I wrote at the end of 2019, that I would love to buy a Lexus LS 500. Somewhere along the way, I ended up getting a 2016 Toyota RAV4 XLE.

Now, I’ve been driving my Toyota RAV4 for some time, and I quite like the leg room and head room that an SUV-style car affords me. It’s a much more comfortable ride, and on top of that, this RAV4 XLE handles great, has decent acceleration in Sport Mode, and has an eco-mode to conserve gas. I imagine I will be driving this RAV4 for a while longer as the total mileage on the car is still on the lower-side of used cars (at least used cars that I’ve owned and driven).

Lately, I’ve taken an interest in Tesla cars. The main reasons being Elon Musk is in the news all the time, it has the sleekest-looking all electric cars, and, for a while, the stock price was growing at a phenomenal rate. Elon Musk is a pretty interesting individual, not to mention as of this writing [Update: 3/8/2022], the richest person in the world based on the Forbes Billionaire List.

When it first began, Tesla, the company, offered the only electric vehicle that looked as good as a luxury car but still offered the full, modern appeal of a fully electric car; additionally, the first Tesla car model’s battery had one of the longest ranges before needing a recharge if not the longest range. Today, Tesla offers the “Model S”, the “Model 3 Long Range”, the “Model X”, and the “Model Y Long Range”. The mileage range of each of the models are [Updated 3/8/2022] 375-405 miles, 334-358 miles, 329-351 miles, and 314-330 miles before a recharge is needed, respectively. For reference, it is approximately 358 miles from Silicon Valley, California to Los Angeles, California and 226 miles from New York, NY to Washington D.C.. There is a proviso, however, on the West Coast, I know there are enough electric vehicle charging stations for a trip from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles, but, on the East Coast, I am not certain if there are electric vehicle charging stations for any particular trip that you would like to take. Now, granted, the long-range options for even the shortest-ranged model, the “Model Y” could make the trip from New York to Washington D.C. without recharging, but you would have to find a charging station in Washington D.C., be going to either a specific location that has electric vehicle charging stations, or be going to a house with a garage that has a Wall Connector: Home Charging solution installed. Otherwise, the Mobile Connector and optional adapters allow for varying levels of efficiency of charging your Tesla’s battery via the common household outlet or other higher voltage and higher current industrial outlets. Last, but not least, Tesla’s stock price has seen rapid price growth periods during various product life cycles as when the company introduced a new car model or a longer-range battery. Tesla also sells solar roofs, which transform your home roof into an entirely solar-panel-powered solution, as well solar panel solutions for exiting roofs, and, finally, home battery backups, aptly named, the “Powerwall”.

Now, if you worry about the future of the environment for your children and your children’s children or you follow the various news about developed countries promising to reduce their carbon emissions in the not-so-distant future, you are, probably, very worried about the implications of climate change. In fact, on April 22nd, 2021, President Biden pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. The national energy grid in America, and around the world, is more complex than you might think. While Tesla has a solution for using Solar Power to provide electricity to your home and to your electric vehicle and even to store the solar power you collected during the day into the Powerwall, the power grid in many cities in America still use Natural gas-powered electric plants and traditional Coal-powered electric Plants as well as Nuclear-Powered electric Plants that do produce toxic radioactive waste. Of course, there are clean energy solutions that have been implemented in certain areas, such as wind-powered turbines (but only, where there is almost always constant wind), vast solar panel arrays in the desert and other areas where it is sunny most of the time, and clean energy solutions, that were invented long ago, like the Hoover Dam, which is considered Hydroelectric Power. And the smallest amount of electricity generated in the United States is powered by Oil-powered electric plants at (half of 1 % of the nation’s generated electricity last year). These are the primary systems for generating electricity for use in buildings and structures of any type in the U.S.

According to the EPA, all transportation in the U.S. created 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. The EPA also states that the typical passenger vehicle emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and that the average gasoline vehicle with a fuel economy of 22 miles per gallon creates 8,887 grams of carbon dioxide per gallon of gasoline burned. Based on this information, it makes sense to try and help reduce the national carbon dioxide footprint by either trading-in your existing gasoline or diesel powered vehicle for a hybrid or a fully electric vehicle. Of course, you might be of the mindset of “I am only one person, how can I make a difference” in as big a problem as climate change? In which case, I posit this to you: “any great change in society has always started with one man, a courageous man, willing to do what needs to be done to change the mindset of the many.”

All that to say, I, personally, am interested in the Tesla Model S and the Tesla Model X because they have the most leg room and head room, which I need because I am taller than the average driver. Here are the features of the Model S and Model X that I would include in my Tesla and the associated price of each if I were to buy either of them today:

[Update: 3/8/2022] Source: tesla.com

Design and Order your own Model S: Tesla Model S

Model S ([Updated 3/8/2022] 375-405 miles miles on each full battery charge)

[Update: 3/8/2022] Source: tesla.com

Design and Order your own Model X: Tesla Model X

Model X ([Updated 3/8/2022] 329-351 miles on each full battery charge)