Comments on: Tesla Supercharger Network Will Help You Survive The Zombie Apocalypse

By: Pieter Siegers

Pieter Siegers — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 20:50:00 +0000

Of course, future charging will be wireless, such as the ABB bus that charges in just 15 seconds I just read about. The next step is however not use an arm but we’ll drive while loading batteries and then onto the next load strip. And then, hefty battery banks are not that important anymore. Just dreaming ahead… innovation can’t be stopped!

By: Ross

Ross — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 21:05:00 +0000

My country Ireland has tax bands A, B, .., G according to the CO2 emissions. 94% of the passenger vehicles sold are in bands A & B. With 2/3rds of them in band A. My car is an Audi A4 in band A (<120g CO2 / Km)

Electric Vehicles pay no vehicle registration tax (on the sale price) and get a grant of €5,000. There's also no annual motor tax on them and the cost of the electricity (for the Nissan Leaf) is 1c/km.

By: J_JamesM

J_JamesM — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 06:18:00 +0000

I’m not even referring to the size of the people(have you seen some of those Scandinavians?), I was thinking about how difficult it would be to park, or even just squeeze through those itty-bitty roads.

But now that I think of it, the gas costs would be nightmarish for anything bigger than a four-door sedan, wouldn’t they?

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 15:07:00 +0000

Well, there’s the issue of a lot of your streets being only wide enough for two cows to pass. And parking limited to narrow sidewalks. ;o)

(When in Europe I spend most of my time in the ‘more interesting to me’ older parts of cities. Driving a full sized American car would be a nightmare on those streets.)

By: eject

eject — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:23:00 +0000

We will see if this remains the case. While they will charge the Model S for free (and presumably the Model X as well) this certainly will change over time when and if there are Tesla models in the lower price ranges and therefore loads of them. So they will introduce a charging model for charging (haha). But my main point is, they do supply technology to Toyota and Mercedes (Daimler) and Mercedes has supplied some money and also supplies various Mercedes tested and approved parts for the Model S and thereby giving Tesla the possibility of access to known good parts without too much need for durability testing. I am sure Mercedes does want access to this charging network given that it installs the Tesla drive train into the B class and presumably more models over time.

By: Ross

Ross — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 09:34:00 +0000

It isn’t all epigenetic effects from our grand parents having to eat rations during the war. The price of petrol & diesel is double what it is in America.

The running costs of EVs are consequently ultra attractive.

Engines are taxed by CO2 emissions so the vast majority of cars are small 4 cylinder ones.

By: J_JamesM

J_JamesM — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 05:52:00 +0000

Wow, so even a Camry is considered huge? It’s completely different here in the States. My truck is 17 feet long, seats six and is a V-8. It’s considered, at least in my area, to be “small.” That’s because it has only 4 wheels instead of six, two doors instead of four, and hasn’t been “lifted” and given huge monster-truck-like tires.

Even so, parking it, even in our huge American lots, is a lot like trying to thread a Zeppelin through a needle. I can’t imagine how hard it is for “big” trucks…

By: Ross

Ross — Fri, 31 May 2013 21:24:00 +0000

Being proprietary didn’t turn out too bad for Apple. There are a growing number of regular EV charging points. If I was a Tesla driver I’d be attracted to the super charger network knowing that the hoi polloi Nissan Leaf drivers wouldn’t be clogging up the Super Charger.

By: JamesWimberley

JamesWimberley — Fri, 31 May 2013 19:53:00 +0000

The bad news is that Tesla superchargers are proprietary, and not usable on other EVs. This is ridiculous, since there are industry standards. Moniz should bang some heads together. Imagine a network of gasoline stations in 1920 only usable by Fords and another for Chevrolets.

By: Ross

Ross — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:42:00 +0000

In Europe a Toyota Camry is considered a barge. Anything bigger is massive. Sales of it ended in 2004.

An even smaller Tesla suited to us short Europeans with narrow streets and low protein diets would be good.

By: J_JamesM

J_JamesM — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:52:00 +0000

No kidding! I have always thought one of the very, very few undesirable qualities of the model S- at least when it comes to my needs- is that it is a titanic land-whale that weighs in excess of two and a half tons. The car’s huge. And broad. It’s actually wider, heavier and just as long as a Chrysler 300, which in and of itself is an immense barge of a car.

So a mini-model S, something the size of maybe a Toyota Camry or something, but still possessing that awesome fastback body style, would be ideal. And toning back on the cost is probably the best part.

By: Success of Tesla Motors paves the way for more clean energy investment » TckTckTck | The Global Call for Climate Action

Fri, 31 May 2013 14:30:58 +0000

[…] also announced that it is quickly and dramatically expanding the size of its free, cutting-edge EV charging station network, which gives Tesla drivers 150 miles of charge in only 30 minutes. Many of the charging stations […]

By: Skotty

Skotty — Fri, 31 May 2013 14:25:00 +0000

Why “Phooey”? If the more affordable Tesla is based on the model S architecture and styling, it will really set itself apart from other non-Tesla EVs by being fast, functional, long range, and sexy. Something other EVs generally aren’t. Sounds like a thumbs up to me.