Tesla Model 3 revealed
Discussion
Mr Will said:
HB2K said:
Chap I briefly knew at work had an IT company that did this - never actually made a net profit but expanded pretty quickly and then sold out to Microsoft, netting a cool £25m in the process. That's not really Mr Musk's game though - at some point he's going to have to actually start making some money. Early days, though.
I remember reading that his long-term game plan is to make money selling the batteries to other car manufacturers. The cars are a means to bring EVs in to the mass market and force the hand of established manufacturers. Once the big names have make the switch, he can rake in the money providing all the batteries they will need without having to compete with them directly. It's same reason he has "open sourced" all of Tesla's patents - he actively wants other companies using his technology.Zoon said:
That's the problem I see, lets say the chargers you planned to use on your route are in use, you not only have to wait for your charge you have to wait for theirs as well. Add another couple of cars into the mix and you could either be waiting 2 hours to charge or running out of juice.
Exactly. Nightmare scenario if you actually need to, you know, be somewhere?Zoon said:
otolith said:
You don't expect that infrastructure capacity will increase in line with demand then?
The infrastructure may do, but the example I gave of the throughput of a charger will not.You can fill x number of cars up with petrol in 30 minutes.
You cannot charge a large number of cars up in 30 minutes.
That's the problem I see, lets say the chargers you planned to use on your route are in use, you not only have to wait for your charge you have to wait for theirs as well. Add another couple of cars into the mix and you could either be waiting 2 hours to charge or running out of juice.
Zoon said:
The infrastructure may do, but the example I gave of the throughput of a charger will not.
You can fill x number of cars up with petrol in 30 minutes.
You cannot charge a large number of cars up in 30 minutes.
That's the problem I see, lets say the chargers you planned to use on your route are in use, you not only have to wait for your charge you have to wait for theirs as well. Add another couple of cars into the mix and you could either be waiting 2 hours to charge or running out of juice.
Yes but the difference is that I cannot have a petrol station installed at my house, but I'm £1k away from having an electric charging station there. For most people this might entirely resolve their fuelling requirements. You can fill x number of cars up with petrol in 30 minutes.
You cannot charge a large number of cars up in 30 minutes.
That's the problem I see, lets say the chargers you planned to use on your route are in use, you not only have to wait for your charge you have to wait for theirs as well. Add another couple of cars into the mix and you could either be waiting 2 hours to charge or running out of juice.
Zoon said:
otolith said:
You don't expect that infrastructure capacity will increase in line with demand then?
The infrastructure may do, but the example I gave of the throughput of a charger will not.You can fill x number of cars up with petrol in 30 minutes.
You cannot charge a large number of cars up in 30 minutes.
That's the problem I see, lets say the chargers you planned to use on your route are in use, you not only have to wait for your charge you have to wait for theirs as well. Add another couple of cars into the mix and you could either be waiting 2 hours to charge or running out of juice.
That would help the power infrastructure cope with the load of multiple vehicles charging at once with an increased in number of charging stations
0a said:
Yes but the difference is that I cannot have a petrol station installed at my house, but I'm £1k away from having an electric charging station there. For most people this might entirely resolve their fuelling requirements.
The difference is that you don't need a petrol station at home.Home charging will resolve most motoring but not all. If the number of chargers increase in line with sales then I see the issue being addressed which can only be a good thing.
HB2K said:
Mr Will said:
HB2K said:
Chap I briefly knew at work had an IT company that did this - never actually made a net profit but expanded pretty quickly and then sold out to Microsoft, netting a cool £25m in the process. That's not really Mr Musk's game though - at some point he's going to have to actually start making some money. Early days, though.
I remember reading that his long-term game plan is to make money selling the batteries to other car manufacturers. The cars are a means to bring EVs in to the mass market and force the hand of established manufacturers. Once the big names have make the switch, he can rake in the money providing all the batteries they will need without having to compete with them directly. It's same reason he has "open sourced" all of Tesla's patents - he actively wants other companies using his technology.
)-Z- said:
smilo996 said:
Compared to the BMW i3 which really is revolutionary, Tesla cars are like 70's Caddy.
i3, revolutionary? Expensive, slow and crap range on pure electric power. Honestly the T3 wipes the floor with it in every way.
The i3 is good in terms of how they've used materials. It's basically all plastic but as an old Lotus owner they are light years ahead of how Lotus is using plastic. It feels typically BMW solid - you'd never know all the panels were plastic if you weren't told. It's also light which benefits handling though obviously the tyres are the limiting factor.
That being said anything software-related feels prehistoric in the i3 after time in a Tesla. And the iDrive controller basically has a User Interface which combines a gen 1 iPod with a Palm Pilot. I worried about the Tesla's touch only display but spend a few hours in it and it feels like the only sensible solution.
The i3 isn't really slow, though obviously not Tesla fast. The instant torque makes it surprisingly fun in the twisties.
I do wonder what it takes for regular car manufacturers to wake up and see what's happening here. Maybe they are too busy fighting over Nordschleife lap times.
I'm currently in the market for a zippy car that slips under the radar in day to day life. I rarely drive more than 60 miles per day, never drive on a track and have a handful of classic cars to enjoy on weekends.
Audi S3, Golf R, BMW M2/M4 — all of these look like vulgar, overpriced and soon to be outdated toys now. The Model 3 completely wiped out all interest I had in them. I'm not sure what I'll buy for the next 3 years until the delivery of the Model 3. Maybe a 991.1 GTS to celebrate the end of an era, but that's not really "under the radar".
I'm currently in the market for a zippy car that slips under the radar in day to day life. I rarely drive more than 60 miles per day, never drive on a track and have a handful of classic cars to enjoy on weekends.
Audi S3, Golf R, BMW M2/M4 — all of these look like vulgar, overpriced and soon to be outdated toys now. The Model 3 completely wiped out all interest I had in them. I'm not sure what I'll buy for the next 3 years until the delivery of the Model 3. Maybe a 991.1 GTS to celebrate the end of an era, but that's not really "under the radar".
HB2K said:
Mr Will said:
HB2K said:
Chap I briefly knew at work had an IT company that did this - never actually made a net profit but expanded pretty quickly and then sold out to Microsoft, netting a cool £25m in the process. That's not really Mr Musk's game though - at some point he's going to have to actually start making some money. Early days, though.
I remember reading that his long-term game plan is to make money selling the batteries to other car manufacturers. The cars are a means to bring EVs in to the mass market and force the hand of established manufacturers. Once the big names have make the switch, he can rake in the money providing all the batteries they will need without having to compete with them directly. It's same reason he has "open sourced" all of Tesla's patents - he actively wants other companies using his technology.feef said:
Tesla also have their domestic battery power supply system, and I could envisage those being deployed into the workings of the superchargers so the load of charging a vehicle is evened out over the day.
That would help the power infrastructure cope with the load of multiple vehicles charging at once with an increased in number of charging stations
They've already discontinued the higher capacity 'powerwall'. And the other will follow soon, it makes no environmental or economic sense whatsoever.That would help the power infrastructure cope with the load of multiple vehicles charging at once with an increased in number of charging stations
At least when the Model 3 fails to shift the required units we'll finally see the end of this pointless subsidy-addicted company, and hopefully people will realise how stupid the idea of mass use of electric cars is.
~2% of UK primary power came from renewables (inc. hydro) last year, and for at least the next 4/5 years the UK grid will be on a knife-edge each winter. That 2% is already costing every household ~£300 on their bills and more through general taxation etc.
Renewables/electric cars are incapable of replacing hydrocarbon fuels at scale.
I really really wanted to like this. As a daily driver it sounded superb. 95% of our journeys are short and we probably do less than 200 mile a week. We also have a large drive so this would have suited our usage profile perfectly and the money saved on fuel, tax etc would mean I can spend more on the fun car.
Unfortunately it looks woeful. People saying it looks nice are obviously looking at different pictures. Being said to look like a BMW 5 series GT is NOT a good thing! That interior with the stuck on ipad also looks half finished.
Shame I was really interested but they've lost me at the last hurdle.
Unfortunately it looks woeful. People saying it looks nice are obviously looking at different pictures. Being said to look like a BMW 5 series GT is NOT a good thing! That interior with the stuck on ipad also looks half finished.
Shame I was really interested but they've lost me at the last hurdle.
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff