What happens when a $35,000 Tesla arrives?

CNET ^ | July 20, 2014 2:30 PM PDT | Brooke Crothers

[dirtboy]

It means the upper middle class will also be able to afford a car that catches in fire.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

I want torque! I used to absolutely adore the Aston Martin Rapide, until I saw a Tesla Model S bet it in a drag race. The Aston Martin looked like such a dinosaur.

[Jeff F]

I agree. Until they can charge the car in 10 minutes, cross county would be a real time drag.

Check out the video below to see the Model S battery swapped in less than 1/2 the time needed to refill a gas tank. Roll-out of this is said to being in a few months.

www.teslamotors.com/batteryswap

[cableguymn]

I drive to much.. last year I ran the 100,000 mile bell between my work van and the other van in my fleet used by my employee...

we spent 23,000 bucks on gas last year.

Tesla comes out with an electric van with a 350+ mile range, a 2000 pound payload and I’d be very interested if it can be fueled in 1 hour or less.

[dhs12345]

So they are paying for the electricity?

[cableguymn]

till they swap in someones junk battery and you make it 10 miles...

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Until they can charge the car in 10 minutes,

I saw a fascinating video of planned Tesla technology - where by they can totally replace the battery pack with another, fully charged one in under 4 minutes. The demonstration showed a typical person filling at a pump verses the battery swap out. Tesla was able to completely change out the battery pack in 3 cars in the time it took to fill a tank of gas. And the cost of the swap? About the same as a filling a tank: $60.00.

So, the idea is, if you are in a hurry - swap out your battery for $60.00 in 4 mins. If you can wait, go to a supercharger, charge it for 20 mins while you do your shopping. As the range of the Tesla is 200+ miles on a charge, I doubt if I would drive that much on a single day. I would go out, do my errands, then charge the car at night.

[CodeToad]

Like a swap is practical. You need a garage to do it, specialized tools, and I highly doubt there will be thousands of these throughout the US to do the job for the Tesla. I can swap out my truck’s fuel tank under the same conditions, so if they want to be honest they would retrofit a car with a swappable fuel tank and do the same trick. Nothing but sales for the dumbed down masses.

[morphing libertarian]

thanx

[familyop]

Hillbillies do better engineering for free. ;-)

Wayne Keith Explains Gasification
http://www.femagasifier.com/wayne-keith-explains-gasification/

[Jeff F]

You really should watch the video before commenting upon what it demonstrates. There are other sensible questions about when and whether the automated swapping facilities will be widely available and what the real costs will be.

Given Musk's and Telsa's track record so far, I tend to believe that we really will see a fair numbers of these in the next few years.

[CodeToad]

You should really understand that I have and wasn’t suckered. Again, the same could be done with liquid fuel cells, too.

“sensible questions”? Sound like a liberal excuse demanding others consider something stupid, like “sensible gun control”.

There is nothing sensible about battery swaps, especially to anyone that understands one manufacturer will not cooperate with the others. Again, dumb ideas for the stupid masses.

As other’s have said, this electric car thing is a solution looking for a problem. There is no need for it and it just uses as much electricity as any gas vehicle uses in energy, pollutes the planet far more than a Hummer, and makes for expensive battery waste.

I bet you recycle, too.

[JimRed]

A 200 mile electric range is still a pipe dream in most climates.

[familyop]

"with a 200-mile electric range"

Not if they're charged on the central or northern Rockies at around -30, F, and driven over passes at around -30, F. Or during the 2-8 years to come, maybe -40s or -50s. They will probably do alright in California and in the southernmost states, though.

[aquila48]

Totally agree.

And Musk has his hands on both Tesla and Solar City. The guy is smart and shrewed.

For the interim I still like the Chevy Volt concept. It gives you most of the benefits of an electric car without the anxiety of running out of juice. If they would double their electric range it would be great.

[dangus]

If so, I’d suggest you are the prime market for a Tesla 3, along with purchasers of police cruisers, taxis, etc: people who spend a LOT of time in a car, return to a fueling place between shifts, and need something which is both comfortable and VERY fuel-efficient.

[CodeToad]

I hate to break it to you but electric cars are not all that fuel efficient.

Electric cars get about 110 miles per gallon equivalent. That’s it. Not much more than a typical scooter or motorcycle.

Electric cars are extremely expensive. For the same money, you can buy the equivalent amount of gas without the hassle of an electric car.

Electric cars have major restrictions that gas vehicles do not have, which further mitigates their usefulness.

Electric cars pollute more than any vehicle due to the Super Fund cleanup sites that they cause. Research Super Fund sites for more information about that; billions spent on their cleanup.

Electric cars pose an electric shock hazard in crashes. Rescue crews are trained to handle their electrical hazards, and it isn’t pretty.

Electric cars have great normal load power, but fail in cold and hot weather and under continuous load.

Am I a candidate for a T3? Nope. No one is.

[V_TWIN]

Thats what they said, hydrogen is the way. Check the Honda Clarity:

http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/

[Wyatt's Torch]

Pretty much why he did it. If it’s accepted as the standard it helps TSLA and the gigafactory.

[Wyatt's Torch]

LOL! Here’s your list of cars that have 500+ HP on sale today:
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2012/04/more-than-70-cars-on-sale-today-make-500-hp-or-more.html

So will it be the Bentley Continental? The Audi R8? Aston martin DBS? Ferrari 458? Aventador? LFA? Mercedes S65?

LMFAO