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

Discussion in 'Economics and Financials' started by 2socks, May 31, 2009.

  1. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    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.
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2009
  2. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    It'll be the answer if they can drop the damn price.:up:
     
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  3. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    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!!!!!
     
  4. Coral Reefer

    Coral Reefer Premium Member

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    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:
     
  5. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    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:
     
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  6. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    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!!!!!!!
     
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  7. CrunchTime

    CrunchTime Administrator Retired Administrator

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    [ame="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6923835633598627078&ei=UeAiSpvaGoSIrwL4_YnDDA&q=electric+cars&emb=1"]Who Killed the Electric Car? trailer [/ame]
     
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  8. CrunchTime

    CrunchTime Administrator Retired Administrator

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  9. CrunchTime

    CrunchTime Administrator Retired Administrator

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    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..
     
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  10. jdang307

    jdang307 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Tsk Tsk GM. Tsk Tsk.

    And everyone was playing catchup to Toyota for their Prius.
     
  11. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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

    Ludacris Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    http://www.reuters.com/article/earth2Tech/idUS329112097920090525
     
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  13. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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  14. daphins

    daphins A-Style

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    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.
     
  15. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    for a hundred grand I could have an SL600.. vroom vroom
     
  16. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    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.
     
  17. rafael

    rafael Well-Known Member

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

    Ludacris Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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  19. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    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.
     
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  20. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    How do I charge the thing?
     
  21. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    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..
     
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  22. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    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.
     
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  24. Zach13

    Zach13 Season Ticket Holder

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    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.
     
  25. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    I dunno bro, the science is inconclusive regarding pixies. Shady at best.
     
  26. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    [​IMG]


    ....the truth is out there
     
  27. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    Natural gas would be a welcome addition. Oil shale and expanded use of coal would be fine by me as well. What I'd really like to see is the rise of nuclear power as the primary source of energy for the grid. One of the few things France does right is nuclear power: something like 80% of France's electrical grid is powered by nuclear reactors.

    As things stand, that will never happen here in the US. There are simply too many barriers to the creation of nuclear plants.
     
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  28. eric

    eric New Member

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    electric cars could be plugged in with timers so they only charge durring off peak hours. that could be cheaper for consumers if they have different rates at certain times of day.

    and it would help prevent over loading any grids.
     
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  29. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    If electric cars became the norm, there would be no such thing as an off-peak hour.
     
  30. Zach13

    Zach13 Season Ticket Holder

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    Exactly, people would get to work and look for a place to plug in.
     
  31. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    Only if they didn't the night before. The batteries usually charge for an x number of miles. The hybrids are designed to have a gas engine kick in when the battery gets low.
     
  32. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    Not even that. You'd have normal power grid use during the day, and then during the night, everyone's cars would be plugged in to charge. Imagine every single car in the United States simultaneously drawing power from the grid.

    Actually, don't. It's a terrifying scenario.
     
  33. eric

    eric New Member

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    but that would never happen. electric cars have more then just a 30 mile range. they can get over 200 miles or more on a charge. there is no reason for people to plug them in every night.
    they would never all be plugged in AND charging at the same time becasue of that, and because its not the same time every where. AND because it would not take 8 hours for each one to charge and stop drawing power.

    your argument is irrational.
     
  34. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    you didn't think the govt wouldn't try to control this switch did you??

    Of course they will.........it's the govt way

    And I am well aware of the shift that would occur. I also believe gov't must be involved for it to occur long term. Plus there is simply too much money going to be spent to build the infrastructure for them not to be involved.

    I mean, God forbid we be allowed to prosper without some kind of tax and regulation
     
  35. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    Barriers are made to be broken......take the Berlin wall for example. Or the fact that no man had ever stepped foot on the moon. Or how about polio. seems we eradicated it when we wanted to.

    Nope...simple! There will be those that make excuses why it can't be done and then there will be those that don't take excuses and let it side track them. Just like there are those that own the companies and those that will always be an employee of those companies. Two different types with different agendas and different goals. The Dr Phil show ends in 3,2 1
     
  36. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    and we should have a moratorium on new births....my god the new children may use electricity and that is a terrifying scenario.

    more misconception and negativity on why we cant do it. Charging the tesla is electrically equal to running a 75 watt light bulb

    Additionally the Tesla is 3x's more efficient then an internal combustion engine and 2 x's more efficient then a hybrid. Tesla uses 0 oil. the other cars and there technologys use massive amounts of oil. Switching to all electric vehicle's will reduce the USA's consumption of oil 50 - 80% long term. I must add that the US has enough coal inside of our borders to be able to produce 3 x's the amount of electricity long term then all of the worlds oil reserves combined. We are King...at least for a day
     
  37. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    Are you actually comparing converting to electric cars to landing on the moon? Really?
     
  38. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    From completely dead to fully charged is accomplished using 110 volts in less then 4 hours. The ability to plug in the cars as the infrastructure is built across the nation will further deplete the need to charge at night. Additionally if we were going to charge....night would be ideal because power consumption on the grid is reduced 70% at night.

    The Roadster gets 254 miles to a charge and the S coup ($49.900) gets 300 miles. 95% of all people do not travel farther then 25 miles from their home 1 way. the need to recharge would be 1 or 2 times a week ....max. The cost around $7.00
     
  39. 2socks

    2socks Rebuilding Since 1973

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    Yes I am. It will be a monumental task to build the infrastructure needed to support this endeavor. It was a monumental task to get to the moon....but we did it. We just got to want to bad enough. It will cost Billions and billions of dollars too, maybe even trillions. Now.....Hey there's a novel idea; creating jobs with something real instead of artificial money borrowed from our kids and our kids grand kids.

    Maybe the Obama administration could be building the charging stations needed or approving the request from Tesla motors for 350 billion dollars of the tarp money to build the factory needed to mass produce these vehicles. How about all the jobs that would be created directly and indirectly as a result of a new industry in the US. That may actually do something to stimulate the economy long term and bring the cost of the vehicles down so that normal people like you and I could afford to buy one. Instead we give GM, and Chrysler 90 billion to give to our union friends.....oh goodie

    I mean what the hell our Govt is already in the car business......shouldn't be that much of a leap
     
  40. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    Enjoy your advocacy for increased fossil fuel usage, I suppose.
     

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