In June 2019, I received an email from Tesla saying that the $5,000 federal tax credit for Tesla Model 3 electric cars would end June 31. The company said it was now offering the Model 3 for a decent price, $35,000—lower, in fact, than any of the other long-range electric cars that I’d been studying once I considered the $5,000 federal tax credit and the $2,500 Oregon credit.
At the time, I was driving a Volkswagen e-Golf, and had put too much faith in my ability to drive from Portland, Oregon to the coast, mountains or state capital with a lowly range of 83 miles. My kids kept running out the battery while trying to zip to the beach or the Columbia River Gorge, and I had to be towed once, ironically, driving home from a clean energy event in Salem.
So I leased (bad idea, more on that later) a basic, no-frills Model 3, feeling a little uncomfortable about the fact that my dog and kids would likely ruin the leatherette interior. It was too fancy for me, my golden retriever and kids, and yet, it was the most economical option out there. And it had a range of 230 miles.
Driving 1,600 miles in a Tesla Model 3
That summer, two of my kids and I drove 1,600 miles from Portland to Whitefish, Montana and back. We discovered that it wasn’t hard, with planning, to make the trip in a Tesla–even though charging added four or five hours to the trip each way. We made use of eight superchargers and two slow chargers and emitted zero greenhouse gas emissions. Because Tesla had given us 5,000 free supercharging miles as part of its referral program and the public stations were free, the cost of charging was zero.
Along the route to Montana, people peppered me with questions. Sometimes they even stuck their heads in my window, as if driving a Tesla made me some kind of public entity.
Dog Mode and other benefits of the Tesla
I loved the fact that Tesla’s app helped us plan for the trip, identifying supercharging and other charging options between Portland and Whitefish. At the time, the fast chargers fueled the standard Model 3 in about 50 minutes to an hour, providing about 230 miles of range.
The app also told me when the car was charging, how long it would take to charge fully, whether charging had suddenly stopped and where the car was located (a bonus for someone, like me, who forgets where she parks). I could also schedule maintenance with the app, which, to be honest, I rarely needed. Perhaps best of all, the Tesla included a “dog mode” that leaves the air conditioning on so I could leave my pooch in the car for short periods without worrying about him. When I did this, the car’s display announced that the air conditioning was on, gave the temperature, and said I would return soon.
With the Model 3, it was a breeze to drive from Portland to the coast, the mountains or Salem. It was easy to find superchargers and they always worked. From time to time, they were busy (theapp told me this), but I learned to identify the locations that had multiple chargers so I’d avoid long wait times.
Charging under time-of-use rates at home
The cost of charging at home under Portland General’s Electric’s time-of-use rates was attractive. At the time, the cost was significantly less than what it would cost to fuel a car with gasoline. Right now, under my time-of-use rates, on-peak prices are 22.2 cents/kWh, while off-peak rates are a mere 4.12 cents/kWh.
On the road, the cost is generally cheaper than gas, but more expensive than charging at home. According to Motor Trend, the cost to charge a Model 3 at supercharging stations in 2023 is $7 to $24.
Happy dog, happy teen drivers in Tesla
Overall, I had few complaints about my Model 3. My dog was happy that he could accompany me on short errands, the leatherette seats were easy to clean and my kids didn’t run out of battery when they borrowed the car. I even extended my lease for about six months.
When my lease was up in early 2023, car prices had jumped, and my used Tesla was worth close to $50,000. At the time, it would have cost even more to buy another Model 3.
My leasing nightmare with Tesla
When it was time to turn in my car, Elon Musk had just purchased Twitter, and it seemed Tesla was a mess. It was becoming more and more difficult to communicate with Tesla about my lease ending. The company kept changing the date, and if I tried to connect with Tesla, it took days and weeks to get a response. Every person I talked to told me a different story about the day my lease ended.
After I turned in the car, Tesla tried to charge me $8,000 for dings and extra miles. Yes, I had a few dings–but not $8,000 worth. And even though I had turned the car in, Tesla kept adding extra charges, thinking that I still had the Model 3. After months of back-and-forth, with me refusing to pay the $8,000, Tesla dropped the price of the Model 3, and suddenly, I only owed $500.
Would I ever lease (as opposed to buy) another Tesla? Never!
Nissan Leaf Plus vs. Tesla Model 3
I now have a 2020 used Nissan Leaf Plus. I bought it for about $30,000, and didn’t get any tax credits because the car is used (Would it have been cheaper to get the newly reduced-price Tesla Model 3, which would have included tax credits? Probably, but it was too late). The Leaf plus has a range of about 215 miles, but will go 230 miles in the summer if my air conditioning is off. It’s very basic compared to the Tesla, and likely more efficient. But my experiences trying to drive a few hundred miles to the coast or central Oregon have been disappointing. Many of the fast-charging stations haven’t worked, and it took me a while to get the hang of the PlugShare app, on which drivers tell you whether a charging station is working. I can’t get the Nissan app to work (I’m impatient, so maybe you can!), which means I can’t remotely unlock the car, turn on the heat or learn whether my car is charging (all of which I could do with the Tesla). I have been able to use the Level 3 fast chargers a few times, and charging took longer–but not a lot longer–than the superchargers did, which was a nice surprise.
I plan to make use of Tesla’s supercharger adapter when it becomes available. It will allow me to charge my Nissan Leaf with a supercharger, making it much easier to travel hundreds of miles.
The benefits of bidirectional charging
In one important way the Nissan Leaf outshines Tesla because it can now do bidirectional charging. Soon, a number of bidirectional charging makers are expected to release chargers that Leaf drivers can use to help power their homes during power outages. This is a big deal for the climate. It means fewer people will crank up diesel generators during power outages, and electric car batteries can be used to support the grid when it’s stressed.
Tesla has generally resisted bidirectional charging because it competes with its Powerwall energy storage system. But this summer the company announced it will adopt bidirectional charging by 2025. I want to use this technology before 2025!
All in all, I miss Tesla’s supercharging network, ability to cool my dog when I’m doing errands and the app that performs numerous helpful tasks remotely.
But will I buy another Tesla? I’m not sure. With the Nissan Leaf’s bidirectional charging technology and its (hopefully soon) ability to make use of Tesla’s superchargers, the Leaf is a pretty attractive option.
Visit Lisa Cohn at CleanEnergyWriters.com and be sure to send your clean energy stories to [email protected]