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What if you haven't been paying attention and discover your batteries are running low when you're on the highway and the next exit is in 20 miles? What are the

by kylec 11y ago

What if you haven't been paying attention and discover your batteries are running low when you're on the highway and the next exit is in 20 miles? What are the chances you'll be able to find somewhere to charge before your car stops? Also, just like how you charge your Tesla every night, I think most gas-powered car owners keep an eye on their fuel and will fill up the night before if they don't have time to stop in the morning. That's really a non-issue as well. Yes, owners of gas-powered cars will need to make impromptu, unscheduled stops to fill up, but EV owners have to constantly be planning in advance to know that they'll be able to hit the next charging point, because if they don't make it their car is going to be making the rest of the journey on the back of a flatbed truck.

mikeash 11y ago
A Tesla requires more forethought and effort for long trips. I won't dispute that. But my point is that for a gas car, getting gas and not running out of a gas is a constant thing even when you're not on a long trip. When I had a gas car, every so often I would get in the car ready to drive 60 miles out to the countryside or something and realize, nuts, I need to get gas on the way. I never let this happen to myself, but I see friends suddenly realize they need to stop and get gas while on a local drive of maybe 40 miles round trip. And even if you're on top of things and never let it happen, you're still spending a few minutes every week filling up the car. With an EV, for any trip that's within the range of the car, it's zero effort and zero thought. EV owners definitely don't have to "constantly be planning in advance." For 99% of drives you don't have to even think about it. Just unplug and go. For the 1% of the time you're making trips, then you have to think about it. My point is simply that the EV isn't worse in this way, it's just different. It's a tradeoff. If, like most people, you mostly do local driving with very occasional road trips, the EV will be less effort overall, not more.
greglindahl 11y ago
Does "not paying attention" include ignoring the Tesla warnings that you're low on charge, based on your battery level and the distance to nearby charging stations? It's connected to the nav system and knows your route, too. Pretty spiffy.
- kylec 11y ago
  I don't know, I was using mikeash's phrasing to create a comparable situation. In reality, most cars, including the Tesla, alert you well in advance of running out of fuel so neither case is likely to happen.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    A typical car will alert you when you have about 40 miles left. It's not too hard to find yourself in a situation where it's more than 40 miles to a gas station, although it is unlikely. A Model S will alert you when you're about to drive out of range of known charging stations. If it's 100 miles to the next charging station, it'll start to bug you when you have something over 100 miles left. Not quite the same. But my point here is, of course, more about the fact that you have to make ~50 (depending on how much you drive and what you drive, obviously) trips to the gas station every year even when you're just local, and thus gas-based range anxiety, while small, is ever-present. In an EV, it's not present at all when local.

by kylec 11y ago

mikeash 11y ago

A Tesla requires more forethought and effort for long trips. I won't dispute that. But my point is that for a gas car, getting gas and not running out of a gas is a constant thing even when you're not on a long trip. When I had a gas car, every so often I would get in the car ready to drive 60 miles out to the countryside or something and realize, nuts, I need to get gas on the way. I never let this happen to myself, but I see friends suddenly realize they need to stop and get gas while on a local drive of maybe 40 miles round trip. And even if you're on top of things and never let it happen, you're still spending a few minutes every week filling up the car. With an EV, for any trip that's within the range of the car, it's zero effort and zero thought. EV owners definitely don't have to "constantly be planning in advance." For 99% of drives you don't have to even think about it. Just unplug and go. For the 1% of the time you're making trips, then you have to think about it. My point is simply that the EV isn't worse in this way, it's just different. It's a tradeoff. If, like most people, you mostly do local driving with very occasional road trips, the EV will be less effort overall, not more.

greglindahl 11y ago

Does "not paying attention" include ignoring the Tesla warnings that you're low on charge, based on your battery level and the distance to nearby charging stations? It's connected to the nav system and knows your route, too. Pretty spiffy.

kylec 11y ago
I don't know, I was using mikeash's phrasing to create a comparable situation. In reality, most cars, including the Tesla, alert you well in advance of running out of fuel so neither case is likely to happen.
- mikeash 11y ago
  A typical car will alert you when you have about 40 miles left. It's not too hard to find yourself in a situation where it's more than 40 miles to a gas station, although it is unlikely. A Model S will alert you when you're about to drive out of range of known charging stations. If it's 100 miles to the next charging station, it'll start to bug you when you have something over 100 miles left. Not quite the same. But my point here is, of course, more about the fact that you have to make ~50 (depending on how much you drive and what you drive, obviously) trips to the gas station every year even when you're just local, and thus gas-based range anxiety, while small, is ever-present. In an EV, it's not present at all when local.