Posted on 03/27/2009 2:28:12 PM PDT by NavVet
(besides the fact the company is a corporate mess...)
my understanding is that the way they were able to increase the battery capacity is via a cooling box for the battery.
Can’t we derive some data from the coupes they already have on the road?
If it IS vaporware, then they should fail just like any software company.
But at least Tesla had a backup list of buyers for their products. Of course, outside of California that demand drops off dramatically. If they can produce something which actually works (like Toyota and Honda did with the hybrids) then they will succeed and deserve to succeed.
But in CA the chance of getting public subsidy is practically a birthright when it comes to anything on the left. After the first year, anything which can’t survive with private financing should be gone. Otherwise, we are all living in our own private Iowa (the ethanol boondoggle state).
This is the most relevant information you provided. An electric motor requires 746 watts of electricity to achieve one horsepower.
The exact definition of one horsepower is 33,000 lb.ft./minute. Put another way, if you were to lift 33,000 pounds one foot over a period of one minute, you would have been working at the rate of one horsepower. In this case, you'd have expended one horsepower-minute of energy.
Electrical power is the rate at which electrical energy is converted to another form, such as motion, heat, or an electromagnetic field. The common symbol for power is the uppercase letter P. The standard unit is the watt, symbolized by W. In utility circuits, the kilowatt (kW) is often specified instead; 1 kW = 1000 W.
In DC (direct-current) and low-frequency AC (alternating current) electrical circuits and systems, power is the product of the current and the voltage.
Now with that in mind 746 watts of power from 245 Volts DC (typical 34 7.2 volts battery modules connected in series) would require 3.08 Amps of continuous current. Therefore, 248 horsepower would require 185,008 Watts of power. 185,008 Watts of power would require 755.13 amps of 245 volts DC current.
In the American Wire Gauge (AWG) standards, a six wire gage decrease gives a doubling of the wire diameter. Note: The lower the gages number the larger the diameter. Interpolating the wire size indicates that a wire capable with carrying 760 amps would have to be almost 1 inch in diameter.
A couple of cogent questions to ask would be :
How many miles can the car travel at a constant 65 MPH before the speed drops below 65 MPH?
How long will it take to charge the battery from a standard 120 volt AC 20 amp outlet to the capacity that would allow the number of miles in the first question?
How many amps of 120 volts AC are required to fully re-charge the battery in one hour?
Recall Bernie Madoff before sending your down payment.
I found the picture in my head rather humerous, I’m glad someone else enjoyed it.
The article you cite, doesn’t seem to catch the problems you describe. Although not a direct refutation, you should consider that the Tesla Roadster has been in production for over a year and the technical specs have proven to be fairly accurate, although the 0-60 time for the Roadster is under four seconds.
Thanks for the link.
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