http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you
Kudos, Elon Musk.
Electric needed this. Could this signal the end of petrol?
Kudos, Elon Musk.
Electric needed this. Could this signal the end of petrol?
Tesla opens up all patents.
- Thread starter STDiva
- Start date
Will E Worm
Conspiracy...
bobjustbob
Proud member of FreeOnes Hall Of Fame. Retired to
I would love to say this is a conspiracy theory but there are a few things that make me say no. I have found no recharging stations along the Garden State Parkway, NJ Turnpike, or NYS Thruway rest stops. Places that can easily set up a line of places to plug in and sit for an hour. Sure, every Nissan dealership has charging stations, but what am I going to do for an hour waiting for my car to charge and only go 25 miles? An hour of 240 charge gets me 60 miles (an hours drive) only at Tesla Supercharge stations. Where are they? Find another station to sit for another hour and drive another hour. Not a long range or "drive is your job" type of vehicle.
110 plug in from home sucks since you get 3 miles for an hour of charge. All homes have 220 service and not much to install a plug in for the car but what about me? I live in an apartment and splitting a 220 cord for my car is going to set my walls on fire. These Tesla cars are only for certain people that have specific driving lifestyles. And at $70k it becomes a $70k pain in the ass. I'm going to need a gasoline vehicle to supplement what the Tesla vehicle can't do.
larss
I'm watching some specialist videos
But if the patents are opened then more people can do more research to bring in more efficient motors and alternative methods of charging (including solar, wind, temperature). At the moment electric motor are hardly ecologically friendly given the materials and energy required to manufacture and then continuously charge the batteries as they are now. Innovation and hybrid technology will help. Look at F1 - this sort of tech, where the electric motor is charged via both kinetic recovery (braking) and heat exchange from the turbo will soon filter down to road car power units. This does not get rid of petrol engines, but makes them far more efficient.
Hybrids are the best bet right now. That technology can be pushed to 80 MPG if research is done to improve with American cars..
they are already doing it Europe with Mercedes, but banned here.
Rey C.
Racing is life... anything else is just waiting.
As much as people like to compare Elon Musk to Steve Jobs, this move should tell people that while the two may be similar in some ways (intelligence, drive, etc.), they're clearly VERY different in their views on patents and open sourcing.
Good for Musk. I like this guy. I like his vision. And I applaud this move. The technological advances made at Tesla set that little company apart from the run-of-the-mill automotive crowd. I could see Mercedes or McLaren Applied Technologies latching onto this idea - or they should.
Good for Musk. I like this guy. I like his vision. And I applaud this move. The technological advances made at Tesla set that little company apart from the run-of-the-mill automotive crowd. I could see Mercedes or McLaren Applied Technologies latching onto this idea - or they should.
So, because the technology is not perfected now, there is no way that it will be possible in the future? Battery technology is getting better all the time, we're getting more charge into a smaller volume in less time every day. Fortunately there are people who are not as short sighted as you are who are making practical electric cars a reality. Imagine if Henry Ford had said "well this car thing is never going anywhere, since I have found no gas stations anywhere around here".
bobjustbob
Proud member of FreeOnes Hall Of Fame. Retired to
Electric cars are nothing new. We are being sold on the convenience of substituting an electric cord for a gas station. Reduce your personal guilt by leaving no carbon footprint. Don't confuse my skepticism with short sightedness. There is still no infrastructure of electric charging stations. As I said before, none along rest areas on major interstates or in mall parking lots or other places one might visit for an hour or so. It's not like digging up ground to drop tanks and install pumps with attendants. Probably the same cost of a rent-a-bike station in NYC.
Tesla guarantees their batteries for 8 years but we don't know how long these batteries actually last yet. You can buy a new battery for a Tesla but you must pre-pay for it when you buy your car. That's $12k on top of your $70k for the car and you can't get it till your first one goes for 8 years. What will the performance of a Tesla be after a 5 or 6 year old battery? Full charge only gets you 100 miles? We don't know. How about repairs? There is only 1 Tesla service facility in NJ. They also claim 90 second battery swap stations for long distance driving for a fee. That's okay, I'll pay to get quick swap to keep me moving along the road. How many of these stations do they have? None. Short sighted? Well, you tell me why people aren't going ape shit over these electric cars.
Mayhem
Banned
The interesting thing is, this is exactly the same thing that can be said about automobiles/horseless carriages/motorized buggies when they were first invented. And you're the guy telling us to stick with the horse because this new-fangled gadget is never going to get anywhere.
Lacey Black
Official Checked Star Member
Wow, and I didn't think I could like Elon Musk anymore than I already did. :clap:
bobjustbob
Proud member of FreeOnes Hall Of Fame. Retired to
The interesting thing is, this is exactly the same thing that can be said about automobiles/horseless carriages/motorized buggies when they were first invented. And you're the guy telling us to stick with the horse because this new-fangled gadget is never going to get anywhere.
I never wanted to imply such a thing but not having plug in stations set up to facilitate potential vehicle owners is a legitimate concern. As I mentioned before, they are simple enough to build because electricity is everywhere. They should already be set up at supermarkets, parking garages, cinemas, parking meters. Places convenient to get a charge. These things won't be in place when these cars come into the used market. The hybrids that charge while the gas engine kicks in meets the needs but 100% electric won't be practical till someone makes a move to install.
I think the problem with charging stations is that we're still waiting for the technology to catch up. When you can charge a battery as quickly as filling your tank, and get a similar range out of it, the switch will be pretty close to instantaneous. These guys have a phone battery that can charge in 30 seconds - http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/07/st...h-can-charge-from-flat-to-full-in-30-seconds/. It's only a matter of time until the tech is scaled to other things, like tools and cars. When an electric car can charge in a couple of minutes instead of hours, gas stations won't be able to install them fast enough.
Red XXX
Official Checked Star Member
Here in the UK we were at the forefront of electric technology http://www.milkfloats.org.uk/
bobjustbob
Proud member of FreeOnes Hall Of Fame. Retired to
Quick charging will be solved in time. I'm very confident of that but the current infrastructure for present and near future plug in customers is irrationally not there. Here's something I've run across:
http://www.app.com/story/news/local/red-bank-middletown-area/2014/06/03/middletown-car-charging-stations/9935757/
In a nut shell, the town has a train station and surveys say that there are many regular parking patrons with plug in cars. Perfect place to drop a few lines. The elected officials on the board want these stations to be self sufficient and I don't blame them. The township engineer says that each unit would cost $5000 and $10,000 to install. That's a line of horse shit if I've ever heard one. Take 10 cars charging for 10 bucks a day, that's 5G per year. Mind you now that this facility doesn't have to be contracted out. The township already has electricians and digging equipment people on their payroll. A work order can lay this shit down in 3 days and start collecting money.
I live by a train station with 1800 parking spaces and they fill 80% M-F plus NYC shoppers on weekends. 50 spots to charge would easily be filled for the convenience of these regular commuters. Any licensed electrician could easily drop a line and start making money. Why isn't this thing going on?
What's holding electric cars back right now is price. The reason why the price is so high for an electric car is because the batteries that power the car are so damn expensive. Once they're able to improve battery technology you'll see electric cars take off
- - - Updated - - -
What's holding electric cars back right now is price. The reason why the price is so high for an electric car is because the batteries that power the car are so damn expensive. Once they're able to improve battery technology you'll see electric cars take off
- - - Updated - - -
What's holding electric cars back right now is price. The reason why the price is so high for an electric car is because the batteries that power the car are so damn expensive. Once they're able to improve battery technology you'll see electric cars take off
larss
I'm watching some specialist videos
Rey C.
Racing is life... anything else is just waiting.
Here's a (very speculative) company that some of you may want to follow: ChargePoint. Following a "build it and they will come" strategy, the company provides vehicle charging solutions and currently has around 17,700 charging stations in place. If you'd like to see a real time, dynamic map of where these stations are, here ya go: ChargePoint Locations
If you're a stock investor (in this case, a gambler), the stock is CCGI and it goes for about 85 cents/share - so it's technically a penny stock. I'd only put "play money" in it if I was going to buy it. But for shits & giggles, it may be as much fun as betting on a football game or a horse. :dunno:
If you're a stock investor (in this case, a gambler), the stock is CCGI and it goes for about 85 cents/share - so it's technically a penny stock. I'd only put "play money" in it if I was going to buy it. But for shits & giggles, it may be as much fun as betting on a football game or a horse. :dunno:
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