Posted on 04/05/2015 5:36:33 PM PDT by LogicDesigner
While Tesla Motors continues to fight it out on a state level with dealership groups—most recently gaining ground in Georgia but getting shut out in West Virginia—one thing is for sure about the automaker's product: The Tesla Model S is, again and by far, the most-loved vehicle in the U.S.
The Tesla Model S, according to the market-research firm Strategic Vision, boasts figures of ‘love’ from their overall vehicle experience that handily top those for much-loved sports-car models like the Porsche Boxster and 911.
A whopping 92 percent of owners of the Model S summed their experience in the top “I Love It” box. It’s a pretty good indication of what a disruptive product the 2015 Tesla Model S continues to be.
...
The Model S wasn’t the only ‘green’ vehicle near the top of the list. The Chevrolet Volt placed second among mass-market cars—second only to the Dodge Charger—in that ‘love’ metric.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Why no, generation infrastructure has “contracted” over the past several years.
One of several articles detailing generation capacity loss.
Multiply that across the board.
But electricity is magic....
I doubt they actually need the juice in order to successfully get home. Even the lowly Nissan Leaf has an 84 mile range, and 78% of Americans drive less than 40 miles roundtrip in their daily commute.
Second, I'm sure seeing it everyday makes it seem like a common occurrence, but that does not change the fact that the vast majority of charging occurs overnight at people's homes. Your experience is anecdotal.
Finally, do they really wait until the afternoon to plug in instead of plugging in when they arrive at work in the morning? That seems like added inconvenience without any benefit.
The typical morning commute can be recharged in an hour, two hours if you have an especially long commute. I doubt any of those cars are still charging after 10 a.m.
You doubt, I observe. I hope I never need to rely on any chips you’re involved with.
Sorry, that is all incorrect.
I’d be happy to explain, but you can research it yourself...and it’s late.
There’s a French battery-powered car (two seater and just for local travel), where they leased the batteries to you. At the end of the cycle....you simply brought the car back to the shop, and they swap batteries with you. Naturally, there’s a lease cost (I think it’s roughly $75 a month).
The problem I see with this business is if you get into an accident....you automatically need hazmat folks there and the fire department will probably figure some gimmick to charge you an extra $20,000 for cleaning up the mess and possibly disposing of the batteries.
No need to be rude.
I didn't claim it was efficient. We were talking about temporary emergency scenarios. I think inefficiency can be tolerated in such rare situations.
The hazmat thing was just a fear-mongering myth that was peddled when electric cars first came out. Regular firefighters can handle battery fires just fine.
Not to mention that there are over 200 fatalities per year in gasoline car fires. The Model S admittedly has vastly fewer cars on the road, but they have had zero fire fatalities. If you look at the video of the Tesla fire that was making the rounds a while ago, you can see that the fire does not enter the passenger cabin, which is by design.
Here is that video, complete with a regular firefighter. As a bonus, here is compilation of some regular gasoline car fires. Notice how quickly they catch on fire? Remember all that hype about a couple of Volt fires? What most people didn't pay attention to is that both of the Volt fires occurred over a week after the Volts were crashed! The Volts were crash tested then put in storage without properly draining the damaged batteries, and it still took a week to catch fire.
Lastly, Tesla has a battery recycling program that handles battery disposal.
“Want to defund Iran’s nuclear program? Buy an electric car.”
Sorry, that won’t help their stock. It’s a lost cause.
“Search Consumer reports on their experience with this wondercar. Also research “Tesla bricking” . They are rich boy toys, nothing else.”
I told a bunch of co-workers to look up “Tesla Brick”. For others here, it means that the car doesn’t just stop when it runs out of charge, it literally LOCKS UP all 4 wheels. Very difficult to steal in that state - but also VERY DIFFICULT TO TOW. You basically need some kind of construction crane to get it off the street.
It’s some kind of ‘safety feature’.
“I would like to hear from someone that drives a Telsa as to what it has done to their electric bill. No matter the source of the electricity. Is it a matter of pay at the pump o send your money to the electric company?”
In California people are paying up to 46 cents per kwh marginal cost for electricity. It’s difficult to see them saving a damn thing by having an electric car.
AWESOME POST! Where to begin.
“Your model only includes EU and US markets. So the rest of the WORLD would eat our lunch economically by enjoying plentiful oil and having their transportation costs a fraction of our overgrown throwaway golfcarts.”
We can all generate solar power and store it giant lithium iron batteries too - while China/Vietnam burns coal and cheap oil. Our electric will cost 50 cents per kwh, while they pay less than 10 cents. Guess who wins when it comes to manufacturing?
“The rare earth minerals on which your toy cars depends are not in unlimited supply, and China controls the vast majority of their production, Russia has a large part of it as well.”
We were forced to support the white government of South Africa FOR DECADES because they were the ONLY alternative to the Soviet Union for the supply of Titanium and other critical Cold War materials. Even Jimmy Carter wasn’t able to pull the plug on them.
“We can control oil prices NOW by “Drill here, Drill now” policies, building the pipeline your buddy in the WhiteHut is blocking, and lifting the restrictions on the US exporting oil.”
Oil is now $50, we proved your point and the world WILL NOT run out...not in the next 100 years, at least.
It is ODD that someone would be here trying to get us to buy government-subsidized cars. First, we DO NOT like the taste of them, and second the vast majority of people here are NOT RICH and simply don’t have an extra $80k sitting in the bank to buy a Tesla instead of an Accord.
“Coal, Nuclear, and Hydro can’t be turned down at night so you the electricity is PUMPED BACK INTO THE GROUND.”
We have an anti-drug policy here at FR, for people that post.
“BS. My company has a number of employees with electric cars, and ALL of them await the time in the middle of the day - PEAK GRID TIME - when they can charge up their eCar so they can actually drive home without running out of juice.”
I’m not defending the leftist, but I suspect that most of them can make it home on their overnight charge...but they can’t resist the ‘free’ electricity provided at work. Either way, it’s not doing the grid any favors.
Coal is oil. We can get gasoline from it.
My impression is that, like Lithium, China's key advantage is their cheap refining capacity. I read an article about how Molycorp exports some of its neodymium and other rare earths they mine in California to China for refining.
This tells me that if things go south with China, it is just a matter of the U.S. and other countries building the appropriate refineries.
“Projecting future generating costs on a vastly higher KWH load using today’s costs is as valid as me using gasoline costs from the late 60’s (28 cents a gallon) in calculating fuel costs today. Ga is losing 1/6th of it’s generating capacity due to EPA regs in the next 18 months. Other states are facing similar losses. Nothing to replace these coal fired plants. Elect rates will skyrocket, and adding tens of millions of industrial battery chargers to the grid will cause higher costs still, and likely collapse the grid as we now know it.”
Yes, coal plants are on the decline but they are being replaced largely with natural gas plants. Check out this page:
Scheduled 2015 capacity additions mostly wind and natural gas; retirements mostly coal
And like I was saying earlier, we could add tens of millions of electric cars to the grid tomorrow and they could all charge with unused nighttime capacity. Though over time, the grid will need to gradually grow, like it has been doing for over a century. Supply and demand has two parts: yes, demand grows with time, but new supply generation is built as well.
Despite all the doom and gloom that people associate with coal plants closing, I bet you won't be experiencing brownouts this summer, unless maybe if you live in California.
Exactly. I work in a certified "green" building and they get their certification (and higher rent) by giving away free electricity. Now that the scam has caught on there are so many people trying to cash in, they have an attendent to drive the electric cars between their parking spots and the charging spot. Another one of those "clean energy jobs".
Cute.
“Exactly. I work in a certified “green” building and they get their certification (and higher rent) by giving away free electricity. Now that the scam has caught on there are so many people trying to cash in, they have an attendent to drive the electric cars between their parking spots and the charging spot. Another one of those “clean energy jobs”. “
LOL...now I’m starting to think about it more - why even bother charging at home when it’s free at work. California better hope to hell to electric cars don’t catch on, because they are HOSED if they do.
I can see three “solutions” to the charging at work problem:
1) Outlaw it (and try to explain why, LOL)
2) Charge for it (market rate is 45 cents per kwh at peak time - try explaining that)
3) Force the buildings to install huge battery packs to store up the nighttime energy.
Why don't you show us that calculation.
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