Teslas Giga factory

[turtlerunner]

teslas Giga factory- Does this overthrows the conventional follow-ups in hybrid model vehicles?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFYlEDrE3tc

[GH85Carrera]

Even if Musk could wave his magic wand and build an electric car that is affordable with a truly safe battery technology and have 5 minute recharging that is a big problem. And he is a LONG way from that. That big problem with electric cars is a source of enough electricity generating capacity. We are getting away from coal power plants for a good reason. Natural gas is good, but still releases a lot of carbon dioxide. The only other choice is nuclear power. It seems unlikely will will build enough nukes to make a difference in the supply of electricity.

If the unicorns appeared and waved their horns and converted all the gasoline and diesel vehicles to electric we would be in a world of hurt. We are not even close to having the capacity to generate enough electricity to power the cars of today. Not even a small percentage.

[HardDrive]

Hmmmmm.....I wonder why he built that factory in Nevada instead of in the company's home state of California?

[ckelly78z]

My brother...in his infinite wisdom, bought a Nissan leaf for traveling around NW Ohio doing his pastor duties. At Christmas, he was telling us how the cold weather and wind were affecting his cruising range, and several trips, he feared he would not be able to return (no gas motor, only electric) without finding a charging station, and sitting for a few hours to get enough juice to return home from his 70 mile round trip. There are very few charging stations available that can do a high amperage/voltage charge in a fairly short period in our spread out rural areas.

He also said that he plugs it in every night for a full 110 volt charge at home, but with freezing weather and 25 mph headwinds, the % meter reading how much charge he has left can go down deceptively fast.

So, why own it, if it is that much hassle ?

[Fast Freddy 944]

Yah, hybrids rule.

[petrolhead611]

The Chevrolet Volt and BMW I3 Rex(although it looks strange) are the semi-affordable solutions, and give no range anxiety.
In the UK the government are turning against diesels in a big way, some cities are going to charge double the parking fees for diesels and the same for congestion charges(traversing some inner cities cost a fee except for very low emission vehicles, and high emission vehicles such as old trucks are banned from entering, although only a few years ago everyone was being encouraged to buy them.

[David]

If we just look at total electric generation and how much electricity it would take to replace a given number of gasoline powered cars with electric cars it looks impossible to achieve without doubling or more our current electric generation.

But there's more to it than that. There's a large swing between daily peak electric use which is typically around 5-6pm and minimum electric use around 4am. The minimum use lines up with when most people would be charging their car at night. So we wouldn't need much more generation, we'd just need to use the generation available during current minimum use.

Once there's a smart grid system running where cars are communicating with the grid, the cars can be used for power storage so the grid can alternate between charging a car and drawing power from the cars when the extra load is needed.

[Spud]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

My brother...in his infinite wisdom, bought a Nissan leaf for traveling around NW Ohio doing his pastor duties. At Christmas, he was telling us how the cold weather and wind were affecting his cruising range, and several trips, he feared he would not be able to return (no gas motor, only electric) without finding a charging station, and sitting for a few hours to get enough juice to return home from his 70 mile round trip. There are very few charging stations available that can do a high amperage/voltage charge in a fairly short period in our spread out rural areas.

He also said that he plugs it in every night for a full 110 volt charge at home, but with freezing weather and 25 mph headwinds, the % meter reading how much charge he has left can go down deceptively fast.

So, why own it, if it is that much hassle ?

While that's a great argument against the Leaf, it really does not apply to a Tesla, as they all have > 200 mi range, and the newest ones are closer to 300 mi range.

[RonDent]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Hmmmmm.....I wonder why he built that factory in Nevada instead of in the company's home state of California?

Taxes. Nevada gave him a much better deal than California.

[kach22i]

So what are the advantages of building in the middle of nowhere, and where there is no water?

Low cost land, that is but a single line item.

Will not the commute times of workers defeat attempts at being "green"?

Does everything have to be trucked in and out, or are there train tracks?

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by David

...the cars can be used for power storage so the grid can alternate between charging a car and drawing power from the cars when the extra load is needed.

So, will owners be paid by the power companies for drawing down the charge in their car's battery? And what happens when you need to use your car and find that the local power company has reduced your effective range by tapping into your battery?

[David]

Originally Posted by rcooled

So, will owners be paid by the power companies for drawing down the charge in their car's battery? And what happens when you need to use your car and find that the local power company has reduced your effective range by tapping into your battery?

By the time there's a smart grid this will all be taken into consideration. If you allow the grid to take power it will likely be the same as the retail price. There may eventually be two different pay rates depending on if you are a net buyer or net seller.

You would also likely have a special purchase price if you allow the grid to take power as needed just like many industrial sites today get special rates if they allow the power company to cut them off with short notice if they can generate their own power if needed.

[Fast Freddy 944]

Hell, since I saw this picture, the tesla was a Firebird, I reckon I was wrong.