ADias

In a forum consumed with the possibility of a PDK failure... do you think that the many Tesla controllers, coolant systems, displays, cables/connectors, will not fail?

TommyV44

I wouldn't care if the car could fly I'd never buy one....never. Brutal looking vehicle and checks no boxes for me.

Physical looks and fell and sound are all important to me and those cars (cars????) just leave me cold!

Tom

Racetwin2

Raw material will not be sufficient in the beginning to supply while demand. Also the question about recycling batteries will pop up sooner or later and also the cost for that. As long as volumes are small also the problem is small. Vehicle population age is still young.

However I think the technology will continue to develop and batteries as well maybe even with new breakthroughs in technology etc.

The laws of physics and chemistry still apply: You need to store a certain amount of energy in a certain amount of space. The higher the energy density - the higher risks involved as well.

I am in the automotive industry and I can see our problem as automotive manufacturers on how to work with the brand question: for example in the case of Porsche - is it a real Porsche sports car if it doesn't have a flat 6? What makes an electric Porsche different from an electric Honda sports car when it comes to driveline performance? How the brands manage this transition will be key. Those today that have the best fossile engine/transmission reputation need to rebuild it again when it comes to electric but have to start more or less from scratch.

I guess patents will be key to make drivelines perform differently and the other main differences might remain in exterior/interior design.

I think companies like for example Rollls Royce or Bentley might have easier transition since a big part of the brand is exterior and interior design. Cars are already very heavy. Engine performance is good but many owners don't care what's under the bonnet. With electric it might even be easier to get the quiet premium feel.

It will be much easier to start up new car brands as much of the base technology can be simply purchased. This is also where existing car brands will struggle. Today you cannot start a new car brand in fossile fuel without cooperating on engine side with an existing manufacturer. With electric it's completely different.

mjsporsche

I agree! But the market will evolve so I may change my mind. When the tax incentives end, the pricing will need to come down.

Tj40

Anyone read the Car and Driver 'Lightning Lap' with the Tesla? No?? I'm not surprised - they got halfway around a single lap and it went into limp home mode because the batteries were overheating..... no battery cooling compromises performance over any period of spirited driving beyond a couple of minutes.
If you look at the NIO (dedicated track EV) it has more air ducts than your average ICE sports car :-)

I can see an EV as a second 'town car' but with the efficiency of the power grid not that much more than an ICE lets not pretend that we are being too environmentally friendly - you're just moving pollution to somewhere else. Also as tax revenues from gas decline of the EV revolution happens taxation will increase somewhere else..

wc11

Life is more than 0-60.
I imagine Tesla cruises last about an hour with spirited driving before limping home.
I look at Formula E. When the batteries are depleted, the switch cars, not batteries.

FZP

Outside of the brutal acceleration, it's not a brilliant drive. I agree with the earlier comment of it being a town car. Fantastic for doing the mundane tasks in life, but not inspirational driving qualities.
Having taken them for a test drive twice, once at launch, and once before Xmas, it hammered home the point that although an interesting proposition, in reality it's not for me

Austin997.2

The Internal Combustion Engine will never go away. There is far too much cheap oil out there for this to happen in my lifetime, and I don't see what the problem with using up fossil fuels is anyways??? It's cheap, it's convenient, doesn't take energy to make it, use it all up. However, the raw materials to make batteries for cars are not as readily available and are far more finite and destructive of the earth to get them. I would say that the next big thing is not saying good bye to the internal combustion engine by the way of electric cars (which basically run off of coal as it stands) it will be the production of synthetically made oil and gasoline.

Also gasoline cars are much more convenient, try building out charging stations across the Amazon jungle and Sahara desert.

Austin997.2

Bingo

Fahrer

As previously mentioned in other posts, a Tesla cannot blast from traffic light to traffic light as there needs to be a significant wait to cool down the batteries/system ( although Audi seems to have addressed this in their recently proposed prototype) and there is a real limit on the availability of lithium and cobalt. Electric cars will be limited to smaller run or specialty, high priced models for some time. As reported by the CEO of Toyota is a recent interview ( I forgot who conducted the interview) electric cars are two to three breakthroughs away from widespread use. You can bet that internal combustion engines will continue to dominate the market for 10 -20 years. Until then, Americans would need to substantially change their way of life if they want to use/drive electric cars ( planning their trips/vacations around charge facilities, waiting to re-fuel, cold weather limitations, car fires that the firefighters will have difficulty putting out). Good luck getting to work or the airport the next morning if you had a power failure overnight at home! The cost society will be substantial as a new and improved ( more reliable) electric infrastructure will be needed in the US. And, new taxes will be needed to pay for this and the maintaining of roads.

I suspect that electric cars may make make more sense in more developed countries such as in Europe where the driving distances are often much shorter and there is more concern for the environment. Also their electricity tends to be a lot cleaner than the power generated in the US and China. I did read a recent article where a German car industry study found that the capacity/availability for key raw materials for electric vehicles will hit a wall in about 2050. Remember, battery technology has not advanced that much over the last 20-30 years.

http://www.mining.com/electric-cars-...hium-supplies/

By the way, in my opinion, Tesla has no real future. There are no real secrets or "magic" in electric vehicles. Companies such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc. ( if they decide to commit) will blow Tesla away as they all actually make better cars.

andy92782

Since getting the Tesla I haven't had to make any changes to my life at all other than reclaiming time previously spent at gas stations.

Long distance road trips really aren't a concern. Tesla's Supercharger network is substantial and growing every day. Many hotels also offer complementary "destination charging".
Not true. There's some real black magic involved with designing electric motors and inverters at higher power levels. Tesla is absolutely state of the art in this regard. For an excellent background in how this stuff works, Rennlist of all places has an outstanding post regarding this topic:
https://rennlist.com/forums/taycan-a...wertrains.html

php

I view Tesla as a very advanced tech gadget (if you will) that transports one from a to b. If you view it as a tech gadget, it's amazing. I just don't view that as an automobile.

cwheeler

Yeah not even close to the case over here in Virginia. I drive daily, from Richmond, east to Williamsburg or west out to Charlottesville, Roanoke and Blacksburg. Only one charging station that I know of. And it's at a rest stop near Williamsburg. Moreover, for me, my arrivals are time sensitive so taking the time to charge, however long, is too long.

I need a EV that can carry my supplies, and get 500 miles per charge. Until then, it's not a viable option.

But I think the tech is cool, and one day it'll be ready for me.

andy92782

You only think it's not viable... but it is. There are ample charging locations available in your neck of the woods. The orange ones are Tesla superchargers which are capable of adding ~100 miles of range in 15 minutes. More than enough to get you back to your garage where you'll charge overnight and wake up to a "full tank".

yvesvidal

My sentiments exactly. After driving the Tesla Model 3 AWD, with performance/long range batteries, I was blown away. This car in itself, can bury all BMW Series 3, Audi, Lexus and Infinitis, with a lower price.
As soon as it can be made available in Lease, I will definitely get one.
Oh, did I mention it is warrantied for 10 years or 100,000 Miles?

Yves