Opinions On Charging

Same battery technology, same or similar charging cycles and voltage regulation.  Even if the charger is plugged into a surge protector (and I'll bet yours isn't) I would only worry about it being plugged in during stormy weather.

Yes, what Wizard said...;)

I've read that keeping a laptop plugged in all the time & not letting the battery discharge at least occasionally will decrease both battery time-to-recharge and overall battery life.  My daily routine for years has involved keeping the laptop plugged in all the time and that has indeed been my experience.  On the rare occasion I need to run on battery a while, it fully discharges quicker & quicker over time.  Eventually gets to where it will barely fully boot on battery.  It would probably be smart to physically remove the battery until needed and/or designate one day a week or so to let it discharge the battery, but I've not been clever enough to incorporate either into my routine.

Also recently read that keeping the charge between ~20% & 80%, never letting get to 100%, prolongs battery life.  YMMV.

There is a limit on how many times you can charge it. Ideally you want to fully discharge the battery (let your device die or 1%) then fully charge it for maximum battery life. Also not tablet related but Apple had reports of some of their iPhones 6s fatally electrocuting people...

I own a car that is powered by the same cells that are likely to be in your laptop battery. Literally. The best strategy for battery longevity in these cells is to charge to 90% and never fully discharge the cells. They like being in the 20-80% range. Now, given that isn't all that possible, you are better off charging to 100 than fully discharging. My vehicle manufacturer suggests keeping it plugged in when not in use (though the car has a lot of battery management your tablet probably doesn't have that lets you set the max state of charge, when to start charging, and will not try to charge unless needed.)

Bottom line: My understanding is with lithium ion you are likely to replace/upgrade the device before charge cycles become a problem if you keep it plugged in unless "on the road."

Agreed, it's not necessary to discharge lithium ion batteries (no memory like on older types).

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-tips-for-extending-lithium-ion-battery-life/

A Tesla?

If I had the coin I'd get one of those....;)

The batteries in my last two laptops have been lithium ion.  They have demonstrated the behavior I described.  The longer I go continuously on external power, the quicker the battery discharges when not on AC.  As I said, YMMV.

One went toasty just last week, I think.  Getting fire insurance on them is a bitch, but if you've got the coin for one, you probably don't need the insurance.

Yes....just saw the report....and the comment that the US alone has 100,000 car fires a year that no-one bats an eye-lid over.

ALL cars can burn...if I had a Tesla I'd just keep a pair of 'KERS gloves' that Terry is issued with each year at the GrandPrix [to prevent electrocution] ...;)

Haha thanks

I've had my Toshiba a year and a half now without any problems. Usually the battery lasts up to three hours and only occasionally do I let it fully discharge. When recharging it is swift, less than one hour. My experience is to let the battery discharge to one percent then to fully recharge it. I keep it plugged in when using it and rarely use the battery itself. 

Jim..

Don't give it a second thought. Just plug 'er in!

Doc is Jim posing for these shots, if not you're getting good.

Just wait 2 years and get a magnetic resonance charger. It'll be all the rage.

http://www.idt.com/products/power-management/wireless-power-transmitter-and-receiver-solutions/wireless-power-magnetic-resonance

Yes.

All cars can have fires as Jafo pointed out. But how many warn the driver to pull over and stop before the fire is even apparent? That Tesla that you saw burning did exactly that.

And getting insurance for them isn't hard, in fact I was surprised at how little I had to pay for it. (It was entirely consistent with the rates for any comparably priced gas or diesel engine vehicle.)

Sorry for the semi-hijack of the thread, it is why I didn't mention the car make in my initial reply

So far, none of my li-ion laptops have lit up, even when dropped.

Don't get me wrong.  There are two Tesla's in my neck of the woods, one white, one black.  They are suhWEEET!  If I had the jack, I'd seriously think about one, but my current wet dream is an Audi 8.

I'd be very happy with a 2013 Chevy Camaro, or a 2013 Dodge Challenger. 

Or a 1957 Chevy.

Well...we've wandered off-topic...but so has RND...;)

Every car I have ever owned FIRST gets one specific 'extra' - an extinguisher.  Best place for it is just infront of the driver's seat...on the floor - accessible in an instant.

Reason I do so is the 38 years in the Motor Racing game.  You get to see quite a few BBQs in that time.  Most recent one I saw [on telly] was Webber's Red Bull.  It fried itself quite well....thanks to somewhat 'tardy' response from the officials [Korea is relatively new to the game of F1 - frustrating thing is many of them were trained by us in the Aussie GP].

A great annecdote was in Adelaide when those yellow extinguishers were being universally outlawed [BCF] thanks to them affecting the ozone layer.  We were still allowed to use them - IF the situation was life threatening....so Ron Dennis told Senna to stay IN the car if it lit up...so the BCF would be used....instead of Dry Chem or Foam ...as both of those can ruin an engine requiring a full rebuild....;)

Well, I think I got enough opinions on charging.

I even watched the "charging" video on the Tesla site. Man, that's a car! Costs more than my house did!

http://www.teslamotors.com/models/walkthrough

Of course...it's just one-of-those-things that the 'outlawed' extinguisher would probably be the BEST one to use on a Tesla fire.  It's 100% inert [you can breathe it [but not too long! -it's an oxygen displacer] and non-conductive...;)