An Electric Car With Juice (Nikola Tesla&Arnold Schwarzenegger)

Washington Post ^ | July 22, 2006 | Mike Musgrove

[kronos77]

The Tesla Roadster goes from zero to 60 in four noiseless seconds, has a top speed of 135 mph and can roam for more than 200 miles before needing a recharge.

...

Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors Inc. raised $60 million in financing from San Francisco Bay area tech giants to get this car on the road. Those famous Toyota Prius owners Larry Page and Sergey Brin -- yes, the Google guys -- have invested, as have executives from eBay Inc. and PayPal.

The company is headed by entrepreneur Martin Eberhard, the man once behind a gadget called the RocketeBook. That product, sort of an iPod for books, didn't catch on, but Eberhard sold the company in 2000 to the media company Gemstar for $187 million. ....

The Tesla Roadster was unveiled this week in Santa Monica. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a surprise appearance and was taken on a test spin -- it was unclear yesterday if Schwarzenegger showed up to the event in one of the gas-guzzling Hummers he has sometimes favored.

[Dixie Yooper]

"I've noticed that a lot of enviros seem to think that things like hydrogen and electricity simply spring from the earth and exist for the plucking."

I'm not an environ and can't wait until I can get an electric so people like you can have all the gas that's left while your kneeling on your prayer mat 5 times a day as you face Mecca. Maybe I'll get a fire place on the back of mine so I can have some kind of smoke coming out of it.

[SierraWasp]

Now THAT's what I call a beautiful, "bring 'em back to reality," reply!!! Bravo!!! Encore!!!

It's kinda like Jack Buck's "bring 'em back alive" program from years ago about jungle animals, etc...

[John Jorsett]

Thanks for missing my point entirely.

[Flash Bazbeaux]

"I see nothing in that article that indicates any relationship between Tesla Motors and the legendary Nikola Tesla, no mention of any of Nikola's technology being present, etc. Is this simply a ripoff of the name?"

I am wondering if the company has anything to do with CalTech Professor, power conversion guru and Yugoslavian [not sure if he's Serbian] Slobodon Cuk, inventor of the Cuk converter, whose company is TeslaCo.

[DTA]

>>>>>>I see nothing in that article that indicates any relationship between Tesla Motors and the legendary Nikola Tesla, no mention of any of Nikola's technology being present, etc. Is this simply a ripoff of the name?<<<<<<

Power plant is polyphase motor, Tesla's invention. However, it misses some other Tesla's inventions, e.g. spark plug :-)

Methinks it is justifiable use of the Tesla's name. Many people will now hear Tesla's name for the first time and will perhaps learn more about his inventions.

[Dixie Yooper]

I didn't miss it, I'm just trying to let you know that this kind of car although just for the rich right now, is going to be for everyone in less than 10 years. Like I said, I'm not an environ, just someone who wants to let the Arabs stew in their own oil.

[jonrick46]

The new high capacitance batteries using nano technology may be the direction we are headed for quick charge batteries. The production techniques will need more development.

[John Jorsett]

In many parts of the world outside of California, the government actually allows (instead of outlaws) the creation of new generating capacity. There is excess capacity (at night) at cheap rates in many places. (Electricity costs $US0.05/kWh here.)

See my #39 post about how much energy it takes to be the equivalent of 1 gallon of gasoline. Using your figure of $.05 per kwh, a "one gallon of gas" equivalent amount of electrical power would cost $1.70. And that assumes perfect conversion efficiency, which doesn't happen in the real world, so let's use something realistic like 75%. That would make the cost $2.25. Somewhat better than the $3.00+ we're paying today, but not as spectacular as some people might hope.

[KYGrandma]

Gee, wish my bill was twice that of $66. Where do you live?

[John Jorsett]

I didn't miss it, I'm just trying to let you know that this kind of car although just for the rich right now, is going to be for everyone in less than 10 years. Like I said, I'm not an environ, just someone who wants to let the Arabs stew in their own oil.

My point was that we have to generate the electrical power somehow, and these days that means fossile fuels, either coal, oil, or natural gas. Any new capacity needed to charge up electic cars is going to be natural gas, and the increased demand will jack up prices, so electricity is going to get more expensive. We may reduce our oil dependence but it would be at the cost of higher electical prices. The only way to avoid this would be to start building nuclear plants, which I'd love to see.

[BunnySlippers]

My favorite is the Sparrow. I saw one here in L.A. last week:

[bruinbirdman]

"this puppy costs $60,000 to $150,000 so you ain't gonna take one of those to work. They are leisure cars... for rich."

Just right for Ed Begley, Jr. Or is his mud hut more than 100 miles from the closest store? Or does he even have electricity?

yitbos

[BunnySlippers]

The little Sparrow in #51 is $25,000 base. Just looked into it today. :)

[capt. norm]

The man had been ripped off by the press and its media pet, Edison....can't blame him for being depressed.

[Rca2000]

Ok, let me answer a couple of questions, and add some perspective. I am an electronics tech and a science buff, so I can understand this better than most, not as well as some.

First, as to how much to charge this car, in say, 3 hours.

A 200 mile range, with the ability to do 0-60 in 4 secs.

A 135KW motor.

(something to keep in mind. That "135 KW " figure for the motor is most likely the MAXIMUM power draw it can safely sustain for operation for a limited time. at the 135 KW, it is probably producing 170HP or so. HOWEVER. It will NOT be producing that 170HP and using 135 KW for the WHOLE time the car is driven. Just as an average car, with say a 175HP v-6 engine today may have the ABILITY to produce that 175 HP, it will ONLY do this for a VERY short duty cycle, compared to overall driving.

IOW-- This "peak power" is needed by gas AND electric cars, for take-off, passing, acceleration and such. NO car-- be it a honda insight or a Corvette Z06-- can be expected to produce that full output of the engine(or motor) for long. If they did-- one would use an ENTIRE tank of 20 gals of gas in about 20 MILES!!

So-- the motor's 175 KW rating is the MAX it will draw, for needed acceleration. The battery pack is NOT a 135 KW/hr one- it would be WAY to heavy. Most likely, it is in the 30KW/hr range. (the EV-1 had les than a 20 KW/hr pack in it). This IS enough, to provide the car for the 200 mile range, as the "peak power" will NOT be used for long. if it is-- 10 miles would be more like the range!! )

SO assuming that there is a 30 KW/hr battery pack onboard-- recharging in in 3 hrs - that would require about 35-40 KW/hrs to accomplish(due to losses throughout the system.)

Using these figures-- I would guess about 40a. at 230 volts, would be needed.

As a reference-- a modern, 3-ton A/C system in a home of about 12 SEER will need about HALF of this-- to cool a home!!

[Bokababe]

Don't blame him at all. His problems certainly got worse when his fortunes went south, but he had a many of these psychological issues and eccentricities his whole life.

A mind that can create an entire schematic of complicated machinery and mentally test it without building it and without even putting any of it to paper, can also probably create some pretty formidable and realistic demons for its self.

[Max in Utah]

I played around with sketches and models for a similar vehicle back in the early 80's: 3-wheel, front wheel drive, molded plastic body. I thought of using an inner and outer shell with injected cerafoam insulation to provide stiffness and crash protection, something like the construction of a motorcycle helmet.

[FormerLib]

I always had one question about electric cars, how does the pollution created generating the electicity to charge them compare to a gasoline-burning engine capable of the same performance?

Leftists usually start yelling at me for asking the question so I never got a verifiable answer.

[shield]

I heard of this electric car a few months back. Out shines all other electric cars by far.

[Rca2000]

Their answer is usually that the pollution from the power plant can be "controlled and centralized" more easily than that from a bunch of cars. THEN.they usually start mumbling about how "green" energy sources will supply that power.

Of course the truth is..this country is ALREADY at near capacity electricity-wise,(since the envirowackos, BANANNA and others will NOT allow any new production to go on-line) and putting a bunch of electric cars charging on-line, each of them drawing as much as 2 average central A/C units, for 3-5 hours a NIGHT. would COLLAPSE the system in a number of states. ESPECIALLY in CA!!