4 ms·
Assuming the battery could be swapped out in a few minutes, then traveling at a 1/3 of the speed of a human driver displaces the cost of one driver on a regular
by dredds 7y ago
Assuming the battery could be swapped out in a few minutes, then traveling at a 1/3 of the speed of a human driver displaces the cost of one driver on a regular shift of 8 hours. But on a 24/7/365 schedule (weekends and holidays too) even 1/4 the speed will cover wages. Reversing this, an Electric Truck with battery swap or on-road charging going 25km/h displaces the cost of 1 driver traveling 100km/h for equal distance.
- skohan 7y agoThere was an electric car startup (now defunct) in Israel which built a network of "swap stations" so drivers of their cars could do long drives without spending hours at charging stations. The process was a bit like going through a carwash: it was completely automated and couldn't have taken more than 5-10 minutes.
- swampthinker 7y agoAh yes, Shai Agassi and Better Place right? There are some entertaining (if biased) post-mortem articles on that startup: https://www.fastcompany.com/3028159/a-broken-place-better-place https://www.fastcompany.com/3028159/a-broken-place-better-pl...
- skohan 7y agoYes Better Place! Obviously there were a lot of problems with that business, but my cousin was an early-adopter, and it was pretty fun from a user perspective while it lasted. In retrospect superchargers are at a much better place (no pun intended) in terms of the speed/complexity ratio.