Any one here ordered a Tesla Model 3?

[Westoni3]

Ordered one last week after being able to see one up, close and personal as well as seating on it.
Waiting to drive both an I3S and a Model 3 before i make my final decision.

 

[jadnashuanh]

They're quite different cars. It really depends on what you intend to use them for. The i3 is smaller, more maneuverable, but definitely does not have the range. While both are comfortable for four people, you can get a fifth in Tesla. The i3 would probably win on the largest item you can fit, but total storage space may go to the Tesla. IMHO, they serve different purposes and needs. Good luck with whichever one you choose. Just ordering one now, you're probably looking at a delivery date more than a year away, probably longer. The i3, you can buy today. By the time you get the Tesla, they may have been through their allotment of federal tax credits, while BMW probably won't (assuming it doesn't get extended...they didn't really want to keep it in the last tax bill). If you option up the Tesla, the costs are similar. By the time you get one, there will likely be some additional EVs out there that may be worth considering. FWIW, Tesla only lost a bit over $600M last quarter...and has only made money a couple of times...Musk has deep pockets, but who knows how the stock market will feel about their continued losses if they don't get the model 3 on track.

 

[psquare]

They're quite different cars. It really depends on what you intend to use them for. The i3 is smaller, more maneuverable, but definitely does not have the range. While both are comfortable for four people, you can get a fifth in Tesla. The i3 would probably win on the largest item you can fit, but total storage space may go to the Tesla. IMHO, they serve different purposes and needs. Good luck with whichever one you choose. Just ordering one now, you're probably looking at a delivery date more than a year away, probably longer. The i3, you can buy today. By the time you get the Tesla, they may have been through their allotment of federal tax credits, while BMW probably won't (assuming it doesn't get extended...they didn't really want to keep it in the last tax bill). If you option up the Tesla, the costs are similar. By the time you get one, there will likely be some additional EVs out there that may be worth considering. FWIW, Tesla only lost a bit over $600M last quarter...and has only made money a couple of times...Musk has deep pockets, but who knows how the stock market will feel about their continued losses if they don't get the model 3 on track.

I couldn't have said it any better.

The more crucial thing to figure out is your daily mileage requirements and whether the EV is your first or second car. We've got a 225xe for long range, which can also do EV on up to 18mi locally. The i3 is our rural runaround vehicle. We rarely need a car for more than 50mi per day, therefore having a car with a 150mi+ electric-only radius isn't very high on our agenda.

Our i3 is coming to 3 years now and I still love it. I might replace it in another 3 years with a used i3 second gen BEV, but who knows....

 

[Kiwi]

I'm not a cult person who buys a Tesla from a company who burns money like they print it themselves and have to spend time fixing Tesla 3's once it is manufactured. They are dangerous to drive due to all controls are on its iPad type screen. Wait until a few get sued for taking there eyes off the road ahead because of playing with the iPad screen.
Every time I see Tesla vehicle's I think cult loser.

 

[MikeS]

I ordered 1 about a year ago expecting to get it on late 2019 early 2020! That is why I have ordered an Ioniq EV for this Sep when my i3 lease ends. Could not warrant the expense of an i3. Too much money for too few miles.

 

[graememwl]

I'm a fan of Tesla (I drive past their factory in Fremont every day on my commute). I'm also impatient, which is why I went for a car I can buy immediately
Elon has deep pockets, and right now he needs them. While they bring the Model 3 production numbers up, they are burning through $8000/minute (if you believe this article) http://autoweek.com/article/green-cars/tesla-model-3-delays-are-costing-company-8000-minute-report-says

As for the value equation. Off-lease CPO i3's here in California are selling for <$20k. I paid <$19k for my fully loaded '15 Tera World i3. That's for a car with 2 years of factory warranty, plus a further year of CPO warranty. Base model '14 Mega World cars can be had for less than $15k. Those still have 1+1 years of warranty.

Once Tesla has figured out how to mass produce vehicles, I'll consider one.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Right now, IMHO, one should only buy an EV if you are planning on it meeting your needs and you intend to keep it for a number of years. The battery tech is making larger batteries cheaper, and more dense, and, while not everyone needs more battery capacity, the average person is scared when thinking about any EV from an ICE, and the combination causes the depreciation to be higher than a similar sized ICE. In my situation, I rarely need more than 25-miles in a day, so a larger battery is kind of irrelevant. I bought my i3, and plan to keep it a long time. So, for those that always must have the latest and greatest, leasing makes more sense. The least expensive way to have a car is to buy it and run it into the ground over a long time. It does not appear that BMW is subsidizing their i3 leases as much as they originally did.

 

[Kiwi]

What needs to happen is a lot better infrastructure otherwise EV's will die and plug in hybrids will be the vehicle's of choice. Time is money and having to wait while a vehicle charges is a whole lot of wast of money and kills the perceived savings.
The Tesla 3 is just plain dangerous due 99% of all controls you have to use the screen so this means taking your eyes off the road ahead. A child runs out on the street how guilty will you feel for the rest of your life if you killed this child because you were playing with the screen to adjust the cars cruise control speed. Its crazy not being able have heads up display in some form.

 

[theothertom]

I agree about the display but hopefully Tesla 3 has some sort of collision avoidance sensors/software, for pedestrians and other objects.

 

[clutchy]

Ordered one last week after being able to see one up, close and personal as well as seating on it.
Waiting to drive both an I3S and a Model 3 before i make my final decision.

I pre-ordered day 1 but eventually drove an i3 about 3 months ago.


I liked it so much I dropped my reservation and picked up a used i3 BEV. It's currently my favorite car of the 4 bmw's I own.

 

[Milam]

Ordered a Model 3 about a year ago.

It will be at the end of 2018, at the earliest,

Good news. This will give them time to make a
better product.

I currently have an i3 RES. 2ns electric car.

 

[noxon]

I've had an i3 BEV for about two days and a Model 3 reservation since March 2016. I love the i3, but the Model 3 will let us get rid of our last gas-powered vehicle.

 

[jadnashuanh]

There are a bunch of superchargers out there, but if you stray off the beaten path, it can take forever to recharge one. If you can live with planning your trip with those limitations, and can live with a 45-minute delay or longer to recharge at their convenience verses yours, it can, and does work. IMHO, a hybrid may make more sense for an 'only' car...'recharge' it at the gas pump in minutes.

Sometime in the future, the prototype 350Kw DC fast charge systems (or maybe even larger) may start to show up, but unless the government decides to be more helpful with the concept, lots of luck! Europe is planning on building a network...we have trouble getting a decent network of the smaller units most cars can use today.

 

[Kiwi]

I agree about the display but hopefully Tesla 3 has some sort of collision avoidance sensors/software, for pedestrians and other objects.

So much for crash avoidance.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/23/16923800/tesla-firetruck-crash-autopilot-investigation

 

[noxon]

So much for crash avoidance.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/23/16923800/tesla-firetruck-crash-autopilot-investigation

This problem is not unique to Tesla. The i3 has exactly the same issue with ACC. My i3 tried to slam into the back of a car yesterday in exactly the same kind of situation. I was doing my job as a driver and paying attention, so there was no collision.

 

[Kiwi]

So much for crash avoidance.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/23/16923800/tesla-firetruck-crash-autopilot-investigation

This problem is not unique to Tesla. The i3 has exactly the same issue with ACC. My i3 tried to slam into the back of a car yesterday in exactly the same kind of situation. I was doing my job as a driver and paying attention, so there was no collision.

Did you notify BMW as this is a huge mistake by ACC and should be investigated by BMW. I would never be able to trust ACC again.

 

[noxon]

Did you notify BMW as this is a huge mistake by ACC and should be investigated by BMW.

The i3's ACC is a very primitive system. Most of these kinds of systems cannot detect stationary objects. They expect the driver to ... drive.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The i3's ACC is very basic, and is only a problem if the driver isn't doing his job! It is an AID to the driver, not a substitute for one. Anyone not actively driving their car while using it is either very misinformed, or stupid. It can and does detect SOME situations that could be problematic that might occur while the driver has a moment of inattention, but it cannot and should not be expected to drive itself safely as presented and discussed in the operator's manual (which few people actually read!).

The system in the Tesla has MANY more sensors, and is touted to be able to do more...much more than the system in the i3 claims. It does what it says it will in the manual. But, the driver has the ultimate responsibility of driving the car. It will be awhile before a system is certified to be able to drive itself anywhere.

 

[alohart]

Did you notify BMW as this is a huge mistake by ACC and should be investigated by BMW. I would never be able to trust ACC again.

I almost always drive with ACC on and always monitor the instrument panel when driving. When ACC detects a vehicle ahead, a red car icon is displayed in the top center of the instrument panel. If we are approaching a vehicle ahead and the red icon does not appear when I know that it should, I disconnect ACC and take over driving. This has happened twice since we purchased our i3 in 2014, so it's no big deal.

Drivers should only trust themselves. There is no driving assistance technology that is 100% trustworthy yet. The failure to detect an object ahead is not "a huge mistake by ACC" that "should be investigated by BMW". The huge mistake would be a driver who trusts ACC or any current driving assistance technology so much that he does not pay attention to driving. Several such drivers have been killed because of their erroneous trust in Tesla's Autopilot which, like ACC, is only a driving aid.

 

[Kiwi]

Poor build and safety on the Tesla 3

https://youtu.be/QCIo8e12sBM