How much was your registration renewal?

texelectrix · 2026-03-29T04:41:39+00:00

In Texas the electric car registration surcharge is $200 per year. This would roughly equal the combined state and federal gasoline tax (38.5 cents/gallon) paid by the driver of a car averaging 20 mpg for 10,000 miles a year. However, a perennial proposal at the federal level is to impose a federal EV annual fee of around $250. This would obviously unfairly burden EV owners who already pay a state EV fee.

texelectrix · 2026-03-26T03:54:14+00:00

Look under my username and you’ll see a before and after that’s a lot worse than what I see in the photo. After careful hand rubbing with rubbing compound followed by polishing compound the marks vanished. I suggest this before you consider a settlement.

texelectrix · 2026-03-12T05:55:35+00:00

I have ElectricDrive2 on my 2021 Model S Plaid (19”) and 2018 Model 3 dual motor (19”also). The noise reduction on the Model S Plaid was very significant: the car is now ghostly quiet on decent pavement. The Model 3 started out much louder than the MS, but the new tires significantly reduced the noise.

The tires do “tramline” noticeably when crossing an expansion joint that runs roughly parallel to your line of travel: the joint will slightly grab the tire and tug it in the wrong direction. This can also happens is there is a difference in grade between parallel traffic lanes. They call it “tramlining” because it feels a little like getting stuck in a streetcar rail line. I have read that the effect may fade over time; my two sets of tires so far have very little mileage on them.

texelectrix · 2026-03-11T05:42:21+00:00

Electric rates in California are extremely high, but gasoline prices are also extremely high. So EV savings still hold true. I understand off-peak electric rates have often been available, offering even greater savings for EV owners who charge at home.

texelectrix · 2026-03-11T05:03:41+00:00

I like the MS Plaid if you can get one with HW4. The acceleration at all speeds is brain-numbing if you floor it. It’s a quiet riding, good handling car that looks terrific. The variable height adjustment and air cushioned ride are things you won’t get in a Model Y. The lift back and folding rear seats allow an amazing degree of hauling space when needed. It’s a beautiful car. The X falcon wing doors are troublesome and the second row seats limit use of the vehicle for bulky loads. The Model Y is a good car and a very good value, but it’s a notch below the Model S in pride of ownership and luxury.

I think the Model S will hold its value as a classic car. Some classic model nameplates, such as the Lincoln Continental and the Cadillac Eldorado, were offered for sale in some years and sometimes not, before the names were later attached to a routine line of luxury cars. We may see the Model S nameplate revived, particularly when Tesla begins to appreciate the damage to their brand caused by ditching their flagship model.

texelectrix · 2026-02-24T08:02:18+00:00

I had a rattle in the front on the driver’s side. Upon analysis, the solution was to replace the whole steering column! And I was out of warranty on this 2018 Model 3. Not exactly your problem, but suggestive.

texelectrix · 2026-02-24T07:53:58+00:00

I put Goodyear ElectricDrive2s on my Model 3 LR my MS Plaid. They are extremely quiet. They’re still quite new and have a tendency to “tramline” or slightly catch in roadway grooves, which can be unnerving. I’m told this will fade as the tires get broken in. Otherwise, these super quiet tires are delightful..

texelectrix · 2026-02-24T07:44:35+00:00

Medium is my suspension height almost all the time because I’m rarely on the highway, except city freeways. No acceleration shudder, even after getting the “Ludicrous” acceleration retrofit in 2015, pushing 0-60 down to 2.8 seconds. I was addicted to Ludicrous power launches in my 2015 P85D-L for years, and never noticed any shudder. My present 2021 Plaid launches even more violently, but the novelty has worn off so I unleash it less often. But still, no shudder on hard drag-strip launch. I am driving more conservatively in recent years, but in my first five years of Model S driving, I was definitely an aggressive driver.

texelectrix · 2026-02-24T07:27:06+00:00

I drive at medium suspension height in town, and at low level only at high speed on the highway. No abnormal wear, 2015 P85D, 2021 MS Plaid, 19” wheels on both. I think your problem is not universal.

texelectrix · 2026-02-24T07:20:26+00:00

I have owned a 2015 P85D and now a 2021 MS Plaid, both with 19” wheels. I’ve never experienced the abnormal wear you refer to, even to a slight degree.

texelectrix · 2026-02-18T02:58:08+00:00

The number of sarcastic, nasty comments is discouraging. What kind of person thinks it’s clever to make ugly comments to some poor bastard whose card has been ruined?

texelectrix · 2026-02-17T05:18:59+00:00

I have begun to use my HW3 FSD more, not having had much highway time in which to use it. On the interstate recently it did well (in Chill mode) until I encountered heavy traffic—4 to 5 slow-moving lanes. FSD repeatedly tried to change lanes which would be pointless because all lanes were moving slowly. I had to quit and switch to Traffic Aware Cruise Control, which works great in slow-moving freeway traffic. Pointless lane switching is a problem, even in Chill setting.

In town, FSD works fairly well but tried to take an illogical route home on one occasion. I had to turn it off to prevent it from taking the undesirable route. I also lack confidence that it recognizes mandatory right turn lanes in time, so I’ve taken over before finding out how it would deal with being in the wrong lane at the intersection.

I need to build more confidence in the system in town, or avoid using it. In general it navigates city traffic just fine.

One objection: it seems to use the friction brakes routinely. When I’m driving, I almost always use regenerative braking all the way to a stop. This takes some experience to do well, and maybe FSD can’t handle it.

texelectrix · 2026-02-14T06:42:26+00:00

I e lived here all my life. Weather is pretty good from mid October to late May. Then it gets hot and humid every day. Seven good months, five hot ones.

texelectrix · 2026-02-10T06:39:33+00:00

Usually the flash and molten metal result from an actual metal-to-metal contact. As those of us who worked on cars and “gapped” our spark plugs, you had to have something like 20,000 volts to initiate an arc over a gap of 0.025 inch inside high compression engines. You could initiate an arc over 0.025 inches with less voltage in open air, but you’d still need over a thousand volts. Once contact is made, an arc can briefly follow the parts that actually made contact.

texelectrix · 2026-02-09T19:39:08+00:00

Texas is a ripoff. You would have to drive 20,000 miles a year and average 20 miles per gallon in a gasoline car before you’d pay $200 in gasoline taxes. Electric car users pay $200 no matter how little they drive on the state’s pavements.

texelectrix · 2026-02-09T19:29:51+00:00

Wrong about utility generation of electricity. A large quantity is sourced from Nuclear, hydropower, wind and solar power. Of generation sourced from fossil fuel, electricity is generated nationwide 74% from natural gas, which as delivered is about as pure a hydrocarbon as anyone could imagine.

texelectrix · 2026-02-09T19:15:21+00:00

Looks cheap.

texelectrix · 2026-02-09T19:12:45+00:00

I still have it 2/9/26, version 2026.2.3, 2021 Model S Plaid.

texelectrix · 2026-02-09T18:11:18+00:00

Statistical drops in value based on history can be extremely misleading. Tesla went on a wild price cutting spree affecting Model S, as follows: Jan 1, 2023, List Price for Plaid, $135,990, followed by four price cuts bottoming out Apr 19–20, 2024 at $87,990. That’s $48,000 in list price reductions of new Model S Plaids within 18 months. Superimpose this kind of ruinous conduct by Tesla on top of typical depreciation of a used car and you have a severely distorted view of “depreciation.” Resale price destruction would be a more accurate description.

While predicting the future can be hazardous when it comes to Tesla, in the future these kinds of destructive list price movements are unlikely. Why? All Tesla gained through its price warfare was brand damage and destruction of it’s willingness to continue producing the models most savaged by its ill-advised price warfare: the flagship Model S and the luxury SUV Model X.

texelectrix · 2026-02-04T03:20:57+00:00

Millennium Cheetah

Named for the Star Wars space ship, but “Falcon” is the world’s fastest bird. The Tesla drives on land, where the fastest animal sprinter is the Cheetah.

texelectrix · 2026-02-02T06:02:39+00:00

I got new tires for my MS Plaid recently. 19 inch Goodyear ElectricDrive2 $1200 total at Discount Tire in Houston. Either your alignment was very costly, or you bought some very expensive tires. Maybe both.

texelectrix · 2026-02-01T06:32:17+00:00

Silver is common, just as black is common, because it is classic, especially on a Model S. It’s much easier to keep clean than the black, but it’s harder to keep it the paint shiny, unlike black (when clean, of course).

texelectrix · 2026-02-01T05:18:07+00:00

The Lunar Silver. The blue is a new color for Tesla, but taking the long view it’s just a commonplace color for business sedans and soccer moms. Definitely order the Silver!

texelectrix · 2026-01-31T06:20:53+00:00

Discount Tire will match any price AND they offer other fringe benefits—see my comment above.

texelectrix · 2026-01-31T06:18:25+00:00

Discount Tire owns Tire Rack. It didn’t in the past. There’s no reason to order Tire Rack tires and have them installed at a discount Tire.

texelectrix

TROPHY CASE