This post is a dump of information I found while researching my new Tesla Model Y Long Range (MY23) in December 2023.

If you are looking at purchasing a Tesla and you found this post helpful, please consider using my referral link to buy a Tesla and get up to $375 off and 90 days of Enhanced Autopilot. https://ts.la/simon10059

A dealer-less pickup was as expected and was a breeze

I watched this video ahead of time to fill in the blanks.

Our Car History

My wife and I have had many fast cars (Subaru WRX’s, Supercharged Mini Cooper S etc). 

Every time we put our foot down in the Super Charged Mini Cooper S it brought a smile to our faces.

Our new Subaru WRX was overpriced and not as fun as the Mini.

We have had many issues with our Petrol Cars and I am not a fan of how complex modern petrol engines have become.

A Ford Fairlane Ghia we had was a mechanical nightmare and it sucked fuel like it was going out of fashion.

Our New Mini Copper S had a terrible habit of collecting bugs and stones while driving due to a lack of filters.

I ended up making a removable bug/stone filter to slot in front of the radiator.

Why an Electric Vehicle

I have always wanted a Tesla since they were launched in Australia, I work in technology and love the  Technology in Tesla cars. 

We have always been fans of Top Gear (James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson and Jeremy’s summary of our Subaru WRX sums up my idea of non-luxury petrol cars these days

• Uglier than a war wound 
• Soft and wallowy 
• Sounds like it is running on Mogadon
• Fewer luxuries than an Egyptian’s lavatory

Skip to 5:01

An Ascari A10 is out of my price range

A Mercedes AMG GTR is out of my price range too

I do not watch Top Gear now, they only seem to praise expensive cars and rubbish all other cars.

Tesla Model Y Information from YouTube

I have watched just about every video from Bjørn Nyland about EV’s and Teslas

Tesla Model Y’s have lots of space.

Tesla Model Y’s can handle the cold

Tesla Model Y’s can handle the outback 

The range is acceptable for my needs.

Sites like Plugshare.com give me confidence in chairing across Australia

The NSW government are rolling out 350kW fast chargers across my State (this will assist me on longer trips).

Tesla Manufacturing

Tesla Manufacturing is truly amazing.

Gigafactories can be cloned and manufacturing across the world is possible.

Tesla Technology

Tesla is putting the fun back into manufacturing.

Technology and humour trickle down to the cars

Battery Basics

How do EV batteries work?

How to Charge a Tesla

Learning how to charge a Tesla was the most time-consuming part of my research.

Ordering a Tesla Model Y was easy but the website did say “Home charging equipment is not included with your vehicle. To purchase separately, visit the Tesla Shop.“

A  Tesla can be charged with home low-power (Level 1), mid-range-power (Level 2) or high-power (Level 3) charging.

Here is a great guide on charging speeds. 

Tesla Charging Options

240V Outlet Mobile connector for charging at home from a standard Aussie 240V 10A plug (or 240V 15A plug). This is stored in the car to use as an emergency charger on trips. Voltage and Amps may depend on your neighbourhood/house wiring.

Mobile Connector

A mobile connector is your simplest choice. If you have a 240V Australian wall plug you can charge your car while you sleep.

Wall Connector

A wall connector can allow 2 to 3x the wattage per hour.

Think about kW/100km, not litres /100km

A watt is a unit of measure (power output = (energy over time))

A Petrol engine is 20% ~30% efficient (percentage of fuel energy converted to useful work,)

Electric engines are about 85% ~95% efficient.

Advice From Tesla on Charging

Tesla offers this advice on battery charging.

Advice From Others on Charging

I plan on charging to 75% daily and dropping 10% in daily driving for 23 a year life with 9% capacity lost. On longer trips, I will charge to 90% (if needed) and try not to go below 20%.

Battery v Petrol engine life, thermal management and other facts below.

What happens when you get to 0% battery

Youtuber’s have tested what happens when the Telsa runs out of electricity.

Charging Speeds

Charging can be done at different speeds, 

The table below assumes times for Tesla Model Y Long Range on an average of 25c temperature days with battery pre-conditioning. A line power of 240v (the voltage can fluctuate a few percent).

A Tesla Model Y Long Range has a range of 533km with an 81 kWh battery.

Charging may have a <10% efficiency loss so replacing 80kW (recharge state) may take 91kw of energy (recharge event), Loss depends on battery pre-conditioning, temperature, cable resistance etc. Voltage and AMPs may depend on your neighbourhood and house wiring.

Recharge Event/Power Used = Battery Capacity + ( Efficiency_%_Loss × Battery Capacity) 

Type	Volts (Plug)	Amps	Phase	Watts	Time to Charge 20km (Daily Avg) 72% to 75% (3kW)	Time to Charge 50km (Weekend Avg) 69% to 75% (7kW)	Time to Charge 100km (Daily Avg) 60% to 75% (16kW)	Time to Charge 300km (30% to 75% (56kW))
Private	240V	10A	Single	2400	1.39 Hours This is OK while I sleep.	2.9 Hours This is OK while I sleep.	6.67 Hours This is OK while I sleep.	23.33 Hours Maybe use a Fast Charger?
Private	240V	15A	Single	3600	49.8 Minutes This is OK while I sleep.	1.94 Hours This is OK while I sleep.	4.4 Hours This is OK while I sleep.	15.56 Hours Maybe use a Fast Charger?
Private	240V	10A	3 Phase	4150	43 Minutes This is OK while I sleep.	1.6 Hours This is OK while I sleep.	3.8 Hours This is OK while I sleep.	13.5 Hours Maybe use a Fast Charger?
Private	240V	15A	3 Phase	6230	29 Minutes This is OK while I sleep.	1.12 Hours This is OK while I sleep.	2.5 Hours This is OK while I sleep.	8.99 Hours This is OK while I sleep + breakfast time.
Public				50kW	3.6 Minutes	8.4 Minutes	19 Minutes	1.12 Hours
Public				120kW	1.5 Minutes	3.5 Minutes	8 Minutes	28 Minutes
Public				250kW	43 Seconds	1.6 Minutes	3.8 Minutes	13.5 Minutes
Public				350kW	31 Seconds	1.2 Minutes	2.7 Minutes	9.6 Minutes

Electricity Charging Costs

Approx power costs (as of December 2023), Grid Prices are my own. 

Source	Cost
At Home (Grid) – Peak	40.128c /KwH
At Home (Grid) – Sholder	N/A
At Home (Grid) – Off Peak	19.261c /KwH
Solar	TBA
Super Charger (Tesla))	35c/KwH to $70c /KwH (Variable)
NRMA 150Kw Charger	54c /KwH
NRMA 175Kw Charger	59c /KwH
EVIE 50Kw Charger	45c /KwH
Charge Fox	60c /KwH

Cost per km Travelled (Tesla Model Y EV v Petrol)

What is the cost for a Petrol v Tesla Model Y to travel 100km? An average Petrol car gets about 12L/100 fuel efficiency on 95 fuel in the city (in NSW Regions), not E10

Premium 95 RON Fuel = 2.04c a Litre

	20km Range	50km Range	100km Range	300km Range
Petrol Car (12 Litres / 100km) CIty Driving	2.4 Litres, $4.89	6 Litres, $12.24	12 Litres, $24.48	36 Litres, $73.44
Tesla Model Y (Charged at home on Off Peak (19.261c /KwH))	4kw, 77c	9kw, $1.73	15kw, $2.8	59kw, $11.36
Tesla Model Y (Charged at home on Peak (40.128c /KwH))	4kw, $1.6	9kw, $3.61	15kw, $6.01	59kw, $23.67
Tesla Model Y (Charged at A Super Charger @ 70c /kW))	4kw, $2.8	9kw, $6.3	15kw, $10.5	59kw, $41.3

My charging cost after 5 weeks

Below is a screenshot of my direct charging costs after 5 weeks, Red is Tesla Super Charging and Blue is at-home off-peak charging.

 

In our first 10 days we had no home wall charger so we used the Tesla Super Chargers (Red), Tesla Super Chargers are fast but they are expensive (save them for holiday trips)

After 10 days we purchased a mobile charger with a 240V plug (with a 10A and 15A tail plug) and charging at home in off-peak times is way cheaper.

Charge start can be scheduled in the app.

The charging speed for me on the 2nd slowest level 1 charge method is fast enough (I do not need a 7KW wall charger or a 22KW 3 phase charger)

I can charge at 240V 15A but dial it back to 240V 14A just to be nice to the wiring.

Tips for new EV Uses

Charger Types (Adapters)

99% of the time I will charge my Tesla at home with a Type 2 Plug from AC, when on the road I will use the CC2 Plug from Tesla Super Chargers or other public Type 2 charging stations.

Battery Degradation

Batter degradation does exist

See tips on lowering battery degradation here

What do you do while charging?

At Home = Sleep.

Public = Talk to People, watch YouTube/Netflix in the car, Take a walk, Visit local shops, buy some food.

Mobile App

The Tesla Mobile app is awesome, I can remotely turn on the air conditioner, open the doors/boot or frunk, adjust charge schedules or set navigation locations. 

I am going on a long trip tomorrow so I am charging 90% and not the normal daily 75% limit.

FYI: Charging from 0% to 20% or 80% to 100% is slower than changing from 20% to 80%.

The mobile app allows me to control the car from away from the car.

Warranty

FYI

Myths

Here are some of the Myths I have received about EV’s 

Myth	Fact
There are countless private 240V sockets in houses, and faster chargers in motels (some with free complementary charging if you book a room). Supercharger | Tesla Australia https://www.plugshare.com/ Aggregation of all public chargers NSW electric vehicle charging map | Transport for NSW Future Electric vehicle fast charging stations | NSW Climate and Energy Action EV Charging Stations in Australia – EV Charging Stations (evchargingmap.com.au) Find a BP charging station (bp.com)	In the times I have used public charging stations, I have never waited in a queue. I have seen EV cars stop, plug in, the driver walks off while the car charges and they often come back with food or a drink and drive off after charging for 10 mins. Using the Plugshare.com app or the Tesla Navigation planner will show charger usage, plugs available and busy times. I have never had to wait for a public charge plug.
There are long waits at charge stations	Electric engines are not efficient
EV cars have no warranty	See the warranty above.
EV cars break down more	Not true, I have seen at least 10 petrol cars brown down in the last month and at least 1 petrol car that caught on fire in my town. How many EVs have caught fire in Australia? (youtube.com) Electric vehicle fires are very rare. The risk for petrol and diesel vehicles is at least 20 times higher | Swinburne
EV batteries will die in 3 years like a mobile phone.	Electric engines are not efficient
Our Subaru WRX Clutch failed and we were told by the Subaru mechanic that the Clutch bearing was not lubricated at the Subaru factory (even showed evidence) but the warranty repair was not honoured and they denied saying this.	Electric cars are expensive to maintain
Our Subaru WRX Clutch failed and we were told by the Subaru mechanic that the Clutch bearing was not lubricated at the Subaru factory (even showed evidence). Still, the warranty repair was not honoured and they denied saying this.	Our Subaru WRX Clutch failed and we were told by the Subaru mechanic that the Clutch bearing was not lubricated at the Subaru factory (even showed evidence) but the warranty repair was not honoured and they denied saying this.
Batteries are not recyclable	Not True, see below.

Myth Busting by the Full Charged Show

Who Should Buy a Tesla

Someone who loves fast cars (Supercharges or Turbo), Loves Tech. The computers in the Tesla are insane.

Things to do First after buying a Tesla

Buy accessories from 🔋Tessories – Australia’s Best Range of Tesla Accessories

I topped up a Petrol car and Tesla at a similar place on the freeway

How to Plan Trips

Planning trips with the Tesla Navigation App.

Planning trips with the A Better Route Planner App.

Planning Large Trips

Large Trips around Australia are possible in an EV

How do Tesla Motor’s etc work?

Motors in action

Here is a great summary of the DC to AC 3 Phase Motor to Geats to Wheel Tesla motor design.

New motor design

A summary of the 16V Lipo Battery (that replaces a lead acid battery)

Good explanation of Tesla Motors

Battery Recycling

Batteries can be recycled.

Other Electric Vehicles

Tesla EVs are just the start

Future of Electic Vehicles

Lithium Batteries are not the end of the road for battery storage in EVs. I would like to see Ultra Capacitors be used for faster charging and boosting performance 

Trucks can go Electric

CAT is making EV’s

Environmental Impacts

Electric Motors are Cool

This 6-year-old Drone video shows how exciting battery-powered technology is.

Future of Battery Technology

LFP v NCM EV Batteries

Large Scale Batteries are taking over Fossil Fuel’s monopoly.

Megawatt charging in seconds

Hydrogen Cars

Hydrogen Vehicles are not the future

You still need Gas and Electricity to make Hydrogen

It takes a while to fill a Hydrogen car (slower than Petrolfasterer than Electric)

Commercial Profitability

Transport and Storage Issues

Handy Links for Tesla Owners

Compare Tesla Computers: Tesla MCU Index – ARM Tegra, Intel Atom, AMD Ryzen | Tesla Motors Club

Tesla Model Y .. 6 months later (the good and the bad): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N6MQmIfWKw

Tesla Fluid Leak Identifier

Turn on Sentry Mode

Update After 3 Months Ownership

I have had zero issues and am loving the Tesla. I have stopped using public chargers (except on holidays) and charge at home with her Tesla Mobile connector (240V plug) with 12 AMP connector (tail).  Our power box has a normal 8A/10A 240V plug and a 12A/15A socket. The Tesla Mobile adapter can pull 16A to the car to charge (3.3kW ~ 3.8) but I set it to 14A (in the mobile app to lower the load on the cable).

We have driven the car 3,955km in under 3 months, and it has cost me $67 a month to top up every night at home while I sleep.   I prefer to charge to 75% and drain to 65%, then top up, as this is best for my battery chemistry.

On long trips, I charge to 100% and drop down to 10% (485km range between charges). New Model 3 Teslas like to be charged to 100% every day (due to the Lithium Iron Phosphate battery) whereas my Model Y likes being between 20% and 80% due to the Nickle Cobalt Phosphate battery.

On days I need to charge at home, I plug in and set my departure and off-peak power times to maximize savings.

Or I can manually start a charge any time of the day or night.

When the car is plugged in it gives a nice summary of what will happen.

I am used to waking up and the car is ready to drive off (air con and everything)

At first, I did not have a home mobile connector, so I used public superchargers (see the red line below)

Public chargers are 3x the price of charging up at home, so I switched to home charging (blue line). Now it costs me $2 to $3 a day to charge 10% (1/5 the price of petrol)

Live Australia Grid Supply and Demand Chart

View the live Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) live Electricity Price per MW here: https://aemo.com.au/

Referral Links

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• Get $700 off a new Tesla by using this link https://ts.la/simon10059
• Get 10% off your first order at http://inchargex.com.au (Discount Coupon Code: INCxREF-AXXYGI80D4G)

 

 

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