Tesla cars

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liveaboard
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by liveaboard »

I recently saw a Tesla here in southern Portugal, bearing Belgium plates.
That's 2,000km 1,250 miles.
I stopped to use the restroom at the highway fuel station, and I observed they have put a charge station there. No fanfare, they're just doing it.
Of course, I have no idea how long the Belgian took to get here.

My roof gets 300 days of unobstructed sunlight a year; if I had a big battery like that in my garage, solar PV panels would actually pay for themselves.

A Tesla might have the range to get me 100 miles and back when I have to do big shopping, but what about when I need to drive up to the capital, 200 miles each way?

The electric cars I could actually afford definitely don't have the range.
Yet.

In Amsterdam they have Tesla taxis; I took one to the airport [got a 4AM deal] and interrogated the driver.
He told me how they charge at night, and have lunch at the "supercharger" station at the Tesla shop outside town, which will charge the car in an hour or two.
The "supercharger" is so expensive that the taxi firm with 20 cars hadn't bought one.

The ride was nice; if I could afford a 50,000 second car, it might be a Tesla.

In the series "Good behavior", there's a couple of episodes devoted to a getaway/road trip in a stolen Tesla as the lead characters struggle to charge on the sly. An excellent showcase for the cars strength and weakness.

In reality, I drive a 20 year old Mitsubishi. Sorry Mr. Musk...
John Hasler
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by John Hasler »

liveaboard writes:
My roof gets 300 days of unobstructed sunlight a year; if I had a big battery like that in my garage,
solar PV panels would actually pay for themselves.

Tesla sells battery packs for that purpose.
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NP317
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by NP317 »

When our composition roof requires replacement (in ~ 5 years) we'll probably install the new Tesla solar shingles with a battery system.
It makes financial sense, even here in HydroPower land.
~RN
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by warmstrong1955 »

NP317 wrote: Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:47 am When our composition roof requires replacement (in ~ 5 years) we'll probably install the new Tesla solar shingles with a battery system.
It makes financial sense, even here in HydroPower land.
~RN
Do the math.
I have a small off-grid solar array I use for my shop, and the computers in the house. I set it up to keep from freezing to death, since our power goes off so often. It powers the pellet stove quite nicely. Watched the NASCAR race the other day on solar power after the power went out 30 laps in too. Handy, and always ready, and easier than my generators.

But....by the numbers, and being optomistic, it will take about 30 years to pay for itself. That doesn’t include replacement batteries, or loss of performance.....solar panels degrade over time.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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liveaboard
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by liveaboard »

John Hasler wrote: Thu Aug 02, 2018 8:19 am liveaboard writes:
My roof gets 300 days of unobstructed sunlight a year; if I had a big battery like that in my garage,
solar PV panels would actually pay for themselves.

Tesla sells battery packs for that purpose.
Ah yes, so do many other companies; but they don't ever pay for themselves as static things.
If the battery was in a car, which dosen't have the option of grid power, then the calculation changes.

The battery is paid for by saving of fossil fuel [VERY expensive here], and if the battery was available to dump power into then PV panels would be worthwhile.

As it is, economically speaking, they don't pay for themselves here, which is silly. The power company won't pay for power produced, not a penny. You can connect and give it to them free, and then they'll charge normal rates when I switch on the lathe or welder and suck power back.

Some high daytime users, like hospitals and factories, have big PV installations on site, and are able to use the power as it's produced.That works well.

I wait for cost effective batteries; I've been waiting my whole life actually.
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NP317
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by NP317 »

I will be watching performance of the Tesla shingle panels over time.
The Electric Coop here lets home-generated power flow into their system, reversing the meter, and decreasing our home costs.
Installation of the "shingle" solar panels costs about the same as installing a regular roof, plus electrical hookup, from a labor perspective.
We are doing the numbers, as is our habit. We will see what those numbers say when the roof requires replacement.
~RN
Mr Ron
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by Mr Ron »

I'm convinced electric vehicles will eventually replace fossil fuel vehicles, but not in my time (84). I'm sure it will come about by a completely new technology not yet thought of and will take off like semi conductors did 50 years ago. I hope I will be around to witness it, but I'm not too optimistic.
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
Cary Stewart
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by Cary Stewart »

We have a Tesla dealership here in Burbank, CA. A neighbor 3 houses down the street bought one of the 1st ones. For me? I am not going to live long enough for them to get to a point where I can drive from Burbank to Carson City, NV without a charge. That's about 450 miles. North bound it is predominantly up hill with a couple of really steep grades. Soooo. I would have to stop in Bishop, CA (about 240 miles) over night to get a full charge to complete the trip. Does anyone remember the Tucker? The difference between Tesla and Tucker is the owner of Tesla is a Billion $ person. Tucker had a great idea but had no money and the big three didn't want a competitor with that advanced a car. My uncle bought stock in the company and had a car on order when the whole thing collapsed.
Cary
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steamin10
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by steamin10 »

As far as electric cars: i think they are on the horizon , but for the wrong reasons. It takes more energy to build the system that makes the short life batteries than can be exchanged in service, and worse as they slowly fail. I think the solution will appear out of the cross over of the fueled hybrid market advances, as the technology grows with the times of use and manufacturing money put in to research. Teh Tesla is but a model A for its times.

Several manufacturers are boasting normal mielage figures of 40+ mpg. That is where the fruit of the mater is. Look beyond the hoopla and whoever gets hydrogen fuel conversion aceptable will be a very rich man. So far it is unacceptably dangerous to handle and produce for common distribution.

Transcontinental railroading is being ignored for high speed travel. Why? Europe and Asia have bullet and similar trains. UK is already on its third generation of high speed trains, and Japan is similar. We have metro, that is the same as trolleys were 100 yrs ago. These are all short run by comparison to the vast expanse of the US crossing. What gives??
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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liveaboard
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by liveaboard »

Airplanes are too cheap, and I believe taxes on jet fuel is minimal or zero.
Despite the noise, they're fairly efficient once they're up there, and they don't need track.

Portugal was going to get a high speed rail link through Spain to northern Europe but the PT government quashed it during the "crisis" to save money.
Pretty stupid when the EU was going to pay 60% of it. Now the contracts are dead and it will likely take decades to bring it back, if ever.
We can all just hope for Musk's "Hyperloop".
Frankly, I'm not a believer [even before he started to appear to go nuts].

One just can't predict future technology breakthroughs, or what will be financed and promoted. Could be hydrogen, or electric.
Hydroelectric? haha
Maybe something completely different.
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Frank Ford
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by Frank Ford »

Mr Ron wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 3:04 pm Maybe the Tesla car doesn't actually exist. I don't live in a big city, but I have yet to see a Tesla car anywhere.
Well, it's clear that you don't live around here.

I can't drive to work (less than three miles) without seeing one in front of me. It's not uncommon to see two parked side by side in a house driveway.
Cheers,

Frank Ford
earlgo
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Re: Tesla cars

Post by earlgo »

The next time you go near a hospital, I'd bet that you'd see at least one in the staff parking lot. Probably black or dark blue in color.

--earlgo
Before you do anything, you must do something else first. - Washington's principle.
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