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Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

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Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#111

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

hpvic03 wrote: post #96
drzaiusapelord wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I asked my wife today, I'm certain she's knows Jobs and Gates, maybe Bezos (and that's a big maybe) but no way would she know who Musk is. Lets not mistake our echo chamber for the world.

I'm sure Elon will get his due. It's just a matter of time before the rest of the world finds out about his accomplishments. E.g., I don't think many of us here on HN were surprised to see Drew Houston on the cover of Forbes.

You'd be surprised. I've been hanging around here for a few years and I have no idea who he is. Although a little voice in the back of my mind says he might be the Dropbox guy.

Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#112

Post by Gravityloss »

bigdubs wrote: post #108
Gravityloss wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I don't understand is why don't they put a small 20 kW 500 cc one cylinder generator in cars, at the same time they could reduce the battery size quite a lot and still most trips could be made purely electrically. Cost would be a lot lower as well. The average power needed for driving is very low, only 10-20 kW and the battery handles the peaks like when you need to climb a hill or overtake. For example in this…

What you just described is basically the system in the Fisker Karma: http://onward.fiskerautomotive.com/en-us/karma/overview/

Nope, the Karma has a big four cylinder engine too, two liters of displacement.

Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#113

Post by freehunter »

clarky07 wrote: post #65
freehunter wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's about range anxiety, and then ends with the relief that they didn't really need to worry too much. 5 hours of driving from an electric car getting 100 mpg-e and matching a BMW M5 stat-for-stat. That impressed them, and it impresses me.

except for the part where they didn't actually make it to their destination. And since most people aren't going to have the charging station 4 miles from their eventual destination, everyone else would have been screwed. Not too mention they now have to wait 30 minutes to get their last 5 miles. still an impressive car :-)

My truck can't do 260 miles on a tank. Luckily, 260 mile journeys are exceedingly rare, rarer in both a truck and a $100k sports car than in anything else. Both of those have tradeoffs on long journeys; the truck costs $70 to fill and the car takes a good amount of time to recharge. Both are enough deterrents of long journeys to keep you living within your means.

Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#114

Post by rogerbinns »

weaksauce wrote: post #92
simba-hiiipower wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" Perhaps more interesting will be the transition time, that point where half the cars are self driving and half are manually driven. Will manual drivers become more aggressive because they "know" the robo-cars will get out of their way? " that would be quite interesting to see. i could certainly see myself becoming more aggressive if i knew others around me would adjust without incident; though that would depend on…

Actually, someone was saying that they saw a google bubble when they witnessed the self driving car in traffic. As the google car tried to keep a safe distance people kept cutting in that space and making the google car slow down even further to get the required space.

The irony is that could lead to reduced congestion. See the experiments with following distances at http://trafficwaves.org/

Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#115

Post by elviejo »

is74 wrote: post #6
elviejo wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Elon Musk is over celebrated... He was fired from Pay-Pal He didn't start Tesla Motors (that was Martin Eberhard) He didn't start spaceX He is good at marketing though...

While he was fired from Pay pal, the other two claims are factually false.

I stand corrected on SpaceX... yes it seems Musk founded it.

But on Tesla Motors the fact of the matter is that it was started by engineers (Eberheard and Tarpenning) and control was taken away by an investor (Musk)

Some facts: 1. The first wikipedia page review on Tesla Motors from Jue 12, 2006 [1]: "The firm was started in 2003 by engineers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.... Tesla has also managed to secure initial funding from prominent investors, such as PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page."

RedHerring Article July 8 2006[2]:

"Tesla Motors said earlier this month that it has raised a $40-million Series C round of financing led by VantagePoint Venture Partners and Elon Musk"

Finally from Eberheard himself [3]: "Mr. Musk was one of the leads I followed."

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tesla_Motors&o...

[2]http://web.archive.org/web/20060708071455/http://www.redherr...

[3] http://fora.tv/2011/05/22/Martin_Eberhard_Learn_by_Doing

Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#116

Post by elviejo »

trafficlight wrote: post #8
elviejo wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Elon Musk is over celebrated... He was fired from Pay-Pal He didn't start Tesla Motors (that was Martin Eberhard) He didn't start spaceX He is good at marketing though...

Elon Musk was a co-founder who had at least $70 million of his own money in Tesla. And he did found SpaceX in 2002 and has over $100 million of his own invested in the company.

Investor != Cofounder.

Cofounder is someone that is there from day 1. Tesla Roadster existed before Musks's involvement. Martin Eberheard searched for Ventura Capital, one of his leads was Elon Musk.

See my other reply for the links.

Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#117

Post by elviejo »

colmvp wrote: post #10
is74 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While he was fired from Pay pal, the other two claims are factually false.

Indeed. I wish I could downvote that comment for inaccurate info.

I've retracted my comments on SpaceX (it seems he did start that)

The Pay Pal Story is well known and documented.

As for Tesla Motors... I still claim he didn't found the company.

Here are my sources: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4441480

Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#118

Post by rdl »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #86
rdl wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who (in the past 20-30 years) is celebrated more than Elon Musk is today? Other than Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Maybe tied with Jeff Bezos? I don't think "many".

If I asked my wife today, I'm certain she's knows Jobs and Gates, maybe Bezos (and that's a big maybe) but no way would she know who Musk is. Lets not mistake our echo chamber for the world.

The only people I'd expect a 30-40 year old "smart, but not tech industry" person to know are Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg -- younger people wouldn't be as likely to know Bill Gates, except maybe for his philanthropy or due to references in classic rap music to "Bill Gates money". Sean Parker might be higher in the mass market than expected due to his colorful portrayal in the movie. Then probably Trump, Ellison, and Branson for their non-tech accomplishments (TV, racing/living, and airlines/music/etc.), and then probably rappers (Jay-Z, 50 Cent, etc. are all clearly entrepreneurs as much as musicians), and maybe Oprah.

The only person I'd expect everyone to know is Steve Jobs. I wonder if that will be true of people who are 5-10 years old today, in a decade.

I'd assume Musk is more popular than tech entrepreneurs overall due to rockets and cars; even in tech no one knows about Zip2 and "one of the many founders of PayPal" is kind of a stretch (outside HN/VC, who knows Keith Rabois or David Sacks?)

Even the most successful business/tech entrepreneurs are less famous than a B or C list media celebrity.

Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#119

Post by eavc »

clarky07 wrote: post #78
eavc wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They intentionally chose a route at the maximum possible millage. Most people would be more conservative.

no, most people would go to the place they are going, no matter if it is 220 miles or 260 miles. If it's 220 they'd be fine, if it's 260 they'd be screwed.

Do people generally attempt to do something they know they will not be able to do?

Re: Tesla model S eliminates range anxiety

#120

Post by CapOpp »

protomyth wrote: post #64

Is there a definitive word on battery performance in sub-zero F weather?

Multiple Roadsters have been running fine for years above the Arctic Circle. There are actually less issues than with gas powered cars. The second largest market for Model S, behind the U.S. is Norway.
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