Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups • Hacker News Board

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#21

Post by spullara » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:12 AM UTC

recuter wrote: post #17

revelation wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the battery swap model doesn't exist. It's a cool idea, but it's not right here right now.

I've been in a Better Place car here in Israel and experienced the swap, it works. Also, Shai Agassi recently completed a full cross country trip (North to South). Small country, but still. What makes you think this is not a viable solution?

Israel is only 263 miles from north to south. The Tesla S (85kwH)can go 300 miles. Seems like the Tesla might be overkill for that country.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#22

Post by spullara » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:12 AM UTC

revelation wrote: post #9

Ugh, tech reporting. Is there a original source for this somewhere? Theres some limited info at http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger . 100 kilowatts good for three hours of driving From the announcement video, it seems they are charging at 370V with a maximum of 225 amps = 83.25kW. So that 30 minute figure for half a charge is pretty real. The cost for one such charge would be approximately 3$ with industrial pric…

That page and the video are the source material.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#23

Post by ph0rque » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:19 AM UTC

jerrya wrote: post #20

Is it outrageous to think that eventually this "gas" will be free because outlets will compete to have Tesla and other electric customers stuck at their restaurant, bar, store for a half hour?

Another possible revenue stream is free for Tesla owners, and not free for other electric cars that support the "nozzle" (if Tesla allows others to use the same nozzle design).

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#24

Post by SwaroopH » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:20 AM UTC

World changing. Hats off to Elon Musk and his team.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#25

Post by notJim » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:20 AM UTC

uvdiv wrote: post #12

jws wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3. It's solar-powered. I wonder if they have a electricity backup... It's grid electric powered. The canopy doesn't do much. Let's calculate: Guess that the canopy for each bay is 7 by 4 meters, 28m^2 Sunny spots receive about 4kWhr of solar power per square meter per day. Solar panels might be 25% efficient. Total daily power: 28m^2 * 4kWhr/m^2/day * 0.25 = 28kWhr/day Model S has an 85kWhr battery, half charge is 42…

The press release makes a seemingly absurd claim: Each solar power system is designed to generate more energy from the sun over the course of a year than is consumed by Tesla vehicles using the Supercharger. wtf?

They're presumably assuming that the station will not constantly be charging a car. ChuckMcM (your sibling) explains in greater detail.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#26

Post by spullara » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:22 AM UTC

jerrya wrote: post #20

Is it outrageous to think that eventually this "gas" will be free because outlets will compete to have Tesla and other electric customers stuck at their restaurant, bar, store for a half hour?

That is actually pretty insightful — pretty easy to get back the $3 that it costs. I can definitely see "free charge with purchase".

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#27

Post by Shenglong » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:24 AM UTC

Tesla had a 250 million dollar operating loss in 2011 and 106 million last quarter. Add 700 million of debt onto that, and... I wonder how long they can keep up this kind of expansion.

This however, is really cool.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#28

Post by jfoutz » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:27 AM UTC

JohnsonB wrote: post #5

30 minutes to charge...still puzzled why Tesla has gone with the recharge model rather than the battery swap model ala Better Place.

The batteries are part of the frame. They add stiffness and strength. They're not removable. Not easily anyway.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#29

Post by brc » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:29 AM UTC

Personally, I get annoyed when a company takes an existing term with a defined definition, and then decides to change the meaning.

A supercharger is a mechanically driven air compressor which forces air into an engine. For a car company to take that name and redefine it into a marketing effort, well, it's annoying. Kind of like those 'turbo' buttons that used to be on the front of a PC.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#30

Post by benackles » Tue, Sep 25, 2012, 4:29 AM UTC

JohnsonB wrote: post #5

30 minutes to charge...still puzzled why Tesla has gone with the recharge model rather than the battery swap model ala Better Place.

I agree. 30 minutes is too long to charge for any practical purpose. They're going to have to improve the wait time if they're going to break out of the uber EV geek community. The Better Place battery switching model, while it may not be feasible for current models it has to be the goal for future models.

It also seems as thought there should be more partnerships involved in reaching the type of scale there going to to want to achieve. It seems like there would be a perfect opportunity to team up with Better Place to scale there infrastructure. Tesla should focus on building the best cars possible while letting Better Place handle the charging and/or battery switching infrastructure. I love the idea of Solar City getting involved as well. Those three companies are on my list of the few companies to watch in clean tech.