spending around INR 1 Lakh. Well, the story here is not about installing anything. But, about a stock music system that came with the car.

For me personally, driving and listening to music is an integral part of an overall driving experience (The only times I switch off ICE is to enjoy the booming sound of the B58 engine in my BMW).

I normally don’t focus on the music system when I’m test-driving a car and the same happened with Tesla. However, when I happened to keep the Tesla Model Y performance over a 24-hour period of test drive, I obviously listened to a lot of music.

It immediately left an impression on me as the music quality was superior to any other car that I ever heard to date.

Then I started doing some research on Tesla’s music system which strangely is not marketed at all by them as one of the stand-out features in a Tesla.

Teslas come with 2 types of Music systems:

• Regular Sound System: 9- Speakers, 1 Amplifier and 1 Woofer
• Premium Sound System: 15-Speakers, 2 Amplifier and 1 Woofer

Regular system is reserved for the basic model (RWD) of Tesla while the Premium Sound system comes equipped in Long Range & Performance models.

It's actually far more than a "sound system". Once combined with its 15” HD quality screen and video-streaming capabilities it's a full-blown theatre system.

Watching Fauda while waiting for wifey…

My favorite Breaking Bad- Video and Audio quality is surreal

Premium Audio - 15 Speakers (Including Subwoofers and Amplifiers)

But seriously, 15 speakers - Hey, that sounds like some rock show staging.

Driving and Listening to Music is Bliss

Focus on the song and not the background in the video.

It’s a known fact that Tesla has hired Bang & Olufsen engineers and there is a claim that these are “unbranded” B&O systems.

I have personally sat in or driven several high-end cars (Mercedes, Porsche and BM). This system is superlative compared to any of those systems in those cars.

Mercedes uses Burmeister and BMW uses Harman. And, I read somewhere on the Tesla forum that it’s actually a better-sounding system than the $12,000 optional system in the Audi R8!

Tesla has also strategically placed the speakers to give a rich, surround sound and theatre-like experience inside the cabin:

• 2 Speakers on front A-Pillar (Near the Mirror Position)
• 2 Speakers on front A-Pillar (High Above which is used for “Immersive Sound”)
• 2 Speakers on either side of the dashboard
• 2 Coaxial Speakers on the front door pads
• 2 small sized amplifiers inside the front doors
• 2 Coaxial Speakers on the rear doors
• 2 Speakers on the rear end of cabin
• 1 Subwoofer in the rear right side of trunk

To connect to the vehicle’s audio system using your smartphone, you’ll be limited to using Bluetooth only – the USB Type-C ports are for charging only. And, until recently (December 2022), I was using the iPhone to connect to Tesla and listen to songs. However, in December they released Apple Music which is an APP on Tesla Infotainment. The music quality listening via. the app viz.a.viz Bluetooth streaming is like chalk and cheese. I would say at least a 100-bit-rate improvement.

Apple Music, Tidal and Spotify music in Tesla at 356 kbps bit rate is surreal to the ears. I think Tidal streams at an even higher quality (Over 400kbps).

Tesla’s infotainment system doesn’t support Android Auto or Apple CarPlay which I used to think of as a downside.

Now in hindsight, it’s not really required as Tesla’s own system is so strong that there is no need for 3rd Party Platforms like Apple Car Play and Android Auto.

On the plus side, there is the option to plug in a USB drive – which must be formatted to FAT32 – where you’ll be able to playback MP3 and higher-resolution files, such as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec File) and WAV formats – up to 24-bit 192 kHz is supported. This makes the Model 3/Y/S among a finite number of vehicles that support higher resolution playback – ideal for amateur audiophiles like me.

There is absolutely no clear information either in Tesla Owner’s manual or the web with respect to full audio configuration, After reading on many forums, It’s worth noting that the 3 and Y used to have a 16-speaker (or 15+1) setup.

Tesla removed the centre 1″ 25W dashboard tweeter from its newer models, bringing the system down to 15 speakers including a subwoofer (14+1).

The sub-woofer in the boot is rated at 160W.

The Bass, Treble and Vocals are delivered seamlessly and there is absolutely no cracks even at the highest volume range which is simply incredible.

As for its soundstage, it’s very impressive, whereby leaving the ‘Immersive Sound’ on ‘Standard’ provides both a reference sound and when you toggle them on and off, there is a remarkable difference in sound quality.

In comparison to the Model 3, however, Tesla’s larger vehicle has its rear speakers within the boot itself rather than the rear parcel shelf. This means the sound has further to travel before it hits your eardrums. As such, the Model Y is slightly less engaging than its saloon alternative or other SUVs that have more audio drivers at the rear of the cabin. To counteract this, Tesla could release a firmware update to include a dedicated ‘Rear Surround’ setting, a feature that’s found within a few rival systems.

As per some leading articles, Model Y’s audio system isn’t actually of the speakers themselves nor the positioning but rather the cabin noise. Using a sound meter and with the larger 20″ ‘Induction Wheels’ fitted the following figures were recorded:

• 36 dBA at a standstill.
• 53-56 dBA.
• While driving at 20-30mph.
• 60-63 dBA, while driving at 40mph.
• 70-73 dBA when at 70mph. When the windows are brought down, the level increases by roughly 12 dBA.

While the Teslas are nowhere serene inside the cabin as a BMW, despite the higher sound creep inside the cabin the sound stage is still mind-boggling even at higher speeds.

Videos like Youtube, Netflix, HULU etc can be played only when the car is stationary. With this type of audio speaker configuration, the soundstage is next level.

When I am waiting for someone (usually, it’s the wife) or charging the videos that I play makes me feel that I’m literally sitting in an IMAX theatre as the sound bounces off from all corners and makes you immersed in the happenings of the video.

Audio Configurations

It’s simple and can be configured by these sliders for various options like in-speaker bass, subwoofer, treble, mids and Immersive sound can be turned on and off.

Even with the bass set to minimum levels, the thump is incredible and as you rack up the bass the boom gets violent without any cracks which are simply commendable.

To summarize, No wonder serious audiophiles all over the internet/YouTube are always raving about this system. I’m super impressed with Tesla’s music system which is at least 5X times better than the Harman system in my BMW.

Here are a few pictures of the speaker's positions and some sample audio/video links.

Cheers and Thanks for reading.

Speaker on the top of the front window (both sides)

Speaker on the roof (above the front window) on both sides- This aids in an immersive sound stage.

Large speakers on the bottom portion of the door panels (both sides).

Closer look at the top speaker on the front door.

Passenger side immersive speaker.

Front bottom speaker.

Another view.

Rear door Speaker.

Rear Parcel Tray Speakers

Rear Speaker

This is where the meat of the story is. The side houses a massive amplifier and a sub-woofer. I didn't want to meddle with flaps so didn't open them.

Unrelated- Cute little trick that I got to know later. Sometimes ( Happened twice to me till date), the charging cable won't get unlocked automatically. I panicked and searched YouTube to find this trick. Just pull that cloth lever and the charging cable gets unlocked.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The song 'Naatu Naatu' won the Oscar for Best Original Score at the recently held 95th Academy Awards

A large group of Tesla owners in New Jersey, USA, gathered at a parking lot to celebrate the Oscar win for the song 'Naatu Naatu' from the movie RRR via a custom light show.

The video clip of the light show has since then gone viral, with the official Twitter account of the RRR movie also sharing it on their social media platform. The video shows a bunch of Teslas arranged in the form of RRR (the name of the movie) and flashing their lights in a synchronised fashion.

The song 'Naatu Naatu' won the Oscar for Best Original Score at the recently held 95th Academy Awards, making it the first Telugu song to win this category. It beat the likes of Lady Gaga's "Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Maverick and Rihanna's "Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, among others.

Coming back to the synchronised lighting, Tesla supports making custom light show files for its cars. Tesla even has a dedicated section which teaches owners to use the free, open-source XLights light sequencer to choreograph the entire process. There are also other websites which let users download light shows based on the song's popularity.

Source: TeslaLightShow/YouTube

I used REGEN to stop the EV but there were a couple of instances when the car didn't stop & my heart came into my mouth.

BHPian mobike008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Tesla Snow Blizzard Drive Feedback

This year, Washington got a ridiculous amount of snow. It was even said that we got 4x more snow than New York which says something about the global weather changes as Seattle was never known for major snow.

Earlier this week (Monday), when we got up in the morning, it was snowing heavily. My wife is scared to drive in such conditions and she asked me to drop her to work (9 miles one way).

I decided to get brave and take the Tesla instead (They are shod with Pirelli Summer Performance Tires and I did read reviews that in snowy conditions they do not provide not much grip) and I had a couple of crazy moments.

Brakes

I drove the car as if it was normal road conditions and most times used REGEN for slowing down and stopping but, in a couple of instances, I was a little faster than required and had to slam the brakes.

Guess what? Nothing happened. It felt like I stepped on a flat ground and the pedal didn't go in and the car won’t stop. This happened twice and both times my heart came into my mouth.

Another scary moment was a car in the opposite lane (2-lane road) almost came into my lane as his car slid. I had to take evasive action by swerving right and then the Tesla did a nice slide but, traction control brought it back in the lane quickly. Very impressed.

I did enjoy a couple of predictable slides when taking some corners but, I realized that driving the Tesla with tires that are not meant for that season is asking for trouble.

While its technology to provide stability is awesome, driving it with summer performance tires is really risky (I don’t want to spend $2000 to get the tires changed, so will use the car hereafter in dry and rainy weather).

Tesla owner's feedback is appreciated.

Here are some pictures of the snow blizzard which I never saw in a city (usually, it happens around 50 miles away in the mountains).

Snow Blizzard in a city/suburbs- A first for me.

Rosso Diablo got a nice thick foamy moustache after I returned home. Haha!

Our community was unrecognizable as everything turned white.

Here's what BHPian carthick1000 had to say about the matter:

Though NL is scarcely snowy in winter, I don’t take the risk of running summer tires in Winter. Between October/November and March, my Model 3 (and all my past cars) is (were) always on Winter tyres. Also, I drive often to Germany and Winter tyres during these months are mandatory there.

My Model 3 doesn’t need chains or spiked winter tyres in NL as the terrain is almost flat in most places, I still have some chains lying around just in case for those south Germany trips to the Alps. If you are driving in weather conditions under 7degC during some months of the year, having a set of winter tyres is a safe choice. Since the M3 is not your only car, yes, you can skip using it altogether. But I will terribly miss the preconditioning in those winter months if I have to use an ICE car only in winter.

Moreover, a 2.5Ton SUV will take longer to brake or steer in icy conditions than a 1.8Ton Sedan.

Here's what BHPian lexusES350 had to say about the matter:

This was brave of you but a poor choice considering these cars with Summer Performance tires are not meant to be driven in slick conditions let alone in the middle of a super rare blizzard where they don't even salt the roads like in NE US or Canada. I'm glad nothing happened and you and dear Rosso Diablo are fit and fine.

Actually, this is the intended behavior and the car took over to prevent you from going into an uncontrollable slide. On many Tesla forums and Reddit etc. it is recommended to turn off regen breaking and let the car behave like a normal car if one routinely drives in snowy conditions. This helps in avoiding issues where regen brakes send the car into an uncontrollable slide.

During snowy/slick conditions too much braking is the main reason for most uncontrolled slides & accidents. This is why your car's traction control sensed the car would have entered into a slide and instead didn't take your brake inputs and instead let the car roll which prevented it from going into a slide.

As a side note, experienced people recommend that if one ever enters into an uncontrollable slide, apply a slight bit of accelerator and turn the wheels straight which might help regain traction.

Certainly, thanks for acknowledging the truth.

I urge everyone, please for sake of the almighty and of course you, your family and everyone else around you please do not and I request do not ever try to drive a car with Summer Performance tires, especially a car like Tesla with regen brakes.

Too much braking is the most common reason why cars go into an uncontrollable slide and having reduced traction tires like All Seasons/Summer Tires and not using traction control devices like chains results in a case like this. Four-wheel drive/AWD does not prevent these uncontrolled slides. Trying to drive in these conditions without proper tires/chains means a higher likelihood that the car will go into a ditch instead of the destination where you want to go.

This happened just over the weekend during yet another blizzard here in the northern CA mountains - the most probable reason the car was not using Winter tires or Chains and instead had All Season tires which provide a semblance of winter driving capabilities, Summer tires don't even do that.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The new entry-level Tesla is also said to debut the brand's next-generation EV platform.

According to media reports, Tesla could introduce an all-new hatchback EV at the brand's upcoming 'Investor's Day' event.

The American EV carmaker recently released a promo video for its upcoming investor day event, which showcased sketches of the facelifted Model 3 and Model Y, alongside a side profile view of a hatchback, which has been rumoured to be in the works for quite a while now.

The new Tesla hatchback will be the brand's most affordable model, positioned below the Model 3, making it the entry-level offering in the lineup. Tesla is expected to price the upcoming hatchback EV around $25,000. It is likely to feature a three-door configuration, squats lower to the ground and has smaller proportions when compared to the Model 3.

The new entry-level Tesla is also said to debut the brand's next-generation EV platform, codenamed Generation 3. The new-generation platform will allow Tesla to cut production costs by half, making it viable for the brand to manufacture a mass-market model. The yet-to-be-named Tesla hatchback, once on sale, will directly take on rivals such as the Volkswagen ID.3, Nissan Leaf and Kia e-Niro. It is expected to be powered by a 50 kWh battery pack offering 250 miles (402 km) of range.

Source: Autocar UK

Women car buyers are said to be more anxious about range and safety than men.

As per a new study, electric vehicle manufacturers in the USA are struggling to bring in more female buyers. The report shows that while the industry average for women car buyers is 41.2%, the average for vehicles with an electric powertrain is just 28%.

Among the top electric vehicle manufacturers in the USA, Tesla is the only EV brand faring well, with women buyers consisting of 33.1%. Other brands like Polestar, Lucid and Rivian seem to be struggling to maintain gender balance, with women buyers accounting for just 24.7%, 19.5% and 14.5%, respectively.

S&P Global Mobility's Chief Diversity Officer, Marc Bland, mentioned that the data gathered in the study is a cause for concern. He notes that women car buyers are more anxious about range and safety than men. Bland further added that EV brands will have to do a "lot more educating" in this aspect. He further mentioned that with more brands aiming for a zero-emissions range in the coming years, mainstream carmakers like Ford, GM & Volkswagen will need to come up with efficient ways to sustain their current gender diversity into the EV era.

However, the report also mentions that at this stage it is unclear if automakers have already begun addressing the gender demographics or not.

Source: S&P Global Mobility

This is the best feeling about owning a Tesla. I am also super impressed with the car's music system.

BHPian mobike008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have been travelling quite a bit and not getting much driving so the odometer after 3.5 months stands at 2,300 miles.

Life with M3P is going smoothly and I am enjoying every minute behind the wheel of this "Supercomputer".

It's slick, smooth and super-fast. Thankfully, there are no rattles, noises and any type of vibrations.

Apart from its astonishing speed, I am very very impressed with its music system. I plan to share a dedicated post on it sometime soon.

Here are a few pictures from earlier this month against some gorgeous sunsets we get here in PNW.

Some sunset pictures during an evening walk couple of weeks ago.

From yesterday evening.

Once the snowing stopped, I washed it nice and clean along with White Lightening.

Spent just $92 in electricity till date for driving 2300 miles. This is the best feeling about owning a Tesla.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Tesla managed to outsell all its luxury brand competitors by quite a margin, considering it offers only 4 electric models in its lineup.

Tesla, for the first time, has become the best-selling luxury car brand in the USA, outselling BMW.

According to reports, the electric carmaker recorded 484,351 new car registrations in 2022, translating to a 41% jump compared to 2021. On the other hand, BMW registered a 5.3% drop in sales recording with 327,929 units. Mercedes-Benz came in third with 269,511 units last year, which according to reports, is similar to its sales numbers for 2021.

Reports also stated that new vehicle registrations from luxury brands were down by 3.5% last year, with just a little over 2 million units.

Tesla managed to outsell all its luxury brand competitors by quite a margin, considering it offers only 4 electric models in its lineup. EV-only sales of BMW and Mercedes-Benz in 2022 stood at 14,000 units and 11,500 units, respectively.

While some do argue whether Tesla qualifies as a luxury automaker, the pricing of its model lineup appears to justify the categorisation.

Source: Automotive News