Posted on 03/02/2022 12:56:32 PM PST by Red Badger
Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded today to a tweet from one of his prominent supporters - Whole Mars Catalog - related to the range of electric cars.
Whole Mars Catalog wrote that Lucid delivered the first series-produced electric car with a range of roughly 500 miles (EPA range), but Tesla "will be the first to mass-produce one."
The longest-range version of the Lucid Air has an EPA Combined range of 520 miles (837 km). The longest range Tesla Model S has an EPA Combined range of 405 miles (652 km).
Well, Elon Musk responded that a 600-mile (965 km) Tesla Model S could've been made 12 months ago (let's assume February 2021), but "that would’ve made the product worse."
Elon Musk pointed out that it would essentially require a higher battery capacity, which would mean a bigger, heavier, and more expensive battery pack. This battery would be "unneeded" on a daily basis, as even the current 400+ mile range is more than enough. Handling and efficiency would be substantially affected too with a bigger battery.
It's not the first time when Elon Musk cooled down expectations, which exceeds rationality and we fully agree with that.
Electric cars are already quite heavy (usually heavier than internal combustion engine counterparts) and expensive, so the right way to do this is to address those issues first, instead of increasing the range to such high values. Especially since the fast-charging networks are growing nicely.
Tesla appears to be on the right path in terms of range balance and weight-reduction approaches through the introduction of a structural battery pack (the weight of the remaining structure of the car would be lowered).
This is one of the most important directions for the mainstream electric car market, in terms of costs, performance, and also the environment.
After crossing 400 miles (300 miles in many cases), the race to extend the range is not the priority. It might be in some niche segments, including luxury cars like the Lucid Air, but even in the case of Lucid, many customers preferred the Performance version of the car (with about 50 miles less EPA range) instead of the Range version of the car.
Some range race probably is ahead of us in the case of vehicles that have to tow - they really need bigger batteries to work in challenging conditions.
“Why not have standardized batteries that you just swap out like you do with bbq grill propane tanks?”
I think I said that in post #45....or are you just making fun of my idea?
No, I saw that and was just giving an example of a widely used/implemented exchange system.
OK.
Like I said, even that would have many issues.
First of which would be making manufacturers standardize the batteries and connection design.
Good luck with that one.
Aren’t all external charging ports standarized? So it may not be as much cat herding as you think.
Then why anyone brag about 600 mile range?
Not sure I follow.
I thought the idea was to exchange a flat battery for a fully charged one in a short period of time to alleviate the charging turn around time.
Are you going down a different road?
Yes, I’m just pointing out that the different makers already agreed to a standardized eternal connector so its not like that is some very foreign concept for them grasp and agree to for an internal connector.
So, you think a renter is to do what exactly to get around? Dumb thought, really.
Yeah but even the size of, and where the battery lives in the car varies from make to make.
Although battery exchange would alleviate the battery replacement cost.
And another thing I’m not sure anyone has mentioned is how much does musks S 12 model cost?
Got a neighbor that just bought a Y model.
I suspect it was around $60k. A bit out of the working man’s reach I would suspect...it is mine anyway.
An ISA standard boost battery would fix the cross country trip thingy but not the mass evac thing. 40ish LB ea. Trunk or under hood connectors. Drop in. Pokeyoked so no possibility of user error. Car can have 4 or 5 installed at once. Up to 200 LB of quick swap battery. Car comes with 1. There is a core charge on any additional ones you want to install. It is a drop in cradle thing. Full core charge refund if you bring them back fully charged to the gas station. Just a cycle cost. Kind of like rewinding video tapes. Think Rino propane tanks at gas stations, but that have recharge capability and act as vending machines. Same business model. I should sell this idea... but too late... posted it.
Lucid is hiring in my area (Pinal County, AZ) and I’d love to apply. However, they require you to be fully vaccinated so I’ll pass. So dumb.
Good grief....Lucid is a NEW start-up company.
Their new car is light years better than Tesla in terms of quality & luxury...and competes against “S” class vehicles more than Tesla’s junk in comparison.
That Lucid has superior battery technology speaks volumes of its engineering level.
You Tesla fanboys are somethin’ else....
My wife just got a tesla. She does a lot of short local driving between her businesses. Pros and cons to them, but since gas hit $4 a gallon here today, it is saving her a ton of money. A supercharger stop is costing $12 for a “fill up” with a range of about 300 miles. I am adding plugs next week at her stores, that should lower the cost to about $9.
Looking at the current interest in the tech industry with EV's and some of the advances in the pipeline, I will bet, right now, that 20 years from now this thread will look kind of silly.
There will be plentiful charging stations and they will work in a time frame comparable to filling your tank with gas. EV range will commonly be greater than 500 miles with some vehicles offering 1000+ mile range.
The real bottleneck will be the electrical grid and power generation. Again, looking at what is being researched now, I would say that a decentralized power grid with various power generating sources - including updated nuclear - will provide enough power to push all those golf carts.
20 years? Remember, this was the number one selling cell phone in 2002...
And your computer probably had 512K of ram...
Except Lucid is 15 years old. Tesla is only a bit older. Check your facts before you post will ya?
“Then why anyone brag about 600 mile range?”
Article is about NOT bragging about 600 mile range.
“What if I want to drive for 12 hours straight, “
What if I want to go 0-60 in less than 2 seconds.
Uhhhhh, Lucid just introduced their FIRST car...and it’s superior to ALL of Tesla’s models introduced throughout the years.
Tesla is infamous for their VERY poor construction quality and cheap materials used in the interior.
Lucid is in “S” class in terms of luxury and construction quality....and battery technology superior to Tesla.
Check your facts, fan boy.
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