TSLA closed at over 161 today. This is the future.
The Tesla S is faster than any Porsche in its price range, more efficient than a Prius, safer than a Volvo, and has carrying capacity rivaling a minivan. The Tesla S can get a 200 mile charge from a Supercharger in about 30 minutes and charges free for life with the purchase of a properly equipped Tesla S (comes standard on the 85kWh model and as an upgrade on the 60kWh model). By the end of 2014 you will be able to drive a Tesla S almost anywhere in the contiguous states without spending a cent on fuel. The only inconvenience being that you'd have to stop for a half hour for about every 3 hours of driving. If you're in a rush, then you can pay for a battery swap at the supercharger station, which takes less time than a gasoline fill up.
The average household spent about $3,000 on fuel last year. The battery in the Tesla S has an 8 year warranty. If gas prices stay constant, then that's $24,000 spent on fuel in the warrantied life of the battery. Tesla Motors will let you pay $12,000 now for an 85kWh battery when the warranty is up in 8 years. So in 8 years time you will have saved $12,000 on fuel cost while not having to worry about the cost of replacing the battery. I'm aware that this is a hundred thousand dollar car, so a $12,000 savings in 8 years is not necessarily a selling point, though rising gas prices could easily make those savings much larger.
There is also savings from much lower maintenance costs. Electric cars are inherently more mechanically sound. The only contact between moving parts in an AC induction motor is at the bearings. The transmission of the Tesla S is direct drive and does not need variable gears because the motor has most of its torque at 0 RPM and redlines around 15,000 RPM. The entire powertrain of the Tesla S (battery, motor, gearbox, and other necessary electronics) is sealed from the environment so water and crud can't get in it. An electric motor does not have to breathe and it does not expel poisonous gasses. There is no exhaust to rust out or start incessantly rattling. There is no air filter, oil filter, or any other kind of filter. The brake pads even last longer because the magnetic resistance of the regenerative brakes does most of the work. The parts that are there don't have to deal with the heat or vibration of an IC engine. The only maintenance you would have to worry about on the Tesla S is the tires.
I'm not saying that nothing will ever go wrong on a Tesla S, but there is far less potential for something going wrong than for any IC engine car. There is both monetary and time savings from from this lack of maintenance.
It's conceivable that you would get more miles per gallon of gasoline if you used that gasoline to power large generators at a power plant and charge a Tesla S through the grid powered by that plant than if you just put that gasoline into an IC engine car. I'd have to look up a lot of figures and do some math on that one. Generators are more efficient than cars because they can run at an optimal RPM and make much better use of waste heat. Also, it would take less fuel to get the gasoline to one big power plant than to many gas stations. Electricity is far more efficient to transport. Lots of variable, so this is a hard one. Even if they came out about the same, there is still the advantage of isolating the pollution to the area of the power plant rather than in the city. Busy streets wouldn't have to smell of exhaust fumes.
I've heard the argument of what do you do with an electric car if the power goes out. Well, what do you do with a gasoline car when the power goes out? We lost power in my area a few years ago from Hurricane Ike and the gas stations didn't work because the pumps are electric. Any solution to that is also a solution to charging an electric car, so that is not a disadvantage for electrics. A couple advantages of electric cars in that scenario are that electricity can come from a variety of different sources. Tesla Superchargers are partly powered by solar panels and could still be used for charging, although at a lower performance. Also, if you keep a Tesla S topped off in your garage, then that can be used as an 85kWh battery backup for your house. If you don't have anywhere you need to drive then you could easily power your house off your car for a few days.
The Tesla S is faster than any Porsche in its price range, more efficient than a Prius, safer than a Volvo, and has carrying capacity rivaling a minivan. The Tesla S can get a 200 mile charge from a Supercharger in about 30 minutes and charges free for life with the purchase of a properly equipped Tesla S (comes standard on the 85kWh model and as an upgrade on the 60kWh model). By the end of 2014 you will be able to drive a Tesla S almost anywhere in the contiguous states without spending a cent on fuel. The only inconvenience being that you'd have to stop for a half hour for about every 3 hours of driving. If you're in a rush, then you can pay for a battery swap at the supercharger station, which takes less time than a gasoline fill up.
The average household spent about $3,000 on fuel last year. The battery in the Tesla S has an 8 year warranty. If gas prices stay constant, then that's $24,000 spent on fuel in the warrantied life of the battery. Tesla Motors will let you pay $12,000 now for an 85kWh battery when the warranty is up in 8 years. So in 8 years time you will have saved $12,000 on fuel cost while not having to worry about the cost of replacing the battery. I'm aware that this is a hundred thousand dollar car, so a $12,000 savings in 8 years is not necessarily a selling point, though rising gas prices could easily make those savings much larger.
There is also savings from much lower maintenance costs. Electric cars are inherently more mechanically sound. The only contact between moving parts in an AC induction motor is at the bearings. The transmission of the Tesla S is direct drive and does not need variable gears because the motor has most of its torque at 0 RPM and redlines around 15,000 RPM. The entire powertrain of the Tesla S (battery, motor, gearbox, and other necessary electronics) is sealed from the environment so water and crud can't get in it. An electric motor does not have to breathe and it does not expel poisonous gasses. There is no exhaust to rust out or start incessantly rattling. There is no air filter, oil filter, or any other kind of filter. The brake pads even last longer because the magnetic resistance of the regenerative brakes does most of the work. The parts that are there don't have to deal with the heat or vibration of an IC engine. The only maintenance you would have to worry about on the Tesla S is the tires.
I'm not saying that nothing will ever go wrong on a Tesla S, but there is far less potential for something going wrong than for any IC engine car. There is both monetary and time savings from from this lack of maintenance.
It's conceivable that you would get more miles per gallon of gasoline if you used that gasoline to power large generators at a power plant and charge a Tesla S through the grid powered by that plant than if you just put that gasoline into an IC engine car. I'd have to look up a lot of figures and do some math on that one. Generators are more efficient than cars because they can run at an optimal RPM and make much better use of waste heat. Also, it would take less fuel to get the gasoline to one big power plant than to many gas stations. Electricity is far more efficient to transport. Lots of variable, so this is a hard one. Even if they came out about the same, there is still the advantage of isolating the pollution to the area of the power plant rather than in the city. Busy streets wouldn't have to smell of exhaust fumes.
I've heard the argument of what do you do with an electric car if the power goes out. Well, what do you do with a gasoline car when the power goes out? We lost power in my area a few years ago from Hurricane Ike and the gas stations didn't work because the pumps are electric. Any solution to that is also a solution to charging an electric car, so that is not a disadvantage for electrics. A couple advantages of electric cars in that scenario are that electricity can come from a variety of different sources. Tesla Superchargers are partly powered by solar panels and could still be used for charging, although at a lower performance. Also, if you keep a Tesla S topped off in your garage, then that can be used as an 85kWh battery backup for your house. If you don't have anywhere you need to drive then you could easily power your house off your car for a few days.
