Is Tesla's EV the answer to the U.S's economic problems

"2socks wrote:

Credit to the Tesla Web site for this Info: www.teslamotors.com

How It Works

When you build a car that's electric, you start with one built-in advantage: Electric cars just don't have to be as complex mechanically as the car you're probably driving now. Sophisticated electronics and software take the place of the pounds and pounds of machinery required to introduce a spark and ignite the fuel that powers an internal combustion engine.

For example, the typical four-cylinder engine of a conventional car comprises over a hundred moving parts. By comparison, the motor of the Tesla Roadster has just one: the rotor. So there's less weight to drive around and fewer parts that could break or wear down over time.

The Tesla Roadster's elegantly designed powertrain consists of just the four main components discussed below. Mind you, these aren't "off-the-shelf" components, and each includes innovations, both small and large. But when you build a car from the ground up, you have the luxury of questioning every assumption — and to distill as you reinvent.

The Battery

When we set out to build a high-performance electric car, the biggest challenge was obvious from the start: the battery. Its complexities are clear: it's heavy, expensive, and offers limited power and range. Yet it has one quality that eclipses these disadvantages and motivated us to keep working tirelessly: it's clean.

The Tesla Roadster's battery pack — the car's "fuel tank" — represents the biggest innovation in the Tesla Roadster and is one of the largest and most advanced battery packs in the world. We've combined available and proven lithium ion battery technology with our own unique battery pack design to provide multiple layers of safety. It's light, durable, recyclable, and it is capable of delivering enough power to accelerate the Tesla Roadster from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds. Meanwhile, the battery stores enough energy for the vehicle to travel about 220 miles without recharging, something no other production electric vehicle in history can claim.
Motor

Some people find it hard to imagine our car's supercar-level acceleration comes from a motor about the size of a watermelon. And while most car engines have to be moved with winches or forklifts, ours weighs about 115 pounds — a strong person could carry it around in a backpack (although we don't recommend it). Compare that to the mass of machinery under the hood of $300,000 supercars that still can't accelerate as quickly as the Tesla Roadster.

But more important than the motor's size or weight is its efficency. Without proper efficiency, a motor will convert electrical energy into heat instead of rotational energy. So we designed our motor to have efficiencies of 85 to 95 percent; this way the precious stored energy of the battery pack ends up propelling you down the road instead of just heating up the trunk.
Transmission

Our single-speed gearbox couples the low drag and fuel efficiency of a manual transmission with the driving ease of an automatic. The Tesla Roadster has only one forward speed. That speed is quick. How fast quick arrives is up to the driver. Perfectly modulated velocity is under total control at all times.

There is no clutch pedal. Just move the shift lever and the Power Electronics Module takes care of everything. You can launch from full stop to highway speed without taking your focus off the road, your foot off the accelerator, your hands off the wheel, or your mind off an entirely new kind of driving experience.

Power Electronics Module (PEM)

Most of the subsystems in the Tesla Roadster are completely electronic and under direct software control. Unlike lesser cars, these systems are not merely a hodge-podge of independent systems arranged pell mell. Instead, each component is designed to be part of a whole that is based on the modern architecture of complex network and computer systems.

You'll see the hub of this network every time you pop the trunk — the Power Electronics Module (PEM). When you shift gears or accelerate in the Tesla Roadster, the PEM translates your commands into precisely timed voltages, telling the motor to respond with the proper speed and direction of rotation. The PEM also controls motor torque, charging, and regenerative braking, and it monitors things like the voltage delivered by the Battery, the speed of rotation of the motor, and the temperatures of the motor and power electronics.

The PEM controls over 200 kW of electrical power during peak acceleration — enough power to illuminate 2,000 incandescent light bulbs.

It'll be the answer if they can drop the damn price.:up:

"Finascious D wrote:

It'll be the answer if they can drop the damn price.:up:

Like anything mass produced the S coup is at $49,900; the roadster at $101,900. Part of the issue with pricing is the roadster is built in Cali which we all know probably is increasing the cost to build by 25%.

Move the factory and couple that with mass production reductions and I think we are there!!!!!

"2socks wrote:

Like anything mass produced the S coup is at $49,900; the roadster at $101,900. Part of the issue with pricing is the roadster is built in Cali which we all know probably is increasing the cost to build by 25%.

Move the factory and couple that with mass production reductions and I think we are there!!!!!

Unfortunately it will probably be moved for cheaper production costs and labor..... to China........ and we'll be right back to furthering another problem killing our country. It's a vicious cycle on all fronts right now. :lol:

"Coral Reefer wrote:

Unfortunately it will probably be moved for cheaper production costs and labor..... to China........ and we'll be right back to furthering another problem killing our country. It's a vicious cycle on all fronts right now. :lol:

Nah, if those things were made affordable in China, Americans would have all the money they spend in gas, to spend right here in the USA. That's trillions and trillions of dollars a year.:up:

"Coral Reefer wrote:

Unfortunately it will probably be moved for cheaper production costs and labor..... to China........ and we'll be right back to furthering another problem killing our country. It's a vicious cycle on all fronts right now. :lol:

The guys that invented it are two ex GM electrical engineers who got tired of the red tape. They quit GM. Each pitched in $75,000 and invented this car in their garage.

It is an American invention and who ever coddles them will be big time rich. They filled out all the paperwork and jumped thru all the hoop's 9 months ago....they are still waiting for an answer to the question.....Can we have 350 million of the Stimulus money to build a factory in the US.

We have the opportunity to keep them here......I wonder what is going to happen!!!!!!!

Who Killed the Electric Car? trailer

YouTube - Who Killed The Electric Car part 1 of 10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3rw9MsHB8Y

GM killed the electric car in the 90s because California tough emissions restrictions were relaxed.Most of the owners including Tom Hanks loved their electric cars and were very upset when they were recalled and destroyed.

If they had continued with it GM would still be in business instead of facing bankruptcy IMO..

Tsk Tsk GM. Tsk Tsk.

And everyone was playing catchup to Toyota for their Prius.

"jdang307 wrote:

Tsk Tsk GM. Tsk Tsk.

And everyone was playing catchup to Toyota for their Prius.

Seems to me when Toyota wasn't looking they got smoked:escape::punk:

http://www.reuters.com/article/earth2Tech/idUS329112097920090525

Tesla IPO?

Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment on its IPO plans. But the company told us back in early 2008 that 2009 would be the year for its IPO (that was before the stock markets took a nose dive, and the appetite for IPOs dried up). Tesla CEO and Chairman Elon Musk reportedly said last year that he planned to raise $100 million from an IPO, but would first raise another round of financing and also wanted the company to be profitable. If those were the two criteria, at least one has been achieved: Tesla announced early last week that German automaker Daimler had taken a roughly 10 percent stake in the San Carlos, Calif.-based startup.

The electric automaker has also applied for a $350 million loan from the Department of Energy to build a factory for its new sedan, the Model S, which it hopes to be producing by late 2011. In the meantime, Tesla is selling its Roadsters for revenue. It also has a powertrain supply unit that Musk has described as cash-flow positive, although Daimler is the only powertrain customer announced so far. The company does not expect to be profitable this year, spokeswoman Rachel Konrad told us in February.

But investors will be interested in Tesla’s revenue today, not what is potentially coming down the pike, said Francis Gaskins, president of IPOdesktop.com, an IPO research firm based in Los Angeles. “In this environment, people don’t look out nine months and say you have revenue coming. They want to see it now,” Gaskins said

"Ludacris wrote:

http://www.reuters.com/article/earth2Tech/idUS329112097920090525

Looks like all it's gonna take is some funding

The long answer...no....

While I am excited about this, plug in cars are not the future. Plugging your car moves the use of fossil fuels from under your hood down the road to a power plant. 30% of the energy is lost when converting fossil fuels to electricity, and a further 30% is lost in transmission along the power lines.

While this is still 20%+ more efficient than a gas powered car it still relies heavily on fossil fuels. What we need is an alternative source of energy...whether it be under the hood or at the power plants.

Don't get me wrong..i'm excited about moves like this....but i'm not one to think that they'll solve our problems either.

for a hundred grand I could have an SL600.. vroom vroom

"daphins wrote:

The long answer...no....

While I am excited about this, plug in cars are not the future. Plugging your car moves the use of fossil fuels from under your hood down the road to a power plant. 30% of the energy is lost when converting fossil fuels to electricity, and a further 30% is lost in transmission along the power lines.

While this is still 20%+ more efficient than a gas powered car it still relies heavily on fossil fuels. What we need is an alternative source of energy...whether it be under the hood or at the power plants.

Don't get me wrong..i'm excited about moves like this....but i'm not one to think that they'll solve our problems either.

Thanks for your answer!! It caused some serious thought. So I did some research for about 3 hours. What I found is a mixture of different things.

Actually EV's can be far more cleaner then even the cleanest gas engine cars...up to 500 times cleaner............depending on how the electricity that is used to charge the vehicle is made.

The findings are typical and expected. If the electricity is created by wind, solar or hydro the car is up to 500 times cleaner then just gas. If the electricity is created by Coal, which is how 1/2 of all the electricity in the US is made then the EV would actually be dirtier.

This is not to say we couldn't make monumental strides cleaning up the electricity plants. Still in the long run the economic benefits to all involved would be well worth the investment.

To bad the Gov't is willing to force the change to EV's when the auto makers are down. Seems ridiculous to me to spend Billions building them back up to try and develop an alternate vehicle.

My ideal scenario would involve converting my house to solar and then getting a plug-in vehicle.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65R2B620100629?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Business+News%29

(Reuters) - Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Corp's initial public offering zoomed ahead on Tuesday with shares rallying more than 40 percent as investors bet that electric cars would define the future of transportation.

"daphins wrote:

The long answer...no....

While I am excited about this, plug in cars are not the future. Plugging your car moves the use of fossil fuels from under your hood down the road to a power plant. 30% of the energy is lost when converting fossil fuels to electricity, and a further 30% is lost in transmission along the power lines.

While this is still 20%+ more efficient than a gas powered car it still relies heavily on fossil fuels. What we need is an alternative source of energy...whether it be under the hood or at the power plants.

Don't get me wrong..i'm excited about moves like this....but i'm not one to think that they'll solve our problems either.

You may want it to be a long term solution, it doesn't mean you shouldn't encourage it for now and improve how you are charging them etc, later. Sorry I really don't buy the whole all the way or none the way argument.

How do I charge the thing?

"lmeister3 wrote:

How do I charge the thing?

From the magical power outlet in your garage..where does that power come from?

Pixies of course, there are pixies living in the power outlets all around the world..

"daphins wrote:

The long answer...no....

While I am excited about this, plug in cars are not the future. Plugging your car moves the use of fossil fuels from under your hood down the road to a power plant. 30% of the energy is lost when converting fossil fuels to electricity, and a further 30% is lost in transmission along the power lines.

While this is still 20%+ more efficient than a gas powered car it still relies heavily on fossil fuels. What we need is an alternative source of energy...whether it be under the hood or at the power plants.

Don't get me wrong..i'm excited about moves like this....but i'm not one to think that they'll solve our problems either.

Why do you only think fossil. Nuclear is a huge option....a option virtually untapped

"2socks wrote:

Why do you only think fossil. Nuclear is a huge option....a option virtually untapped

Probably because the legal hoops one must jump over a period of not just years but decades to get a nuclear permit approval, coupled with Obama's recent scrapping of Yucca Mountain as a waste storage facility, means widespread use of nuclear power in the US is simply not viable.

So basically, if everyone buys electric cars, and plugs them into the power grid to recharge, we'll have to massively ramp up the capacity of the power grid and expand our use of fossil fuels to meet the additional demand.

Electric vehicles simply shift the use of fossil fuels into the background. They do not eliminate dependency thereof.

"Desides wrote:

Probably because the legal hoops one must jump over a period of not just years but decades to get a nuclear permit approval, coupled with Obama's recent scrapping of Yucca Mountain as a waste storage facility, means widespread use of nuclear power in the US is simply not viable.

So basically, if everyone buys electric cars, and plugs them into the power grid to recharge, we'll have to massively ramp up the capacity of the power grid and expand our use of fossil fuels to meet the additional demand.

Electric vehicles simply shift the use of fossil fuels into the background. They do not eliminate dependency thereof.

Many major cities are already asking people to cut back on power usage to reduce the load on the grid.

NYC was in the news just this week for this.

I agree with the conference of Mayors that Nat Gas should be pushed harder.

"padre31 wrote:

From the magical power outlet in your garage..where does that power come from?

Pixies of course, there are pixies living in the power outlets all around the world..

I dunno bro, the science is inconclusive regarding pixies. Shady at best.