It seems like it’s an unwritten rule that when you get a Tesla you must start making YouTube videos about it. I’m obviously a culprit of this when I started making videos about my Model 3 which led to me becoming Tesla’s top referrer and earning two free Roadsters. But I also earned enough money from YouTube ads on my Tesla videos to pay for my Model 3. So I’ve kind of been able to get three free Teslas simply as a result of creating helpful high quality YouTube videos. What’s really cool is now any Tesla owner has a chance to win a car since Tesla is giving away a Model Y monthly and a Roadster quarterly to a random owner with at least one referral. I get a lot of questions about how I make my videos and what equipment I use so this video is for you if you want some guidance or inspiration for making YouTube videos yourself.
It’s been 5 years since Apple Music was released to compete with Spotify, and now they’re the top two most popular music streaming services, and in this video I’ll compare them head-to-head to see which one is the best in 2020 and at the end I’ll share which one I’m choosing. Big thanks to Visible for sponsoring today’s video.
Pricing
First, let’s talk about pricing. Both apps have pretty much the same three paid plans to choose from: $9.99/month for individuals, $14.99/month for a family plan up to 6, and $4.99/month for students. Both apps also offer 3 month free trials. However, there are some key differences. Spotify’s student plan is far superior to Apple Music’s because Spotify Student comes with extra perks like access to Hulu and Showtime. However, Apple Music offers a secret annual plan for individuals so if you’re a current Apple Music subscriber you can go to the subscription settings on your iPhone and choose the $99 annual subscription which saves you $20 a year. Spotify does not currently offer an annual plan. However, Spotify does offer a completely free plan that has some limitations like shuffle only and it has ads, but it’s still a big advantage over Apple Music which doesn’t have a free plan comparable to Spotify’s but instead only offers free access to their Beats radio and nothing else.
Music Collection
The total number of songs that are available on each service is slowly becoming less of a differentiating factor, but Apple Music still has the advantage. Spotify currently offers over 50 million songs while Apple Music offers 60 million songs so they are very close depending on what Spotify means by “over 50 million” which could be 51 million or 59 million. Either way, Apple Music still claims to have more songs. Another advantage for Apple Music is that it is available in 167 countries while Spotify is only available in 79 countries. So depending on where you live you may be limited to only one option.
Library Limit
This next category is where they are both very different. Library limit is the amount of songs you can save to your library. Spotify currently has a library limit of 10,000 songs meaning you will get an error if you try to add more than that to your library. Update: Spotify has removed their 10,000 song library limit and is now unlimited. Apple Music has a library limit of 100,000 songs.
Supported Devices
Both apps are available on the most popular devices such as iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and they both have web players. But Spotify is more “open” because it supports a wide variety of devices like Samsung Gear, Amazon Alexa, PlayStation, Smart TVs, Roku, and of course it’s integrated into my Tesla which is nice. Apple Music is still more of a “closed” environment and works best with Apple products like the Apple TV, Apple Watch, CarPlay, and HomePod. Apple Music also has better Siri support with more specific voice commands. It makes a lot of sense to go with Apple Music if you own a lot of Apple products or have a huge iTunes library, but that’s not necessarily always the case. I own mostly Apple products but I think Spotify’s Connect feature is a huge advantage over Apple Music. Spotify Connect lets you use your phone as a remote to play Spotify on any device that you’ve signed on to. For example, I can play Spotify on my phone and by tapping the Connect icon I can immediately send the audio of whatever is playing to any other device on the same Wifi network such as my iMac or my Bose sound bar or my kitchen speaker. The audio seamlessly switches to the new speaker, but I can still control the playback functions from my phone and I can change the playback device at any time if I want to switch it back to my phone for example. It’s seriously one of the best features of Spotify, and currently Apple Music doesn’t have a feature like this. It only has AirPlay which isn’t as advanced as Spotify Connect.
Lyrics
One big advantage of Apple Music is the option to view lyrics in real time which I love because there are many times when I just want to read some of the lyrics of a song as I listen. You can also tap on any line of the lyrics and it starts playing that exact part of the song which is awesome. Spotify doesn’t have this kind of lyrics integration. Instead they partnered with Genius to show portions of lyrics for only certain songs so it’s pretty half baked compared to Apple Music. Spotify also has a feature called Canvas which is only available on certain songs, and it just plays a few seconds of the music video in the background or some other random video on a loop. I hate this feature. It’s pretty much useless and causes faster battery drain and uses more data so I leave the canvas feature off. Another really cool feature about Apple Music lyrics is you can search actual phrases from song lyrics and it will usually find the correct song based on the lyrics which is really awesome. It also works with Siri too. Spotify doesn’t index lyrics so it’s not possible to search for a song by searching the lyrics like you can with Apple Music.
Exclusive Content
Apple Music used to be infamous for having popular albums that were only available on Apple Music like ones from Taylor Swift and Drake, but that’s mostly a thing of the past which is great for us listeners. I’m just going to admit it – I can’t stop listening to Lover. Anyone else have that problem? Just me? Ok. And this may be karma, but there are some songs I’ve come across that are on Spotify but not on Apple Music which is strange. For example, I love the Big Little Lies soundtrack and the complete soundtrack is available on Spotify, but for some reason on Apple Music it says some of the songs aren’t “available in my country” which is weird. So it seems for me Spotify has the advantage for song availability which is something to think about. Spotify also has more than just music, more specifically it has spoken word content such as audiobooks and podcasts. And now Spotify is starting to get exclusive podcast deals. The biggest one recently is Joe Rogan’s podcast will only be available on Spotify starting in 2021. So you may be able to use Spotify as your main music streaming app AND your main podcast app which makes it easier than using multiple different apps. This is what Spotify is really trying to be – your main one stop shop for all things audio: music, podcasts, audiobooks, and more. Apple Music doesn’t have podcasts or much spoken word. Instead it chooses to offer radio stations as their other type of exclusive content. Apple Music radio stations includes things like their popular Beats 1 radio and live broadcast stations like NPR and ESPN which is definitely an advantage over Spotify. Apple Music also has music videos which is cool. Spotify says they offer music video, and other video content, but I have yet to find any music videos for popular songs on Spotify. So this just comes down to personal preference – other than music do you prefer live radio and music videos or do you prefer pre-recorded audio like podcasts.
Sound Quality
Sound quality is an important feature of music streaming so let’s see how each app stacks up. For mobile devices Spotify streams in the OGG format with a few different options ranging from Low to Very High and even an option called Automatic which will base your streaming quality on your network connection. This is actually really convenient because it will automatically save data when you’re on a weak connection but also stream in high quality when you’re on a strong connection, and even the highest of quality for songs you download. Apple Music streams all of their songs in 256kbps AAC which is a slightly better format but is a lower bitrate compared to Spotify’s highest of 320. Apple Music will also lower the quality over cellular if you don’t have high quality streaming enabled in the settings. Unless you are an audio expert with a strong ear, you probably won’t be able to hear a noticeable difference streaming over cellular on both of these apps. I do think Spotify wins in sound quality just because of the higher bitrate and because it gives you more options to choose from along with the Automatic option. And if you want to stream music in the highest quality over cellular without worrying about going over data limits, you’ll want a cell phone plan that has unlimited data, and today’s sponsor Visible is perfect for that. Visible is a new affordable wireless carrier that runs on Verizon’s 4G LTE network. I’ve always been a fan of prepaid cell phone service, and that’s what Visible offers. No contracts. No hidden fees. For just $40 a month you get unlimited talk, unlimited text, and unlimited data – yes music streamers rejoice. And not only that you can also use your phone as a mobile hotspot. Plus, in order to save you even more money, Visible offers a unique take on the family plan, which they call Party Pay. With Party Pay, your bill goes down $5 a month for each member you add to your party, up to parties of 4. So for example, parties of 2 pay just $35 each per month, parties of 3 pay $30 each, and parties of 4 pay just $25 each per month for the same unlimited plan. If you’re looking for an affordable cell phone plan that has unlimited data on Verizon’s LTE network with no annual contract that you can cancel at anytime, check out Visible by clicking the link in the description below. Having an affordable unlimited plan is one of the best things for streaming music on the go. Check out the link below to learn more.
Now let’s talk about one of the most important aspects of Apple Music and Spotify – the mobile app experience. Most likely you’ll be using the mobile app on a daily basis so you need to know the subtle differences between both to figure out which one you like the best.
When it comes to design, Spotify is always a dark background with a green and white color scheme. Apple Music on the other hand can be switched from light or dark mode with a white and pink color scheme. I personally prefer Spotify’s design, but for some people Apple Music may have the advantage because it does have the option of light or dark mode which Spotify is basically dark mode all the time. To get to Spotify’s preferences you can do it directly from Spotify’s home screen by tapping the gear icon to access all your settings and preferences. Apple Music doesn’t offer a quick way to get to your settings from the app itself. You have to go into your phone settings then scroll down and choose Music which is a bit more inconvenient.
Both apps have similar layouts. They both have the main sections laid out across the bottom, but Apple Music lists 5 sections while Spotify only lists 3 sections. Apple Music has Library which shows you all the music you’ve saved to your library, then the For You section which offers music it thinks you’ll like, then Browse which shows featured playlists and albums, then the Radio section for stations and broadcasts, and lastly the Search section. On Spotify it lists the Home section first where it shows you music you recently played along with playlists and radio stations it thinks you’ll like. The Search section is next where you can search any text or browse through all the featured playlists and genres. The final section is Your Library which has all the music you’ve saved to your library. In my opinion Spotify’s app is just easier to use. The interface is more intuitive and less cluttered than Apple Music.
Both apps offer offline listening, but I think Apple Music handles it better. Apple Music automatically has a Downloaded Music section in the Library so if you’re offline you just go there to play your offline music. With Spotify you have to actually go into Settings first and enable Offline mode then it’s still hard to see which songs are downloaded because it just grays out things that aren’t downloaded or it shows a green arrow for things that have been downloaded. It’s not laid out very well. Apple Music’s way of handling downloaded music is just more intuitive and easier to understand because it’s all in one place. One weird thing about Spotify is downloading individual songs for offline listening. With Apple Music it makes it easy to download single songs for offline listening by tapping the download icon and it automatically adds it to your Downloaded Music section of your library. With Spotify, there’s no quick option to download a saved song for offline listening. For albums or playlists it’s easy, just tap the Download button, but for individual songs you have to first create a Playlist, then add the song to that playlist and then Download the playlist. So what I did was just create a playlist called Downloaded Songs and now if I want to save an individual song for offline listening I just add it to that playlist and it will automatically download it to my device. It’s not a huge pain, but the fact you have to manually create and download the playlist yourself is kind of annoying. But once it’s set up it’s easy to add songs to that playlist. Another weird thing about Spotify is its haptic touch (or long press) feature to show quick shortcuts which is pretty much useless. If I tap on Search it doesn’t bring up the Search bar. If I tap any of the playlists it doesn’t take me to that playlist. Apple Music’s haptic touch for quick shortcuts works perfectly as it should. Hopefully this is just a bug that Spotify will fix soon with an update.
Both apps offer curated playlists and the ability to create custom radio stations based on a certain song or artist. Apple Music has gotten a lot better since their beginning, and they offer a lot more curated playlists based on genre, mood, and various other things. However, the layout is still a bit clunky and confusing. The artwork is big and it’s cumbersome to browse through all the playlists. Spotify’s layout is much more simple and easier to navigate, and I think the selection of curated playlists is just flat out better on Spotify. They are extremely well done with a large variety of different playlists based on many different factors like Comedy, TV & Movies and many other unique interests. Also Spotify’s algorithm is so much better for discovering new music based on your listening habits. This is mostly done by its customized playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar that are made specifically for you and updated every week. They also create other custom playlists like Daily Drive which is a curated mix of songs you listen to the most intertwined with short news stories or podcast clips which is awesome. And then it has a Uniquely Yours section that has various playlists based on your most listened to songs along with your top songs of each year. Apple Music just can’t compete with the accuracy of Spotify’s uniquely tailored playlists. Another one of Spotify’s biggest advantages is any user can create a public playlist that will show up in anyone’s search results and anyone can save a publicly shared playlist to their library. You can even let friends collaborate on playlists. This idea of custom and shared playlists from anyone is a great feature of Spotify. I also think Spotify does a better job at creating and managing custom radio stations. On Apple Music you can create a station from an artist or song but when you do that it doesn’t take you to the created station. It just automatically creates the station and starts playing it. And you can only see the next song that will play on the station. And there’s no easy way to see all the radio stations you’ve created. If you go to the Radio section it just shows the featured stations and your recently played. On Spotify you can tap Go to station for any song or artist, and it will take you directly to the custom radio station and shows you all the songs that are on that radio station. This gives you way more information than Apple Music and allows you to see what the radio is like and gives you the option to start playing it or quickly save it to your library. And it doesn’t automatically start playing the station so it doesn’t interrupt the current album or playlist you’re listening to.
Apple Music and Spotify have different ways of how you can add and manage your artists in your library. On Apple Music you can’t “follow” or “add” artists. You can only add albums, songs, and playlists to your library. However, once you add an album or song to your library then it automatically adds that artist to your Artists list. On Spotify you can “follow” an artist without adding any of their albums or songs to your library. When you follow an artist, they show up in your Artists list in your library. However, if you add songs or albums to your library without following the artist, that artist will not show up in your Artists list in your library. It’s a little weird and confusing. I think I prefer the way Apple Music does it because if I add a song or album to my library I would like that artist to be added to my Artists list too.
They also handle search a little differently. Spotify’s search is better because Apple Music’s search requires an extra step. If I search “Vince” in Apple Music it shows quick shortcuts, but if I tap a result from the quick shortcut it shows the search result and then I have to tap one more time to go to that artist. In Spotify you can just tap the search result form the quick shortcut and it goes directly to that page, saving a step. Spotify search results are also smarter and more customized based on your own library. If I search “Wonder” on Spotify it knows I have saved albums from the wonder years so it shows that artist first. On Apple Music I have the same wonder years albums saved to my library but if I search wonder it shows generic search results not taking into consideration my own library.
When it comes to details about artists and tracks they both have their pros and cons. For example, Spotify Artist pages give more detailed info such as the amount of monthly listeners and their artist rank if they’re in the top 200 or so in the world. I love this because it’s nice to gauge an artist’s popularity. I like to keep tabs on certain artists like my boy Jack Harlow who is a young rapper from my city who I’ve been following for years and I like to see how popular he’s getting. Check him out if you haven’t already. Spotify also shows the exact amount of plays for the artist’s top songs which is nice to know the most popular songs and by how much. Apple Music doesn’t show the amount of monthly listeners or the artist rank, and it doesn’t show the number of plays for songs. However, it does have some advantages over Spotify. For example, you can see a longer list of an artist’s top songs which is great compared to Spotify which only shows the top 5 songs from an artist. Another difference is that on the Apple Music mobile app you can actually see star icons next to songs which indicate the most popular songs on an album. On the Spotify mobile app you cannot see the most popular songs from albums. You can only see an album’s top songs on the desktop app.
I do like the way Spotify utilizes swipe gestures for quick ways to like a song or add it to the queue, and you can tap the ellipsis to get a list of all actions. Apple Music doesn’t offer swipe gestures, but instead only offers a list of actions by long pressing on a song. They both offer the same typical options, it’s just a slightly different way of accessing them. On Spotify you can swipe left or right on the artwork of the current song to skip to the next or previous track which is nice. Apple Music doesn’t offer this swipe feature to go to the next or previous song. However, Apple Music lets you hold down on the forward or back button to scrub through the song and you can hear the scrubbing which is helpful if you want to fast forward to a certain part of a song. On Spotify you can only scrub through a song by moving the playback cursor and you cannot hear a live scrubbing of the song which is sort of a letdown.
When playing a song on Spotify you can tap the Artist name and it takes you directly to the artist page which is more convenient and saves a step compared to how Apple Music does it. With Apple Music if you tap the artist name it pops up another box to choose the artist or album. I can see how some people might prefer this, but I prefer the way Spotify does it because if I want to see the artist it saves a tap and if I want the album I just tap the ellipsis and I canget to it in the same number of taps as Apple Music.
Spotify has tried to simplify how you add songs, playlists, and albums to your library by giving you one option: the heart icon. If you heart something it basically saves it to your library. However, if you heart an album it only adds that album to your Albums section of your library. It doesn’t add that album’s songs to your Liked Songs. If you want to do that you have to tap the options button and choose Like All Songs which is a weird way of handling that. Apple Music gives you a few different options: you can click “Add” to save an album, artist, or playlist to your library, and once you do that you can tap the “Download” icon to download it to your device for offline listening, and you can also “Love” it which will help Apple Music suggest music in the For You section of the app. Spotify also has a weird way of managing your saved songs. When you heart a song it adds it to a playlist called “Liked Songs” which is basically a list of all your saved songs. So instead of having a Songs section in your Library like Apple Music has, instead Spotify makes you go to your Playlists section then choose “Liked Songs” to view your saved songs. On Apple Music, they manage it better by actually having individual options for your Songs, Playlists, Artists, and Albums in the Library section of the app. There’s room in the Spotify app to lay it out similar to Apple Music and add a Songs section at the top so I’m not sure why they chose to manage saved songs by putting them into a playlist.
One big advantage of Apple Music is you can filter your Library by genre which lets you play all the songs of a certain genre that you’ve saved to your library. This is great for when I want to listen to all hip hop songs in my library. Spotify doesn’t allow you to filter your library by genre which is crazy. I just want to be able to go to my saved songs and shuffle play a certain genre which I can do with Apple Music but not with Spotify. The closest thing to doing this on Spotify is the Daily Mixes which I do really like. These are playlists based on your most listened to genres and it includes songs that you listen to a lot but it also includes new songs that you may have never heard of.
So as you can see, Apple Music and Spotify are similar in many ways but very different in some of the details. They both have their pros and cons. After using both of them for the past month I’m going to continue to use Spotify as my music streaming app. I’ve been a Spotify premium user for many years, and I’ve built an extensive library which has allowed Spotify to do a really good job at introducing me to new music that I usually always like. Even though it’s not perfect and there are some things Apple Music does do better, I still prefer the experience of using Spotify rather than Apple Music. What do you think? Are you choosing Spotify or Apple Music? Let me know in the comments below.
Teslas are considered luxury vehicles and are relatively expensive, so right now is probably not a good time to buy one. Or is it? Some crazy things are happening in our economy right now. People are losing jobs, stock market’s crashing, so this is going to sound like first world problems, but it’s relevant to my channel and it begs the question: is it dumb to buy a Tesla during a pandemic or possible recession?
First of all, disclaimer: I’m not a financial expert. None of this is legal advice. Nobody knows if a recession will even happen. We could be back to normal in a few weeks or things could get worse. But in this video I want to talk about the pros and cons if you’re thinking about buying a Tesla during uncertain times like these.
First and foremost make sure you have the budget to afford a Tesla. There’s never a good time to buy a Tesla just for the sake of flexing on fools ok? To see if a car is within your budget you should follow these three rules: put down at least 20 percent, finance the car for no more than 4 years, and keep your total monthly car payment at or below 10 percent of your gross monthly income. For example: the Model Y I have on order is right around $60,000 so according to these rules I should put down at least $12,000 cash, and then get a loan for the other $48,000 which should be no longer than a 48 month loan which puts the monthly payment right around $1,000 per month. That means for me to afford this particular Model Y my monthly income should be at least $10,000. So it’s super important to make sure your monthly budget allows for the car payment, and if an emergency happens where you lose your income for a while you want to make sure your emergency fund can cover your car payment. Do those calculations for yourself and if you can’t make it work, try to find a cheaper vehicle that fits your budget if you absolutely need one right now.
Buying a new car means you’re buying a depreciating asset. We all know that as soon as you drive a new car off the lot, it decreases in value by thousands of dollars which is why a new car is usually frowned upon when it comes to personal finance. However, Teslas do seem to keep their value pretty well. According to a study by automotive research firm iSeeCars, the average one-year-old used car costs 20 percent less than its new version. However, some models have as little as a 5 percent difference and after analyzing over 6 million cars it identified the Tesla Model 3 as the best car to buy new. According to Kelly Blue Book, the Model X has the best electric vehicle resale value for 2020 with a predicted resale value of 44% after 5 years of ownership. Last year, Elon tweeted that when Tesla’s ride sharing network comes online all Tesla vehicles with the Full Self Driving option will actually become appreciating assets that increase in value. That’s obviously extremely far fetched, but if and when that does happen it will allow a Tesla to potentially make money for the owner which is a feature that does differentiate Teslas from other cars and is a factor to consider when deciding to buy a car.
But you don’t always need to get a new Tesla. The good news is right now with the Model Y coming out there are many people selling their Model 3’s which are only 2 years old at the most so you may be able to save some money by finding a used Model 3 if that fits your lifestyle. Don’t plan on buying mine though because like I’ve said before, the Model 3 is the best car I’ve ever driven and I plan to keep it for at least 10 years. The Model Y I have on order is mostly for my wife.
If you are adamant on buying a car during a pandemic or potential recession, I highly recommend you plan to keep the car for as long as possible. The good news is that Tesla is probably the most forward thinking car company right now. They build their cars with the long term future in mind by giving their cars all the hardware capabilities that they think it needs to be able to fully drive itself when the software and regulations reach that point, which is something that no other car company is doing on the level that Tesla is.
If you decide you want a new Tesla during these times it’s possible that auto loan interest rates will be super low right now. However the rates can change at anytime and will depend on your own personal situation so it’s best to shop around and get multiple quotes from different sources to find the best rate for you if you plan to finance. I guess a potential downside of buying a Tesla is that sometimes during hard financial times for car companies you can negotiate a good deal with a dealership that’s trying to sell off their inventory. With Tesla, they don’t have dealerships which I actually love, but that means you won’t be negotiating the price with Tesla. They prefer to set prices and allow you to purchase it anytime online. I personally think that is still way better than having to go to a dealership to buy.
Also, as with any electric vehicle, buying a Tesla means you’ll never buy gas again, and Tesla likes to show you the potential gas savings when you go to purchase one of their cars online. During the first year and a half of driving my Model 3 I saved nearly $3,000 in fuel alone. Also no more oil changes which is another added savings over the lifetime of the car. Plus during a crazy time like this, not having to go to gas stations is actually really nice. Even though gas prices are super cheap right now, the price can change any minute. You don’t want to be affected by how careless and evil that industry is, trust me. And if you’re practicing social distancing, driving an electric vehicle like a Tesla is so much better because it charges at home overnight while you sleep. No stopping at gas stations so no risking yourself or others or having to touch a gas pump that is most likely loaded with germs. Sounds petty but it’s true.
Also during this unique situation, food delivery services like Uber Eats and Post Mates have surged so you could make some money while helping people out, and with a Tesla you could do it without having to pay for gas and while being way less harmful to the environment. Plus whenever Tesla’s robo-taxi network becomes a reality in the future if something like this happens again you could send your Tesla out by itself with no human inside while you practice self distancing at home and watch more of my YouTube videos hopefully.
Teslas are also some of the safest cars in the world which should in theory help reduce your car insurance bill especially now that Tesla is starting to offer insurance directly to their owners at seemingly good prices. Right now, anything that gives you a chance to lower your bills is pretty crucial.
I guess a potential downside to buying a Tesla is that they are the youngest car manufacturer out of all the major car companies so they may have a tougher time ramping up production through all this. However, it turns out that this might actually help them take a breather from trying to frantically deliver cars and instead fix bottlenecks and optimize their workflow at their factory, something they probably couldn’t have focused on if they were at 100% full speed production ramp. I think their biggest struggle will be making sure their service centers and mobile technicians are prepared for the increase in Tesla ownership throughout the country with the deliveries of the Model Y. Service is definitely something to consider when purchasing a car for the long term. I’ve owned a Model 3 for two years and so far the service has been minimal but we’ll see how it continues. I also believe that this pandemic will lead to people wanting to live a more “green” and healthy lifestyle, and when people do that it may lead to more people getting interested in Teslas and going solar which will in turn help Tesla succeed in the long run.
So is it dumb to buy a Tesla right now? Well, if you absolutely need a car, if you can afford it even if you lose your job temporarily, and if you plan to keep it for a long time then no it’s absolutely not dumb in my opinion. In fact if all of those things apply to you it’s probably smart to buy a Tesla given everything we talked about.
I’m still planning to go through with my Model Y purchase as of now. I’m patiently waiting for Tesla to notify me of my delivery date. Stay tuned and subscribe so you don’t miss my upcoming videos. I hope you’re doing well through all this. Stay safe and best of luck with your decision. Let me know what you’re planning to do in the comments below. Thank you for watching. My name is Andy, and I’ll talk to you in the next one.
One of the biggest problems with Tesla vehicles up to this point may have just been fixed with this new feature on the Model Y that Tesla decided to hide from us until now. Let’s talk about it.
Tupac once said “California knows how to party” but what about the rest of the country? See, Tesla vehicles are made in California, and many people have claimed that Teslas are designed with the typical California climate in mind, where it’s pretty much warm year round. So when someone like me who lives in the Midwest where it gets below freezing in the winter, driving a Tesla can be somewhat scary because of “range anxiety” which means you’re worried about running out of battery before reaching your destination.
In cold winter conditions an electric vehicle can lose up to 40% or more of its estimated range. In February I was on a road trip in my Model 3 and lost 50% of my estimated range while driving highway speeds when it was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside. I pulled in my driveway with 4 miles of estimated range remaining. I had a little range anxiety.
But why do electric vehicles lose so much range in cold temperatures? It’s mostly due to three things: colder air which means more drag, energy loss from heating the battery, and the energy used to warm up the vehicle’s cabin. All Tesla vehicles prior to Model Y, warm the cabin through something called a resistive heating system where electricity is sent through a resistive heating element, which creates heat that’s blown out of the air vents. A resistive heating system does not produce heat unless the heat is turned on. Think of it like you’re running a space heater that’s plugged into the wall in your house. It’s immediate heat as soon as it’s turned on. This is unlike in a gasoline vehicle which uses some of its waste heat to heat the cabin.
An electric car doesn’t have as much waste heat as an internal combustion engine vehicle which is why resistive heating is commonly used. This means for an EV (like my Model 3) to warm up the cabin, energy from the battery must be used which of course decreases the estimated range. An interesting thing to know, however, is electric resistance heating is considered 100% energy efficient in the sense that all the incoming electric energy is converted to heat. For example, in the Model 3, S, and X, one unit of electricity turns into an equal unit of heat thus 100% efficiency.
So you may be thinking: Well it doesn’t get any better than 100% efficiency, right? Well, actually there is something better. It’s called magic. No not really. It’s called a heat pump, and the Model Y is the first Tesla to have one. In the manual it says “Model Y uses a heat pump to maximize efficiency; therefore, your air conditioning compressor and external fan may run and make noise even when the outside temperature is cold and your vehicle is heating or Supercharging”
So what is a heat pump and how is it better than resistance heating? A heat pump can be thought of as an air conditioner that has the ability to work in reverse. An air conditioner works by using refrigerant to trap the heat inside of an area, then move it outside. A heat pump works in exactly the same way, only it has a reversing valve which allows it to reverse the flow of the refrigerant and heat an area when it’s cold out.
Heat pumps help efficiency because they move heat rather than generate it. The electricity is used by the compressor to send refrigerant around the system and capture the heat from outside, then bring it inside. It can do this because the refrigerant has an extremely low boiling point. And the best part is a heat pump can typically produce around 3kW of thermal energy for every 1kW of electrical energy resulting in an “efficiency” of 300%. I used air quotes for efficiency because according to the law of physics it’s impossible to have an efficiency greater than 100% because you can’t create energy from nothing. So instead, it’s expressed as a Coefficient of Performance or (COP) rather than efficiency.
So this “300% efficiency” sounds awesome, right? Well, there’s a catch. Heat pumps are usually not effective below a certain temperature range and typically don’t work well in extremely cold temperatures. However, heat pump technology has recently improved, and in some cases can be rated for outdoor temperatures as low as -4°F. So why is the Model Y’s heat pump so important? Well, as you can guess by now, a heat pump should be able to heat the cabin while using less energy which should lead to longer battery range when driving in cold temperatures compared to all the other Tesla models. This is a huge advantage! Actually an article by GreenCarReports claimed that in New York City at 14 degrees, an EV’s heat-pump-based system offered up to a 30 percent improvement in driving range. It’ll be interesting to see how the Model Y winter range improves compared to the other Tesla models. The only downside to a heat pump is it’s slower to heat compared to resistive heating.
Even though the Model Y is the first Tesla to have a heat pump, some other EVs including the Nissan Leaf have already had it as an option for a while now. So if heat pumps are really that much better than resistive heating, why didn’t Tesla implement this before the Model Y? Most likely it was because a heat pump adds cost, complexity, and weight. But for a Tesla, which already has an air conditioner, a heat pump seems like a no-brainer because the added complexity would be pretty minimal. And it seems with the Model Y Tesla finally decided that it was worth it. After all, Teslas are going out to all parts of the world where there are actual real winters instead of just sunny California.
I guess the biggest questions now are: where does the heat come from in the Model Y heat pump and does the Model Y always use a heat pump or does it alternate between heat pump and resistance heating? From the Model Y manual it looks like it could be taking excess heat from the motor and battery, which would probably make it efficient even in extremely cold temperatures which would be nice. Teslas already have the ability to use the motors to heat the battery, and if the heat pump is powerful enough it can potentially heat both the battery and the cabin.
Either way, I can’t wait to see how the Model Y handles driving in the winter. It sounds like it will be the best Tesla for that task. I can’t wait to get mine and I’ll be doing a lot of videos about it so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out on those. What do you think about this new feature? Let me know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video please be sure to give it a thumbs up. My name is Andy. Thank you for watching and I’ll talk to you in the next one.
The Model Y is Tesla’s latest vehicle, and it’s the most hyped electric car since its predecessor the Model 3. In 2017 I did the complete guide to the Model 3 and in it I said that the Model 3 is the iPhone 3G of cars. Well if that’s true then the Model Y, in this context, is like the iPhone 5. A little bigger. A little newer. Big thanks to Audible for sponsoring today’s video.
Many people are saying the Model Y will be more successful than the Model 3, and guess what? Model Y hits the road this month in March 2020 so in this video I’ll go over everything you need to know.
The Model Y is an all-electric mid-size SUV. That’s what Tesla calls it, but from what we know so far it’s more of a compact crossover vehicle. It’s basically a slightly larger hatchback version of the Model 3, and it was announced one year ago. I was lucky enough to attend the unveil event and even got to ride in it, and of course I reserved one immediately after the test ride so make sure you subscribe to my channel to see my full review when I release that. The Model Y is based on the Model 3 sedan platform so it looks very similar to the Model 3, and they share about 80% of the same components, but there are some key differences.
The Model Y comes in three versions: Performance, Long Range, and Standard Range. If you want a Model Y in 2020 you have to choose from the Dual Motor All Wheel Drive options which is either the Performance or Long Range because the Standard Range won’t be produced until 2021.
The Standard Range should start around $40,000 with a range of 230 miles and a 0-60 speed of 5.9 seconds. But keep in mind Tesla has a tendency to make the specs even better than what they initially announced, just like they did with the AWD variants of the Model Y.
Long Range Model Y starts just above $54,000 after factoring in the required $1200 destination fee, and the Performance Model Y starts just above $62,000. Both of these have an estimated range of 315 miles which makes the Model Y the most energy efficient electric SUV in the world. I will go ahead and assume the Performance will not get as good of a range as the Long Range so if you are considering buying a Model Y I would highly recommend getting the Long Range instead of the Performance. That way you’re saving money and most likely getting better range.
The Long Range goes 0-60 in 4.8 seconds while the Performance does it in 3.5 seconds so both are obviously very quick. If you choose a Performance model you can get the optional Performance upgrade package which includes 21” Überturbine wheels, increased top speed, lowered suspension, and aluminum alloy pedals, but by doing that the estimated range drops to 280 miles. If you know me I’m always recommending the longest range possible for people looking to buy an EV.
When it comes to color options, the base color white is included at no cost but if you want a different color: black, blue, midnight silver, or red you’ll pay anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 depending on your choice. The base wheels included at no cost are 19” Gemini wheels which look to be similar to the Model 3 Aero wheels in the sense that the caps should be able to be easily removed to reveal a standard good looking rim underneath.
If you want 20” induction wheels it costs an extra $2,000. The base interior color is black at no cost, but if you want to upgrade to white interior that costs $1,000. The five seat interior is included as a base feature at no cost and each second row seat folds flat independently which is nice. You can choose to upgrade to the third row seven seat option for $3,000 but that won’t be available until 2021.
All Teslas, including Model Y, come standard with Autopilot at no cost which enables the car to steer, accelerate, and brake automatically for other vehicles and pedestrians within its lane. All Model Ys come standard with Tesla’s latest internal hardware 3.0 computer, and all new Teslas in general come standard with driver assistance features such as emergency braking, collision warning, and blind-spot monitoring.
All Model Ys have multiple 360° cameras, a forward facing radar that provides a long-range view of distant objects, and 12 Ultrasonic Sensors to detect nearby cars, prevent potential collisions, and assist with parking. The Full Self Driving software option costs $7,000 at time of order and gives you some more features such as automatic driving from highway on-ramp to off-ramp including interchanges and overtaking slower cars, automatic lane changes while driving on the highway, Autopark, and Summon.
Full Self Driving option also includes features that Tesla says are coming later this year like recognizing and responding to traffic lights and stop signs, and automatic driving on city streets. This is not set in stone because it has been delayed before, but of course, if you have the Full Self Driving option your car will drive itself in the future when Tesla finalizes and releases the update and when it is legal to do so which may be a long time from now.
However, since it is a software option, Full Self Driving can be purchased later on at any time. Although Tesla says the price will likely increase as time goes by. And finally you can place an order for a Model Y online at any time, but it does require a nonrefundable $100 deposit.
Which configuration is getting delivered first? Well, there’s no exact answer, but usually Tesla will deliver the most expensive configurations first. What I’ve seen so far are people who have ordered the Performance with black interior, 20″ wheels, five seat option, and full self driving seem to be among the first to get their emails to schedule delivery this month. It’s also based on first come first serve so the people who ordered on Day 1 should be ahead in line, and Tesla may also do what they did for the Model 3 deliveries and deliver the west coast orders first before the midwest and east coast.
If you’re wondering about my configuration, I placed an order on day 1 for a white Long Range All-Wheel Drive with 19’’ Wheels, Black Interior, Five Seat option with basic Autopilot. I’m holding off on Full Self Driving since I already have it on my Model 3. I’ll plan to bite the bullet and pay for FSD when it’s actually released even if it does cost more. I still haven’t gotten my email to schedule delivery. Hopefully soon.
If you’re like me and you’re itching to test drive a Model Y and your nearest Tesla store doesn’t have one yet, check out Turo. That’s what I had to do two years ago with the Model 3. No Tesla stores had the Model 3 to test drive so I rented one on Turo and it was a great experience.
Some of the Model Y’s biggest advantages over the Model 3 include the hatchback that has a powered lift gate compared to the manual trunk in the Model 3, the Model Y’s front trunk and split-folding second-row seats provide a total of 66 cubic feet of storage space which is much more than the 15 cubic feet in the Model 3, the all-glass panoramic roof which is similar to that in the Model X since the Model Y lacks the crossbar that the Model 3 has, and the 3rd row seating option that can seat 7 adults.
I’m a tall guy and I don’t know how much confidence I have in me being able to sit comfortably in the 3rd row seat, but we’ll have to wait and find out. Also the Model Y supposedly has 2 under-storage compartments in the trunk compared to just one in the Model 3. A slight difference in the exterior design compared to the Model 3 is instead of the chrome trim, the Model Y has a blacked out trim so good news for those who were planning to do a chrome delete on their Model Y you don’t have to.
There are still some questions surrounding the Model Y. It seems a tow hitch has been spotted on one of the Model Y’s but we don’t know if it will be a standard feature yet. Tesla still hasn’t released the exact measurements of the Model Y, and ground clearance was a big question but it seems the ground clearance is around 7″. For comparison, the best selling crossover, the Toyota Rav 4, has a ground clearance of 8.4″.
As a Model 3 owner who has briefly ridden in the Model Y, a simple explanation of my experience is that it’s almost exactly the same as being in a Model 3 except you’re sitting up higher with a better vantage point and viewing experience. The Model Y is a little taller and the seats are elevated and it has that panoramic glass roof without the crossbar, but other than that it’s pretty much the same as the Model 3. It has the same minimalist interior design with the 15” touch screen that controls almost everything about the car, along with the same steering wheel design, the same dash, and the same seats.
The premium interior consists of 12-way power adjustable front and rear heated seats along with premium audio system including 14 speakers, 1 subwoofer, 2 amps, and immersive sound. It comes with 1 year of Premium Connectivity of LTE data which includes: Satellite maps with live traffic visuals, internet streaming music and media, Video streaming, Caraoke, and an internet browser. After one year, premium connectivity costs $10/month.
Included in all models with premium interior are: Bluetooth streaming, LED fog lamps, Tinted glass roof with ultraviolet and infrared protection, Power folding heated side mirrors, Custom driver profiles, and a center console with 4 USB ports and docking for 2 smartphones. So besides the back seats, the interior is pretty much identical to the Model 3.
Also like the Model 3, the Model Y requires no keys but instead uses your smartphone as a wireless key for seamless entry and exit. When you walk up to the car with your smartphone in your pocket it will automatically unlock and when you walk away it will automatically lock. A key card will come with the Model Y as a backup entry method when smartphone entry via Bluetooth is not available. You can also use the Tesla Mobile app for controlling aspects of your car from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection or via Bluetooth if you’re in close proximity of the car.
For charging, the Model Y comes with Tesla’s mobile connector that includes a 20-foot long cable to charge at home which will most likely get about 5 miles of range per hour of charge on a standard outlet. If you want faster charging speed at home you have a few different options. A popular option is to install a NEMA 1450 outlet which will get about 30 miles of range per hour of charge but you will need to order the NEMA 1450 adapter from Tesla for $35.
For road trips and traveling long distances, Model Y is of course compatible with Tesla’s Supercharger network of more than 16,000 Superchargers in 36 countries, as well as the new V3 Superchargers which can charge at rates up to 1,000 miles per hour. That’s a huge benefit compared to older Tesla vehicles that aren’t compatible with those newer V3 Superchargers. Supercharging is not free. The fee is based on either how long you charge or how much power you pull while charging, and this depends on the Supercharger location.
I would say you could use my referral link to get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging when you order your Model Y but Tesla hasn’t made Model Y orders eligible for referrals. If Tesla enables this I will be sure to leave my referral link in the description below so you can get your free Supercharging or feel free to use anyone else’s referral link, it doesn’t have to be mine. Either way, Supercharging will charge your Model Y extremely fast to get you back on the road quickly and it costs much less than gas.
Of course like every Tesla, the Model Y is designed to be the safest vehicle in its class due to the low center of gravity, rigid body structure and large crumple zones. And it comes with a built-in WiFi connection so it can download Tesla’s free software updates as Tesla releases them via your home’s WiFi network. These over the air software updates allows your car to get even better as it gets older which is incredible and a huge benefit of owning a Tesla.
The big question is: how quickly can Tesla ramp production for the Model Y and get them out to customers as soon as possible. This will determine how much it impacts the current crossover hatchback market in 2020. Of course when I get mine I will be doing all kinds of videos about it and comparing it to my Model 3 so be sure to subscribe to stay up to date on my latest videos. What do you think of the Model Y? Are you going to get one? Do you think it’s ugly? Let me know in the comments below!
