Tesla Electric Automobiles

Discussion in 'Energy & Fuel' started by Yvonne Smith, Jan 26, 2015.

  1. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    If I could choose any car I wanted; I think it would be one of the Tesla electric cars. They are so far advanced from the old-fashioned battery run cars, as to not even be in the same class as any of the others.
    Tesla has designed cars that look and perform like a sports car, but run on electricity.
    Not only that; he is in the process of building solar-powered charging stations all across the United States. People that have a Tesla automobile can charge at one of these stations for free; so you could literally drive from one coast of the US to the other, and never pay for fuel or charging.
    The charging stations will be placed where there are facilities like food and motels; or a large truck stop. That way, a traveler can park in a charging stall, leave your car to be charged up, and go enjoy your dinner while it is charging.
    Tesla offers two types of charges. One is a slower charge, which is the free one; but they also have a fast charge alternative, if you need to just charge up in a hurry and don't want to wait. These fast charges do have a cost associated with them; but they will save time if you are in a hurry to get somewhere.
    Here is a map showing some of the places where the Tesla charging stations are already at; or will be being built.

    http://blog.caranddriver.com/tesla-...-stations-nationwide-but-not-its-dealerships/
     
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  2. Joss Brown

    Joss Brown Veteran Member
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    My dream car is a red Tesla Roadster. They are so sporty. I have seen a few around town. There is also a huge Tesla charging station five minutes from my apartment. It was completed a month ago. There are 12 charging pumps.

    A friend of mine purchased a Chevy Volt 2 years ago. It's so quiet. It was very disconcerting at first. Now, I'm used to it. He lives in an apartment and is unable to charge his car at home. He joined a few electric charging networks and has never had any problems charging his car. There are plenty of charging stations in our city.
     
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  3. Juan Ortega

    Juan Ortega Veteran Member
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    I would love having an electric car in general. Especially, since a Tesla has more space and recharging is not necessary. Seeing gas prices change I would prefer never having to pay for gas again. I definitely hold the electric car as a must have, not only does it save money but helps the environment. Repairing and maintaining the vehicle becomes easier than ever before, without a combustion engine. Not to mention the insane acceleration offered by the machinery with the right tweaks and adjustments it would be one of the dangerously fastest cars.
     
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  4. Michelle Stevens

    Michelle Stevens Veteran Member
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    I'm getting quite jealous reading this. In South Africa our power supply is under serious pressure and we have regular scheduled power cuts just to keep it from collapsing altogether. I'm not sure if there are electric cars around, but if anyone has one they may find themselves being unable to use it when they need to get around. I hope the situation improves before I'm too old to be able to take advantage of this new technology.
     
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  5. Adam Fields

    Adam Fields Veteran Member
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    I am a huge advocate for researching alternative ways to fuel vehicles. We only have a limited amount of fossil fuels and these will not hold up forever. Once they run out, if we don't have any other way to fuel, we simply won't be able to use them anymore. Certainly this will not happen in my lifetime but for future generations this will definitely be an issue. There are just so many benefits to providing an alternative fuel source.
     
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  6. Juan Ortega

    Juan Ortega Veteran Member
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    Fossil fuels are becoming more and more outmoded. It seems the only reason why fossil fuels have not completely been replaced is due to cooperate monopolies and or government regimes. There are countless other ways to fuel, including water, hemp, air, solar, and electrically. These are a few ways which can be undertaken by anybody with the right tools. Certainly this will happen in the next upcoming years. However the benefits for providing an alternative fuel source, will reap in the distant future.
     
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  7. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    The only problem with electric cars are the charging stations. Like the LPG engine of taxicabs here, they complain that LPG filling stations are too few that sometimes they do not ply routes that have no filling stations. That's understandable for what would happen if you run out of fuel and there's no filling station nearby. It is worse for LPG because unlike gasoline where you can buy in a container, an LPG cannot be transported like that. It has to be direct to the taxicab's LPG tank.

    I am more excited with the Google Car than the electric car because of the higher probability of being practical in usage.
     
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  8. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Electric cars can have their batteries charged right at your home every night, so if you were just driving them around town, then it would not be a problem to keep it charged up.
    Tesla is also building a network of charging stations that are clear across the United States, and they are powered by solar, so they are not dependant on electricity to power them. It is now possible to drive clear across the United States without having to use any fuel.
    The newer electric cars will run over 200 miles before needing to be charged, so even a taxi should be fine, and could be charged up when the driver goes off-shift.
    Using a solar-powered battery is about the most cost-efficient and "green" source of fuel that we can use for a vehicle.

    I do not understand your statement @Corie Henson about why you think that the Google Car would be any better, since it is an electric car that runs on a battery also ?
     
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  9. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    What I mean about the excitement in Google Car is its feature - driverless.

    I have been meaning to buy an e-bike which costs approximately $300 only. The literature said it can run for 3 hours before a recharge is needed and when it goes on lobatt then you can use the pedals. I find it very practical for an electric bike because of that pedal which electric cars don't have. But my apprehension is the maintenance and after sales support. What if something goes wrong with the bike? The second point is the battery. The warranty on the battery is not very clear so that is a point of doubt. But most of all, traveling on 2-wheels is very risky because of the seemingly reckless driving of mostly public utility vehicles. So if I buy that e-bike, I can use it only inside the village.
     
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  10. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    One problem I see with electric vehicles is the sorry state of the electric grid in the U.S. Blackouts and Brownouts happen too often as it is when temperature extremes cause too much power usage. If a significant portion of the population were to plug in an electric car every night the power stations couldn't handle it.
     
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  11. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    @Sheldon Scott , that is a very good point, and it would probably affect the electrical use. However, if people were to use the solar chargers, like Tesla is making, then it would not be a problem. The solar power charges everything up during the day, and then people could plug in the battery into the charger at night.
    We have a similar gadget for charging up the iPhone or iPad. The charger can either be plugged in to charge it up, or will charge from solar power. Then, you can use that to recharge the battery in the phone or tablet.
    Hikers carry these along with them when out in the mountains and away from any electricity to charge up the cell phone.
    To use the same idea for a rechargable car battery should work also.
    Harbor Freight Tools sells (or used to) a little solar panel that hooks into the cigarette lighter, fits on your dashboard, and it keeps the car battery charged.
    Obviously, it would take more than that to charge a battery if the car was running on the battery; but the idea is there.
     
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  12. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    I am surprised with that comment about the blackouts and brownouts in the US. When we had that problem in 1994 and 1995, we all accepted that fact since we know ours is a third world country, meaning we live in a poor country. But for the US to suffer that problem, I am really surprised. I haven't been to America but our orientation was that America is an ideal country, not perfect but ideal. And what's ideal if there are power outages?

    Let me just segue a bit. With the present problem of traffic here, it got me thinking that the world is getting to be crowded. For all we know, the population may have exceeded the optimum level vis-a-vis resources that's why we are now feeling the effects, so similar to climate change eh?
     
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  13. Ike Willis

    Ike Willis Supreme Member
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    Seven years ago I bought an electric mobility scooter to get around the down town area I live in. The first few years I went through a set of batteries every 12 months. That was because I went out joy riding every day and at full speed, 5-6 MPH. My last set of batteries are over 2 years old. I learned to drive at half speed and avoid hills as much as possible. Also, I don't ride it every day anymore or in the winter much.
     
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  14. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    Do you mean to say that frequent use of the electric scooter drains the battery? I thought batteries last long when you charge it properly. From the dealer of the phone, she said that I should drain the battery before re-charging it so the battery's life will last longer. Charging when not necessary lessens the life of the battery. And with a year of use of that battery, I guess it is expensive of you have to buy a new battery every year. Maybe the new electric motors now are advanced when it comes to battery consumption.
     
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  15. Ike Willis

    Ike Willis Supreme Member
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    Batteries can only be recharged a number of times. Where I live I wouldn't want to go out with a battery with a low charge, just to run it down for a recharge. In my town, everything is on a hill. I let my battery run down too low once, and could barely get back to my building, which is on a hill. My scooter has a built in charger that shuts off when the battery is fully charged. As long as it's plugged in it will stay fully charged. My current batteries are 2 years old and holding up well. May get 3 years out of them. Also, cold weather saps power from batteries, and I live in Iowa. We know about cold. lol.

    A fellow I once worked with built an experimental electric car once. He attached an auto generator to each of the four wheels and had a 12 volt electric motor for power. The motor ran off four car batteries. He reasoned with the four generators recharging the batteries as he drove, he should be able to go great distances on a full charge. Didn't quite work that way. Each of the four generators added resistance that the drive motor had to overcome, along with just moving the car.
     
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