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Thank you everyone for your responses! Because I will be renting a condo for the first 6 months and probably won't be able to plug into an external 120 outlet at night, and because my future employer does not have EV charging, and because there is not a single public EV charger on St. Croix, I have traded in my Tesla for a Ford Escape Hybrid. Sadness.
Why solar is not the primary source of electricity and why EVs are not ubiquitous is a mystery, and I am guessing WAPA is behind it. Not something I'm going to worry about when I first move down. Maybe a cause after I get settled. 🙂
Posted : November 29, 2020 11:32 pm
I think the issue is the cost of electricity, it’s about double (in some cases more) the mainland, WAPA reliability issues aside. The cost of solar installations are reasonable, at least on STX, but the upfront capital investment to both power a home and charge an EV might be prohibitive. Do the math before you decide, assuming it’s an economic decision, hybrid’s might be your best option.
Posted : November 30, 2020 2:47 am
I think the issue is the cost of electricity, it’s about double (in some cases more) the mainland, WAPA reliability issues aside. The cost of solar installations are reasonable, at least on STX, but the upfront capital investment to both power a home and charge an EV might be prohibitive. Do the math before you decide, assuming it’s an economic decision, hybrid’s might be your best option.
My 7.5 KW solar system paid itself off in 4.5 years and the loan cost no more per month than my WAPA bill. Now, I have free electricity!
Posted : November 30, 2020 8:20 am
I'm a huge advocate of Solar, installed a 9.92kW system (with an 18.5 kWh battery) earlier this year, so we have free electricity as well! Just wondering what the capacity is needed to support an EV on top of the home.
Posted : November 30, 2020 8:29 am
@ellee hi there. I’m in the same boat as you were in 2020. Being relocated to St Croix for work and contemplating whether to bring my Model 3 with me. My company provides housing and will install a plug for the car however am worried about the service aspect. Even tho these cars virtually need no maintenance and we have all new tires I worry about the what if?? And having to export and import the car to get serviced. What did you end up doing? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you! Gerald
Posted : August 5, 2023 9:04 am
And having to export and import the car to get serviced.
You can always fly a Tesla technician in from Puerto Rico for the day if its really that necessary. He can most likely diagnose the issue remotely and bring the needed part(s) with him. If its just tires, brakes, alignment, etc. any mechanic can handle those. But, keep in mind our roads are mostly crap so your Tesla is going to be taking a beating.
The folks that own Porsche cars here pool their resources and have the technician come and service all the cars at once.
Posted : August 7, 2023 11:05 am
@ellee hi there. I’m in the same boat as you were in 2020. Being relocated to St Croix for work and contemplating whether to bring my Model 3 with me. My company provides housing and will install a plug for the car however am worried about the service aspect. Even tho these cars virtually need no maintenance and we have all new tires I worry about the what if?? And having to export and import the car to get serviced. What did you end up doing? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you! Gerald
A lot has changed since the original post in 2020. The numbers of Tesla cars in the USVI has steadily increased. The Territory Senators all were given Tesla’s to use and the adoption rate of EV’s is growing rapidly. As you know Tesla sells direct to consumer so the only real maintenance risk is in the event of an accident, where finding a repair shop with Tesla experience will be a problem. The only real maintenance on the vehicles are tires and very rarely brake pad replacement. With a short commute and the 120 volt changer you should be fine. If you have solar and a generator, all the better.
Posted : August 9, 2023 11:36 am
@ellee hi there. I’m in the same boat as you were in 2020. Being relocated to St Croix for work and contemplating whether to bring my Model 3 with me. My company provides housing and will install a plug for the car however am worried about the service aspect. Even tho these cars virtually need no maintenance and we have all new tires I worry about the what if?? And having to export and import the car to get serviced. What did you end up doing? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you! Gerald
A lot has changed since the original post in 2020. The numbers of Tesla cars in the USVI has steadily increased. The Territory Senators all were given Tesla’s to use and the adoption rate of EV’s is growing rapidly. As you know Tesla sells direct to consumer so the only real maintenance risk is in the event of an accident, where finding a repair shop with Tesla experience will be a problem. The only real maintenance on the vehicles are tires and very rarely brake pad replacement. With a short commute and the 120 volt changer you should be fine. If you have solar and a generator, all the better.
the senators were not given any teslas to mash up--there is nowhere to do warranty service here and either fly in tech from puerto rico or car to there--wapa costs more than you'll probably save unless your solar--the real meaning of going green and not being a hypocrite
Posted : August 12, 2023 7:50 pm
the senators were not given any teslas to mash up
It was actually WAPA who had received a bunch of Teslas as far as I can recall.
Posted : August 14, 2023 4:31 pm
the senators were not given any teslas to mash up
It was actually WAPA who had received a bunch of Teslas as far as I can recall.
Your memory is better than mine “The vehicles will be positioned across multiple agencies, with 15 vehicles assigned to the central government and 8 joining the WAPA fleet.”. This from an article in the The Virgin Islands Consortium” published in July 2022.
Again, I’m all in on electric vehicles, but won’t need to replace any of our vehicles for at least 5 years. I’m going to want full autonomous driving by then along with needing to add solar to our garage, which will likely cost at least half as much as the vehicle, but still a good long term investment.
Posted : August 17, 2023 3:05 pm
the senators were not given any teslas to mash up
It was actually WAPA who had received a bunch of Teslas as far as I can recall.
Again, I’m all in on electric vehicles...
I like the concept of electric cars and would consider buying one once they can charge as quickly and easily as filling the tank with gas. Like you, I'm easily 5 years away if not more.
Posted : August 21, 2023 10:13 am
if your not charging it 100% from solar/green whatever you are a hypocrite 😎
Posted : August 21, 2023 8:10 pm
Ca. Dreamers reacted
@stxisbest I wouldn't be buying one for the environmental aspects. I'd only be buying one if it were cheaper to operate and maintain. At the end of the day, I really only care about how it might benefit me. I think most people have pretty much the same motivation deep down.
Posted : August 23, 2023 6:29 pm
CruzanIron reacted
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