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Putting Tesla anywhere near a list of factors for "ending strategic dependence on oil dictatorships" is pure hyperbole at best.

by whatok 9y ago

tpolischuk 9y ago
Maybe, but what about what Musk has done as a whole? If he can drive home-battery adoption, solar, and electric vehicles, and create markets where companies like GM, Ford, and the Euro manufacturers have to chase the new market, that has to make a huge impact. Obviously it's not going to completely remove our dependence (mainly plastics and shipping) but it will absolutely hit the bottom line of the most oppressive regimes funded by oil (Saudi Arabia). Also this will help us you know stop destroying entire mountain ranges and the largest CO2 sinks in North America for tar sands mining (Boreal Forest).
- orclev 9y ago
  On the plastics front, just look at the news from earlier this week of Lego working to replace all of the plastics used in their toys with bio-plastics (or other non-oil based polymers). A few more efforts like that and plastics won't be anywhere near the driver of oil consumption they are now. That doesn't address shipping (which is horrendously polluting), but if that's the last one standing that's still a massive improvement.
  - dotancohen 9y ago
    Commercial aviation as well will never be electric. It would require two orders of magnitude energy to weight density, and quadruple flight times.
    - tpolischuk 9y ago
      People also thought we would never get man into space :)
      - dotancohen 9y ago
        There is a big difference between simply thinking that something is too hard and having numbers to back it up.
      - deleted 9y ago
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AlexCoventry 9y ago
Tesla has been proceeding according to his plan for a bit over a decade. He foresaw the value of it in 2006. At the very least, his insight accelerated the development and adoption of electric cars and solar power.

Putting Tesla anywhere near a list of factors for "ending strategic dependence on oil dictatorships" is pure hyperbole at best.

by whatok 9y ago

Putting Tesla anywhere near a list of factors for "ending strategic dependence on oil dictatorships" is pure hyperbole at best.

tpolischuk 9y ago

Maybe, but what about what Musk has done as a whole? If he can drive home-battery adoption, solar, and electric vehicles, and create markets where companies like GM, Ford, and the Euro manufacturers have to chase the new market, that has to make a huge impact. Obviously it's not going to completely remove our dependence (mainly plastics and shipping) but it will absolutely hit the bottom line of the most oppressive regimes funded by oil (Saudi Arabia). Also this will help us you know stop destroying entire mountain ranges and the largest CO2 sinks in North America for tar sands mining (Boreal Forest).

orclev 9y ago
On the plastics front, just look at the news from earlier this week of Lego working to replace all of the plastics used in their toys with bio-plastics (or other non-oil based polymers). A few more efforts like that and plastics won't be anywhere near the driver of oil consumption they are now. That doesn't address shipping (which is horrendously polluting), but if that's the last one standing that's still a massive improvement.
- dotancohen 9y ago
  Commercial aviation as well will never be electric. It would require two orders of magnitude energy to weight density, and quadruple flight times.
  - tpolischuk 9y ago
    People also thought we would never get man into space :)
    - dotancohen 9y ago
      There is a big difference between simply thinking that something is too hard and having numbers to back it up.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]

deleted 9y ago

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deleted 9y ago

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AlexCoventry 9y ago

Tesla has been proceeding according to his plan for a bit over a decade. He foresaw the value of it in 2006. At the very least, his insight accelerated the development and adoption of electric cars and solar power.