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The Register Disses Tesla!

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There's nothing here that would surprise anyone who knows anything about Tesla...I don't think it will damage the company. Now if a Tesla spontaneously combusts on its maiden voyage, then there's going to be a problem.
 
Saw this one and had written a comment to submit. Read the feedback and saw most of my comments were covered so I didn't bother. The one missed though was that you are not stuck for 3.5 hours charging, you can top it off or do a lunch time charge or 10 minutes if you want. What is it a mile a minute at 110v?

Oh, I was watching Mythbusters on Discovery the other day and they were try to "outrace" a speed camera. They were on the straight at Infineon raceway (Sears Point, Sonoma CA) They had a Lamborgini and were trying with a Pro driver to go as fast as possble. I thought of the Tesla's limit when the fastest they could go was 140.

Who needs more than the fastest you can go on a pro track?

Especially if you can get there faster...


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vfx said:
Saw this one and had written a comment to submit. Read the feedback and saw most of my comments were covered so I didn't bother. The one missed though was that you are not stuck for 3.5 hours charging, you can top it off or do a lunch time charge or 10 minutes if you want. What is it a mile a minute at 110v?

Not at 110v. I don't know the exact number, but I think charging from 110 is extremely, painfully slow. . . something like 30+ hours for a full charge. It's basically something you might do in an emergency to get you a few miles further down the road to a 220v outlet, as opposed to having your car towed.

Charging from a 50-amp RV hookup should be reasonably quick. You might be surprised how many RV parks there are around, if you start looking for them. I found out there are two parks here in my little town. There are about as many RV hookups as there are gas pumps in town.

Last year I took a trip to Enchanted Rock State Park, in my Esprit. It was just about 260 miles total, and the Esprit obviously handled it with no problem. It might just be possible to make that in a Roadster by driving carefully and not too fast. It wouldn't leave any comfortable margin for error. However. . . If I had been able to plug into a RV hookup at the park and let the car charge while I was hiking around and taking pictures, then it would be no problem at all.

Most Texas state parks have RV hookups. Enchanted Rock is one that does not. So, this is really where we are with charging infrastructure for travellers -- you can see the glass as being half full or half empty. :-\

As somebody pointed out, there was a time when we didn't have 180,000 gas stations in the USA. You had to go to a hardware store and see if they had a can of gasoline to sell you. If electric cars catch on, then you can eventually expect to see chargers in parks, chargers at motels, chargers at workplaces. It may be 15 years from now. It may be 20. Until then we'll just have to be patient and resourceful.

When I get my Roadster, I plan to use it as my daily driver. I'm sure I'll drive it more than I have been driving the Esprit. Still. . . I don't plan to get rid of my old, boring, dependable, comfortable, capable 1995 Pontiac Bonneville. It's got plenty of life left in it, and it'll last even longer when I'm putting most of my driving miles on the Roadster. (And it's not like I would get much for the Pontiac if I sold or traded it off, anyhow.) So if I need something that can drive further, or haul more people, or haul larger objects in the trunk, it won't be a problem for me.
 
I was thinking about the possiblity to use thin sheet solar modules to recharge the car whenever you stop. As Nanosolar is about to start production on their new cheap thin film panels, would it be such a bad idea to construct a sheet of these panels that could be rolled up and stored in the trunk when not in use? Say you have enough to cover 10m² when opened up....I wonder how much charge you would get from that. With newer more efficient panels perhaps it would be practical. Say you stop for 1 hour somewhere to take a break, have lunch....
 
>> wonder how much charge you would get from that

Not much. Sun gives about 1kW of power per square meter at its best. 10 m2 of panels in ideal conditions would yield about 2kWh of energy (20% efficiency) in an hour i.e. cca 20 miles. It's just not practical nor worth it.
It is better to install them at home. Well at least until they are cheaper than recycled paper.
 
I don't know, if such a thing was available, I would buy it. It would mean you could take your electric car virtually anywhere it's drivable. No worries about petrol stations or power lines. You go camping somewhere, you unfold it the whole time you're there. I think it would be enough to give you electricity for a small freezer, tv etc, and enough to fill your electric car if you decide to drive around a bit.
 
I pity the register! (or at least the author of this article) ;D

... because ... nobody wants to be seen as a fool, and once the roadster hits production all doubters will be overtaken. however, by then nobdy will remember this article so it reamains a moot point. :p.

but why am i using hating remarks. oops my bad  :-\

horay for tesla!!! :)