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There is no reason only Tesla could do this. Minimalist campers are a huge growth market. It has that classic characteristic of a good start up market- people

There is no reason only Tesla could do this. Minimalist campers are a huge growth market. It has that classic characteristic of a good start up market- people want the solution so badly, they badly hack their own.

whitepoplar 9y ago
> Minimalist campers are a huge growth market. Do you mean the people, or the physical things?
- Tomminn 9y ago
  The physical thing. If living in something the size of a large car could be made comfortable, easy and inconspicuous, I suspect the market would be large with your prototypical cash poor/experience rich millennials who might (aspire to) use it as an alternative to renting for a significant fraction of the year. A car is excessive and unnecessary- but a mini camper/"millennial convertable" is aspirational. True freedom. Nothing will stop you taking that trip up north/down south/out west/back east when accommodation is always free. I can see the ads now. And they're coming straight from the mouths of my friends.
  - omegaworks 9y ago
    >(aspire to) use it as an alternative to renting for a significant fraction of the year. BUILD MORE GOD DAMN HOUSING.
  - switchbak 9y ago
    Sprinter van conversions are popular these days, I think having a small electric camper van would be popular for some people. Others seem to agree: https://www.treehugger.com/cars/yes-elon-musk-planning-build-teensy-bus.html https://www.treehugger.com/cars/yes-elon-musk-planning-build...
  - richardknop 9y ago
    Cash poor millennials can't afford to buy Tesla.
jschwartzi 9y ago
This article makes me think of all the people in The Mountaineers who sleep in their cars at trailheads for glacier climbs. There might be an untapped market for peak baggers here.
GuB-42 9y ago
The good thing seems to be that you can run air conditioning the whole night thanks to the huge battery. Many RVs don't even have air conditioning when the engine is not running. The Tesla Model S also has non-exclusive advantages such as being large enough to lie down comfortably and being a good regular car. If you are looking for a good camper that you can also use as an everyday car, the entire categories of MPV (larger) and LAV (smaller) are for you.
- Tomminn 9y ago
  Absolutely- the air con is essential. Good air quality and a comfortable temperature is hard to get any other way. So the car would need to be at least a hybrid.
vanilla_nut 9y ago
To be fair, if you're trying to camp somewhere that isn't 60-70 degrees at night, you need to leave most cars on (or wake up and run the AC/heat briefly) to make a lot of locations comfortable, since cars don't retain heat very well. This isn't really feasible in a gasoline car (it's loud and wasteful) and would run the batteries of many electric cars a little too low for comfort. In my admittedly limited experience, the Tesla has much better idle efficiency than many competitors.
- dpark 9y ago
  Even 70 would get miserable rapidly with the windows up due to all the humid, warm air the occupants would be breathing out.
r00fus 9y ago
If you leave the back open and climate control running with a gas engine vehicle you're a)going to run out of gas overnight and b) will get exhaust fumes where you're sleeping.

whitepoplar 9y ago

> Minimalist campers are a huge growth market. Do you mean the people, or the physical things?

Tomminn 9y ago
The physical thing. If living in something the size of a large car could be made comfortable, easy and inconspicuous, I suspect the market would be large with your prototypical cash poor/experience rich millennials who might (aspire to) use it as an alternative to renting for a significant fraction of the year. A car is excessive and unnecessary- but a mini camper/"millennial convertable" is aspirational. True freedom. Nothing will stop you taking that trip up north/down south/out west/back east when accommodation is always free. I can see the ads now. And they're coming straight from the mouths of my friends.
- omegaworks 9y ago
  >(aspire to) use it as an alternative to renting for a significant fraction of the year. BUILD MORE GOD DAMN HOUSING.
- switchbak 9y ago
  Sprinter van conversions are popular these days, I think having a small electric camper van would be popular for some people. Others seem to agree: https://www.treehugger.com/cars/yes-elon-musk-planning-build-teensy-bus.html https://www.treehugger.com/cars/yes-elon-musk-planning-build...
- richardknop 9y ago
  Cash poor millennials can't afford to buy Tesla.

jschwartzi 9y ago

This article makes me think of all the people in The Mountaineers who sleep in their cars at trailheads for glacier climbs. There might be an untapped market for peak baggers here.

GuB-42 9y ago

The good thing seems to be that you can run air conditioning the whole night thanks to the huge battery. Many RVs don't even have air conditioning when the engine is not running. The Tesla Model S also has non-exclusive advantages such as being large enough to lie down comfortably and being a good regular car. If you are looking for a good camper that you can also use as an everyday car, the entire categories of MPV (larger) and LAV (smaller) are for you.

Tomminn 9y ago
Absolutely- the air con is essential. Good air quality and a comfortable temperature is hard to get any other way. So the car would need to be at least a hybrid.

vanilla_nut 9y ago

To be fair, if you're trying to camp somewhere that isn't 60-70 degrees at night, you need to leave most cars on (or wake up and run the AC/heat briefly) to make a lot of locations comfortable, since cars don't retain heat very well. This isn't really feasible in a gasoline car (it's loud and wasteful) and would run the batteries of many electric cars a little too low for comfort. In my admittedly limited experience, the Tesla has much better idle efficiency than many competitors.

dpark 9y ago
Even 70 would get miserable rapidly with the windows up due to all the humid, warm air the occupants would be breathing out.

r00fus 9y ago

If you leave the back open and climate control running with a gas engine vehicle you're a)going to run out of gas overnight and b) will get exhaust fumes where you're sleeping.