Tesla Model 3 Posts

Below you’ll find links to posts about our daily life and travels with the Model 3.

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Tesla Full Self Driving version 10.3

My impressions of FSD after one month of testing.

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Three Year Review: Tesla Model 3, Part 3

Part 3 of my review. Three years of driving the Model 3 helped us reduce our family’s carbon footprint.

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Three Year Review: Tesla Model 3, Part 2

Part 2 of my three-year review: Where we’ve gone, Where we charge, and Battery pack status.

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Three Year Review: Tesla Model 3, Part 1

We’ve reached three years in our Model 3. We have a long range RWD model that was assembled in April 2018. Part 1 covers basics of the car: How is it holding up?; Is it reliable?; What I like about the car; and What I think could be improved.

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Supercharging II: Emissions

On a family trip to the Grand Canyon in our Model 3, charging our car produced 287 lbs of CO2 – 1/5 of the emissions that would have been produced by driving a 25 MPG car.

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Supercharging II: 800 miles in a day

Spring 2021 we drove 800 miles to the Grand Canyon to spend a week in one of the best places in the world. Read about it here.

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Life with the Model 3, in Pictures

Our three year old Model 3 has been a good car for commuting to work, a good family car, and a great car for road trips. This post shares some pics from our first three years.

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Supercharging I: Solo Road Trip

The range of electric cars on the market today can easily meet the daily driving needs for the average person. But what about when you take an electric car on longer drives or road trips?

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How Much Does Driving Electric Reduce Carbon Emissions?

Have you wondered how much of a difference it would make for the environment if you started driving electric? Read on to review data from our driving, and see how much the Model 3 has reduced our family’s carbon footprint.

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Charging your EV at an RV campground

Our Model 3 charging on a 50 amp RV hookup.

RV parks are found just about everywhere. They are a good way to power your journeys – especially if you like exploring. We recently visited the Mount Shasta area and stayed overnight at a Lodge / RV campground where charged our car on an RV electrical hookup. Check it out.

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325 Miles per Charge

I started a recent road trip with 325 miles of range. Can the Model 3 actually drive 325 miles on a single charge? From my experience in California, in moderate weather, I’d say yes. But it’s more likely that you won’t need to use the full pack. Read about it here.

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Electric Road Trip through the American Southwest in a Model 3

This October I went to Albuquerque for 5 days of work. About 1200 miles as the crow flies, but rather than fly I drove there in our Model 3. The trip was 2700 miles and was a blast. Read all about it here.

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Tesla Mobile Service

Mobile Service is one of the unique benefits that Tesla provides to make car service easy on the owner. This week I experienced Tesla’s Mobile Service first hand.

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Camping Trips in the Model 3

Late last summer we decided to head out of town for one last weekend getaway before the kids started back to school. So we loaded up our Model 3 for weekend camping at Lassen Volcanic National Park.

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Summer Day Trips in the Model 3

This week we drove in to San Francisco to see Hamilton. The night before I charged the Model 3 up to 85%, giving us 275 miles (440 km) for the day. More than enough for a day of sight-seeing and chatting with George Washington.

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CHAdeMO Charging the Model 3

I tested Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter to see first hand how many miles I’d get and how long it would take to charge from a given SOC. Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter is easy to use and provides more charging options for the Model 3. Read on for more details.

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Solar Power, Part 2: Tesla Powers our Home and Model 3

We purchased a solar system to produce and offset the electricity we use to power our house and to charge our Model 3. This post describes how well our solar system met our needs over 12 months.

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A New Model 3 in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

On a recent trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico I spied this Model 3 on the streets. I managed to track down the owner and we briefly chatted about his experiences.

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Model 3: One Year Review

Here are my thoughts on driving the Model 3 after one year with the car. Spoiler alert: I like the car, a lot.

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Getting Service for your Model 3

We recently took our Model 3 in for service. Read up on my experience with service managers and staff at our local Tesla Service Center. Spoiler alert: It was good.

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Model 3 Winter Weather Adventures

Heavy snowfall made for interesting travel.

We don’t get much snow in my town. According to my neighbor it’s been 23 years since honest to goodness snow has fallen in our part of California’s Central Valley. But when we get the urge for snow we don’t have far to drive. Read on…

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Daily Life with the Tesla Model 3: Charging

I charge my Model 3 every night in the garage. I pull into the garage, plug in, and don’t think about it again. But I don’t fully charge the car every night. How much do you charge your car? Read on:

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Tesla Model 3 Road Trip to San Diego

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After seven months and 11,000 miles of driving we took our Model 3 on a 1400 mile family road trip to San Diego. Click here to read more about this road trip:

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Summer EV Road Trips: Tesla Model 3 Edition

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Since getting our first electric car over 5 years ago we’ve taken our EV on summer road trips. Here we describe our first trip in the Model 3. How was it? We saw some great sites, interesting history, and beautiful vistas. Click here to read all about it:

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Travelogue: Tesla Model 3 Daytripping

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We picked up our Model 3 in April 2018 and on our first day trip we explored places we hadn’t visited before. Click here to read about our visit to a redwood groove near Ukiah, CA.

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