The transition

[Mr. Coffee]

When you look at EVs, you see motor vehicles with far fewer moving parts that will likely require much less labor to manufacture and where their overall manufacture will be much more amenable to automation in the long term. So at the very right hand side of the graph the only incremental costs to making a new car will be the materials costs.

The way I see it, between a 1985 computer that cost $150,000 was barely competitive with a 1995 computer costing $5000. It is realistic to see those kinds of cost reductions in the coming decade with respect to EVs. My only question is "will it happen even faster?"

From that logic, you'd be insane to make any kind of new car purchase right now. The best return on your investment is to buy an older car and drive it into the ground and order your Tesla when it is on its last legs.

 

[Art Deco]

When you look at EVs, you see motor vehicles with far fewer moving parts that will likely require much less labor to manufacture and where their overall manufacture will be much more amenable to automation in the long term. So at the very right hand side of the graph the only incremental costs to making a new car will be the materials costs.

The way I see it, between a 1985 computer that cost $150,000 was barely competitive with a 1995 computer costing $5000. It is realistic to see those kinds of cost reductions in the coming decade with respect to EVs. My only question is "will it happen even faster?"

From that logic, you'd be insane to make any kind of new car purchase right now. The best return on your investment is to buy an older car and drive it into the ground and order your Tesla when it is on its last legs.

Yes. And then you have the network effect ... chargers and more to come for cars will be like the internet for the $5000 pcs. That's really the thing about the transition, it's not just dumping diesel engines for electric motors. All kinds of infrastructure ( from bridge widths to drive up windows) will change if we seriously go for a new technology . Like how many highways did we build in the last century vs all of recorded history ?

 

[Chargeride]

I see the Melbourne truck fire was caused by a single cell going into thermal runaway, the conversion company had the data from the bms, and actually admitted they had already spotted the cell acting strangely.

I don't know why they aren't using protected cells, but I can see EVs being monitored remotely as well as onboard.
A single dodgy cell in an irreparable battery?
New battery I suppose.

 

[Art Deco]

I see the Melbourne truck fire was caused by a single cell going into thermal runaway, the conversion company had the data from the bms, and actually admitted they had already spotted the cell acting strangely.

I don't know why they aren't using protected cells, but I can see EVs being monitored remotely as well as onboard.
A single dodgy cell in an irreparable battery?
New battery I suppose.

It only takes one bad cell, burning at over 3,000 degrees F. to light a few more, and all of them join the party. Like that container ship full of cars that burned at sea. So probably replacing the whole battery immediately be the default response to any battery issue.

 

[PatriciaK]

Musk has been hinting at a super cheap EV , claiming he has made an assembly line like the world has never seen.
I won't be buying an EV till the dust has settled, if ever.
Tesla Plaid owners getting stung by a 50K price drop for the new model.
Ouch!

I believe China already has super cheap EVs?

 

[Art Deco]

I believe China already has super cheap EVs?

Yep, they do, and they are selling well in Asia. And I think they are selling some in Europe as well, but not in the USA yet.

 

[Chargeride]

Yup the BYDs I think, but the sales in the US and Europe are abysmal from what I've heard, around 350 cars sold.
This is just from a YouTube EV channel.

 

[Chargeride]

omg cybertruck rolls, battery falls out .

 

[Art Deco]

omg cybertruck rolls, battery falls out .

Ouch. They need to strap that on, like ebikes used to do ...

 

[Art Deco]

Yup the BYDs I think, but the sales in the US and Europe are abysmal from what I've heard, around 350 cars sold.
This is just from a YouTube EV channel.

I doubt they pass either E.U. or U.S. safety standards, but that may not matter anymore in Britain?

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Just saw this on Reddit. Not a super strong selling point.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Yep, I've been hearing a lot of things about Ford EVs having crap software.

My own opinion is that software updates for vehicles should be done in a shop and not by the vehicle owner at home or (god forbid) while out on the road somewhere.

 

[JGcycle]

Sweden is building the world's first permanent electrified road for EVs to charge while driving:

EV Charging Road

 

[Chargeride]

Germany just dropped its EV subsidies.

 

[Art Deco]

Sweden is building the world's first permanent electrified road for EVs to charge while driving:

EV Charging Road

Some impressive infrastructure, but concentrating on heavy trucks seems wrong. I suppose that's why they only need to do a minority of the highways ... where the trucks run ... not where the commuters wander.

 

[Art Deco]

Germany just dropped its EV subsidies.

I'm not familiar with the subsidies, but I'll bet they weren't loved by BMW , Mercedes, and VW . From what I read Mercedes has better software than anybody else, including Tesla.

 

[Chargeride]

Theyve all promised to cover it anyway, including Tesla.
Which sounds like, they were overpriced anyway.

 

[Art Deco]

Theyve all promised to cover it anyway, including Tesla.
Which sounds like, they were overpriced anyway.

See @Mr. Coffee post # 22 above.

 

[Chargeride]

For all the talk of EV fires, my battery is now 5 years old and I have abused it beyond common sense, water ingress, charged with multiple cheap chargers up to 6A, left on charge for days, dropped it, let it rattle around in the case for months, drawn 45 amps out of it and flattened it in minutes, had it too hot to touch.
Ran it flat dead with endless bms resets to get me home , charged it zero to full while it's still hot from previous ride, left it outside in a barbecue throughout an entire sub zero winter.
Ridden it stone cold at 0c at full power, it could barely get the bike above 15mph till it warned up.
Never missed a beat and still giving me 20 miles at full tilt.
Samsung cells
EV cells are treated like babies by the bms.

 

[Chargeride]

I'm a full supporter of renewables, I've hobbies with solar from the very first commercial cells.

but
The UK is seriously looking to use a Morrocan solar..wind plant to provide 4gw for 20 hours a day.
It will require 200km2 of steerable solar.
1500km2 of turbines..and
A 20gwh battery...yes 20gwh.

And 4000km of HVDC undersea cable.

It will provide 8% of our electricity.

So for us to go completely net zero electricity only.
just us
Would probably require most of morroco.
Can anyone do the math.
It's called xlinks Morocco.