TESLA Electric Truck?

[two_bit_score]

I'm not sold on TESLA for several reasons. Some to do with their product but mostly to do with their business model and their reliance on government subsidies to stay afloat.

Anyway they are looking at producing a truck???


From the article: >>>Tesla recently released it痴 first venture towards the world of trucks with its Model X crossover a 600hp electric vehicle. The folks at TruckTrend.com took the crossover痴 features along with Tesla CEO Elon Musk痴 mentions over the years of developing a truck to speculate on what it might be.

While their concept doesn稚 look like anything that would show up on a jobsite at least not by anyone other than the lumber sales person or homeowner it痴 worth checking out. The likelihood of a battery-powered work truck might seem far fetched. But when you consider the Model X痴 features, it痴 not that far a stretch.

I like some of the features that TruckTrend dreamed up, especially the bed and tailgate design. Interesting stuff. We値l have to wait and see what Tesla comes up with and if it痴 something truly geared for construction, or for heading out on the town after a long workday. <<<<

An Electric Pickup Truck? - Tools of the Trade

Thoughts????



TBS

 

[dickfoster]

I'm not sold on TESLA for several reasons. Some to do with their product but mostly to do with their business model and their reliance on government subsidies to stay afloat.

Anyway they are looking at producing a truck???


From the article: >>>Tesla recently released itç—´ first venture towards the world of trucks with its Model X crossover a 600hp electric vehicle. The folks at TruckTrend.com took the crossoverç—´ features along with Tesla CEO Elon Muskç—´ mentions over the years of developing a truck to speculate on what it might be.

While their concept doesn稚 look like anything that would show up on a jobsite at least not by anyone other than the lumber sales person or homeowner it痴 worth checking out. The likelihood of a battery-powered work truck might seem far fetched. But when you consider the Model X痴 features, it痴 not that far a stretch.

I like some of the features that TruckTrend dreamed up, especially the bed and tailgate design. Interesting stuff. We値l have to wait and see what Tesla comes up with and if it痴 something truly geared for construction, or for heading out on the town after a long workday. <<<<

An Electric Pickup Truck? - Tools of the Trade

Thoughts????



TBS

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.

 

[jack707]

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.

I'm with you 100%!! We need more coal fired boilers to keep the lights on!.

 

[Renze]

I'm not sold on TESLA for several reasons. Some to do with their product but mostly to do with their business model and their reliance on government subsidies to stay afloat

Indeed. It imposes a higher tax burden on all of us, while only the higher class can afford a Tesla.

 

[Btown]

Not sure who could afford a Tesla truck. It would probably cost $150,000 plus and not tow much. I bet if you did tow with it, the range would be 50 miles or so. My guess it would be like a Ford Ranchero or Chevy El Camino style. Front of a car with a truck bed.

 

[Renze]

The administration giving these subsidies to Tesla is so keen on redistribution of wealth, but the Tesla subsidy is a clear example that this redistribution of wealth is more about creating jobs by, and for the ruling class, than doing any societal good....

 

[dickfoster]

Not sure who could afford a Tesla truck. It would probably cost $150,000 plus and not tow much. I bet if you did tow with it, the range would be 50 miles or so. My guess it would be like a Ford Ranchero or Chevy El Camino style. Front of a car with a truck bed.

I thought the El Camino was built on a car frame and suspension but with a pickup bed grafted into a car's cabin. Clearly nothing meant to do any real work but OK for the boss to drive around in.

 

[jack707]

A electric truck makes as much sense as a bull that has tets!!!!.

 

[dickfoster]

A electric truck makes as much sense as a bull that has tets!!!!.

It would be OK if they would come up with a better way to power the grid. Only then would electric vehicles make any kind of sense. Remember many of the big mining machines, even strip mining, are electric. By better way to power the grid I don't mean the super silly solar and wind BS either. Electric motors put out a lot of torque.

 

[Btown]

It would be OK if they would come up with a better way to power the grid. Only then would electric vehicles make any kind of sense. Remember many of the big mining machines, even strip mining, are electric. By better way to power the grid I don't mean the super silly solar and wind BS either. Electric motors put out a lot of torque.

Do they run on batteries? Most if not all new trains are electric too. They just use a Diesel engine to generate the electricity.

 

[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