If you have been following this Blog any bit at all in the past, you will have seen my continuing efforts and Struggles with the challenges of maintaining, improving, and upgrading the Electricfly!
From my discoveries about the much lower really Usable Energy Ratings of the Batteries I was using, that I bought 100 Ah Batteries, to discover they were rated at just 30 Amps for 1 hour! In any case - I was still trying to move forward, and improve the Safety of the Battery Boxes that were inside the Hatch Portion of the car; working on Body Work with the Roof, and the Hood, having more rust than I realized!
Past Experiences, and much reading had me realizing that the DC Motor in the car, while it worked, did not give me anything back, in the form of Regenerative Braking when I slowed down, causing greater use of Mechanical Brakes than should be required in an EV, so I renewed my investigation of AC Motors for Electricfly! I started Considering the largest Large Format Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Cells for the Car that I could fit in the Empty Gas Tank Area under the Rear Seat, in an attempt to get reasonable priced energy storage, lighter weight, and more energy into the car!
I then started comparing
Old Electric Vehicles versus New Electric Vehicles, realizing that not having a shop to do any serious work on Electricfly would be a large inconvenience and impediment to getting work done to move forward with the car! That was followed by a deeper analysis of my options dealing with an old (1989) Firefly EV Conversion, and Body Rust Cancer, eating up the key under body Structures, Floor Pans, and more!
In the mean time - I have been continuing my efforts on my Annual Electric Vehicle Show - EV Fest, and even missed posting on this blog any news for EV Fest 2015! Luckily - I did get Posting in the EV Fest Blog pages!
Unless you have been Hibernating in a Cave with the Bears, and Sleeping under a Rock with the Snakes, or hanging out down in the Abyss, by now you have heard, more than one story on the Radio, TV, or read in the News, about the Tesla Model 3!
Since 2006, if you were following it - Tesla Motors CEO (&Co-Founder), Elon Musk, announced his ideas for Tesla's Future in a Blog Post titled:
"The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)" on August 2, 2006!
Read His Blog Post to the Very End to get the key details.
Tech Insider, recently took to a post to remind people of the plan, in their story:
This is Elon Musk’s ‘master plan’ for Tesla, in just 31 words,
by Dave Smith - Dec. 14, 2015, 9:07 AM
And EVOBSESSION's website ran a story on this just 9 days later, called:
Tesla’s Secret Master Plan (For Those Just Joining The Party), on December 23rd, 2015 by Zach
This Post was also added to the CLEANTECHNICA website the same day:
Secret Tesla Master Plan Coming To Life, December 23rd, 2015 by Zachary Shahan
You want the quick Version? In short, the master plan is:
Build sports car (Tesla Roadster)(Up-gradable to a Bigger Battery Now, too!)
Use that money to build an affordable car (Tesla Model S)
(and SUV: Model X)
Use that money to build an even more affordable car
(Tesla's Coming Model 3!)
While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options
(Solar City)
Don't tell anyone.
You might say - that his master plan missed delineating one point that today separates Tesla Motors Current and Future Products from their Competition: Their Supercharger Network of Logically Placed, and Free to use, High Speed, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (For Their Cars)!
In any case - we are now directly in front of step 3:
Use that money to build an even more affordable car
(Tesla's Coming Model 3!)
 |
| Tesla Model 3 - at unveiling: 03.31.2016 |
You had to be totally disconnected from the News if you missed the numerous stories on March 31st, 2016, that began in the early morning and even before, in Australia, and around the world, as people were lined up to get into Tesla Stores as soon as they opened, to be the first to put $1,000.00 down on a car, that would not even be seen by the public, until about 9:00 PM California Time!!!
I was but one of those people, and I had a choice, go to a Tesla Store closer, in a Mall, or go a bit farther, and go to their Store and Service Centre, which had Service Centre hours from 7:00 AM - 3 hours before other stores local time opening! I was not sure of the hours, and if they were taking reservations there, so I emailed them, and got a confirmation reply that they were, and that they were now opening for Sales at 9:00 AM!
Knowing that I would be in the line at one of these two choices, I had arranged my work to switch that Thursday, March 31st, 2016, and Friday, April 1st, 2016, to the Afternoon Shift, so I could get a reasonable early start in line!
Easy Decision - there I was - arriving just before 7:00 AM to people under umbrellas, dodging the Rain, to be as close to 'First as Possible! Some had camped out under a show canopy, others arrived early in their cars, and the local News Stations were on site already!
In Short - I was listed on the paper posted on the door as #71, but- since they missed numbering from #45 - #50, I guess I was actually #66 in line! The Registrations began at 9:00 AM at the Tesla Lawrence Store in Toronto, and by 9:35 - I had paid my $1,000.00 Reservation Payment by Credit Card, and had to decline the option of reserving 2 Cars - which was the (Maximum) Option!
Our Lineups outside were about 80 People when I went inside, after they opened the doors for the Service Centre at about 7:05 AM, but by the time I was completing my registration, the lineups behind me - were even longer than when I was let inside! (I have not communicated with the store to see how many people were in the lineups and who ordered that morning, but My guess is some 150 - 200 people!)
Both Stores in Toronto had big line-ups at them, as well as Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, and other cities around the world where Tesla has a total of 221 Stores currently - as reported on Many News Channels - Like: City News, CBC News, Globe and Mail, Autofocus, CTV News, etc!
One person posts one Twitter: "Dejavu: feels like 2007 waiting for the first iPhone"
Remember - None of us, and the many others around the world in such lineups, had even seen a Picture of the car, let alone video or the car, in person!
That Night - at the Reveal - we were informed by Elon Musk, just after 3 examples of the Model 3 Prototype Rolled on Stage that there were already 115,000 Registrations for the Model 3 - Sight Unseen!
This Video begins 22 Minutes and 12 Seconds into the Presentation - just after the cars are driven on stage, and Elon Mentions the large number of Pre-orders!
I was but one of them!
You can click the following link to watch the full Model 3 Reveal Video in a new page!
Now - the waiting begins.....!
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