When Tesla got started, there were no active EV programs at any major car companies, according to Straubel. Many have since come around and are developing and marketing EVs. He finds it ironic that when Tesla was launched, the founders were often asked why no one else was building EVs if they were such a good idea. Now that other automakers are offering EVs, Tesla is often asked if it can succeed when so many are working on EVs.
Straubel said Tesla applauds the fact that major automakers have come around. Making a real dent in fossil fuel consumption requires all automakers to offer EVs. "If we'd launched out to sea and no one followed, if the whole industry sort of stood on the shore and watched, that would have been a really difficult place."
Next year, Tesla expects to bring to market its Model S, which features multiple configurations, including a base model priced at less than $50,000, according to CTO and co-founder JB Straubel. (Source: Tesla)
Tesla has been putting its EV component capabilities to work with other automakers, he said. It signed a 2011 deal with Toyota Motor Corp. to supply EV powertrain systems for electric versions of the Rav4, which are expected to be available this year.
New Tesla EVs on the way
Meanwhile, Straubel said, Tesla has continued to refine and improve the technology for its own vehicles, and it has begun development of a vehicle meant to cost substantially less than the original Roadster EV, which cost more than $100,000.
Next year, Tesla expects to bring to market its Model S, which features multiple configurations, including a base model priced at less than $50,000. The various configurations of the Model S, which was designed and built from the ground up, include battery packs that offer different driving ranges.
I agree that currently 90% of our electrical energy is created by fossile fuels. However, electric motors are vastly superior in efficency to internal combustion engines. Gas engines get around a maximum of 20-35% efficiency where as electric motors are closer to 80-95%. You also can recoop some of the energy when braking with an electric vehicle, not so with one that is powered by gas. When you look at equivalents there is data that supports that you produce half as much CO2 with a hybrid or electric car compared to a gas car. Also, if we can continue to promote cleaner energy production (natural gas, wind, hydro, solar etc.) this enviromental impact will continue to go down. Something has to be done as we continue to increase the number of vehicles on the roads and potential drivers (china, india, etc.) we can not contiue to burn gas. Starting now means you have a chance to start to curb the trend toward electric vehicles. Most cars have a life expedancy of 10-15 years, so what you buy today will impact the environment for the life of that vehicle. If we want to change things 20 years from now, you have to start changing things in the next 5 years.
Also, when looking at enironmental impact you have to look at the cost to build the vehicle and batteries. Right now the impact of building a battery can be very costly, not only in $$ but also in environmental impact. There are new batteries being worked on (aluminum based) that have 2-3 times the density of lithium ion ones, but they years away right now. Also, the hope is that the new batteries will be less expensive and more environmentally friendly.
We switched from walking to horses - why? Faster, easier, get more done, etc.
We switched from horses to autos - why? Faster, easier, get more done, less polution on the ground (horse manure) in cities, etc.
Now we are trying to switch from gas cars to electric cars - why? Get rid of concentrated air polution in cities. ....... There are just not enough whys.
So we have isolated polution reasons. Fossil fuel dependency is not working as a why because we are finding more oil every day - even in the US of A.
We need to find enough whys that justify the extra cost - note that every switch had added costs.
The financial tipping point may be getting close Electric is nice, but how nice?
Over the last 11 months I have logged 11,000 miles on a LEAF with no issues. I installed a 2.7kw PV system ($10k net cost) to power the car. I am on schedule to payoff the PV system in less than 5 years. We have 3 drivers with round trip commutes of 60, 11 and 2 miles. We fight over the LEAF. Next goal is a pure SF Bay solution (Tesla S from Fremont, SunPower PV from Richmond and Enphase from Petaluma). We have great local products that have good ROIs.
Badgerfan: Yes electric motors are very efficient 97-98% compared to ICE, BUT how efficient is the coal fired plant supplying the electricity? We're decades away from wind and solar providing more than about 10-15% of our load. The best steam turbines are only about 40% efficient. Gee, that EV maybe isn't so good after all. Oh, did we talk about transmission and distribution losses in the grid? What you will find is that the old, nasty ICE isn't so bad after all when you look at the big picture.
There are GE H Class turbines for combined braton and rankine cycles that get 60% thermal efficiency and even with the worst coal (with scrubbers), EV's are still better than petro for emissions and there are health benefits to moving the tailpipe out of the city.
While PV might only make 500wthrs/day that is enough for bicycle style E trike to go 20 miles!! It's far better to put the PV on the home roof.
That said I'm about to build a 32' trimaran sailboat to move aboard where I belong but got thinking it would be a great PV powered boat with lots of area, stability and low drag, thus power needs.
On US electric power last month broke the record for lowest coal use, now about 39.7 % of US generation. Fact is coal while more cheap is 35% less eff than NG cogen plants. And the new ones can throttle down to 50% eff thus relieving theb need for grid storage except in rare cases.
Nukes is 20% of US electric with hydro, RE making about 10%. In most places night time when EV's get charged is mostly nuke and hydro.
They just foreced utilities to cut any powrplant that wasn't eff and that cuts out about 50% of them so coal will increasingly be less of our power, down to 20% of US electricity in 10 yrs which is about the time enough EV's to matter will be on the roads
Most EV owners now either make or buy RE power. Ev's are so eff the slight extra cost buying the RE isn't a problem.
Facts on car eff is gas cars only get 7% of the tanks energy moving the car down the road. If you don't understand why you should be commenting here on this. Look up part throttle eff, etc.
Luckily EV's are 20-65% eff depending on energy source from powerplant/RE fuel to the road. The above from EIA, EPA websites among many others who value the real facts. The posts here that have little basis in fact make me think some oil, coal paid flacks are trying to spread their propaganda.
We can stay on oil and keep having oil recessions, wars one after another killing our economy as it did time and time again.
So let's get to costs. As Telsa admitted to their low Li battery costs it's hard to see how other keep[ talking aboyt $700/kwhr vs real life is between $250-400/kwhr pack complete.
Today was my 4th ride in my new Harley Servicecar size EV trike and working out great using under 1 kwhr to go 20 miles, $.11 for fuel, and I haven't started optimizing it yet. This EV will cost me about $120/yr to run for everything, electric, battery, tag my biggest expense so about $2/wk. So go ahead and keep knocking EV's and paying for gas, just remember me smiling as I drive by paying $.005/mile for fuel ;^P
Andrew Morris designed a circuit that could detect a stroke victim's groan and convert the sound into a signal so caregivers would know when help was needed.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
On April 21, NASA launched a novel project, putting into orbit three satellites that employ an off-the-shelf commercial smartphone as the control system.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
0 
