Tesla Motors - Future of Driving

[skinsfan07]

http://www.teslamotors.com/

http://www.teslamotors.com/buy/buyshowroom.php < Shows different types of cars they plan to release.

In light of that crappy Chevy Volt being the first real "energy vehicle", I'd like to introduce the Tesla series.

This car is the future of driving.

Some specs for the 2010 Tesla Roadster

Motor

The roadster is powered by a 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor, producing a maximum net power of 248 hp (185 kW). Maximum torque is 200·ft-lbf (270 N·m), obtained at 0 rpm and almost constant up to 6,000 rpm, a common feature of electric motors and one of the biggest differences (from the performance point of view) with internal combustion engines. The motor is air-cooled and does not need a liquid cooling system. The Sport Model introduced during the 2009 Detroit Auto Show includes a motor with a higher density, hand-wound stator that produces a maximum of 288 hp (215 kW). Both motors are designed for rotational speeds of up to 14,000 rpm, and the regular motor delivers an efficiency of typically 90%, or 80% at peak power.

Transmission

Starting in September, 2008 Tesla Motors selected BorgWarner to manufacture gearboxes and began equipping all Roadsters with a single speed, fixed gear gearbox (8.2752:1) with an electrically-actuated parking lock mechanism and a mechanical lubrication pump.

The company previously worked with several companies, including XTrac and Magna International, to find the right automatic transmission, but a two-gear solution proved to be too challenging. This led to substantial delays in production. At the "Town Hall Meeting" with owners in December, 2007, Tesla announced plans to ship the initial 2008 Roadsters with their interim Magna transmissions locked into second gear limiting the performance of the car to less than what was originally stated (0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in 5.7 seconds instead of the announced 4.0 seconds). Tesla also announced it would upgrade those transmissions under warranty when the final transmission became available At the "Town Hall Meeting" with owners on January 30, 2008, Tesla Motors described the planned transmission upgrade as a single-speed gearbox with a drive ratio of 8.27:1 combined with improved electronics and motor cooling that retain the acceleration from 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in under 4 seconds and an improved motor limit of 14,000 rpm to retain the 125 mph (201 km/h) top speed. The upgraded system also improved the maximum torque from 200–280 ft·lbf (270–380 N·m) and improves the Roadster's quarter mile times.

Performance

The Roadster's 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) acceleration time is 3.9 seconds for the Standard Model and 3.7 seconds for the 2009 Sport Model. Some prototypes and early production 2008 Roadsters were limited to 5.7 seconds. The top speed is electronically limited to 125 mph (201 km/h). The Roadster covers the quarter-mile drag strip in 12.757 seconds at 104.74 mph (168.56 km/h).

The EPA combined range (specifying distance traveled between charges) measured in February 2008 for early production Roadsters was 231 mi (372 km) city, 224 mi (360 km) highway, and 227 mi (365 km) combined (city/highway). In August 2008, additional testing with the newer Powertrain 1.5 resulted in an EPA combined range of 244 mi (393 km). It weighs about 2,700 lb (1,200 kg) and is rear wheel drive; most of the car's weight is centered in front of the rear axle. Its body style and smooth underbody result in a Cd of 0.35.

Battery system

Hooked up power supply.

Tesla Motors refers to the Roadster's battery pack as the Energy Storage System or ESS. The ESS contains 6,831 lithium ion cells arranged into 11 "sheets" connected in series; each sheet contains 9 "bricks" connected in series; each "brick" contains 69 cells connected in parallel (11S 9S 69P). The cells are 18 mm (0.71 in) in diameter and 65 mm (2.6 in) long (18650 form-factor); this type of lithium-ion cell is also found in most laptop computer batteries. The pack is designed to prevent catastrophic cell failures from propagating to adjacent cells, even when the cooling system is off. Coolant is pumped continuously through the ESS both when the car is running and when the car is turned off if the pack retains more than a 90% charge. The coolant pump draws 146 watts.

A full recharge of the battery system requires 3½ hours using the High Power Connector which supplies 70 amp, 240 volt electricity; in practice, recharge cycles usually start from a partially charged state and require less time. A fully charged ESS stores approximately 53 kWh of electrical energy at a nominal 375 volts and weighs 992 lb (450 kg).

Tesla Motors stated in February 2009 that the current replacement cost of the ESS is slightly under USD$36,000, with an expected life span of 7 years/100,000 mi (160,000 km), and began offering owners an option to pre-purchase a battery replacement for USD$12,000 today with the replacement to be delivered after seven years. The ESS is expected to retain 70% capacity after 5 years and 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of driving (10,000 miles (16,000 km) driven each year). Tesla Motors provides a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on the Roadster with an optional 4 year/50,000 mile extended warranty available at an "additional cost" (2008 Roadster buyers received the 4/50 extension at no cost while later purchasers need to pay). A non-ESS warranty extension is available for USD$5,000 and adds another 3/36 to the coverage of components, excluding the ESS, for a total of 6 years/72,000 mi (120,000 km).

Tesla Motors announced plans to sell the battery system to TH!NK and possibly others through its Tesla Energy Group division. The TH!NK plans were put on hold by interim CEO Michael Marks in September, 2007.

I hope I'm not the only person who has heard about them. Their cheapest car is 49,000 and is set to release in 2012, but can go for 300 miles on 1 charge. And it takes only 3 hours to fully charge to battery. So you drive 300 miles on a roadtrip, stop at a hotel for the night and let it recharge and you are good to go in the morning. And if I recall, it can charge form any regular outlet. Simply amazing. Can't wait for this series to hit the streets.

[RedskinsTime]

What if I want to drive 301 miles?

[“Misdirection”]

What if I want to drive 301 miles?

your gonna push it, damn it.

[skinsfan07]

What if I want to drive 301 miles?

:rotflmao:

then your SOL.

[PeterMP]

What if I want to drive 301 miles?

You stop and charge the car?

What happens when your gas tank is empty?

[DCsportsfan53]

You stop and charge the car?

What happens when your gas tank is empty?

Last time I checked it doesn't take 3.5 hours to fill a gas tank. While I think this car is awesome, I have to wonder, is it really going to help the enviornment? Does it really pollute less to charge a car than to drive a gas car? Bottom line is it's still a fossil fuel powered vehicle, your just changing the fossil fuel.

[JetSkins]

the car you have pictured is $100K

[UNC-Skins]

Aren't lithium ion batteries pretty bad for the environment? Sounds cool though.

[LaxBuddy21]

I want to know what charging the car will do to my electric bill....

[PeterMP]

Last time I checked it doesn't take 3.5 hours to fill a gas tank. While I think this car is awesome, I have to wonder, is it really going to help the enviornment? Does it really pollute less to charge a car than to drive a gas car? Bottom line is it's still a fossil fuel powered vehicle, your just changing the fossil fuel.

Well, you have some time to kill. Stop and eat a nice meal while it charges.

Many electrical plants in this country don't use fossil fuels.

Charging during the night will be, especially enviromental friendly as some types of power plants put out excess power due to their design at night.

[JetSkins]

will the battery slowly get worse each year, like a battery on a laptop or cell phone?

[PeterMP]

I want to know what charging the car will do to my electric bill....

We've done the math before:

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?t=251482

[skinsfan07]

the car you have pictured is $100K

yeah that's the fastest nicest one. haha the cheapest one is 50 K, which really isn't bad.

[greenspandan]

Last time I checked it doesn't take 3.5 hours to fill a gas tank. While I think this car is awesome, I have to wonder, is it really going to help the enviornment? Does it really pollute less to charge a car than to drive a gas car? Bottom line is it's still a fossil fuel powered vehicle, your just changing the fossil fuel.

how often do you drive 301 miles? personally, this car would fulfil my needs on all but a handful of days in the year, and those days well i guess we'll take the wife's car instead.

as for pricing -- even if both the internal combustion engine and the power plant power sources are fossil fuel, it is wayyyyy cheaper / more efficient to have your energy generated by a huge stationary power plant than a small, portable internal combustion engine. besides -- once you have your transportation vehicles all powered by electricity, all you have to do is increase efficiency / reduce emissions / upgrade to nuclear or solar or whatever future tech at a single source -- the power plant -- in order reduce the burden of transportation vehicles across the board all at once.

getting rid of the internal combustion engine is the first, necessary step if we're serious about discarding our foreign oil dependence.

[LaxBuddy21]

We've done the math before:

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?t=251482

I didnt see a clear answer come out of that since there were math error. I also worry that if we become more dependent on electric, it will be a cue for the companies to sky rocket prices just like the gas companies chose to do.

[MVille_Skins]

Here's an idea, gas companies will need too turn somewhere for more profits if the cars start turning into electric cars, so why dont they offer 'battery exchanges'. You go to the gas station, and instead of recharging the battery, you replace it with a different battery that has allready been charged at the 'battery station'. Bam, your on your way. This would require the car companies to make the battery come out, but it's a solution to the time problem of recharging.

[PeterMP]

I didnt see a clear answer come out of that since there were math error. I also worry that if we become more dependent on electric, it will be a cue for the companies to sky rocket prices just like the gas companies chose to do.

1. The "error" isn't in the math, but in the example I chose to use when discussing the math. It was a unit error that would have cancelled out anyway.

2. There will be more competition in the "energy" market. If electric prices sky rocket, that will push the market back to cars fueled by other sources (e.g. gas).

3. The electric market is already more diverse becasue there are multiple ways to generate electricity, which makes that harder to do (but not impossibe- see Enron).

[Chachie]

I didnt see a clear answer come out of that since there were math error. I also worry that if we become more dependent on electric, it will be a cue for the companies to sky rocket prices just like the gas companies chose to do.

Not that I don't support cleaner energy sources but you hit the nail right on the head. We can get cleaner but corporate greed will never allow us to have things affordable. Ever.

[bch89]

The bassist in 311 drives a Tesla car.

[LaxBuddy21]

1. The "error" isn't in the math, but in the example I chose to use when discussing the math. It was a unit error that would have cancelled out anyway.

2. There will be more competition in the "energy" market. If electric prices sky rocket, that will push the market back to cars fueled by other sources (e.g. gas).

3. The electric market is already more diverse becasue there are multiple ways to generate electricity, which makes that harder to do (but not impossibe- see Enron).

Just like competition is driving the electric market now? They have us all by the lower extremities!

[FedExFielder]

My aunt out in L.A. has one of those I got to see it last month and man, it is badass. It hauls. Not a lot of room whatsoever inside but it's reaaaalllly cool.

[greenspandan]

Not that I don't support cleaner energy sources but you hit the nail right on the head. We can get cleaner but corporate greed will never allow us to have things affordable. Ever.

so basically you guys are anti-capitalism? because that's ridiculously fatalistic unless you simply don't believe in a market economy.

[ntotoro]

A friend of mine who lives in San Francisco was a passenger in one of these last week and said it was a completely rockin', badass ride. He did say the silence was a little jarring, but he got used to it.

The cost, though... I'd get a "cheap" Maserati for roughly the same.

[Larry]

Some observations:

The 3 1/2 hour recharge time that's quoted, assumes that it's plugged into a 70A, 220V, wall socket.

The entire circuit panel in my house is only rated for 60A. That's my entire house.

(OTOH, this is a really old house with really crappy wiring. I'd bet that most of y'all's houses are rated closer to 150A.)

However, your house almost never draws that kind of power. For example, your electric stove probably draws only 30A, and that's with every burner in the thing running at High. My electric clothes dryer pulls 30A also, but that's only when it's heating up to drying temperature, then the heating element cycles on and off to maintain temperature. An electric hot water heater will have similar behavior.

In short, the math's too complicated for me, but I wouldn't be surprised if, if everybody in town gets a Tesla, then the local utility company is going to have to increase the capacity of my town's entire electric network by 50% to handle the peak demand.

----------

And this also means that I wouldn't count on a network of recharge stations popping up all over the place, either. You're not going to see hotels falling over themselves to put 70A outlets in their parking spaces. (Note, that's 70A per parking space.) Same thing with your local Denny's, or with the parking garage next to where you work.

Now, the good news is that, when the technology is just starting out, you don't have to rely on the entire world spending big bucks, just so that they'll be ready if you decide to drop in to their business.

Initially, all it will take will be for you to hire an electrician to put one big bohonkin wall socket into your garage. (Funny, Firefox doesn't know how to spell "bohonkin".) How often do you need to drive more than 300 mi, from home, without returning home?

Yeah, maybe the Tesla isn't the car for the family trip to Disney. So you rent an SUV that week.

[greenspandan]

for all we know second or third generation electric cars could make such rewiring obsolete. but it would be a humongous step to move the burden of power generation from 200 million tiny portable internal combustion engines to major power plants. simple economy of scale, there.