When I bought my first Tesla Model S back in 2013, it had already been named that year’s Green Car Reports’ Best Car to Buy, and Consumer Reports had just declared it the best-scoring car they’d ever tested, and said that it broke their rating scale. The Model S was an extraordinary car, and—at about the same sticker price... 2019 Tesla Model S Long Range vs. 2013 Model S 85: How do they compare in value?
When I bought my first Tesla Model S back in 2013, it had already been named that year’s Green Car Reports’ Best Car to Buy, and Consumer Reports had just declared it the best-scoring car they’d ever tested, and said that it broke their rating scale. The Model S was an extraordinary car, and—at about the same sticker price... 
Since Tesla’s Autopilot was introduced back in October 2014, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made extravagant claims about its superior safety. Last month, reacting to what Musk considers sensationalized media coverage of Tesla accidents, the company released the first of its promised quarterly safety updates. The report claimed that, compared to... 
I’ve owned two Chevrolet Volts, an early 2011 model and, currently, a second-generation 2017 version. I have loved them both. They’re sleek, sprightly, and have enough electric range to cover most driving. For longer trips, the gas engine kicks in when the charge runs out. The Volt, to me, is the perfect compromise between electric and... 
Even though the Tesla Model S has retained its same basic shape since it went on sale in 2012, what's going on under the hood has been anything but stagnant. The automaker's over-the-air updates for the electric car have put the old guard on notice: People expect their cars to act like the computers and phones sitting on their desks and in their... ![2017 Tesla Model S 100D on cross-country trip from New York to California [photo: David Noland]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2017-tesla-model-s-100d-on-cross-country-trip-from-new-york-to-california-photo-david-noland_100643192_t.gif)
One of the reasons I traded in my 2013 Tesla Model S 85 last summer for a new Model S 100D was to get extra range. The newer car’s 100-kilowatt-hour battery gives it an EPA-rated range of 335 miles—70 miles more than the old car’s rating of 265 miles. Over four-plus years and 76,000 miles of driving, the 85-kwh battery in my... 
Like almost everyone else, I was blown away by Tesla’s surprise introduction of the second-generation Roadster at the recent semi-truck reveal event. Zero to sixty in 1.9 seconds, a 620-mile range, gorgeous sleek lines, and a price of $200,000. Mind-blowing indeed. But a few of the new Roadster’s numbers didn’t add up for me... ![Renault Twizy rented in Bermuda, October 2017 [photo: David Noland]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/renault-twizy-rented-in-bermuda-october-2017-photo-david-noland_100633051_t.gif)
I well remember the first time I saw a Renault Twizy. Wandering along the Champs Elysees in Paris in the spring of 2012, I happened upon a Renault showroom hosting an electric car extravaganza. Amid flashing lights, blasting techno music, and vamping supermodels sat a couple of Renault Zoes, the then-new electric subcompact. DON'T MISS: Is An... ![2017 Tesla Model S 100D [photo: David Noland, owner]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2017-tesla-model-s-100d-photo-david-noland-owner_100623282_t.gif)
About two years ago, under the influence of an eager Tesla representative, I briefly considered trading in my trusty 2013 Tesla Model S 85 for a new Model S 90D. But after a 24-hour test drive, the advantages of the 90D—40 miles more range, all-wheel drive, and Autopilot 1.0—didn’t seem to justify the $40,000 cost of stepping up... ![2013 Tesla Model S, in July 2017 [photo: David Noland]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2013-tesla-model-s-in-july-2017-photo-david-noland_100613425_t.gif)
A couple of years ago, as my 2013 Tesla Model S approached the end of its 50,000-mile warranty, I debated long and hard whether to opt for Tesla’s extended warranty, which they call an Extended Service Agreement (ESA). At $4,000, it wasn’t cheap. It provided four years and an additional 50,000 miles of coverage, up to a total of... ![Lucid Air electric luxury sedan prototype [photo: David Noland]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/lucid-air-electric-luxury-sedan-prototype-photo-david-noland_100613608_t.gif)
It’s a cool spring morning in Menlo Park, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. In a two-story concrete-and-glass building on Constitution Avenue, just down the block from Facebook’s vast fortress, a group of automotive engineers and designers is working to create the next-generation luxury high-performance all-electric sedan. A... ![2013 Tesla Model S, in July 2017 [photo: David Noland]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2013-tesla-model-s-in-july-2017-photo-david-noland_100613423_t.gif)
It was time to let her go. She is my 2013 Tesla Model S, serial number 003662, in dark green, now with 76,000 memorable miles. The best car I’ve ever owned, by far. She had taken me to 33 states and roughly 100 Superchargers, through deserts, mountains, and tropics, with total reliability, and always with style and flair. DON'T MISS: Life... 
Last week, I was in a bit of a Tesla funk. That’s not normal; my four-plus years of Tesla Model S ownership have been a mostly giddy ride, with the few bumps minor and temporary. But last week I was facing the prospect of two long-term permanent downgrades to my personal Tesla World, both related to Supercharging. DON'T MISS: Life with Tesla... 
Over the first three years of driving my 2013 Tesla Model S, there wasn't a single time when I looked at another car and said, “You know, I’d really rather be driving that car than this one.” Not once. The Tesla’s combination of performance, style, economy, technology, plus the addictive allure of electric acceleration... 
Back in 2014, Tesla had a spate of problems with the drive units in early-production versions of its Model S electric sedan. (The drive unit is essentially the car’s power train: electric motor, inverter, and gear box.) High-profile multiple failures occurred in long-term test cars driven by Motor Trend magazine and the automotive website... 
Fleeing my home in New York’s Hudson Valley for California during February and March has a number of charms. Currently at the top of the list: reading about Winter Storm Stella while watching the surfers at Rincon Beach. For electric-car nuts like me, however, there’s another California perk that’s not far behind: the wide... 
It’s a new era in Teslaworld: the end of unlimited free Supercharging. Starting a few days ago, anybody who orders a new Tesla Model S or Model X will receive an annual allotment of 400 free kilowatt-hours (good for about 1,200 miles). After that, they will have to pay for use of the Supercharging fast-charging network, at prices that vary... 
My 2013 Tesla Model S is now approaching 75,000 miles on the odometer. That happens to be the mileage benchmark for my next scheduled Tesla service. So I called my local Tesla service center, in Paramus, New Jersey, to set up the appointment. No problem, the service rep said. The first available slot is...a month from now. Whoa. DON'T MISS: Tesla... ![2013 Tesla Model S at Supercharger station on NY-to-FL road trip [photo: David Noland]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2013-tesla-model-s-at-supercharger-station-on-ny-to-fl-road-trip-photo-david-noland_100454645_t.gif)
Last Friday night, I arranged to meet my wife for dinner in Newburgh, New York, at a restaurant that has a Tesla Supercharger. Even though the battery in my Model S 85 was about 60 percent full, I figured I might as well top it off to 90 percent while we ate. When I arrived, there was a white Model X already plugged in. That left five empty... 
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Tesla’s claim that its Autopilot driver-assistance software is safer than a human driver. After a fatal Autopilot crash last May, the company said the death was the first in 130 million miles of Autopilot driving—and noted that, “among all vehicles, in the U.S., there is a fatality every 94...