“It’s a Circus Living with a Tesla”

(Images: Tesla)

Henry Payne is the car reviewer (and editorial cartoonist) for the Detroit News. Not only does Henry drive a lot of cars for his job, but Henry also races cars. Henry enjoys driving. And he particularly enjoys driving fast. He is the kind of person about whom it can be said, “He has gasoline in his veins.”

And in Henry’s own words, “I’m a total fossil fuel addict.”

Which makes it all the more interesting that one of the cars that Henry drives is a Tesla Model 3.

When he first saw the Model 3 in 2016 he put down a $1,000 deposit. He waited two years to get it. He bought a RWD Model 3. It cost him $50,000. He wanted a Performance model, but that came in at $65,000.

Henry just doesn’t drive his car(s) to go pickup milk.

Henry takes his car(s) to the track. Including the Model 3.

Beyond the Envelope

He admits that “he was pushing the envelope of the rear-wheel-drive car.”

So after a year he thought about getting a used Performance Model 3, which provides AWD.

And he discovered that Tesla had reduced the price by $15,000. To the price of his car.

Not Henry’s car. But the Performance Model 3, just the same.

So he bought a new one. 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds. Combined with a low center of gravity, it provides the sort of driving experience that Henry likes.

Life with a Model 3

In this edition of “Autoline After Hours” Henry talks about his life with the Model 3. He’s joined by “Autoline’s” John McElroy, SAE’s Lindsay Brooke and me.

According to Henry, if you drive the car hard—and he says this is something that he’s discovered pretty much across the board in electric vehicles (remember: he reviews cars for the Detroit News, so he has access to plenty of vehicles)—the range is decreased by about 25%.

If you live in a place like Michigan, where winter is generally winter, there can also be a 25% decrease in range. (Henry doesn’t say whether he’s driven his Model 3 hard during the winter, incidentally.)

If you’re at all interested in Tesla specifically or electric cars in general, then you won’t want to miss this show.

Which you can see right here.