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289 Comments
- oboy, on 10/28/2009, -8/+236We're going to look back on this in 5 years and say, "Remember when 300 miles on a charge was a lot?"
It's sort of like "Remember when an 8 MB USB drive was a lot?"
Still, it's great to see that we're heading in the right direction. - DaigojiGai, on 10/28/2009, -1/+89Wow! We are making progress away from fossil fuels, so exciting... Bravo Simon Hackett, Bravo!
- badqat, on 10/28/2009, -2/+77Battery technology should be on the forefront of scientific research. It's the only way we're going make a breakthrough.
- rizzo2008, on 10/28/2009, -0/+47It will probably be longer...remember he only squeezed out 313 miles being very careful and driving economically.
The normal range of most electric vehicles falls between 150-250 miles which is still nowhere near the 300-500 miles you get on a typical tank of gasoline. - ponzihoff, on 10/28/2009, -2/+47313 miles is great and all, but how long does it take to recharge the battery?
- MCA2142, on 10/29/2009, -0/+43It's over-night for a standard power outlet. NOT an hour.
- centran, on 10/29/2009, -0/+38If you just plugged it into a ordinary US outlet then it would take 62.6 hours to charge.
With the Home connector that you are supposed to get and have an electrician install it would take 5.5 hours to charge.
There is also an in-between connector that allows you to plug into a 220 outlet which most homes will have because almost every modern dryer needs 220. The charge time on that outlet would be 9.8 hours.
It is possible to get the charge time to under a 10 minutes but that requires special batteries which are ridiculously expensive. There is also the problem that if super quick charges became common place then our power grid will not be able to handle such tremendous draws on it. - mine4321, on 10/29/2009, -3/+36And someday a "battery malfunction" will take on a whole new meaning as in "Today a car battery malfunction killed 37 people and leveled a city block..."
- tgc1, on 10/29/2009, -1/+33I, personally, can't wait to get an electric car. The only thing i'll miss is the grunts from the engine, shifting, rev matching and down shifts. That's it. For the most part, Electric cars will all be automatic. And they have instantaneous power available from 0RPM. Unlike the Internal Combustion Engine.
In the future, people will take their fossil fuel powered vehicles out on the weekends. Sure, fuel will be insanely ***** expensive. But it won't matter by then. Everything will be electric. - yocouchdigga, on 10/29/2009, -1/+32Can't wait for the S to be on the market and to start seeing some damn charging stations around. The sooner we end our reliance on these outdated, dirty energy systems the better. It's time to move on.
- jimi1337, on 10/29/2009, -1/+31I hate to be the dick here, but wouldn't they have gotten further if two fat dudes hadn't been riding in the car?
- Nerys, on 10/29/2009, -4/+30OK let me get this straight. FIRST I don't like lithium too expensive too short lived so I am going to compare with MY preferred battery. the E95 NIMh battery pack.
let me get this straight. ON one hand you have ONE SINGLE BATTERY PACK
good for 25+ YEARS (average 11,000 miles a year lifespan in EXCESS of 250,000 miles to 80% SOC) costing $4500 and $5000 in electricity over that 25+ years
and your COMPARING THAT UNFAVORABLY to the FOLLOWING
2 car engines, 2 Transmissions. all accessories x2, exhaust system x2 , fuel system, Smog system, Emissions system, ECU's, Sensors, Cooling system, + the needed coolant over 25 years of driving the needed OIL over 25 years of driving the needed power steering and transmission fluid over 25 years of driving AND let us not forget the 12,500 GALLONS of gasoline the typical american will use over 25 years AND ALL the Parts OIL DIESEL ENGINES ETC in all the TRUCKS DELIVERING that 12,500 gallons of gasoline for you to burn over 25 years. ALL OF WHICH IS NOT NEEDED IN A PURE Battery Electric Vehicle.
your comparing ALL THAT GOD DAMNED ***** to a SINGLE MOTHER ***** BATTERY?
what mother ***** planet where you born on?
I think the god damned OIL YOU WILL FEED YOUR CAR OVER 25 YEARS OF DRIVING IS WORSE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT THAN THE SINGLE STINKING BATTERY YOU WILL USE.
MY GOD I AM SO SICK OF HEARING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF A SINGLE MOTHER ***** BATTERY WHEN COMPARED TO ALL THE ***** THAT YOU WILL KEEP OUT OF THE ENVIRONMENT BY USING THAT BATTERY.
I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THESE MOTHER ***** WHINERS COMPLAINING ABOUT MY MOTHER ***** BATTERY - hereticoftruth, on 10/29/2009, -3/+26I am glad that Tesla is taking electric car technology seriously. They are still too expensive for me but they are not wimping out on practicality like so many other wannabes. Once they can go 500 miles at 55mph and can be bought for about $35,000, most gas cars would become obsolete. And many gas stations would go out of business.
- trolleyfan, on 10/29/2009, -1/+23"It will be less time, I guarantee it. We will have electric cars that will run for at least 500 miles within three years. Maybe not at the consumer level but close enough."
If by "close enough" you mean with a power storage system (probably *not* batteries) that costs between $100,000 and $1 Million then, yes, we might have that. Maybe.
See you in three years (it's already on my iCal)... - peteyb1313, on 10/29/2009, -1/+21Why you gotta hate on my 8MB USB drive?
- androothebear, on 10/29/2009, -2/+21still. i dont mind plugging my car in at night if it means i can avoid the gas station all together, obvious choice.
- Hiwnes, on 10/29/2009, -2/+21Or for that matter, how many cycles before you're at half capacity? Replacing large banks of toxic batteries isn't very green or cheap. =/
- Nerys, on 10/29/2009, -2/+20I can do it at 500 miles for less than the cost of 2 tesla's
just shove TWO tesla batteries in a pickup truck frame. THERE 500 mile range car
irrlevant to me though. HERE is how our government should have spent the money.
Instead of giving 500mill to tesla and 500mill to fiskars to make USELESS never going to save anyone a penny in gasoline hybrids.
VOID the chevron NIMH patent
give tesla 500 mil and fiskers 500mil and say MAKE a battery plant here and START CRANKING OUT the $4500 E95 NIMH batteries in $15,000 cars. (VERY VERY doable full retail NO incentives No vouchers NO clunkers rebates)
THAT is what I want to see done. - Ebacherville, on 10/29/2009, -0/+18The charging time issue is simple.. Just like on RC car.. MAKE THE BATTERY PACK EASILY REMOVABLE.. and have swap stations where you buy a fully charged battery pack.. JUST LIKE PROPANE BOTTLES..
They could easly make the battery be removed by a simple robot.. hell the cars now adays are assembled and built by robots .. making a removable battery isnt that complex..
Pull into a "charge station".. like a automated car wash.. pull up to it it tell you to stop.. the robot slided under the car swaps the battery pack and your on your way.. after you get bombarded by some great deals on a LCD in front of your care thats got some deals of the day inside the station.
This isn't hard and we easily have the technology to do this.. all Tesla needs to do is partner with a station brand to get battery swap stations out there.
However one other easy solution, because most people don't do near or over 300 miles a day.. for longer trips is a trailer that's got a gen set on it to make it a hybrid. SImple and effective.. and used only when you need to do 300+ miles a day.. like vacations maybe.. and gas stations could rent them by the day or something. - Prism123, on 10/29/2009, -0/+15while I'll give you the batteries being toxic and taking energy to produce parts, even if the energy comes from dirty sources, such as coal. A small thousand dollar ICE is far less efficient than a large multimillion dollar power plant, and not 100% of the energy comes from coal. Plus batters can be recycled or disposed of properly whereas we don't yet have a good method for sequestering all the CO2 from the ICEs out of the atmosphere. Furthermore coal is still abundant enough in regions of the world that are more politically stable to cover the demand for it from the developed world, so it would reduce the demand for middle eastern oil, which is always a plus. And we could save the oil for other things like making polymers.
- videographer, on 10/29/2009, -2/+171: Lithium batteries, if you choose to use them, aren't toxic.
2: Almost all other battery chemistries, including good old lead-acid, are recyclable. - geoboy, on 10/29/2009, -1/+15Because my 16MB USB drive holds twice as much as yours!
- fbmx, on 10/29/2009, -1/+15The grid manages to handle hundreds of factories, probably thousands around my city alone, all turning on their machines and starting work, all at around 7:30am every weekday morning.
- lifeasariver, on 10/29/2009, -0/+13The Chevron NIMH patent will expire in 2014
- Leezus, on 10/29/2009, -0/+13I'd be impressed even if it blew up.\
*****, who am I kidding. BECAUSE it blew up. - robertisaar, on 10/29/2009, -1/+13i'll be impressed when a battery of that capacity can be charged in 60 seconds and not blow the ***** up.
- Prism123, on 10/29/2009, -1/+13its not exactly the same thing. Storing more power in the same amount of space is more difficult and has less obvious solutions than fitting more transistors into the same space.
- yocouchdigga, on 10/29/2009, -1/+13Bravo Tesla!
- Fantom, on 10/29/2009, -0/+12Simon's come a long way from creating the first internet toaster 20 years ago:
http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ia_myths_toast.htm
Internode FTW :) - gr4yscale, on 10/29/2009, -0/+11haha Nerys just flipped towards the end, look at that...goddamn!
- crazzy88ss, on 10/29/2009, -1/+12at $35,000? Most cars would NOT go obsolete at that price.
- Nerys, on 10/29/2009, -1/+12NOT MY electric car. I very specifically want an electric car with NO transmission. not quite as efficient as the 1 or 2 speed trannies they are using now but the current breed of electric motors DOES have enough torque to go DIRECT DRIVE with no transmission. Thats how I want it. (you see I am also thinking about long term maintenance and how long it will last as well as fuel savings)
Power steering is replaced with an electric motor (no fluids) AC and heat are replaced with an Electric Motor (heat pump) no fluids. (except freon off course)
Hmm WIND power is from the air and SOLAR power goes THROUGH the air. :-) Solar panels last 30-40 years.
and you can't ignore that an EV uses SIGNIFICANT LESS power than a gasoline car so while YES pollution is transferred to a power plant the amount transferred is so small that it can be IGNORED in face of the benefits. also I firmly believe the electricity currently use in the "fuel" industry to get the gallons of gasoline into our tanks is GREATER than the electricity we will use in electric cars. so net power usage will actually go DOWN not UP.
There is not enough arable land on the ENTIRE PLANET to supply our fuel needs with bio diesel and any savings would be instantly offset by massive increases in other costs (such as food) plus they still pollute and pollute far more than an EV does. they are only slightly cleaner than a gasoline car.
what you forget is that this transfer of energy production is NOT EQUAL.
we are eliminating the gasoline engine and transferring a microscopic portion of its pollution to power plants. People seem to have this nutsy idea that is a car produces X amount of pollution so if we go EV X pollution gets transfered to the power plant.
Electricity in electric motors is 89% efficient (grid to wheels)
a gasoline car is less than 2% efficient.
I see 20-24% touted all the time for the efficiency of ICE engines but this number is distorted.
2% of the energy potential in gasoline is converted to HEAT of that 2% 20-25% of it is converted into physical motion.
so in reality if you pumped 100 watts into the family gas car less than 2 watts would actually make it to the wheels.
while with an electric car 89 of the 100 watts would make it to the wheels. NOT EVEN A CLOSE comparison of pollution transfer.
Turn on an electric space heater for 8 hours. you just used MORE POWER than your electric car will use to drive 100 miles (think small mid size sedan electric car obvious the bigger heavier faster ev's will use more power just like there gas counterparts) - rompom7, on 10/29/2009, -3/+14What?
Driving around with a tank full of highly flammable and explosive petroleum is more safe?
You are joking right? - MonkeyFit, on 10/29/2009, -3/+13Well, until your electricity bill comes anyways. :)
- BluesFan, on 10/29/2009, -1/+11Bring on the Model S it is expensive but it is a sexy looking car inside and out.
http://www.ridelust.com/wp-content/uploads/tesla_m ...
http://peakoilgarage.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/t ... - HappyScrappy, on 10/29/2009, -4/+13There's nothing amazing about this. Drive slow enough and it'll do 400 miles.
- bdbr, on 10/29/2009, -0/+9I hear the performance "blows".
- Nerys, on 10/29/2009, -0/+9I'll be impressed when you can fill your 20 gallon gas tank in 60 seconds.
- Leezus, on 10/29/2009, -0/+9God damn, I love science!
- Nerys, on 10/29/2009, -0/+9but lets say for a moment we did not. IN FACT lets up the anty and say we convert ALL our power plants to nasty coal (only 54% of our power comes from coal NONE from oil)
EV's are so stinking efficient at what they do that pollution would go down by STAGGERING QUANTITIES. MORE than any country has promised to drop in the next 100 years not to speak of 10 years.
PLUS once our infrastructure is centered around ELECTRIC CARS everything else will fall into place. IF I got an electric car the first thing I would do is cough up $2700 to put a modest solar panel on my roof so my car uses ZERO power from the grid overall. - Fantom, on 10/29/2009, -1/+9Why just Americans?
- Nerys, on 10/29/2009, -1/+9the draws are not tremendous even for a 10 minute charge. that is a myth.
- juzz101, on 10/29/2009, -0/+8Simon Hackett and his ISP (Internode) have done alot for Australia and the wider Internet/Broadband community. Its great to see him put his talents to use in other ways as well!
- BigT383, on 10/29/2009, -0/+8@centran - the solution to power grid draw is to have 2 batteries- one in the charger that stays at home charging slowly all day and another in the car that gets charged quickly by the slow-charging battery.
- Nerys, on 10/29/2009, -0/+8its closer than you think my man. Nano Solar is ramping up production and has already shipped a few orders of there "printed" solar panels.
30cents a watt cost selling for 90cents a watt. Thats cheaper than coal. for $1000 you could put enough of these on your roof to FULL OFFSET the power an EV would consume. $1700 for the grid tie in and now your car is FREE to drive and 100% pollution free and ZERO load on the grid overall. - chukd, on 10/29/2009, -7/+14I hate to break this to you but electric vehicles are far from a clean energy system. The batteries are highly toxic. The amount of energy to produce the battery is high. The electricity has to come from somewhere. This electricity comes from "dirty" energy sources.
- chukd, on 10/29/2009, -0/+7Yes they would be cheaper with widespread production. This is how it works in a capitalist society. Nevertheless, the price drop wouldn't be that great. You still have the issues with solar panels that fail and getting rid of the panels.
Your logic is flawed though when you point out the oil companies. Oil is only 1.6% of electric production in the United States. (http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/figes ...
If you truly wanted to get rid of oil for electricity production build more nuclear or hydroelectric facilities. In all the "Green" legislation and spending, there is nothing mention about expanding either one of these power sources. These are the places America needs to go if they are serious about becoming free of fossil fuels. - newes, on 10/29/2009, -1/+8What if you need to drive more then 300 miles.
- Chairboy, on 10/29/2009, -4/+11What's the carbon footprint of shipping a car to an event like this, I wonder?
- Amazetbm, on 10/29/2009, -0/+7We would also have to move our grid off of coal fired power plants to be truly clean.
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