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"To be clear: I want Tesla to succeed. However I am also a realist " That's my take. Good for them for taking such a huge chance and seeing an opportunity to
by PorterDuff 7y ago
"To be clear: I want Tesla to succeed. However I am also a realist "
That's my take. Good for them for taking such a huge chance and seeing an opportunity to take a chance on technology that is just now becoming practical.
But...I can't see any reason why Toyota won't squash them like a bug in the low and medium end car biz once EV technology becomes a bit better and their adoption is more mainstream. It's a heckuva business to try to make a profit in in any case.
- bobsil1 7y agoI drive a Toyota Mirai, brother has a Model 3. Mirai is like a plasticky HP laptop vs. the Tesla's MacBook, not to mention the stillborn hydrogen network or the ML-centric team of Tesla autopilot.
- dpkonofa 7y agoBatteries, mostly. Tesla's battery technology is light years ahead of where anyone else is and their charging network is already better than anyone else out there, including the private companies using standards, and they've just recently made them even better and faster through a software update. If anyone catches up to them, I'll be very, very surprised.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y agoDidn't Tesla open source all it's patents?[1] I am, really, only a casual observer, so can someone tell me if this means anyone can use their battery tech, and whatever else is important? 1. https://www.tesla.com/en_AU/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you https://www.tesla.com/en_AU/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-y...
- metildaa 7y agoThat is just a cross licensing agreement, not open source.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y agoOk, thanks.
- seabrookmx 7y agoAhead? Yes. Light years? Nope. The Hyundai Kona EV comes with 400Km (more than the base model 3) of range with a liquid cooled pack very similar in design to the model 3. And it's 0-60 is < 1s slower despite being a front wheel drive CUV rather than a sporty, RWD sedan. Yes I'm aware that Tesla has more tech in the Model S, X, and upcoming roadster but they can't laugh off other EV's like they did with the Leaf. Other manufacturers _are_ making progress and I hope Tesla keeps it together to lead the charge (pun intended).
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- tomjakubowski 7y ago> they can't laugh off other EV's like they did with the Leaf. As of January the Leaf was still the best selling electric car model in history. edit: Source from February with data through 2018. If ~200,000 more Model 3s than Leafs have been delivered this year, then it is the new leader. https://qz.com/1552840/the-most-successful-ev-model-to-date-is-not-from-the-us-or-china/ https://qz.com/1552840/the-most-successful-ev-model-to-date-...
- seabrookmx 7y agoYeah I've got nothing against the Leaf and it was a great way for Nissan to get a foothold in the market. But technology wise Tesla is quite a bit ahead. The Leaf originally had abysmal range (better now) and doesn't have the pack longevity due to its passive cooled design. This also limits the amount of power it can produce/consume leading to lower regen efficiency, slower charging, and worse performance. My comment above was trying to point out that the Kona is a good example of that gap being closed by yet another competitor on the EV scene.
- PinguTS 7y agoJust to remind you, that the battery technology is still Panasonic. That is why Panasonic does make the batteries in the Gigafactory and Elon calls up on Panasonic that they may not produce as much as they should (or agreed on or whatever).