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Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

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Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#131

Post by thrownaway2424 »

haldujai wrote: post #93
thrownaway2424 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, nobody wants to live in those apartments, that's why the rents are so high!

Or you know, people eventually grow up / start families and realize for a short commute they could raise a child in a much safer environment with better facilities out in the suburbs. Or even they themselves one day decide they want a garden, and a personal swimming pool, and a house.

If you hate your children and want them to die in a dystopian post-Oil-Age future then yes, shuttling them around the exurbs in a car makes perfect sense.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#132

Post by veemjeem »

nandhp wrote: post #117
dangrossman wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Superchargers aren't anyone's primary fuel source. Most everyone lives 50+ miles from the nearest one -- they're located along interstates, between cities rather than within cities, which avoids people using all the bays to charge up as part of their daily commute. Supercharging too often also reduces the lifespan of the battery moreso than a regular charge-up.

I believe you, but note that the Tesla website only says this: > How often can I Supercharge, is it bad for my battery? > > Supercharging does not alter the new vehicle warranty. > Customers are free to use the network as much as they like. http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

They do this to increase adoption, but it would probably still reduce the life of the battery. I doubt people would use their supercharger every day unless they happened to live next door to one. Their purpose of the supercharger network is to reduce the whole "distance-fear" that EVs have.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#133

Post by codex »

The most serious issue with electric cars isn't road trips, it's the fact that if you don't own your own home, or live in a dense city with no off street parking, you likely don't have reliable access to a daily recharge overnight. That's probably half the driving population of America. 30 minutes of quick charging is fine every so often, but not every day or even every week.

This is why fuel cells continue to be pushed as a viable alternative--quick, carbonless refueling. The closest equivalent that the EV world can offer is a battery swap station, but that has a host of issues.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#134

Post by JoeAltmaier »

grecy wrote: post #39
sliverstorm wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that fits your pace, that's great, but that would have driven me nuts last time I was driving cross-country.

People said exactly the same thing when the automobile was introduced and it was horribly less convenient than a horse and cart. Of course a new tech is slightly less convenient out the outset, and of course it will only appeal to a certain percentage of the population, and of course it will get better over time. Which side of history are those people on? Which side of history will you be on?

Yeah but a different power plant isn't that much of a historical breakthrough. For the planet, sure. But for the consumer? There's no payoff.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#135

Post by abalone »

encoderer wrote: post #104
atourgates wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just doing some quick numbers (not related to current specific locations of quick chargers and gas stations), stopping 30 minutes every 170 miles would add a bit over 6 and a half hours of stopping to a LY->NYC trip. LA -> NYC is about 2,800 miles. If you had to stop for 30 minutes every 170 miles, that'd be 16.5 stops, for a total of about 8.25 hours of charging stops. If you assume 25mpg in a car with a 12 gallon t…

I think the point is that more often you're stopping for more than just gas. Lunch. Bathroom. Clean your windshield. You add it up, it's longer than 10 mins anyway, so this doesn't affect you all that much. Also I take issue with the logic that fuel savings don't matter if you're spending that much on a car anyway. I don't see it that way at all. Being able to pay like $1k/mo car payment doesn't yet put you in "money…

Why does the level of discourse around this subject need to be so disingenuous?

There is definitely a time penalty at stops. Meals are the only one of those things that takes longer than 10 minutes. You do that maybe a couple times a day.

With the model s you are stopping about every 2.5-3 hours for 30 minutes. Exactly one or two of those stops might involve a half hour meal, where it doesn't make a difference. The rest of the time, it does. To characterize this as not "affecting you all that much" vs. a traditional gas trip is just not accurate.

But you know what? That's ok. I don't get why some enthusiasts feel the need to pretend there are no compromises. It's ok for the model s to have some drawbacks at this stage. It's early. That's how the technology cycle works. Like I said elsewhere, the model s is like the first macintosh. It's the future and it's already pretty cool. No need to pretend it does more than it can. That just polarizes people.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#136

Post by pnathan »

encoderer wrote: post #108
protomyth wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Going 65 on a 75 highway is going to be a problem since your speed difference with most cars is what causes the problems in highway driving. Breaking flow of traffic is not a good idea. I can assure you that doing 65mph on I-90 through South Dakota is a really, really bad idea. Its listed as 75mph and that would be the low-end for what people do. Nevermind the wind that is probably going to kill your range.

Aside from perhaps Montana/etc I've never seen a highway with a single 75MPH speed limit. There is always a lower limit for big trucks, usually 55 or 65mph. You in a Tesla driving 65 in the right lane is not going to affect traffic much. In the wide open spaces, there's enough room it doesn't matter. In cities, there's enough traffic to push realized speeds below posted limits anyway.

Utah has an 80 MPG speed limit north-south. It's really quite fun rolling along at 80-85. I would hate to come across someone rolling at 60, it starts to become a hazard at that kind of delta between vehicles.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#137

Post by Duhck »

codex wrote: post #133

The most serious issue with electric cars isn't road trips, it's the fact that if you don't own your own home, or live in a dense city with no off street parking, you likely don't have reliable access to a daily recharge overnight. That's probably half the driving population of America. 30 minutes of quick charging is fine every so often, but not every day or even every week. This is why fuel cells continue to be pus…

A lot of people who might live in these markets, also probably don't own cars. In NYC, for example 55% of people DONT own cars[1]

They are right to focus on high rates of adoption with people who live in suburbs than those that live in metropolitan areas.

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_with_most_h...

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#138

Post by secabeen »

boucher wrote: post #119
latj wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's one more factor: Dont I have to do a mandatory roundtrip so that I can return the individual batteries to Tesla? Thats the way their battery swap program works at the moment.

The battery swap is not the 30 minute charge time, it's an actual charge of your own battery (the swap is a lot faster than 30 minutes). I don't think battery swap is currently available at these charge locations?

Correct. There are no battery swap stations in service anywhere at the present time.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#139

Post by btilly »

atourgates wrote: post #89
TallGuyShort wrote: post #3

>> provide 170 miles of range in a 30-minute charge That would have still sounded impractical to me when I was still able to just drive through the night to get where I needed to be. Now that I travel with a young baby and a dog, that's about how often and for how long I have to stop for breaks anyway. This is impressive progress anyway, but I'm especially impressed now that it really wouldn't alter my own schedule m…

Just doing some quick numbers (not related to current specific locations of quick chargers and gas stations), stopping 30 minutes every 170 miles would add a bit over 6 and a half hours of stopping to a LY->NYC trip. LA -> NYC is about 2,800 miles. If you had to stop for 30 minutes every 170 miles, that'd be 16.5 stops, for a total of about 8.25 hours of charging stops. If you assume 25mpg in a car with a 12 gallon t…

If you're driving long distance, you should be stopping for a break every hour or two just to stretch your body and keep mentally alert. These stops are not quite the right rhythm, but they are not a bad idea either.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#140

Post by codex »

Duhck wrote: post #137
codex wrote: post #133

The most serious issue with electric cars isn't road trips, it's the fact that if you don't own your own home, or live in a dense city with no off street parking, you likely don't have reliable access to a daily recharge overnight. That's probably half the driving population of America. 30 minutes of quick charging is fine every so often, but not every day or even every week. This is why fuel cells continue to be pus…

A lot of people who might live in these markets, also probably don't own cars. In NYC, for example 55% of people DONT own cars[1] They are right to focus on high rates of adoption with people who live in suburbs than those that live in metropolitan areas. 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_with_most_h...

Even within suburbs, many people live in apartments, condos, or park on the street or on a driveway outside of a garage.
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