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Craving More Range | From Volt to Leaf to Tesla Model Y

Josh Finally Got His Tesla!

Do you see the shirt Josh is wearing? He bought it in 2008 and was finally able to wear it when he took delivery of our 2021 Long Range Tesla Model Y. He joked that the shirt was almost old enough to drive. I joked that there was no way this shirt was ever grey.

As many of you know we have been driving PHEVs and EVs since 2011 starting with the first Volt and then moving on to the Gen 2 Volt, then the 2018 150 mi range Nissan Leaf and then when 150 miles was just not enough for us we decided it was time for a Tesla so we sold the Leaf to a repeat Leaf buyer and decided on the Model Y long range and WOW it was worth the wait. You can check out our Orlando delivery day experience here.

Our Journey to Tesla Ownership

Way back in 2018 we had a reservation for a model 3 but unfortunately their delivery dates were slipping and we needed a second car ASAP. Torn between the Bolt for more range but the Leaf for the price we decided to get the Leaf to go along with our 2017 Volt. When the Pandemic hit we realized we did not need two cars and we sold the Volt to Carvana with an offer we couldn’t refuse. This meant we had to rely on the Leaf for all of our driving including many trips to Orlando and back which is around 60 miles each way, mostly highway. We also were basically stuck using the few and far between, slow charging “fast charging” CHAdeMO chargers from EVgo and Electrify America.

Sometimes More is Better

Soon the 150 mile range just was not enough for a single car household. Luckily some club members were in the market for a used Leaf and ours fit the need so we sold it off. Then it was time to pick our Tesla. We ordered the Long Range Tesla Model Y due to its larger size, range, and cargo space. Less than a week later it was time to pick it up and the first time we saw over 300 miles of range displayed Josh joked “It might as well be infinity compared to the Leaf”. Not only that it charges so incredibly fast that we did not have time to eat our food before we were done supercharging. We always knew Tesla was ahead of the game but now that we have experienced it as owners it feels different. We absolutely love our model Y even with the window issue which should be fixed soon.

Hopefully we will be back to doing in-person events soon and of course if you are in the market for a Tesla don’t forget to use our code which currently gets you 1000 free supercharging miles.

-Brenna & Josh

June’s Monthly EV Meet Up Recap

Space Coast Electric Vehicle Club members and their cars
SCEV Drivers and their cars

The Space Coast Electric Vehicle (SCEV) Drivers want to thank everyone who made it out to the second meeting on June 1st at Squid Lips in Melbourne, FL.  As you can see in the photo above we had six EVs come to this months meet up which is double the number from May’s event.  We had three Nissan Leafs, two Chevy Volts and one Toyota RAV4EV just shipped in from California! Can you say awesome!? Not many groups can say they have the RAV4EV so of course we were thrilled to have one in our group so we could check it out. Here are some photos.

Toyota RAV4EV logo

RAV4EV logo
RAV4EV

SIlver RAV4EV rear Toyota RAV4EV

One of the coolest things about this group is the diversity of the drivers. At this month’s event we had drivers who have had their EVs since 2011, drivers who just purchased their car a week ago as well as everything in between. It is great to be able to share stories with potential buyers, new drivers, and the seasoned EV drivers.

Now for the real reason you are here the “what did I miss” recap.  Twelve attendees braved the scattered thunderstorms and descended upon Squid Lips in Melbourne from 2-4 PM. Our group took over a good chunk of the parking spaces surrounding the L2 charging station located at the Eau Gallie Library in the parking lot adjacent to Squid Lips where we enjoyed a late lunch, drinks, and good conversation.

Due to an unfortunate mix up two of the twelve were not actually able to find our group  and ended up meeting a few interesting characters in their search “We did however meet Jack, Jose and Bud(lite). lol” We are so sorry about that and we have added a phone number to the Facebook page so anyone who has trouble in the future can get in contact with us. Hopefully it won’t happen again.

During the two hours we discussed all things electric vehicle, shared how wonderful the PlugShare app is to our newest EV drivers and talked with a potential EV driver who shared his story of how the local Ford dealers do not have the car he wanted to test drive and the ones they do keep on the lot are not even charged! We discussed Septembers upcoming event for National Drive Electric Week, how our “outreach” aka leaving one of the SCEV business cards on every EV we see while we are out and about is going and more.

The highlight of the event had to be when we asked the manager to come to our table to let him know we chose to meet there because they are so close to the charging stations and he admitted “I have no idea what you are talking about.” We explained that we all drive electric vehicles and the “thing at the end of the library parking lot” is a level 2 charging station. We explained further that it is for our cars, because they do not use gas and he laughed and said to us “that is crazy, I always assumed that was an air pump for all the people who ride bikes around here.” Of course that comment was met with laughter as none of us had ever heard that one before.  It was a fun meeting! Check out this short clip from around the table at the event http://youtu.be/dUsSuBD6HlY

Be sure to check the Facebook page and the website for July’s event. Due to the first Sunday being very close to the holiday weekend we are planning to move the event to the second Sunday in July, the 13th. We will meet at the Kohl’s charger in Palm bay 205 Palm Bay Rd NE Melbourne, FL 32904 and walk over to Panera Bread for coffee, snacks, and or good conversation with fellow EV drivers.

Thanks,

Josh and Brenna