Electric cars?

Has to be the dumbest meme I’ve ever seen… the average new car cost is $47k, so at that rate of savings, you’d close the gap in 2 years if you choose the average EV over the average ICE car.

 

I agree. But typically what you see from Tesla is that their top tech goes where the most expensive vehicles are. Then they work it down. The S has already gotten new battery tech that puts its range above 400 mi.

 

Getting hammered but I own a bunch of HYLN…

Hyliion Holdings Corp. (HYLN) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo Finance

 

We already have a thread on gas prices, so I don’t want to turn this into that. But I think one of the best places for the government to move to electric is the postal service fleet. It’s absolutely ideal for an electric fleet with driving over limited distances during the day and charging at off peak hours at night.

 

Well yes, the electric car and other similar "green" measures (like recycling, or paper straws) exist to transfer the burden of solving climate change to us as individual consumers, rather than the machinery of capitalism that is mostly responsible for carbon emissions. But to some extent, its easier to imagine everyone driving an electric car and drinking out of terrible paper straws and living much as they do now than essentially ending capitalism as we know it. That's how the political economy has trained us!

 

but, It’s also now within the reach of many homeowners to install solar, buy an EV, and basically be an “energy independent” citizen…stop worrying about gas price gouging and give the Middle finger to FPL.

 

There are not enough charging stations. Can the grid handle the need for more electricity?
Question that I don't know the answer to, how much does it cost to upgrade your home to be able to charge a car? Is it as simple as plugging into a standard outlet?

 

I paid $180 to have what is effectively a dryer outlet put in my garage in my last house for the universal mobile charger to charge effectively 6-7 hours from 0. When I moved, I had to make sure I used a weather safe charging station because I gave up a garage. It cost $500 for the charger and $200 to install but I got better amperage and now it’s full charge in 4-5 hours. Hardly bank breaking and frankly either is fine for most daily driving. You can use a standard outlet but it only trickle charges at about 4-5 mi/hr so it’s not a long term solution. It needs a 220 as a long term charging voltage, which is what your dryer uses.

As far as charging stations, I wouldn’t mind more, but Tesla superchargers immediately come up whenever I need to charge on a trip and the car directs me. Most days, I leave the house with over 250 miles of range with a 90% charge (don’t want to go 100, so I get the regen braking benefits) and don’t use a supercharger at all.

Do we need more charging infrastructure? Yes, that would be great. Is that infrastructure needed for most people on most days? Nope. Charging at home is plenty for that. Charging infrastructure is for when you go outside that typical range.

As far as the grid, most people charge at night in off peak hours. In fact, Tesla has a feature that lets you schedule when it charges, so you can charge at the lowest cost if your electricity is not flat rate.

 

Have you done any long road trips with it? It seems that would make the type of road trip to the Midwest that I'm planning a lot more complicated. Planning stops, etc. And how much time would that add? Just curious on your experiences.

 

Consumer reports includes the cost-of-ownership for many vehicles. Many EV vehicles may be a luxury purchase for those that can afford them today. The first gens of the Prius hybrid cost more to make than what they sold for in early mid 2000's, plus the government provided tax credits all reducing cost of ownership. Used cars should come back down to earth over the next 12-18 months as the supply chain recovers from the pandemic shutdowns. Mass production of a car model reduces cost per unit. When Prius hybrid sales went over 250,000/year, production costs dropped and became profitable.

 

I have! We do trips with superchargers a lot. On average you’re looking at about 30-40 minutes a supercharge stop. So we usually plan meals and bathroom stops with them. Most superchargers are by retail and restaurants. We have a few that we actually love stopping at because of what is there.

The goal with trips is to charge enough to get you to the next supercharger, rinse repeat. Superchargers are more expensive ($.27-34 kWh vs $.10-15 kWh ) than home charging, but they’re DC charging which makes them much faster with 400-1000 mi/hr of charging. Plus, there’s plenty of toys and entertainment in the car if you’re waiting to finish a charge.

There are some areas that don’t have superchargers yet, but there’s always a way around that that may be a slightly longer route. The Midwest has some spots like that. But if you want to see what a trip would be like, try the Tesla trip planner.

Go Anywhere | Tesla

 

a 220v dryer type outlet will improve charging rates, the cars charging adapter will regulate the power to the power port accordingly. Generous tax credits for buying an EV will help stimulate increased sales. Dang, a new 4WD 4dr P/u truck can run $50,000 and not in my budget.

 

a good summary of federal Tax Credits for hybrids, PHEVs and EVs
Hybrid Car Tax Credits for 2021 Taxes in 2022 by make/model

 

I was always wondering about the cost of charging away from the house. Is it like a gas station. Put your card in and charge? I did not know if part of the charging infrastructure was included by buying the Tesla…

 

My son, who bought a 3 series BMW after getting his masters degree from UF, called me this week after riding in a friends new Tesla. Not the highest version.
All he could say was that he had never been in a car that quick in his life.
He was star struck.

 

Any issues with getting to your charging destination and then having to wait because of availibility? That would be my biggest concern, stuck for a couple of hours

 

Most people that don't understand EVs have never driven one.

Most people that have EV range anxiety have never owned one.

Auto industry giants, not exactly nimble forward thinking bureaucracies, have come to recognize the inevitably of EVs and have invested accordingly.

The train has left the station. No putting that tooth back in the tube. Whatever you want to call it. The market will fix upstream issues and there will be disruption across many areas.

Change can be good.

 

No. Tesla has a card on file. So I just plug in and see the charge on my screen. If you use Electrify America, it will show on the charger.