Whatever Happened to Electric Cars?

[jon_berzerk]

New Battery Boasts 7 Times More Energy Density

An 1855 mile range for a Tesla S?

There is a great deal going on in the field of creating an EV battery that will go head on with the ICE for range.

Newsitems - AUVAC

as the story says "imagine that"

let me know when it is widely available

and can be recharged in minutes

 

[WinterBorn]

The car industry bought all the patents they could to shut down competition to oil and hybrid vehicles, and Tesla focuses on the luxury market.

Tesla has big plans for the non-luxury market:

Chevrolet’s debut of the Bolt EV concept at this year’s Detroit Auto Show led many to state that the proposed vehicle’s 200-mile range and $30,000 price tag will give Tesla Motors cause to be nervous, but CEO Elon Musk isn’t breaking a sweat just yet.

Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress during this year’s Detroit Auto Show, The Car Connection reports that Musk covered a myriad of subjects during an on-stage interview with a group of journalists. Among them was his statement that the Tesla Model 3, a vehicle planned for 2017, will run less than that, starting at $35,000. The keen math wizards among you have surely realized Musk’s number is larger than the one for the Chevy Bolt, but the Bolt’s planned price includes government tax rebates whereas the one for the Tesla 3 doesn’t.

Tesla Model 3 to cost less than Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicle Digital Trends

Most of your major car companies are investing heavily in EVs. When we get version below 30k that has a consistent 100 mile range, you'll likely see their sales skyrocket.

Still too expensive when compared to gas vehicles, and 2017 is too far away.

The ultimate test will be how many they sell in comparison to hybrid cars, but I doubt they will out sell them or change the market.

The EV market will continue to grow. Generating electricity will also grow. The renewable generation of electricity has come a long way, and will continue to do so.

As the need grows, so will the need for nuclear power plants. Properly run they are our best option right now.

 

[WinterBorn]

New Battery Boasts 7 Times More Energy Density

An 1855 mile range for a Tesla S?

There is a great deal going on in the field of creating an EV battery that will go head on with the ICE for range.

Newsitems - AUVAC

as the story says "imagine that"

let me know when it is widely available

and can be recharged in minutes

The Tesla Model S can do a complete battery swap in less time than it takes to fill up a regular gasoline car. I have no idea what the cost is, but those things always go down with volume.

 

[rightwinger]

Maybe it would help if you provided a quote from Obama vs something you made up

There are about 1% electric cars now where before it was zero

Once more electric charging stations are available, you will see more cars

 

[westwall]

The car industry bought all the patents they could to shut down competition to oil and hybrid vehicles, and Tesla focuses on the luxury market.

Tesla has big plans for the non-luxury market:

Chevrolet’s debut of the Bolt EV concept at this year’s Detroit Auto Show led many to state that the proposed vehicle’s 200-mile range and $30,000 price tag will give Tesla Motors cause to be nervous, but CEO Elon Musk isn’t breaking a sweat just yet.

Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress during this year’s Detroit Auto Show, The Car Connection reports that Musk covered a myriad of subjects during an on-stage interview with a group of journalists. Among them was his statement that the Tesla Model 3, a vehicle planned for 2017, will run less than that, starting at $35,000. The keen math wizards among you have surely realized Musk’s number is larger than the one for the Chevy Bolt, but the Bolt’s planned price includes government tax rebates whereas the one for the Tesla 3 doesn’t.

Tesla Model 3 to cost less than Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicle Digital Trends

Most of your major car companies are investing heavily in EVs. When we get version below 30k that has a consistent 100 mile range, you'll likely see their sales skyrocket.

Still too expensive when compared to gas vehicles, and 2017 is too far away.

The ultimate test will be how many they sell in comparison to hybrid cars, but I doubt they will out sell them or change the market.

Depends on gas prices. And 2 years away is 'too far'? I don't know what time schedule mandates that.

And you'll notice the startling trend down in price. Its a trend that is likely to continue.

Estimated price several years before, isn't the same as the in-production/on the shelf price.

True enough. In two years we'll know if the estimated prices and the actual prices are close. If they are, we see the stark trend I'm describing. As battery technology improves, EV is going to be more viable. We're right on the cusp of battery powered commercial aviation.

How do you figure? If you're talking about the rash of UAV's, then yes, there are a bunch of those on the market. But commercial aviation in an electric aircraft is decades away at best.

 

[westwall]

Maybe it would help if you provided a quote from Obama vs something you made up

There are about 1% electric cars now where before it was zero

Once more electric charging stations are available, you will see more cars

There are not even close to 1%. Get a clue.

 

[westwall]

Gas prices have thrown a wet towel on Tesla stock since August or so. But they will still sell many more cars in 2015 than 2014. It's a bitchen car, and they've set up supercharging stations nationwide.
The new $5 billion gigafactory may actually end up in Texas, ironically, as Texas has banned direct sales from the company. Gov Perry got $300,000 in campaign contributions from traditional auto lot sales companies, but even he has begun to change his tune.

It costs about $3.00 to charge an S Model Tesla, and that will get you over 200 kick ass miles of fun.

My recommendation. Buy Tesla stock on this downturn. It'll eventually reach $400.

And by the way, anything from Government Motors is horrible. Don't let one bad apple sour the whole crop.

The giga factory is well under way here in Nevada. If they were to cancel it, they would lose over 20 million that they've already spent.

Good for Nevada.

If you buy certain models, or you buy the extra package on a basic S Model, you get lifetime free charging at all Supercharging Stations, and they charge the car up in a matter of minutes.

Now, I said that a full charge is about $3.00. That is not true in California, where it might be almost 5 times that. Still, over 200 miles on less than $15.00 in a sports car isn't bad. But you get free charges at Tesla Supercharging Stations and many California shopping centers (along with a free good parking spot). You could conceivably have free fuel for life.

And you can have an extra battery pack handy and charge it with your solar panels during the day while you're off draining the other battery pack. Swap them out as needed. Make your own power.

Don't quote me on any of that. I might have made it all up, very possibly. But then again, maybe not.

Ummm, you'll never even get close to 200 miles if you drive in a "sporty" ,fashion. Figure half or even less depending on how quick you decide to be. If you try to recharge a EV using only solar expect a very, very long wait. Like on the order of a couple of months. And having a spare 800 pound battery pack is what everybody wants laying around their garage. You really havn't thought that through very well....

 

[WinterBorn]

Gas prices have thrown a wet towel on Tesla stock since August or so. But they will still sell many more cars in 2015 than 2014. It's a bitchen car, and they've set up supercharging stations nationwide.
The new $5 billion gigafactory may actually end up in Texas, ironically, as Texas has banned direct sales from the company. Gov Perry got $300,000 in campaign contributions from traditional auto lot sales companies, but even he has begun to change his tune.

It costs about $3.00 to charge an S Model Tesla, and that will get you over 200 kick ass miles of fun.

My recommendation. Buy Tesla stock on this downturn. It'll eventually reach $400.

And by the way, anything from Government Motors is horrible. Don't let one bad apple sour the whole crop.

The giga factory is well under way here in Nevada. If they were to cancel it, they would lose over 20 million that they've already spent.

Good for Nevada.

If you buy certain models, or you buy the extra package on a basic S Model, you get lifetime free charging at all Supercharging Stations, and they charge the car up in a matter of minutes.

Now, I said that a full charge is about $3.00. That is not true in California, where it might be almost 5 times that. Still, over 200 miles on less than $15.00 in a sports car isn't bad. But you get free charges at Tesla Supercharging Stations and many California shopping centers (along with a free good parking spot). You could conceivably have free fuel for life.

And you can have an extra battery pack handy and charge it with your solar panels during the day while you're off draining the other battery pack. Swap them out as needed. Make your own power.

Don't quote me on any of that. I might have made it all up, very possibly. But then again, maybe not.

Ummm, you'll never even get close to 200 miles if you drive in a "sporty" ,fashion. Figure half or even less depending on how quick you decide to be. If you try to recharge a EV using only solar expect a very, very long wait. Like on the order of a couple of months. And having a spare 800 pound battery pack is what everybody wants laying around their garage. You really havn't thought that through very well....

I doubt anyone wants to do the battery swap on a Tesla at home. And the Model S battery pack probably weighs close to 1,200 lbs.

But the Tesla charging stations (some of them) have the capability of doing an automated battery swap that is faster than filled a car up with gas.

 

[NYcarbineer]

Electric golf carts for non-golf uses are a booming market.

No, that is not a joke.

 

[rightwinger]

I never understood the conservative passion for trying to squash electric vehicles

They celebrate every failure and keep a running tally of how many EVs we have on the road and mock them by comparing them to gas powered vehicles

Are conservatives that in bed with Big Oil?

 

[WinterBorn]

Electric golf carts for non-golf uses are a booming market.

No, that is not a joke.

Golf carts?? LMAO!!

Dude, the Tesla Model S P85D can seat 5 people in a luxury sedan and do 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. Ever see a golf cart do that?

 

[rightwinger]

Maybe it would help if you provided a quote from Obama vs something you made up

There are about 1% electric cars now where before it was zero

Once more electric charging stations are available, you will see more cars

There are not even close to 1%. Get a clue.

Including Hybrids?

 

[westwall]

Gas prices have thrown a wet towel on Tesla stock since August or so. But they will still sell many more cars in 2015 than 2014. It's a bitchen car, and they've set up supercharging stations nationwide.
The new $5 billion gigafactory may actually end up in Texas, ironically, as Texas has banned direct sales from the company. Gov Perry got $300,000 in campaign contributions from traditional auto lot sales companies, but even he has begun to change his tune.

It costs about $3.00 to charge an S Model Tesla, and that will get you over 200 kick ass miles of fun.

My recommendation. Buy Tesla stock on this downturn. It'll eventually reach $400.

And by the way, anything from Government Motors is horrible. Don't let one bad apple sour the whole crop.

The giga factory is well under way here in Nevada. If they were to cancel it, they would lose over 20 million that they've already spent.

Good for Nevada.

If you buy certain models, or you buy the extra package on a basic S Model, you get lifetime free charging at all Supercharging Stations, and they charge the car up in a matter of minutes.

Now, I said that a full charge is about $3.00. That is not true in California, where it might be almost 5 times that. Still, over 200 miles on less than $15.00 in a sports car isn't bad. But you get free charges at Tesla Supercharging Stations and many California shopping centers (along with a free good parking spot). You could conceivably have free fuel for life.

And you can have an extra battery pack handy and charge it with your solar panels during the day while you're off draining the other battery pack. Swap them out as needed. Make your own power.

Don't quote me on any of that. I might have made it all up, very possibly. But then again, maybe not.

Ummm, you'll never even get close to 200 miles if you drive in a "sporty" ,fashion. Figure half or even less depending on how quick you decide to be. If you try to recharge a EV using only solar expect a very, very long wait. Like on the order of a couple of months. And having a spare 800 pound battery pack is what everybody wants laying around their garage. You really havn't thought that through very well....

I doubt anyone wants to do the battery swap on a Tesla at home. And the Model S battery pack probably weighs close to 1,200 lbs.

But the Tesla charging stations (some of them) have the capability of doing an automated battery swap that is faster than filled a car up with gas.

I'm assuming that the battery packs will become lighter as is the normal way of things. I don't envision they can get much lighter than 800 pounds though, thus my choice in weight. Yes, they can swap a pack very quickly (and kudo's to Tesla for that innovation) but that still doesn't address the very real range considerations and the toxicity of the batteries once they are no longer usable.

These are all things that will no doubt be addressed, but the time of the EV is still quite a way off.

 

[westwall]

Maybe it would help if you provided a quote from Obama vs something you made up

There are about 1% electric cars now where before it was zero

Once more electric charging stations are available, you will see more cars

There are not even close to 1%. Get a clue.

Including Hybrids?

A hybrid is not an electric car. It is a hybrid, the two are entirely different. I actually like hybrids. They are not green by any stretch of the imagination, but they are a step towards green. I do believe however that fuel cell technology is going to make the biggest leap, the shortest, and the EV market will collapse as a result of that. Toyota recently developed hydrogen fuel tankage technology that cut the price of manufacturing in half. And, compared to EV's which have been around for over 100 years, hydrogen technology is in its infancy.

 

[rightwinger]

Maybe it would help if you provided a quote from Obama vs something you made up

There are about 1% electric cars now where before it was zero

Once more electric charging stations are available, you will see more cars

There are not even close to 1%. Get a clue.

Including Hybrids?

A hybrid is not an electric car. It is a hybrid, the two are entirely different. I actually like hybrids. They are not green by any stretch of the imagination, but they are a step towards green. I do believe however that fuel cell technology is going to make the biggest leap, the shortest, and the EV market will collapse as a result of that. Toyota recently developed hydrogen fuel tankage technology that cut the price of manufacturing in half. And, compared to EV's which have been around for over 100 years, hydrogen technology is in its infancy.

The Hybrid runs both gas and electric

With the absence of electric charging station infrastructure, it is the best electric alternative. As charging stations become more convenient, electric vehicles will be more practical

I would love to see more development on hydrogen

 

[Treeshepherd]

Gas prices have thrown a wet towel on Tesla stock since August or so. But they will still sell many more cars in 2015 than 2014. It's a bitchen car, and they've set up supercharging stations nationwide.
The new $5 billion gigafactory may actually end up in Texas, ironically, as Texas has banned direct sales from the company. Gov Perry got $300,000 in campaign contributions from traditional auto lot sales companies, but even he has begun to change his tune.

It costs about $3.00 to charge an S Model Tesla, and that will get you over 200 kick ass miles of fun.

My recommendation. Buy Tesla stock on this downturn. It'll eventually reach $400.

And by the way, anything from Government Motors is horrible. Don't let one bad apple sour the whole crop.

The giga factory is well under way here in Nevada. If they were to cancel it, they would lose over 20 million that they've already spent.

Good for Nevada.

If you buy certain models, or you buy the extra package on a basic S Model, you get lifetime free charging at all Supercharging Stations, and they charge the car up in a matter of minutes.

Now, I said that a full charge is about $3.00. That is not true in California, where it might be almost 5 times that. Still, over 200 miles on less than $15.00 in a sports car isn't bad. But you get free charges at Tesla Supercharging Stations and many California shopping centers (along with a free good parking spot). You could conceivably have free fuel for life.

And you can have an extra battery pack handy and charge it with your solar panels during the day while you're off draining the other battery pack. Swap them out as needed. Make your own power.

Don't quote me on any of that. I might have made it all up, very possibly. But then again, maybe not.

Ummm, you'll never even get close to 200 miles if you drive in a "sporty" ,fashion. Figure half or even less depending on how quick you decide to be. If you try to recharge a EV using only solar expect a very, very long wait. Like on the order of a couple of months. And having a spare 800 pound battery pack is what everybody wants laying around their garage. You really havn't thought that through very well....

The official rated range on the 85 kW battery pack is 265 miles.

On further inspection, if you drive a Tesla 12,000 miles per year, you would need over 2kW of solar modules to offset the charging demands on a net metering system. I helped my boss install a 4kW solar array this winter... pretty typical of a residential rooftop array.
"12,000 miles/year X 0.35 kWh/mile = 4200 kWh/year , or 11.5 kWh/day consumed by your car.
At 5.5 hours a day of insolation, you would need a system of 2.1 kW net rated power to generate 11.5 kWh."
Of course, you could just get a free charge at a Tesla station, or do the automated battery swap thing.

 

[Treeshepherd]

Gas prices have thrown a wet towel on Tesla stock since August or so. But they will still sell many more cars in 2015 than 2014. It's a bitchen car, and they've set up supercharging stations nationwide.
The new $5 billion gigafactory may actually end up in Texas, ironically, as Texas has banned direct sales from the company. Gov Perry got $300,000 in campaign contributions from traditional auto lot sales companies, but even he has begun to change his tune.

It costs about $3.00 to charge an S Model Tesla, and that will get you over 200 kick ass miles of fun.

My recommendation. Buy Tesla stock on this downturn. It'll eventually reach $400.

And by the way, anything from Government Motors is horrible. Don't let one bad apple sour the whole crop.

The giga factory is well under way here in Nevada. If they were to cancel it, they would lose over 20 million that they've already spent.

Good for Nevada.

If you buy certain models, or you buy the extra package on a basic S Model, you get lifetime free charging at all Supercharging Stations, and they charge the car up in a matter of minutes.

Now, I said that a full charge is about $3.00. That is not true in California, where it might be almost 5 times that. Still, over 200 miles on less than $15.00 in a sports car isn't bad. But you get free charges at Tesla Supercharging Stations and many California shopping centers (along with a free good parking spot). You could conceivably have free fuel for life.

And you can have an extra battery pack handy and charge it with your solar panels during the day while you're off draining the other battery pack. Swap them out as needed. Make your own power.

Don't quote me on any of that. I might have made it all up, very possibly. But then again, maybe not.

Ummm, you'll never even get close to 200 miles if you drive in a "sporty" ,fashion. Figure half or even less depending on how quick you decide to be. If you try to recharge a EV using only solar expect a very, very long wait. Like on the order of a couple of months. And having a spare 800 pound battery pack is what everybody wants laying around their garage. You really havn't thought that through very well....

I doubt anyone wants to do the battery swap on a Tesla at home. And the Model S battery pack probably weighs close to 1,200 lbs.

But the Tesla charging stations (some of them) have the capability of doing an automated battery swap that is faster than filled a car up with gas.

that still doesn't address the very real range considerations and the toxicity of the batteries once they are no longer usable.

These are all things that will no doubt be addressed, but the time of the EV is still quite a way off.

The gigafactory is going to be able to recycle old batteries and reuse the materials.
And the facility is going to be partially powered by solar and wind.

 

[WinterBorn]

Gas prices have thrown a wet towel on Tesla stock since August or so. But they will still sell many more cars in 2015 than 2014. It's a bitchen car, and they've set up supercharging stations nationwide.
The new $5 billion gigafactory may actually end up in Texas, ironically, as Texas has banned direct sales from the company. Gov Perry got $300,000 in campaign contributions from traditional auto lot sales companies, but even he has begun to change his tune.

It costs about $3.00 to charge an S Model Tesla, and that will get you over 200 kick ass miles of fun.

My recommendation. Buy Tesla stock on this downturn. It'll eventually reach $400.

And by the way, anything from Government Motors is horrible. Don't let one bad apple sour the whole crop.

The giga factory is well under way here in Nevada. If they were to cancel it, they would lose over 20 million that they've already spent.

Good for Nevada.

If you buy certain models, or you buy the extra package on a basic S Model, you get lifetime free charging at all Supercharging Stations, and they charge the car up in a matter of minutes.

Now, I said that a full charge is about $3.00. That is not true in California, where it might be almost 5 times that. Still, over 200 miles on less than $15.00 in a sports car isn't bad. But you get free charges at Tesla Supercharging Stations and many California shopping centers (along with a free good parking spot). You could conceivably have free fuel for life.

And you can have an extra battery pack handy and charge it with your solar panels during the day while you're off draining the other battery pack. Swap them out as needed. Make your own power.

Don't quote me on any of that. I might have made it all up, very possibly. But then again, maybe not.

Ummm, you'll never even get close to 200 miles if you drive in a "sporty" ,fashion. Figure half or even less depending on how quick you decide to be. If you try to recharge a EV using only solar expect a very, very long wait. Like on the order of a couple of months. And having a spare 800 pound battery pack is what everybody wants laying around their garage. You really havn't thought that through very well....

I doubt anyone wants to do the battery swap on a Tesla at home. And the Model S battery pack probably weighs close to 1,200 lbs.

But the Tesla charging stations (some of them) have the capability of doing an automated battery swap that is faster than filled a car up with gas.

I'm assuming that the battery packs will become lighter as is the normal way of things. I don't envision they can get much lighter than 800 pounds though, thus my choice in weight. Yes, they can swap a pack very quickly (and kudo's to Tesla for that innovation) but that still doesn't address the very real range considerations and the toxicity of the batteries once they are no longer usable.

These are all things that will no doubt be addressed, but the time of the EV is still quite a way off.

A range of 265 miles makes the range a nonissue except for long trips. Even then, with the charging stations popping up all over, and the ability to get half of a full charge in 20-30 mins, even long trips are possible. You have to stop for 30 mins every couple of hours. But the charges are free.

 

[blastoff]

I like my electric car. Especially while traversing the long uphill fairway on No. 7 after a killer drive.

 

[NYcarbineer]

Electric golf carts for non-golf uses are a booming market.

No, that is not a joke.

Golf carts?? LMAO!!

Dude, the Tesla Model S P85D can seat 5 people in a luxury sedan and do 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. Ever see a golf cart do that?

Of course not. Golf carts are huge now in places like retirement villages or the like.