# Model 3 as Delivery Vehicle



## tencate (Jan 11, 2018)

Max and I have been taking part in an experiment. A friend of mine runs a small French cafe here and when we were issued "stay at home" orders, he immediately set out to convert his cafe to a Dominos-style delivery service. Think of getting French crepes, fresh croissants, desserts, etc delivered right to you door. Well, he wasn't sure how well it would work out, and how much driving would be necessary, logistics, etc. so naturally I volunteered my time and Max to get some data for him for the past few weeks. Charging is free at county chargers so the experiment wouldn't cost me anything and I got to see how a Model 3 worked as a delivery vehicle.

Short answer? Awesome! A typical day is about 150 miles with a couple of 200 mile days. One delivery every 25 minutes or so. The Navigation is second to none, having that big screen instead of using a phone and Google maps for navigation (like the other driver is using) is a dream. And the efficiency? I'm using about 25 to 30 kWh a day with an average efficiency of 175 Wh/mile (and that's with my snow tires on). That equates roughly to a range over 400 miles for deliveries. The car seems to be having fun too, it seems effortless to zoom from one delivery to the next.

Pretty neat. Now he's got delivery data and hired a couple of new drivers and seems to be making it all work (yay!). My experiment is about over but it was fun and thought I'd report my experience here. Pretty fun even if it was LOTS of driving.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

Pretty cool - and take this another level - if the Robo Taxi becomes reality. Your friend throws the delivery in the car - hits send from his POS system inside the store and the car is off. When it arrives at the destination, it unlocks and the customer retrievers their order.

This could be enhanced easily with some sort of keypad or recognition system on the exterior of the car, so that only the customer would know the code (that changes for every delivery) and would be able to retrieve their order. Then the car takes off to its next delivery in the queue. 

He might own his own taxi, or his POS system just ties in and those cars roaming the street show up as needed for his next delivery.

PS - I truly am one of those people that love the FSD aspect of these cars, but think it will truly be several years before we see it widespread in a manned car, much less unmanned.


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## orekart (Nov 15, 2018)

In case you were looking for something to keep things cold:

The Dometic CFX35 sort of fits in the Model 3 trunk but you can't access it with the sedan style rear trunk hatch; at least one of those rear seats needs to be folded down and the unit slid into the passenger area and even then it's awkward. Also trying to route 12V accessory power is something that takes a bit more effort than simply plugging in what it comes with, as you need an extension and the arm rest doesn't sit flush when there is an AUX12V cable hanging out. I think it's a good size unit though it would possibly be a better fit in the Model Y than the Model 3.


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## tencate (Jan 11, 2018)

GDN said:


> PS - I truly am one of those people that love the FSD aspect of these cars, but think it will truly be several years before we see it widespread in a manned car, much less unmanned.


So, I didn't mention that aspect of my experiment but I think I let the car "drive" about 80% of the time. Max hates the roundabout, he can't figure out how to do it, and there's one place in town where there's a 90 degree turn that's not very well marked, and once you get deep into neighborhoods, there are generally no lines painted on the roads and some streets packed with parked cars both sides and you have to pull in to a gap to let an oncoming car by. I have to be in complete control once I'm deep in a neighborhood and I expect those to be the biggest challenge to the whole taxi/delivery thing.

Having said that, it _is_ truly remarkable how well it DOES do! Especially compared EA of just two years ago. Can't wait for it to stop at traffic lights and stop signs! To me that'll be a _major_ step forward. Letting the car do most of the driving while I listen to podcasts and music is pretty darn nice. Max even observes the speed limit for me. (When I drive my speed often gets a little "out of control" at times)


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## denouche (Apr 25, 2020)

Really nice idea, and very cool to help your friend during this period. 
I'm in France, if I may, crêpes are even better with a fresh Belgium beer :beermug: :innocent:
Well done, and good luck for your friend business.


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