TESLA Electric Truck?

[Qapla]

When Amtrak pulls out of Florida it is using two diesel electric engines to pull the train. When they reach DC, they pull the tho diesels off and put ONE full electric engine on the train. Not only can that one engine pull the train, it can do it faster and build up to speed in less time/distance. The full electrics are fed with overhead power lines.

So, it they could ever produce a way to feasibly power an electric truck it could certainly do the job.

 

[dickfoster]

When Amtrak pulls out of Florida it is using two diesel electric engines to pull the train. When they reach DC, they pull the tho diesels off and put ONE full electric engine on the train. Not only can that one engine pull the train, it can do it faster and build up to speed in less time/distance. The full electrics are fed with overhead power lines.

So, it they could ever produce a way to feasibly power an electric truck it could certainly do the job.

The first step it finding a way to power the grid then we can think of electric vehicles. Right now they can't even supply enough power on the current grid to handle a hot day in most areas and the silly solar and wind ain't ever gonna do it. However if they ever supply enough power to the grid it might be better just to make hydrogen and burn it in vehicles or use it for fuel a fuel cell to make the electricity to supply the motors. There is a way that makes sense but not many folks talk about it, Thorium and we've got plenty of that stuff.

 

[jack707]

Find a way to build a cheaper better battery

 

[dickfoster]

Find a way to build a cheaper better battery

The battery isn't the problem so much as charging the thing. Well the battery is always a problem which is why I lean toward fuel cells but then the problem is where do you get the hydrogen so you're right back to the grid problem again as the first step.

 

[Renze]

A lot of scarce natural and financial resources go to waste on these feel-good emission free solutions, while they do nothing more than centralising the exhaust gases.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

The battery isn't the problem so much as charging the thing. Well the battery is always a problem which is why I lean toward fuel cells but then the problem is where do you get the hydrogen so you're right back to the grid problem again as the first step.

The battery technology is a HUGE problem. The other HUGE problem is just what was mentioned above - generating the power in the first place.

Fuel cells are just another kind of battery - they are a power storage device. We use power to create hydrogen, stick it in a fuel cell, then use the fuel cell to generate power.

 

[RalphVa]

An battery-powered pickup would suit me fine. I just use it locally. More efficient than a gas engine but less efficient than a hybrid.

The pickup manufacturers aren't being forced even to give us hybrids yet. The CAFE is too low.

Ralph

 

[flusher]

Electric vehicles are idiotic. If anything in the end they produce more pollution than either diesel or gasoline vehicles. What do they think puts the electricity in the wall socket to charge them, the tooth fairy. In effect they are mostly running on coal and very inefficiently at that.

All subsidies should end. I'm tired of them pissing away my tax dollars on idiotic notions like this and ethanol. If it can't support itself then it should be allowed to die a natural death.

GMC and Chrysler Fiat get bailouts, which are their business plans. Ford sells hunks of its assets to stay in business. Tesla uses rebates and energy credits, which is its business plan.

CA electrical generation capacity in 2015 was 79 GW (gigawatts, 1 GW = one billion watts) to power the electrical energy needs of 40 million people and the world's 6th largest economy.

Coal accounts for 0.1 GW of that total.
Oil: 0.35 GW
Largest generation capacity in CA is natural gas at 45 GW.
Nuclear is declining from 4.6GW in 2010 to 2.3 GW in 2015, mostly due to PG&E scrapping the San Onofre reactors in San Diego County.
Wind: 6.3 GW.
Solar photovoltaic (PV): 5.5 GW.
Solar PV is by far the fasted growing energy generation technology in CA up from 0.1 GW in 2010 to 5.5 GW in 2015, a 5500% increase in 5 years.

Electric Generation Capacity

 

[ultrarunner]

A couple of thoughts...

About half of all electric vehicles are in California and Tesla is the only auto plant open for business here... Tesla took over the GM/Toyota plant after GM went bankrupt...

No shortage of electric cars at work... we do not provide charging stations.

About half of the cars are charged by solar... every week I see a new solar install going up... private and public.

My neighbors are in their 80's and did their own solar install a couple of years back... they have so much extra capacity they switched out their 15 year old gas water heater and clothes dryer for electric and then bought a Nissan Leaf that was not expensive... they love it for grocery and errands and have not paid the utility for a single kW of power since going live 6 years ago... in their 80's they are not making cross country trips.

They still had so much capacity he ran a line to power the neighbors irrigation pump...

My only point is not every owner is on grid for charging.

As for performance... a Tesla is awe inspiring without equal... traction, torque, etc... are all phenomenal... range is the elephant in the room...

 

[two_bit_score]

Does the fact that Tesla sells cars without local dealers to service them bother you?


TBS