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Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

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Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#231

Post by indiecore »

sliverstorm wrote: post #82
Osiris wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At $0.11/kWh, the Roadster at 53kWh would take almost $6 to completely fill. Though if these stations charge using solar power and store the power in a battery pack to discharge when a car hooks up, it could potentially cost them a lot less than $0.11/kWh, depending on the cost of building the station itself.

Tack on to that the increased capacity electric vehicles are going to have to have, as well as the increased electricity prices I am expecting when ten million Americans are charging their cars.

The stations generate more power (via solar) than the cars use while charging. There is a net REDUCTION in energy use if you charge solely from these stations and I'd imagine that part of the business model is selling the excess energy back to the power companies. I'd bet that getting certified for this sort of thing is also a heck of a lot easier than getting certified to build a solar farm. Pretty smart move I think.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#232

Post by stcredzero »

kamaal wrote: post #136

The arguments in this thread are amusing to say at the least. 30 minute charging times, high prices of Tesla cars. Yes all that is true. But this was never about 'Electric cars are awesome now'. I'm pretty sure cars during and before pre Henry Ford times were not very great in terms of their overall affordability, total cost of ownership and availability of fuel all around the country. You could trust your horse to d…

> friction towards but later take them to be fate accompli

Two malapropisms in a row, or an iOS autocorrect?

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#233

Post by hamai »

brc wrote: post #119
danboarder wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drivers are already using battery swap stations in Israel and a few other test areas. Swap for a full battery takes less than 5 minutes. The cars built to work with this system are Renault and Nissan I believe. Check out the standardized batteries (drivers subscribe to a 'battery plan' so any full battery is works the same). video: Drive Switch Go - Better Place short video http://youtu.be/VR3oLV4fdcE longer video ht…

Battery swap technology constrains car design. The Model S, I believe, sandwiches the battery packs throughout the car to avoid one big lump of mass sitting somewhere. While I think the battery swap idea is a good one, it has many problems, not the least of which is getting all the manufacturers to agree to a myriad of standards. And agreeing to many of those standards means delegating part of your design process.

It's beyond difficult for costumers to agree on 30min waits between 3h runs.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#235

Post by Retric »

justincormack wrote: post #156
kamaal wrote: post #136

The arguments in this thread are amusing to say at the least. 30 minute charging times, high prices of Tesla cars. Yes all that is true. But this was never about 'Electric cars are awesome now'. I'm pretty sure cars during and before pre Henry Ford times were not very great in terms of their overall affordability, total cost of ownership and availability of fuel all around the country. You could trust your horse to d…

Electric cars are 100 years old and have not improved much, bizarrely http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/05/the-status-quo-of-ele...

They have twice the range, are more than twice as fast, charge in 1/10th the time, AC, power steering, etc.

But, yea then again by your estimation internal combustion cars have not improved either as they still use fire.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#236

Post by sbouafif »

This is a very disruptive technology. I am wondering how much surface of solar panels (and "solar power") do they need to charge to answer to all the demand on a daily basis. And by extrapolation is this can be done widely (for buildings, universities, homes...)?

The oil industry should rethink its business model. And we should buy Tesla's stock right about now.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#237

Post by walkon »

reitzensteinm wrote: post #176
jaggederest wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, electric cars are never going to be completely practical for people with a daily commute beyond 150 miles or so. But if you're commuting 3 hours a day total, you have bigger issues with your life, to be honest. Move closer to where you commute!

Never? You're telling me that in a thousand years, we won't have electric cars able to sustain a 300 mile daily commute? This isn't a discussion of if . It's a discussion of when .

With 1,000 years, feel free to think bigger: teleportation!

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#238

Post by gusgordon »

freehunter wrote: post #208
ams6110 wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are smart enough to know the risks of having a significant fraction of your net worth in one asset, so I'll spare you the lecture there. Tipping point? No, I don't think so. It's progress, and it's good news, but 30 minutes to recharge is still a LONG time compared to the two minutes a petroleum-fueled vehicle takes, and the best of those can go several multiples of the Teslas range between fuelings.

On my morning commute, it's important that fueling be quick. I have to stop at a station and fill up, something I can't do at home. However, if I were in an EV, I could fill up at home, while I slept. It'd be fully charged when I got in to go to work. If I could charge 30 minutes to half at home, charging time is nearly insignificant. I would still love to see hydrogen cars instead. I think Honda has it right.

It turns out that, among other advantages for electric cars, they can carry more energy than hydrogen cars when you take the efficiency of transferring kinetic energy to the car into account. There was an interview with Elon Musk where he scoffed at the use of hydrogen and the use of fuel cells.

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#239

Post by aidenn0 »

justincormack wrote: post #156
kamaal wrote: post #136

The arguments in this thread are amusing to say at the least. 30 minute charging times, high prices of Tesla cars. Yes all that is true. But this was never about 'Electric cars are awesome now'. I'm pretty sure cars during and before pre Henry Ford times were not very great in terms of their overall affordability, total cost of ownership and availability of fuel all around the country. You could trust your horse to d…

Electric cars are 100 years old and have not improved much, bizarrely http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/05/the-status-quo-of-ele...

Hmm The lowest end Model S vs. Fritchle Victoria Phaeton

* Similar cost, adjusted for inflation (49k vs 48k)

* 1.6x range compared to Fritchle (160mi vs 100)

* At more than 2x the speed (25max vs 55(speed for quoted range))

* With climate control

Re: Tesla reveals Supercharger network, Free Fill Ups

#240

Post by sliverstorm »

ZoFreX wrote: post #229
sliverstorm wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tack on to that the increased capacity electric vehicles are going to have to have, as well as the increased electricity prices I am expecting when ten million Americans are charging their cars.

Surely increased demand for a resource should, long-term, drive the price down and not up?

Potentially, if there are improvements in infrastructure to be made that reduce cost. But it is hardly implicit that increased demand will lower the price- just look at oil.
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