Didn’t know you could buy gas without ethanol.
I’m curious about how ambient temperature affects the range of an electric car? It certainly affects the mileage on my Camry hybrid. Also how well does the battery hold up over time?
And that’s why I used the phrase “highly doubtful.” ?
However, if the car doesn’t use any gas for 30 consecutive days or more then Stabil may be needed. I use it on my cars.
Our Model X is only 2.5 years old (in service August 2017), and we have not noticed any battery deterioration yet. I seriously don’t miss the “dang, I need to get gas” and scheduling oil changes etc. We come home, park it, plug into 110 outlet… made 2 trips across the mountains to do some wine tasting. The Supercharger/Starbucks stop was a welcome break from driving non-stop for 3 hours and did not cost us a penny other than 2 lattes. Our PNW ambient temperatures are quite mild, so no personal experience with battery performance in extreme temperatures. I am sure Teslaheads have threads on those topics on their message boards.
Yes, in our state, there are several gas stations with pumps with no ethanol—the alcohol is bad for seals etc, so H much prefers it especially for our lawn mower, cars, and pretty much everything.
Supposedly extreme temps cause faster degradation of batteries. It really depends on how long you plan to keep the car. I believe our car has a 8 year warranty on the electric battery & we purchased 10 year warranty on car.
To the best of my knowledge, and I’m not a Tesla expert, but Tesla’s have brake fluid which should be flushed/changed probably every 2 years, but depends on the environment (e.g., braking characteristics of owner) and climate. PNW cars would probably need more changes than AZ cars because of moisture.
Cold weather adversely affects electric vehicle efficiency. In addition, using the cabin heat can consume a lot of electric power (in contrast, a gasoline or diesel vehicle uses waste heat that would otherwise have to be radiated away by the radiator, so heating the cabin is basically free in a gasoline or diesel vehicle – although more efficient ones can be slow to produce heat after a cold start). A hybrid vehicle may have to run the gasoline engine more when cabin heat is used. Heated seats use much less electric power than cabin heat.
We bought our Honda Clarity in September and LOVE it! We’ve put on 3200 miles, including several 4 - 500 mile round trips and we’ve only filled the gas tank three times, at 6.6 gallons each. I totally understand wanting gas capability as well, because some areas don’t have a lot of chargers available. (Not a problem in city areas around here though.) They say you get approximately 50 electric miles but the reality is MUCH more, depending on how you drive it, as the regenerative braking is constantly recharging the battery. And it’s a snap to plug in at home each night. No special charging equipment needed: they provide the cable which plugs into a regular 120 volt outlet.
The car looks nice and provides a nice smooth ride. The trunk is spacious. Good head and leg room.
Regarding ambient temperature, our predicted electric mileage (on the dashboard) went down slightly in colder weather, but we haven’t actually noticed much difference. We live in SoCal though, so our “cold” is in the 40s.
I should also mention that the sticker price is NOT the price you will wind up paying. (At least in California). There are approximately $4000 in instant rebates, and there is a $7500 tax credit as well.
Yes, that is the only fluid that needs to be flushed with electrics. . Just had the 2 year annual checkup, no flushing was done. 
Don’t recall flushing brake fluid often in our good ol’ truck in its 20 years of existence. Don’t worry, we are not buying Elons idiotic Cybertruck. ? We wait for pony. 
Roughly every 30,000 miles I’ll flush and replace the brake fluid. Besides moisture and evaporation, air can get trapped inside, which can contribute to higher than normal brake pedal pressure in order to stop. But that’s me. I’m fanatical about maintenance on my cars.
You brake too hard. Teslas and other EVs and even Priuses engine-brake. I heard this nonsense that Teslas required new tires every 2 years… guess what? Those must have been some rubber-burning dudes.
Brake fluid change recommendations, when given, are commonly based on time, not use or mileage, due to absorption of water, which lowers the boiling point. If the boiling point of the brake fluid is too low, it can vaporize under hard (hot) braking. It become compressible as a gas, which is bad for braking performance.
Note that this is also why riding the brakes down a long hill is recommended against. The generated heat can heat the brake fluid to the point of vaporizing and becoming compressible, losing braking performance. Downshift for engine braking (regenerative braking in electric or hybrid vehicles*) to reduce the amount of heating the brakes down a long hill.
*Light use of the brake pedal in electric or hybrid vehicles typically uses regenerative braking rather than friction braking, but riding the brake pedal down the hill also keeps your brake lamps on all the time, making it harder to tell those behind whether you are maintaining speed or slowing down.
The best deal is probably a used Fusion Energie. I’ve seen loaded 2-3 yr old models for $15-20K
@BunsenBurner - at least one of my tires might need replacing this year. I do like to patch out when the light changes
If his main concern is the environment, I think he should consider buying a fully electric car. The auto manufacturers have spent many years dragging their feet on the transition to electric, making substandard short range electric cars then claiming that there is little demand for them. The more of us that vote with our feet (so to speak), the harder time they will have delaying the transition.
@doschicos if safety is an important concern, electric cars are generally much safer than internal combustion engine or hybrid cars . When you can make the whole front of the car a crumple zone (no engine) and you don’t need to carry a large tank of flammable liquid everywhere, safety gets a whole lot easier:)
@ucbalumnus again, you keep stating the obvious to a gearhead. I change every 30,000 miles because that’s about 2 years in my vehicle. YMMV.
@doschicos we have two hybrids. One is a Prius. Just follow your manufacturer’s recommendations. 
Thought I’d give a update. He went with the suggestion that I think @sushiritto came up with. He is riding his bike! When he needs a car at work he has been borrowing a car from our D who works nearby.
Excellent solution!
That’s wonderful!
the bike choice is a win-win. although the honda clarity also goes 50+ miles on battery alone, the chevy volt also acts as a wifi hotspot. no dead areas. only gm offers this.
fyi, the chevy bolt range had degraded from 250+ new to 200 after 3 years and 35k miles.