I found this idea on Treehugger.com of eventually using my old Tesla battery on the grid intriguing.

Would be really nice if someday when by battery capacity got low, I could hook it up to my solar panels.  The battery could serve as a backup storage during peak usage periods when electricity costs more, or during a power outage.

I would love to at least be able to send my battery to a “reuse station” somewhere on the public grid instead of in some sort of recycle station or trash heap.

The clever European owner I have mentioned on this blog before has also successfully used his Roadster to haul a large piece of lumber.

When There is Not Enough Room in the Trunk

At 23,000 miles I bought the third pair of rear tires.  A little early but it was already in the shop to check on the  Fatal Software Error.  I have been traveling regularly on a curvy windy and dangerous highway at reasonably high speeds and didn’t want to have marginal  tires.

Since the Tesla is such a small car, I found myself in a parking lot watching someone back into me through the rear view window.  I saw them backing into me and honked.  Fortunately they hit my bumper at only 1 or 2 mph.  With the fabulous bumper technology today, neither car had any damage at all – not even a tiny scratch.  The biggest lesson is how invisible the Tesla can be to other drivers.

The Offender

The Roadster was a bit dirty but not even the tiniest scratch.

Not Even the Smallest Scratch

Turns out not just my electric car needs to be plugged in, but at times my Hybrid does too.  They hybrid battery drains faster than a conventional gas powered car when not driven.  Over the Highlander’s six years, I have arrived home from a trip to find my battery dead.  Both times, I needed to replace the battery.  Since then, I bought a little gizmo that just keeps the battery running when not in use.