Split Electric Vehicles (from Twitter idiot)

[Jimmy Higgins]

The US Electric grid can't handle the demand from EV's!

The adoption rate (people buying EV's) is not high enough to overload the grid. We have time to adjust for the demand. Also, I believe most EV owners like myself charge their vehicles at night during off peak hours so they can commute during the day. If every EV owner charged during the day that would be on the news for sure. Long lines and reports of road rage incidents at charging stations! More at 11!

Grid issues certainly is an exaggeration. The bigger problem is charging in condensed areas (apartments and the like).

Long road trips are not viable in an EV!

Nonsense, it is recommended that you stop and rest every 100 miles or so (or 2 hours).

Recommended by whom? Other than older people and women that have had children?

Every EV on the market can travel up to 330 miles on a single charge.

Not even remotely true. Most EV cars on the market can't go 330 miles on a charge.

Tesla (not sure about the rest) takes 15 minutes to replace 200 miles.

The more expensive (6 digits now) Tesla can. Not the one that people can actually try and afford (Model 3). That one tops out at what, 250 miles in total range. And from what I've read, the Tesla can charge about 50% of the battery real quick. But beyond that, no, not so much.

Driving an EV is a lot more feasible today than it has ever been (since the oil industry fucked America by eliminating the electric car back in the early 20th century). But it still has a tether and one is reliant on a much less distributed charging station infrastructure. For 90+% of driving, an EV will likely be great. But when paying a premium, want that number to be 100%.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

We have enough helium

Helium is actually in very short supply. It's used in medical and physics research but we're wasting it on childrens party balloons.

Actually, from what I've seen, the amount used for industrial purposes (including MRIs and the like) is much much much higher than party balloons, so party balloons don't even merit being raised. But yes, helium isn't in abundance these days.

 

[thebeave]

The US Electric grid can't handle the demand from EV's!

The adoption rate (people buying EV's) is not high enough to overload the grid. We have time to adjust for the demand. Also, I believe most EV owners like myself charge their vehicles at night during off peak hours so they can commute during the day. If every EV owner charged during the day that would be on the news for sure. Long lines and reports of road rage incidents at charging stations! More at 11!


Long road trips are not viable in an EV!

Nonsense, it is recommended that you stop and rest every 100 miles or so (or 2 hours). Every EV on the market can travel up to 330 miles on a single charge. Tesla (not sure about the rest) takes 15 minutes to replace 200 miles. That's a 15 minute rest you should be taking after driving 200 miles anyway.

Edit: By every EV can travel up to 330 miles I meant every EV built for long range.

The electrical grid's capacity to handle the EV demand is really location dependent. Not sure about the rest of the country, but here in California last summer we were at the edge of grid failure during certain parts of the day. In fact, despite CA pushing for EVs, people were told not to charge their EVs this last summer late in the afternoon for fear of causing blackouts. And starting in 2035, all new cars sold in CA must be EVs. To top it off, gas appliances are being phased out here, putting even more demand on the electric grid. And where are all the extra power plants going to come from? California is still very anti-nuclear, not that that even matters anymore to the upcoming crisis given how long it takes to get a nuclear power plant built.

 

[Gospel]

Not even remotely true. Most EV cars on the market can't go 330 miles on a charge.

My Tesla model 3 ( AWD Duel motor long range) goes 350 miles on a single charge (90% charge) with aggressive driving. IF I fully charged the battery (which would be stupid since it takes as long to go from 90% to 100% as it does to go from 20% to 80%) I'd get 370 miles out of it. If I avoid aggressive acceleration (and put those ugly hubcaps back on) those numbers go up by around 10 to 15 miles. As I said most EV's built for long range can do this. Sure they are expensive, but they can do it. Not every EV is a long range EV & not every EV marketed as long range is a good long range EV. But most EV's that are marketed as Long Range can do at least 330 miles on a single charge (with idiotic driving).

Edit: I'm a cheat because I live in Florida were the weather is mild so losing range to cold weather doesn't happen often. In northern states things would be different. By how much I don't know but it is different for sure.

Edit: Also my state is flat. Not many hills to clime round these parts.

 

[Gospel]

Recommended by whom? Other than older people and women that have had children?

A quick google shows there are multiple sources recommending resting every 2 hours. It doesn't mean that Jimmy Higgins needs to stop every two hours. I'm replying to the repeated claims I've seen about EV's not being viable due to range and/or time to charge. I don't think that's the case for every driver and every EV. It comes down to personal preferences and finances to be honest. Plenty of people are doing road trips in a Tesla. Just because other vehicles don't have the charging network and range and some people don't like the wait it doesn't mean long range road trips in a EV is not viable.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Recommended by whom? Other than older people and women that have had children?

A quick google shows there are multiple sources recommending resting every 2 hours. It doesn't mean that Jimmy Higgins needs to stop every two hours. I'm replying to the repeated claims I've seen about EV's not being viable due to range and/or time to charge. I don't think that's the case for every driver and every EV. It comes down to personal preferences and finances to be honest. Plenty of people are doing road trips in a Tesla. Just because other vehicles don't have the charging network and range and some people don't like the wait it doesn't mean long range road trips in a EV is not viable.

It isn't viable. Tesla charges six digits for the car that doesn't make having to charge a pain in the butt.

 

[Gospel]

BTW - The Twitter CEO just dropped the Model Y (most purchased Tesla) price by a staggering 13k!! Making it eligible for the full $7500 EV tax credit instead of just half (if they buy before the other requirements are hashed out in March). Folks who just purchased one for 65K could have saved $20,500 if they would have clicked that buy button a few days later. I expect there to be some really upset customers. I know I would be.

Edit: My Model 3 LR AWD went down (used market) as a result.

 

[Gospel]

BTW - Just like any fairly new thing the prices go down with widespread adoption. Microwaves and Televisions were hella expensive at first. But folks with expendable income purchased them before the manufacturer made improvements & found ways to cut costs. It's just a matter of time that there is an EV on the market that can get over 500 miles on a single charge for less than 30k. While on the used market you'll find 300 to 400 range for even less. Just not in everyone's life time.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Yes, and some day it'll become affordable. But right now, EVs are not viable options for a large percent of Americans for all of their transportation needs.

 

[Elixir]

Yes, and some day it'll become affordable. But right now, EVs are not viable options for a large percent of Americans for all of their transportation needs.

As a rural dweller, I hope for a day when I (more likely someone else in my situation) can charge vehicles from a solar array that also powers the rest of the property.
De-centralized energy production is going to be an essential stabilizing factor in the future energy landscape.

 

[Gospel]

Not sure what that even means. Most Americans drive less than 30 miles per day. I can't find a single EV out there that can't do 30 miles in one day. ICE vehicles should be flooding the rental market if we're gonna talk about the needs of a large percentage of Americans. It's cheaper to have a Nissan leaf for daily and rent a freaking Ferrari for the occasional long road trips than it is to hold on to that full ICE vehicle every day.

Edit: Ok I'm overexaggerating with the Ferrari but you know what I mean.

 

[bilby]

I believe most EV owners like myself charge their vehicles at night during off peak hours so they can commute during the day.

So that rules out solar power as the electricity source, making it very likely that your car runs on coal and/or natural gas. So much for reducing carbon emissions.

 

[Elixir]

So that rules out solar power as the electricity source

Only in the absence of storage.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Not sure what that even means. Most Americans drive less than 30 miles per day. I can't find a single EV out there that can't do 30 miles in one day. ICE vehicles should be flooding the rental market if we're gonna talk about the needs of a large percentage of Americans. It's cheaper to have a Nissan leaf for daily and rent a freaking Ferrari for the occasional long road trips than it is to hold on to that full ICE vehicle every day.

Edit: Ok I'm overexaggerating with the Ferrari but you know what I mean.

Do I need to rent a car every time I need or want to drive more than 100 miles? Yes, a Tesla gets one further, but again, what is the point on paying extra for a car I can't drive everywhere I want? I don't drive very far very often, but much more often than it'd make sense to pay a premium... and then the added expense of renting a car.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So that rules out solar power as the electricity source

Only in the absence of storage.

There is no large scale storage solution. At a home, there can be batteries, that last for a while.

 

[Elixir]

At a home, there can be batteries

Isn’t that where most people park their cars at night?

 

[bilby]

So that rules out solar power as the electricity source

Only in the absence of storage.

You mean, like in the real world we are inhabiting?

With the exception of a small amount of pumped hydro, storage currently exists only as an expensive and impractical idea; Grid scale batteries are used for protection against transient events, and have discharge times measured in minutes.

Home batteries are available. But they're not cheap, not carbon neutral, and not anywhere near large enough to store the amount of electricity needed to charge an electric car.

 

[bilby]

At a home, there can be batteries

Isn’t that where most people park their cars at night?

If you have a massive solar array that can generate around 300kWh of electricity per day, and a bank of a dozen Powerwall style batteries, then you could probably charge a Tesla 3 overnight using just solar power. The charging equipment would likely cost considerably more than the car, though.

The problem you're always going to face is that there's a significant loss in charging any battery, and going Solar>Home Battery>Car Battery entails doubling that loss.

 

[Gospel]

Not sure what that even means. Most Americans drive less than 30 miles per day. I can't find a single EV out there that can't do 30 miles in one day. ICE vehicles should be flooding the rental market if we're gonna talk about the needs of a large percentage of Americans. It's cheaper to have a Nissan leaf for daily and rent a freaking Ferrari for the occasional long road trips than it is to hold on to that full ICE vehicle every day.

Edit: Ok I'm overexaggerating with the Ferrari but you know what I mean.

Do I need to rent a car every time I need or want to drive more than 100 miles? Yes, a Tesla gets one further, but again, what is the point on paying extra for a car I can't drive everywhere I want? I don't drive very far very often, but much more often than it'd make sense to pay a premium... and then the added expense of renting a car.

You keep saying you can't drive a Tesla everywhere you want and that's just not true.

I can drive from Orlando Florida to Vancouver, BC, Canada in 60hrs & 16min. All the red blips below are Tesla chargers with an average 20 minute charge time.


Try it yourself https://www.tesla.com/trips

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Not sure what that even means. Most Americans drive less than 30 miles per day. I can't find a single EV out there that can't do 30 miles in one day. ICE vehicles should be flooding the rental market if we're gonna talk about the needs of a large percentage of Americans. It's cheaper to have a Nissan leaf for daily and rent a freaking Ferrari for the occasional long road trips than it is to hold on to that full ICE vehicle every day.

Edit: Ok I'm overexaggerating with the Ferrari but you know what I mean.

Do I need to rent a car every time I need or want to drive more than 100 miles? Yes, a Tesla gets one further, but again, what is the point on paying extra for a car I can't drive everywhere I want? I don't drive very far very often, but much more often than it'd make sense to pay a premium... and then the added expense of renting a car.

You keep saying you can't drive a Tesla everywhere you want and that's just not true.

I can drive from Orlando Florida to Vancouver, BC, Canada in 60hrs & 16min. All the red blips below are Tesla chargers with an average 20 minute charge time.
View attachment 41860

Try it yourself https://www.tesla.com/trips

Go from NE Ohio to Tobermory, Ontario. 40 minute charge in Sarnia. Now... if I could do that while waiting for customs...

Model 3, long range, nearly $60,000. And I need to wait 40 minutes to fuel up in Sarnia?

And that isn't arbitrary, that is one of my favorite destinations.

Also, Orlando to Vancouver, is about two days of driving. Obviously, this one has breaks in it. But going from 47 hours to 60 hours, and pretending it ain't slowing one down is silly.