Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
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Re: Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
#2Now they'll just be held back by lack of a widespread charging infrastructure.
Re: Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
#3I've been shopping for a used car in the Bay Area, and it looks like used electrics are even easier to buy (and harder to sell) than former rentals. That's not a good signal.
Re: Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
#4According to the article, we are now held back by expensive, non-crappy batteries.
But the price is dropping, and eventually will be affordable.
Re: Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
#5I've been shopping for a used car in the Bay Area, and it looks like used electrics are even easier to buy (and harder to sell) than former rentals. That's not a good signal.
Like any 1.0 product. The technology evolves so rapidly it loses 90% of its value in a few years.
It reminds me my first digital camera, 2000$ and 3 years later you could get better for 500$.
Re: Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
#6obviously Tesla is the front runner for spearheading the insudtry by virtually every metric & subsector (except maybe price). Look, I love Tesla and have been bullish on the company for a pretty long time, so I am biased, but why can't other car companies have quality cars and aesthetics.
* Fisker Karma: The car looked super sleek, was super sexy and from an engineering standpoint it was a heap of shit.
* Chevy Volt: Was an ICE car that had the worst of both worlds. Not particularly attractive.
* Rimac Concept One: Ok this car was fucking brilliant but it was like $1M USD.
* Prius: Pretty decent as far as hybrids go. Aesthetics are lacking what many might consider: the ability to not look like a cross between a golf cart and a mobility scooter.
* Chevey Bolt: Seems to have pretty amazing specs. Aesthetics are sub-par for sure.
Yes, Tesla's thing was making a compelling electric car, however other manufacturers seem to be doing alright in actually making the car. They just need to bend the metal in a way that doesn't look fucking horrible and Tesla will have a bit harder of a time of it.
Edit:
Here is a quick album I made. Nearly every car looks the same:
edit 2:
Here[t] you can see Tesla's offerings. The roadster is omitted. However, of the 4 cars, they made: roadster and the models s,3,x,y* you would be hard pressed to confuse them for any of the cars in the above album. However, those in that album are very close to one another aesthetically.
[t]http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2016/05/2017-Tesla-...
* they haven't made y yet....
Re: Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
#7obviously Tesla is the front runner for spearheading the insudtry by virtually every metric & subsector (except maybe price). Look, I love Tesla and have been bullish on the company for a pretty long time, so I am biased, but why can't other car companies have quality cars and aesthetics. * Fisker Karma: The car looked super sleek, was super sexy and from an engineering standpoint it was a heap of shit. * Chevy Volt:…
I think the Chevy Bolt looks ok, fairly similar to other current small cars. The BMW i3 is hideously ugly. The Nissan Leaf is growing on me, but maybe that's just because I bought one and now have some form of Stockholm Syndrome. The headlights are stupid looking, but I like the rest of the car.
Re: Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
#8Now they'll just be held back by lack of a widespread charging infrastructure.
The next big problem is the lack of a unified charging infrastructure. Yes, you can buy a trunk full of adapters.[1] Teslas use their own plug, for which there are a CHAdeMO adapter, a J1772 adapter, and adapters for standard 120VAC and 240VAC outlets. A full set of adapters is about $700. [2]
The Chevy Bolt uses Combo Cord, which supports J1772 and CCS.
Looking around Silicon Valley, almost all charging points have J1772. Some are free, some require payment, and some require membership in a charging plan. Higher power stations are mostly CHAdeMO.
There's a big retail markup on electricity. $0.59/KWh at some stations. And there are payment "plans", which look like cellular phone plans. Tesla's "Supercharger" is supposedly unlimited once you've paid your $2500, but apparently if you use ones near your residence, they send you nag messages saying it's really for travelers.
[1] https://www.evseadapters.com/ [2] http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s-charging-ada...
Re: Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
#9Now they'll just be held back by lack of a widespread charging infrastructure.
When the bosses wanted iPhones, the company got iPhones. When the bosses want to plug in their electric cars, the parking lots will get charging stations.
Re: Electric cars are no longer held back by crappy, expensive batteries
#10obviously Tesla is the front runner for spearheading the insudtry by virtually every metric & subsector (except maybe price). Look, I love Tesla and have been bullish on the company for a pretty long time, so I am biased, but why can't other car companies have quality cars and aesthetics. * Fisker Karma: The car looked super sleek, was super sexy and from an engineering standpoint it was a heap of shit. * Chevy Volt:…
It's too bad about the Volt. I drove one a few times... It isn't a terrible car at all, and bypasses the gaping flaws in a pure electric vehicle.