3 ms·

If this thing has torque vectoring and does a 9 second 1/4 mile, it's going to drop at wave 2. But wave 3 is already here - a lot of smaller companies are talk

If this thing has torque vectoring and does a 9 second 1/4 mile, it's going to drop at wave 2. But wave 3 is already here - a lot of smaller companies are talking about making their own electric vehicles. If batteries become commodities, it's going to reduce the R&D cost of making a road legal car by an order of magnitude. We're just waiting on the batteries.

bonestamp2 9y ago
I wonder if GM (or Tesla) will sell crate batteries the way they sell crate engines? Everyone will be drooling over the next big battery they release the way motor heads drool over crate engines. They'll need a reasonably standard size/configuration to be successful, and they could sell the motor, power management and PCM to go with it.
- kmonsen 9y ago
  GM doesn't make batteries, the Bolt is almost a LG car.
  - makomk 9y ago
    GM make batteries in much the same sense that Tesla do - the cells are bought in from LG, but the battery engineering, testing and integration work is done in-house. (Maybe even more so than Tesla's given their explanation for the Model 3 delay.) I believe the motor is simply bought in from LG though.
- alexanderstears 9y ago
  They could, but they're functionally middlemen for Panasonic, LG, and Samsung (which are the 3 big EV battery manufacturers). I'm tangentially involved with hot rodders, and a lot of them have spent some time thinking about adding some amount of electrification to their vehicles. Hot rods usually have thermal management problems for their engines and they run the risk of overheating when they're crusing around car shows / parades. Some folks think a small electric motor and battery would be a good way for them to drive short distances slowly and save the engine for higher torque demands.
marvin 9y ago
High-end battery packs will not be a commodity for at least the next few years. The continuing (decade-long+) trend of improving Li-ion battery cells and Tesla's demonstration that you can significantly improve pack performance by improving the packaging, clearly indicates that we aren't yet near the point where battery packs are a mature discipline. We'll probably get there at some point, once diminishing returns starts setting in. And lots of industries that aren't interested in developing battery packs (e.g. general aviation, construction, etc.), would have a sea change if high-performance battery packs were easily available. So I think the incentive to start a company in the space is good. But for the next few years, I think battery pack design will still advance very rapidly and hence be left to the industries that are massively capital intensive and where the best battery packs are an obvious competitive advantage. It's a super exciting development, and I can't wait to see what the future brings in this regard.

bonestamp2 9y ago

I wonder if GM (or Tesla) will sell crate batteries the way they sell crate engines? Everyone will be drooling over the next big battery they release the way motor heads drool over crate engines. They'll need a reasonably standard size/configuration to be successful, and they could sell the motor, power management and PCM to go with it.

kmonsen 9y ago
GM doesn't make batteries, the Bolt is almost a LG car.
- makomk 9y ago
  GM make batteries in much the same sense that Tesla do - the cells are bought in from LG, but the battery engineering, testing and integration work is done in-house. (Maybe even more so than Tesla's given their explanation for the Model 3 delay.) I believe the motor is simply bought in from LG though.
alexanderstears 9y ago
They could, but they're functionally middlemen for Panasonic, LG, and Samsung (which are the 3 big EV battery manufacturers). I'm tangentially involved with hot rodders, and a lot of them have spent some time thinking about adding some amount of electrification to their vehicles. Hot rods usually have thermal management problems for their engines and they run the risk of overheating when they're crusing around car shows / parades. Some folks think a small electric motor and battery would be a good way for them to drive short distances slowly and save the engine for higher torque demands.

marvin 9y ago

High-end battery packs will not be a commodity for at least the next few years. The continuing (decade-long+) trend of improving Li-ion battery cells and Tesla's demonstration that you can significantly improve pack performance by improving the packaging, clearly indicates that we aren't yet near the point where battery packs are a mature discipline. We'll probably get there at some point, once diminishing returns starts setting in. And lots of industries that aren't interested in developing battery packs (e.g. general aviation, construction, etc.), would have a sea change if high-performance battery packs were easily available. So I think the incentive to start a company in the space is good. But for the next few years, I think battery pack design will still advance very rapidly and hence be left to the industries that are massively capital intensive and where the best battery packs are an obvious competitive advantage. It's a super exciting development, and I can't wait to see what the future brings in this regard.