3 ms·

I think that a 350 mile range and 10 minute charge is ultimately the holy grail for electric cars. Most cars built try to shoot for 400 on highway gas mileage.

coryrc 16y ago
EVs are better at everyday driving. You could make a house using a sawzall, but it will be better and faster to use a miter saw for most of the work and a sawzall for the odd chop while up on the roof.
ars 16y ago
10 minute charge is not possible with the current grid. You would need 1,500A service - just for the car (most homes have 200). The cables would be as thick as your arm. You can do battery swaps instead, but it requires an infrastructure build out first.
- ajays 16y ago
  Even a 1 hour recharge is not bad. After driving for 350 miles, I wouldn't mind stopping for a nice lunch. While you're having lunch, the car's batteries get recharged, for much less than the price of the lunch.
- juiceandjuice 16y ago
  I never said the home would be the primary charge point, you wouldn't charge like this at home, but at a charge station. I'm implying that these are the specs necessary for an electric car to truly be taken seriously as a replacement for a gas vehicle. Furthermore, charging at a higher voltage, say even 720 volts (about twice the current roadster's voltage) gets you down to 500 amps to charge a Tesla in 10 minutes, which is manageable for cables. Charge stations could have a reserve/buffered system they can charge from that way they wouldn't be hitting the grid all at once if 5-6 cars show up. You could do a similar thing at your house (basically a large UPS) The battery swap thing is a pipe dream, IMO.
hugh3 16y ago
I'd be more interested in having a 100-mile range and an onboard gas-powered generator to give me effectively-unlimited range when I'm road-tripping and damn-near-free trips when I'm commuting.

coryrc 16y ago

EVs are better at everyday driving. You could make a house using a sawzall, but it will be better and faster to use a miter saw for most of the work and a sawzall for the odd chop while up on the roof.

ars 16y ago

10 minute charge is not possible with the current grid. You would need 1,500A service - just for the car (most homes have 200). The cables would be as thick as your arm. You can do battery swaps instead, but it requires an infrastructure build out first.

ajays 16y ago
Even a 1 hour recharge is not bad. After driving for 350 miles, I wouldn't mind stopping for a nice lunch. While you're having lunch, the car's batteries get recharged, for much less than the price of the lunch.
juiceandjuice 16y ago
I never said the home would be the primary charge point, you wouldn't charge like this at home, but at a charge station. I'm implying that these are the specs necessary for an electric car to truly be taken seriously as a replacement for a gas vehicle. Furthermore, charging at a higher voltage, say even 720 volts (about twice the current roadster's voltage) gets you down to 500 amps to charge a Tesla in 10 minutes, which is manageable for cables. Charge stations could have a reserve/buffered system they can charge from that way they wouldn't be hitting the grid all at once if 5-6 cars show up. You could do a similar thing at your house (basically a large UPS) The battery swap thing is a pipe dream, IMO.

hugh3 16y ago

I'd be more interested in having a 100-mile range and an onboard gas-powered generator to give me effectively-unlimited range when I'm road-tripping and damn-near-free trips when I'm commuting.