Tesla is up and running producing cars, got a little memento. :)
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Yep, it's pretty exciting that in the old GM plant where my 65 Gran Sport was made they are making a premium electric car. http://www.teslamotors.com/ My buddy is in the lower right hand corner right behind the woman holding a photo of another woman who couldn't make it. 
He has gotten to ride around the test track, made racks and equipment, he is having a ball being a part of this.
Brian
He has gotten to ride around the test track, made racks and equipment, he is having a ball being a part of this.
Brian
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16,464 Posts
LOL, pretty hilarious there is a video on that site that I just watched with a Model S Tesla Electric car taking the corners on a road with a white fence next to it. I have went on that road many times in my Rambler. LOL, what a contrast that is!
Brian
Brian
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90 Posts
What a wonderful thing that they would start this company and keep his name,a genuis of a human being who fought to exist in a nightmare world.I have always admired him for his brillance and hope that this company serves his memory with the intelligence he deserves.That emblem is really cool.I rememberr when these guys started in England.
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1,205 Posts
I am a huge Tesla fan. A very under-appreciated man for what he left us. Somehow Edison got all the press in the history books when it was Tesla who actually pioneered AC currant. It could be because that he was a rather strange and eccentric man with OCD and who claimed aliens gave him a lot of his ideas. Nice to see a car in tribute to him.
I saw a Tesla last summer in Laguna Beach, one of the double take looks for me, a stunning car with a stunning blonde climbing out. I hope they do well, the stats on the car are amazing to myself, I wish I could afford one. This morning I have to leave early to get gas to get to work.
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385 Posts
Well, hopefully it will all work out for them.
i am still concerned about the range issue;
Just today i implimented an on-board fan cooling system for myself in lieu of using the existing A/C system (because i don't know much about a/c right now to repair it and i need to get cool NOW.). This fan system consists of a deep-cell battery that i had sitting in the garage, a 1500 watt inverter, and a commercial 15" fan.
The battery is a D34 yellowtop optima which i think has a 55 amp hr capacity (???). So i am concerned how long it will last between recharges? The fan is at least 45 watts but probably much more.
Why did i do it this way instead of wiring an automotive fan to the car's battery? Because i already had this stuff laying around---didn't have to spend any money.
So, you can see my basic concern in regards to range. i think this is the key to their success or failure.
i am still concerned about the range issue;
Just today i implimented an on-board fan cooling system for myself in lieu of using the existing A/C system (because i don't know much about a/c right now to repair it and i need to get cool NOW.). This fan system consists of a deep-cell battery that i had sitting in the garage, a 1500 watt inverter, and a commercial 15" fan.
The battery is a D34 yellowtop optima which i think has a 55 amp hr capacity (???). So i am concerned how long it will last between recharges? The fan is at least 45 watts but probably much more.
Why did i do it this way instead of wiring an automotive fan to the car's battery? Because i already had this stuff laying around---didn't have to spend any money.
So, you can see my basic concern in regards to range. i think this is the key to their success or failure.
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252 Posts
Since Elon Musk is now concentrating on SpaceX and getting payloads into space and deliveries to the Space Station, I hope he left some talented folks behind at Tesla.
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Tbuckets Forum
Bob
Tbuckets Forum
Bob
That four-door Tesla looks like a European production car body... a Maserati? Something like that...
Kind of ironic that it's called a "Tesla", actually. That is unless it's REALLY unusual and uses AC power. I doubt that -- battery power usually means DC, but I might be wrong. Seems like an inverter would waste precious power though -- there is always some lost in any conversion from one form to another.
Kind of ironic that it's called a "Tesla", actually. That is unless it's REALLY unusual and uses AC power. I doubt that -- battery power usually means DC, but I might be wrong. Seems like an inverter would waste precious power though -- there is always some lost in any conversion from one form to another.
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The motor is AC with an inverter for speed control, so the Tesla name fits.
According to a Wikipedia article the Tesla Model S is a unique design, not based on some other production car (Tesla Model S - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Basing it on something else would surely have brought prices down, but that's not a primary concern, apparently. Heck, it's an expensive luxury car, build too many and you lose exclusivity, which I guess is part of what you're paying for. Those of us who can't afford a $60-100K car just take old parts and build our own exclusive ride...
Tesla doesn't build a hybrid, and the big battery pack is rated at 265 miles by the EPA (Tesla says 300 miles...). It takes ONE HOUR to restore only FIVE MILES of range from a typical 110V/12A outlet. From 0 to full charge in only 53 hours. Well, lets' be fair -- you'll never hit zero charge. My best guess is it will run down to 20% at the least. With 20% battery power left it only takes 42 hours to top off from a typical electric outlet. But then I think I could put a 220V outlet in the garage if I had one of these! From a RV type 240V/40A outlet you get 31 miles per hour, or only 7 hours to top off a 20% battery. That's more like it! Just make sure there's a 220V outlet available if you need to stop overnight. I suppose you could stop at an RV park, but who drives a $100K car and packs a tent? Surely you're not going to pull a trailer!
Hey, there's a market for you -- a stylish streamlined teardrop style camper to pull behind your Tesla S on long trips! Can't see it happening. What I can see is a nice little stylish streamlined trailer that has an energy efficient diesel or propane generator. You need just enough power to run the car while cruising. The car battery would be used all the time, just plug the built-in charger to the generator. If the generator will support all electric needs at cruising speed (lowest power consumption) the battery would only be depleted during acceleration and maybe pulling hard hills. That should effectively double the cruising range, especially on a cross country trip with mostly interstate driving. The trailer is a good idea for ANY electric. I've seen a plug-in DIY hybrid that installed the generator in the luggage space of a Geo Metro, but having the generator inside the car is just a bad idea, thought it's rather compact (DIY Plug-In Hybrid Car -- yeah, it's a kludge!). A trailer or hitch rack would work well, and would be even better if it were wired to charge the batteries directly instead of going through the charger.
I've seriously considered building a simple hybrid from one of my old Ramblers. Relatively light and roomy for batteries. The heavy 196 six weighs around 500# -- batteries wouldn't weigh more, average weight of a 100AH deep-cycle marine battery is 50#, so could run 10 of them with no weight gain (120V -- but you want to run at least 12 for 144V for decent performance). The little Geo in the above link (generator in back) uses a 72V battery pack, has a top speed of 45 mph, and a range of 20 miles on a charge. Range is the biggest problem with home built electrics. Twice the voltage would give an estimated 73 mph top speed with just a little more range, or milk it to get 30-35 miles. Still not enough for me -- I live in a rural area. With the trailer doubling the range (but using some fossil fuel) you'd still get 60+ mpg. The little electric Geo is estimated to get the equivalent of 130 mpg. Or spend $1300 each on 10-12 Lithium Ion batteries that weigh a lot less (28# instead of 50#, plus they will run a bit longer than a lead-acid battery. L-I batteries are what the Tesla uses, though not car battery drop-in types (12v 100ah sealed lithium ion battery marine). Battery cost is the main problem with ANY electric -- the cost of batteries that have dense enough energy storage to be practical. A 40-50 mile range would be a minimum to me, and few home builts can do that and still have (barely!) adequate performance. The 45 mph Geo is barely adequate for around town to my way of thinking!! Speed of 55 minimum along with a 50 mile range would be barely acceptable as a second car used in town only. Tesla performance is more like it!!
Tesla doesn't build a hybrid, and the big battery pack is rated at 265 miles by the EPA (Tesla says 300 miles...). It takes ONE HOUR to restore only FIVE MILES of range from a typical 110V/12A outlet. From 0 to full charge in only 53 hours. Well, lets' be fair -- you'll never hit zero charge. My best guess is it will run down to 20% at the least. With 20% battery power left it only takes 42 hours to top off from a typical electric outlet. But then I think I could put a 220V outlet in the garage if I had one of these! From a RV type 240V/40A outlet you get 31 miles per hour, or only 7 hours to top off a 20% battery. That's more like it! Just make sure there's a 220V outlet available if you need to stop overnight. I suppose you could stop at an RV park, but who drives a $100K car and packs a tent? Surely you're not going to pull a trailer!
Hey, there's a market for you -- a stylish streamlined teardrop style camper to pull behind your Tesla S on long trips! Can't see it happening. What I can see is a nice little stylish streamlined trailer that has an energy efficient diesel or propane generator. You need just enough power to run the car while cruising. The car battery would be used all the time, just plug the built-in charger to the generator. If the generator will support all electric needs at cruising speed (lowest power consumption) the battery would only be depleted during acceleration and maybe pulling hard hills. That should effectively double the cruising range, especially on a cross country trip with mostly interstate driving. The trailer is a good idea for ANY electric. I've seen a plug-in DIY hybrid that installed the generator in the luggage space of a Geo Metro, but having the generator inside the car is just a bad idea, thought it's rather compact (DIY Plug-In Hybrid Car -- yeah, it's a kludge!). A trailer or hitch rack would work well, and would be even better if it were wired to charge the batteries directly instead of going through the charger.
I've seriously considered building a simple hybrid from one of my old Ramblers. Relatively light and roomy for batteries. The heavy 196 six weighs around 500# -- batteries wouldn't weigh more, average weight of a 100AH deep-cycle marine battery is 50#, so could run 10 of them with no weight gain (120V -- but you want to run at least 12 for 144V for decent performance). The little Geo in the above link (generator in back) uses a 72V battery pack, has a top speed of 45 mph, and a range of 20 miles on a charge. Range is the biggest problem with home built electrics. Twice the voltage would give an estimated 73 mph top speed with just a little more range, or milk it to get 30-35 miles. Still not enough for me -- I live in a rural area. With the trailer doubling the range (but using some fossil fuel) you'd still get 60+ mpg. The little electric Geo is estimated to get the equivalent of 130 mpg. Or spend $1300 each on 10-12 Lithium Ion batteries that weigh a lot less (28# instead of 50#, plus they will run a bit longer than a lead-acid battery. L-I batteries are what the Tesla uses, though not car battery drop-in types (12v 100ah sealed lithium ion battery marine). Battery cost is the main problem with ANY electric -- the cost of batteries that have dense enough energy storage to be practical. A 40-50 mile range would be a minimum to me, and few home builts can do that and still have (barely!) adequate performance. The 45 mph Geo is barely adequate for around town to my way of thinking!! Speed of 55 minimum along with a 50 mile range would be barely acceptable as a second car used in town only. Tesla performance is more like it!!
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