Monday
Mar212016
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill Game just changed again
Mar 21, 2016 Energy: other ;)
It’s an absolute game-changer
The citation on the award of a Danish design prize to the Tesla powerwall battery in 2015
Tesla has quietly removed all references to its 10-kilowatt-hour residential battery from the Powerwall website, as well as the company’s press kit. The company's smaller battery designed for daily cycling is all that remains.
Recent news report
Reader Comments (67)
I spit on your Tesla, here is how you build a car with batteries the right way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMmdl77VOxg
Floor it, Christian!
The powerwall isn't working:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3503228/Elon-Musks-wife-files-divorce-billionaire.html
The Tesla powerwall is crap, there's no question about it. The way Tesla is also living off huge subsidies is also deplorable.
That all being said, the Tesla car is bloody amazing. I also underestimated it until my friend let me drive his. It beats almost all sports cars in acceleration. The 700+ HP S-version goes 0-100 km in 3s, which is faster than all Lamborghinis. You can't believe it until you have tried it. Range for it's S-model is about 400 km. Easily at least 350, if you want to play safe. The sheer power and the pure simplicity of the car is just unbeliavable.
Of course there are problems with electric cars. Most have a laughably short range and long charging times. But when you have that 400 km range, those problems simply vanish. And when you do have the means of charging your car at home or at work, you'll get a supercar, which costs peanuts to operate. Especially in Europe, where gas costs a fortune.
Now, I just hope that this climate change nonsense would stop so that we'd not run out of electricity.
No it isn't. Rossi and the "ecat" are pure fraud.
http://freeenergyscams.com/category/andrea-rossi/
http://shutdownrossi.com/
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288671&highlight=rossi+ecat
Tesla has a business model to control and manipulate the market. Via leasing schemes and pre-owned schemes and "buy again from us schemes". This is no attempt as yet to make money.
The leasing period is typically 3 years, so now the first wave of returns are coming in.
So it is building a brand and customer base, strictly controlling the supply and service of new and used vehicles.
if you were a early adopter and you where satisfied, then you probably did well. If there is a good 3 year retained value (and at the moment there appears to be) then again you did well.
The issues now are can Tesla massage the market as the volume of units increase on the market. With high-end competitors joining in. Lower end electric models (from Renault and Nissan) are beginning to fall off a cliff with prices.
Basically I wouldn't buy a second hand Tesla. And I wouldn't be leaving it too late to buy a new one either.
Simplicity to drive, but they are not simple cars.
Check out the Megafactories Tesla documentary on youtube and you'll see that it actually is a lot simpler, compared to a similar spec car. No engine needing oil changes, no gearbox etc. A lot less moving parts.
There are of course possible problems: Will Tesla be profitable in the future? Will the batteries last past the 8 year warranty? How much will a new battery back cost? How can one charge it if the number of electric cars increase very fast? But the technology is there and one doesn't have to be a tree hugging greenie to buy that car.
Hi rbn,
well the Model S is a bit fugly IMHO but there is no doubt it can shift .
Same as wind power/solar, if it worked and was commercially viable without subsidies I would have no objections. But it doesn't...yet.
Oh and given the choice I'd still have the Aston.
SimonW & rbn
A Citroen 2CV will get you from London to Edinburgh, and back, quicker than a Tesla.
SimonW and golf charlie: Sure, no worries. Buying a car is always a compromise. If you need a car specifically to often drive very long trips in a hurry, without a coffee or lunch break, you select a petrol or diesel car. If you select your car based on looks, you choose the one that warms your heart. If you want a car, whose engine roars send shivers through your spine, you definitely don't get an electric car.
I just wanted to point out to some people that you should not bash the car itself so quickly as it actually is bloody amazing and its features do really match the needs of most car buyers. There's a huge difference to the Powerwall as it's an expensive solution to a problem, that should not exist at all. I'm more than happy to see it gone.
That's because 10KWH = 36 MJ of energy or the equivalent of 19lb of TNT. If that explodes or catches fire then it will probably destroy your house and most likely kill you. Playing with compact energy storage is a losers game.
Clive, you'd better lose your car.
Like 19 pounds of TNT , a gallon of gasoline , a compact energy storage material engineered to burn or explode, also contains ~ 36 MJ of energy.
Russel,
Would you really want you car fuel tank hanging on the wall while the engine is both running and being refueled at the same time?
The gasoline storage tank next to the garage on our place operated without mishap in exactly that mode for sixty years.
rbn, the Tesla is an impressive bit of engineering/packaging. I have never been in one. The fact that you are posting about it's performance, indicates what Tesla have had to do, in order to attract publicity, and who they are trying to appeal to, in order to get sales. I would love to have a go in one, I would like a blast in an AC Cobra etc too.
The electric car will work as a 'town car' for many people, but the economics don't work for anyone who has to worry about economics. That is why so few are sold.
I wish the cars had a 'vroom vroom' sound effect installed as a mandatory feature.
Many people use their lugs as a safety measure and these things could be a silent menace. I know I always listen then look when I am walking along and about to cross
From my experience in the North Park Mall, Teslas are beautiful, well-made and comfortable. If there are problems with range or with lease terms, that is for the buyer to worry about, every cars has problems. My only problem with the car is that the rich people who drive them are subsidised by the rest of us. That's all.
I have no argument with the car, or even the segment. The new BMW electric cars look great, as very few cars do nowadays, and the i8 in the flesh turns heads.
But effectivley they are disposable cars. At some point in their life the only option is throw them away.
The service costs, the repair costs (Tesla's are astronomical, USD 20-30,000 for a simple wing or rear quarter repair), the batteries, the depreciation as the next shiny "car technology" comes on the market and the fact that are NOT simple, they rely on electronics, and the simplest error or fault, stops the car.
My Subaru's design is effectively 20 years old. The automatic has to be in P to start and that is that. The ECU is based on proven technology from the 1980's. A few Analog to Digital converters, and bit a of curve fitting and that is that. The A/C is manual. The Engine Warning light has been on for years.
After 16 years of trouble free motoring (touch wood) its financial value is nothing. Ongoing costs are minimal. I can fix it myself. If it gets a dent, it is more of point of pride than a "drown sorrows moment". Its replacement value is high.
That is simple.
If you can justify the Tesla to yourself than fine. But I have seen some "cost of ownership" calcs go beyond the 3-4 years. And whilst I am sure it helps getting it past the home finance committee, they are just self-justification exercises. We all do it.