5 ms·

Sure, but electric cars have far fewer moving parts. Components are simply less likely to break.

King-Aaron 8y ago
> Components are simply less likely to break I wouldn't say that they're less likely to break, but rather there's just fewer parts to potentially break. Your point is still completely valid of course.
pretendscholar 8y ago
Fewer moving parts does not mean that the components are less likely to break. A car with only one gear would have fewer parts but would break down more often.
- greglindahl 8y ago
  Most electric cars have only one gear. Why does it break down more often?
  - pretendscholar 8y ago
    Just saying as a thought experiment that having fewer parts does not mean it will break down less often.
    - greglindahl 8y ago
      That's not what a "thought experiment" is -- you confidently said something that has no basis in reality and no argument behind it. You didn't say "maybe" or "might". A "thought experiment" is when you set the stage to explain something using fundamental physics. There are hundreds of thousands of one-gear cars on the road. There is data.
      - pretendscholar 8y ago
        There's no basis in saying that single gear ice vehicles would break-down more frequently under conventional driving conditions? A thought experiment needs to explain something using fundamental physics? What about a math or logic related thought experiment? Why would I have to include maybe or might in a thought experiment?
        greglindahl 8y ago
        You literally said "A car with only one gear", not "single gear ice vehicles". I'm down with math and logic, as well as physics. But the problem here appears to be that you left out a word, so your audience is mystified.
    - siidooloo 8y ago
      Here’s a thought experiment: Product A has 100 parts. Each part has a 10 percent chance of breaking over the products lifetime. Product B has 25 parts. Each has a 10 percent chance of breaking over the product’s lifetime. Which product is more likely to break more often?
  - Latteland 8y ago
    Electric cars break down less often, not more often, in general. They have less car fires too. Tesla has enough millions of miles that there are a number of comparisons of rates of various problems compared to the regular fleet about accidents, fires, etc. It's not magic but has generally been very encouraging.
- btilly 8y ago
  That's a bad example. Early Teslas had 2 gears, but then got rid of that and now only have one. That got rid of the transmission and gearbox, and the car breaks less as a result. ICE cars can't do that because their engines work best in a fairly narrow range of RPMs. But electric has no such limit.
  - greglindahl 8y ago
    That was the original Roadster -- and it reduces the top speed, that's the minus. Well worth it, in my mind.
  - pretendscholar 8y ago
    The point being that having fewer parts in and of itself does not mean that it will break down less frequently.
    - icantdrive55 8y ago
      I can't afford a Tesla, or really any new car, but I love simple machines that just work. I have an old 80's Toyota truck that I just can't part with. It wasen't over engineered, nor complicated. Just a vechicle I can work on, if needed? It starts, and goes. I've worked on it in the middle of s desert, with a chesp socket set. If Tesla's do break down infrequently, they should include that in the advertising. Even though I used to be a mechanic, and a electrician the vechicle looks daunting on a mechanical level. It doesn't help that the company, like all automotive companies, don't want their customers working on their vechicle. (Tesla has so much potential, but it needs a calm, cool, practical commander. I feel, with the right management, Tesla could become the model A of this generation?)
jcrben 8y ago
Depending on what you mean by "break". What about bitrot and software bugs? Quick search reveals articles like https://electriccarsreport.com/2018/06/gm-recalls-model-year-2013-chevy-volts-for-battery-software-bug/ https://electriccarsreport.com/2018/06/gm-recalls-model-year... and https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/15/toyota_recalls_625000_hybrids_over_enginekilling_software_glitch/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/15/toyota_recalls_6250... The kind of component matters. Altho in the long, long term we can expect software bugs to trend to 0.

> Components are simply less likely to break I wouldn't say that they're less likely to break, but rather there's just fewer parts to potentially break. Your point is still completely valid of course.

pretendscholar 8y ago

Fewer moving parts does not mean that the components are less likely to break. A car with only one gear would have fewer parts but would break down more often.

greglindahl 8y ago
Most electric cars have only one gear. Why does it break down more often?
- pretendscholar 8y ago
  Just saying as a thought experiment that having fewer parts does not mean it will break down less often.
  - greglindahl 8y ago
    That's not what a "thought experiment" is -- you confidently said something that has no basis in reality and no argument behind it. You didn't say "maybe" or "might". A "thought experiment" is when you set the stage to explain something using fundamental physics. There are hundreds of thousands of one-gear cars on the road. There is data.
    - pretendscholar 8y ago
      There's no basis in saying that single gear ice vehicles would break-down more frequently under conventional driving conditions? A thought experiment needs to explain something using fundamental physics? What about a math or logic related thought experiment? Why would I have to include maybe or might in a thought experiment?
      - greglindahl 8y ago
        You literally said "A car with only one gear", not "single gear ice vehicles". I'm down with math and logic, as well as physics. But the problem here appears to be that you left out a word, so your audience is mystified.
  - siidooloo 8y ago
    Here’s a thought experiment: Product A has 100 parts. Each part has a 10 percent chance of breaking over the products lifetime. Product B has 25 parts. Each has a 10 percent chance of breaking over the product’s lifetime. Which product is more likely to break more often?
- Latteland 8y ago
  Electric cars break down less often, not more often, in general. They have less car fires too. Tesla has enough millions of miles that there are a number of comparisons of rates of various problems compared to the regular fleet about accidents, fires, etc. It's not magic but has generally been very encouraging.
btilly 8y ago
That's a bad example. Early Teslas had 2 gears, but then got rid of that and now only have one. That got rid of the transmission and gearbox, and the car breaks less as a result. ICE cars can't do that because their engines work best in a fairly narrow range of RPMs. But electric has no such limit.
- greglindahl 8y ago
  That was the original Roadster -- and it reduces the top speed, that's the minus. Well worth it, in my mind.
- pretendscholar 8y ago
  The point being that having fewer parts in and of itself does not mean that it will break down less frequently.
  - icantdrive55 8y ago
    I can't afford a Tesla, or really any new car, but I love simple machines that just work. I have an old 80's Toyota truck that I just can't part with. It wasen't over engineered, nor complicated. Just a vechicle I can work on, if needed? It starts, and goes. I've worked on it in the middle of s desert, with a chesp socket set. If Tesla's do break down infrequently, they should include that in the advertising. Even though I used to be a mechanic, and a electrician the vechicle looks daunting on a mechanical level. It doesn't help that the company, like all automotive companies, don't want their customers working on their vechicle. (Tesla has so much potential, but it needs a calm, cool, practical commander. I feel, with the right management, Tesla could become the model A of this generation?)

jcrben 8y ago

Depending on what you mean by "break". What about bitrot and software bugs? Quick search reveals articles like https://electriccarsreport.com/2018/06/gm-recalls-model-year-2013-chevy-volts-for-battery-software-bug/ https://electriccarsreport.com/2018/06/gm-recalls-model-year... and https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/15/toyota_recalls_625000_hybrids_over_enginekilling_software_glitch/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/15/toyota_recalls_6250... The kind of component matters. Altho in the long, long term we can expect software bugs to trend to 0.