EV EVangelism in Tallahassee - How We Do IT

Expos are nice but I get more contacts one-on-one. Some of the earliest I share,

• "It costs me $2.75 to drive 100 miles around town not including the free chargers."
• "On the highway, $3.50 per 100 miles with recharging taking about 20 minutes every 2-3 hours. Stop at a fast food place for bathroom and a sack snack. Then drive to the Supercharger to eat, walk the dogs, or take a cat nap, about 20 minutes.
• "Cross country in a Tesla is like crossing a stream going from rock-to-rock. About 2-3 hours of driving, about a 20 minute stop, and on the road again letting Autopilot do the work."
• "Tesla adds Superchargers faster than my battery range goes down."

BTW, I am typing this post in Las Vegas after driving 1,888 miles from Monday 9 AM to arrival at 7 PM on Wednesday. I spent one night at a motel with free breakfast and charging. Driving 1,000 miles in 24 hours is entirely practical because Autopilot handles the worst and cat naps while charging recharges the driver.

Bob Wilson

 

Not enough MINI Cooper SEs (as is the case with every meet I've taken mine to--I'm always alone between Teslas).

 

Another great video @Domenick ! Also I am glad to see that you chatted with my buddy Dory from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. They do great work. I have attended some vegfests and community events in SWFL where Driving on Sunshine was present and helped out with answering EV questions while Dory and other staff were taking people on test drives. I have also attended Plug In America National Drive Electric week and Drive Electric Earth Day events since 2018. In both cases it is always fun to meet and talk to other local EV drivers and see their cars. As well as to talk to interested people to answer their questions in general, questions specifically about my car, and to honestly share my real world EV experiences. So far I have taken 2017 and 2018 Smart fortwo ED cabrios, a 2017 Ford Focus Electric, and looking forward to taking a Mach E to a Drive Electric Earth Day event (hopefully two) next month.

 

As a suggestion, make some poster board art describing the key elements of your Tesla EV. A lot of folks will learn more from reading than will ask for information. I would recommend anything @hobbit suggests as he has a lot of experience in this area predating EV ownership.

Bob Wilson

 

At a Drive Electric Week meet in 2018, I made a poster board showing how my Clarity PHEV could achieve long distances in less time at the speed limit than a Tesla. Some Tesla-driving attendees told the organizer to eject me from the meet. That didn't happen, but I heard about it. I admitted I let my dislike for Elon get the better of me.

Since getting my MINI Cooper SE, I've designed a poster board illustrating why it's better to have a fun-to-drive EV with 110-miles of range rather than to haul around a big, heavy battery day-after-30-mile-day. Now they just laugh.

 

Looking back, perhaps my newer poster board is a mite confrontational, too.

 

Everyone has to identify and follow their requirements. So I bought my 2019 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range:

• $24,000 - with trade-in of a disappointing 2917 Prus Prime. Killed two birds with on purchase strike.
• Autopilot - had to pay $1,500 then but now is standard. It paid for itself two months later by accident avoidance.
• Full Self Driving - paid $6,000 in October 2019 and I realized it was a 'work in progress.' For the past three nights, it has driven us through night time, Las Vegas including rush hour, construction zones, police stops, other dented car drivers, and the occasional drunk staggering in the night in front.
• 1/3d the cost per mile lower than 2017 Prius - around town, $2.75/100 miles not counting saving ~15% free miles from merchants who want well off, EV owners. On the highway, $3.50/100 miles at SuperChargers not counting free breakfast and charging at affordable motels.
• 6 times increase in Tesla stock - has nicely covered other expenses and I still have more than the 401k I moved into TSLA.

About Elon Musk, have you ever enumerated what it is about him that you "dislike?" Answering the question probably needs to be a new thread if you can't find an old one to add. That way our moderator can easily relocate non-technical content to the appropriate forum.

BTW, I have a tremendous respect for his engineering and organizing skills. I also like his sense of humor. But his ability to predict when things get done, especially when relying on the staff, could be better.

Bob Wilson

 

About posters and flyers:

• DO post about your EV or EVs that you owned. Your direct knowledge is the most important thing you bring along with a clean EV with doors open to the public.
• DO NOT post or even talk negative about other EVs. Emphasize what your EV does and let the public decide if they want to ask the same thing of the other EV presenters. For example, 'SeungKyu Yoon is the President and CEO of Kia American and is a wonderful guy making world class EVs." Do not say, 'I hate <fill in name> the leader of <fill in company> because they are crooks and build crappy cars (like that one next to you.)'
• AVOID GREEN credentials but be prepared. Emphasis on the costs, comfort, and quality goes a long way to selling EVs. This is because 'green' is often a hostile accusation and distracts from you EV. If someone wants to 'pick a fight' about being 'green', my answer, "So you're pro-environmentalism? I'm a green back, Yankee dollar green."

An EV gathering should be about peace and love ... all EVs are great and this is how mine is great. If you want to criticize other EVs, invite the owners of EVs you don't like to share a beverage at a bar. A bar is a perfect place you can gently explain why they were stupid for getting their car and how the company and executive(s) are crap. Yes, take public criticism to a bar.

Bob Wilson

 

Those shows are fun, I will likely be participating in one or two in April. I bring out all my geek
toys, scary charging stuff laid out on a table, and tape various info-sheets onto the car for people
to walk around and read. I show them my ripped-out cell modem, and an OBD2 app pulling battery
stats. I try to be optimistic about public charging infrastructure and its future, without flat-out lying.
Sometimes I bring the e-scooter, just to point to and say "that's an EV too".

In other words, the kind of realism that people appreciate.

_H*

 

I took my Mach E to a local Earth Day event in Fort Myers yesterday. For the first time for me, as suggested above by @bwilson4web , I made up some EV related poster boards of local places to charge, cars I have owned, why I drive electric, lessons learned, etc. The boards saved me some talking and sparked other conversation, so I also recommend it.

It was a moderate but less than expected turnout, understandable as this event was on short notice to local EV owners and in an area that had damage from Hurricane Ian last September. I am going to a more official Drive Electric Earth Day Event today in Tampa. I hope that some others made it to an Earth Day event.

 

Wow! Those look like some very detailed poster boards. Can you show them to us (maybe attach PDF files)?

 

@insightman here you go!

 

I like the groups but there may be too much detail.

I will probably make my version and see if I can mount them on the wall at the Whole Foods ChargePoint EVSEs. Depending on feedback, I might expand this for multiple EVSEs around town. The idea being 24x7 and 365 days a year versus just 'Earth Day.' I'll include references to the local Facebook groups to track progress.

Bob Wilson

 

Thanks! You put a lot of work into these posters. They do a great job of communicating your considerable EV research and experience. I can see how they help by answering the basic questions and then lead to more advanced discussion topics.

How was the Drive Electric event?

 

@bwilson4web thanks. @insightman a couple of pictures from the Drive Electric Earth Day event.