RE: Tesla Model S: Review

[bertie]

405dogvan said:

crossy67 said:

I'm sure I mustn't be the only one to think this but why can't motor manufacturers and petrol stations come up with an interchangeable battery system?

The problem - as Tesla's many critics being fuelled (sic) by the oil industry cannot help repeating - is that damage to/a fire in batteries is a bad thing (tho nowhere near as bad as driving around with 15 gallons of highly flammable, toxic liquid!!)

Tesla armour their batteries against all but the craziest levels of damage - but that, and ensuring they're as low in the chassis as possible for balance, means they aren't that easy to replace (and maintaining supply of replacement battery packs/moving them around as-needed would be a gargantuan task unless all cars used the same units which is unlikely to happen)

The future may lie in other types of battery tho - the Japanese have a new battery with similar power capabilities to Lithium but which recharges 10 times faster and lasts 10 times longer.

I also read something about someone digging-up and older type of battery where you can literally just 'top up' the electrolyte as you would 'top up' your fuel tank - the issues are of transporting the chemicals and making the system safe for use in 2 tonnes of metal being driving by a fking idiot tho ;0

Did you watch the Tesla battery swap video posted above?

It's done!

[Mr Gear]

mikEsprit said:

The car is nothing more than an expensive work commuter at this point since you can't do any real traveling with it. No thanks.

Ridiculous. I could drive one from London to Silverstone, do multiple laps of the track and then drive it home again without charging it.

I could drive it from London to Newcastle without stopping. I could drive it to bloody Aberdeen in a day if I used a "supercharger" station for a few minutes on the way (and I'd certainly want to stretch my legs on that journey anyway!).

Honestly, what more do you want? My petrol-powered car has a range barely 50 miles more than a Tesla S.

[Dischordant]

I'd love a little electric car that I can use for a daily commute - but I need them to produce one where half the batteries won't need changing after a few years at a cost of thousands of pounds =/

..of course I'd have the TVR for the weekends

[anonymous-user]

garypotter said:

Also why not instal solar panels on the roof to charge the batteries even when they are moving

Mainly because the car has been design by actual automotive and electric engineers, and not someone on the internet...........


(hint, calculate the average amount of power you can harvest from a car roof, and then compare that to 1) the cars average consumption & b) the cost per kWhr of grid electricity)

[Mr Gear]

Max_Torque said:

garypotter said:

Also why not instal solar panels on the roof to charge the batteries even when they are moving

Mainly because the car has been design by actual automotive and electric engineers, and not someone on the internet...........


(hint, calculate the average amount of power you can harvest from a car roof, and then compare that to 1) the cars average consumption & b) the cost per kWhr of grid electricity)

I have a solar powered water feature in my garden pond. The solar panel is the size of A4 paper, and on a sunny day can drive a tiny motor pumping water about 3 inches for about 4 hours max.

[kambites]

It's been years since I last did a journey that the Model-S couldn't cope with. For me, an electric car would be more convenient than an ICE powered one, not less.

I have no desire to own a barge, but if I did the Model-S would be very close to the top of the list of things to test drive.

[moribund]

Had a go in one of these as part of their roving test drive roadshow. You just can't help saying F*** Me when you put your foot down the first time.

Apparently on the top model 80mph on the motorway will drain the battery in 200 miles or so and 250 miles range is easy in normal driving. Compare that to about 50 miles range at 80mph in the i3.

[sprintevo]

Drove one today P85 top of the power range astonishing acceleration and well built for an American car. Comparible pace to my 550 ftlb 335d but without the noise. I can see some aftermarket styling companies working some magic. Like the idea of the 2 rear facing seats for occasional use. best use of space in a car. for a long time I found the touch screen too far away to be useful when driving, however I guess the next thing will be hand recognition as found on my leap motion, so you don't have to even touch, it'l be like the USS Enterprize. top marks for making electric cars mainstream and performance orientated. just need to connect a supply from a road lamp and were away.

[Durzel]

Brilliant achievement, especially for an entrepreneur.

I don't think it's likely that the Tesla will be the car that we find ourselves using in the future though.

Like the iPad the real strength in it is in making other manufacturers with the infrastructure and money to make it cost effective (when does a £80k-£100k car achieve cost parity with a Golf Bluemotion etc?) wake up and realise the potential market, and drive competition.

Sadly I think there's not enough demand and not enough incentive (both consumers and manufacturers) for these things to be anything more than funky toys for the foreseeable future.

[SWoll]

Not entirely convinced by the looks (apart from the huge wheels it looks like the lovechild of an XF and Mondeo) but I'd have to see one in the flesh before passing judgement.

The range would be more than adequate for the vast majority of journeys and for a lot of drivers would probably only need a charge once a week. Why people feel the need to point out it wouldn't do a 600+ mile trip in a day, like that's normal behaviour, is beyond me.

I don't understand the negative comments about touch screens either. Loads of fiddly buttons randomly placed all over the cabin wherever the manufacturer deems correct or a completely user configurable option with everything exactly where the driver wants it and with the ability to be tailored to different drivers preferences? I know which I'd prefer...

For me the whole 'green' credentials of a car like this are still totally unconvincing when you take into account the amount of energy used and pollution created during the manufacturing process and the creation of the electricity needed to charge it, but as a product it's very impressive indeed and I'd love to have a go.

[underphil]

where I'm living in the US at the moment this is the top selling luxury saloon at the moment. See them regularly and they look great to be fair

[bencollins]

Excellent, pennies to run.

[Dan Trent]

Tobeman said:

One of these drove past me this morning along London Wall. It did a traffic light grandprix and I failed to check the number plate in time. Was it the PH one here? It might have been Dutch, and it was possibly a bit greener. Anyway, first one I'd seen in the flesh. From most angles as it drove away at 90 degrees to me it looked like a Jag XF until the rear lights were visible. That's no bad thing in my mind though.

There are, I think, four demos in London based at Westfield. The one we had was dark grey on German plates but there was one on Dutch plates parked up in the underground parking when I went to collect 'ours' so that must have been the one you saw.

Cheers,

Dan

[MondeoMan1981]

Debaser said:

I'd say that's very unlikely.

Both my car and my Mrs have touchscreens and neither were over £11k.....

[whatisitnow]

How is it manufactured though? The Tesla factory looks very energy intensive... Now, seeing Gordon Murray's iStream really exposes some large holes in Tesla's 'Green' thing. Lighter cars would be nice, the Model S weights 2100kg!

For reference - http://www.istreamtechnology.co.uk/1/what_is_istre...

Gordon Murray talking about the iStream process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO_PZ8yEDcI

[Talksteer]

whatisitnow said:

How is it manufactured though? The Tesla factory looks very energy intensive... Now, seeing Gordon Murray's iStream really exposes some large holes in Tesla's 'Green' thing. Lighter cars would be nice, the Model S weights 2100kg!

For reference - http://www.istreamtechnology.co.uk/1/what_is_istre...

Gordon Murray talking about the iStream process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO_PZ8yEDcI

The Tesla Model S rivals all weigh 1900-2100kg, going electric has not added more than 10% to the mass of the car. Given that batteries are getting lighter at around 8% per year expect to see battery vehicles becoming lighter than petrol ones soon.

Once self driving cars arrive expect most of them to operate as taxis, have space for two people and have a relatively short range as they can be charged frequently.

[mikEsprit]

Mr Gear said:

mikEsprit said:

The car is nothing more than an expensive work commuter at this point since you can't do any real traveling with it. No thanks.

Ridiculous. I could drive one from London to Silverstone, do multiple laps of the track and then drive it home again without charging it.

I could drive it from London to Newcastle without stopping. I could drive it to bloody Aberdeen in a day if I used a "supercharger" station for a few minutes on the way (and I'd certainly want to stretch my legs on that journey anyway!).

Honestly, what more do you want? My petrol-powered car has a range barely 50 miles more than a Tesla S.

Your real traveling consists of always returning to home where you have your charger and a backup vehicle in case you need to go somewhere else. Mine doesn't.

[whatisitnow]

Talksteer said:

The Tesla Model S rivals all weigh 1900-2100kg, going electric has not added more than 10% to the mass of the car. Given that batteries are getting lighter at around 8% per year expect to see battery vehicles becoming lighter than petrol ones soon.

Once self driving cars arrive expect most of them to operate as taxis, have space for two people and have a relatively short range as they can be charged frequently.

Well, I don't question that electric cars are the future and they will undoubtedly be lighter than petrol ones

The point I was getting at however was that Tesla seems to have entrenched itself in an archaic method of manufacturing cars, still operating in today's world and not manufacturing outside the box so to speak. Like you say they are really focusing on 'rivals' at the moment, not trying to innovate at a deeper level. Additionally, I can't seem to find any information on how recyclable a Tesla Model S is, apart from knowing that they can recycle batteries and the aluminium panels. Would like to look at this information if it's out there.

Anyway, I too await the future of self driving transportation, think it will happen a lot sooner than most people think!

[LordFlathead]

Great article Dan. Now give the keys to Monkey; I need to see it act like an ICE

[Goofnik]

405dogvan said:

Tesla armour their batteries against all but the craziest levels of damage - but that, and ensuring they're as low in the chassis as possible for balance, means they aren't that easy to replace.

Err, they haven't rolled out this phase yet, but Supercharger stations will allow you to swap battery packs in 3-5 minutes for a fee (to get a full pack instantly). It does present interesting logistical issues, but swapping packs is not a problem for the Model S (and presumably Model X and Model E).