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It is great to see a 120 year old company have so much energy. At the same time, Tesla is still the best when it comes to range.

by tims33 4y ago

GloriousKoji 4y ago
After going on a number of long road trips in different electric vehicles, the bigger thing to beat is Tesla supercharger network. Electrify America locations just aren't as well spaced out and about every other charging station seems to have a broken charger. While it wasn't a problem for me, they also don't have enough chargers at each station.
- Melting_Harps 4y ago
  > After going on a number of long road trips in different electric vehicles, the bigger thing to beat is Tesla supercharger network. Electrify America locations just aren't as well spaced out and about every other charging station seems to have a broken charger. While it wasn't a problem for me, they also don't have enough chargers at each station. I've only driven Teslas in CA where super chargers are rather common, my favorite being the one next the SpaceX factory in Hawthorne. And I keep telling people the same thing you said, this is why I think Tesla is more an energy company that makes cars to use it's network rather than the other way around. I'm glad they have competition, as EV was always going to be more than a one horse race if it were to succeed and while Nissan had 1st mover advantage they have fallen way behind with the Leaf project: luckily a post Ghosn era will see most of their lineup going EV and they're spending $18 Billion to offer more EV models in the next 5 years [0]. And Buick is re-branding as an EV only company [1], I'm actually interested in what they could deliver if they go for moonshots as classic Buicks were actually quite stunning in the 30-70s eras. They never got the same recognition as a Cadillac but they were on par style wise in my opinion. They could just emulate Lexus styles (that Wildcat screams of LC) with Electric motors and it would probably be a solid platform if they market themselves better and takes hints at why it works in China. Maybe if they stick with wagons as the Roadmaster still has a lot of cache and no one has offered a EV wagon yet? The issue, of course, is where will they charge? 0: https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/29/22807700/nissan-electric-vehicle-investment-plan-concepts https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/29/22807700/nissan-electric... 1: https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/1/23148699/buick-ev-electric-rebrand-electra-wildcat-concept https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/1/23148699/buick-ev-electric...
- maxerickson 4y ago
  The charging stations are likely not a durable advantage, they are cheap enough to build out that other companies will be able to catch up.
  - ok_dad 4y ago
    The hard part is probably being able to support something around 1 MW peaks when charging a few cars at once with fast charging on a small lot zoned for light commercial. I believe Tesla is storing energy on-site so they don't have to load the local grid with those kinds of peaks. That kind of grid energy storage is kinda expensive, if you don't build it yourself.
    - dijonman2 4y ago
      Doesn’t this shift the burden onto local utility grids and their customers instead of vehicle owners?
      - ok_dad 4y ago
        That’s the point, Tesla has experience in not making it a local problem, by using their own technology. Other car makers don’t have an energy company to lean on.
        carlivar 4y ago
        Ah yes, the fabled solar powered superchargers. One of the oh-so-many failed promises. https://electrek.co/2017/06/09/tesla-superchargers-solar-battery-grid-elon-musk/ https://electrek.co/2017/06/09/tesla-superchargers-solar-bat...
    - maxerickson 4y ago
      I don't see how the costs would be any different for Tesla than for some other company that is also supported by an electric car maker. The fenced off area at my local Meijer is pretty small.
deadmutex 4y ago
> Tesla is still the best when it comes to range. I thought Lucid was offering much higher ranges? e.g.: Lucid Air Dream Range. TBH, I rather have more efficiency on a day to day bases + faster charging than range :).

It is great to see a 120 year old company have so much energy. At the same time, Tesla is still the best when it comes to range.

by tims33 4y ago

It is great to see a 120 year old company have so much energy. At the same time, Tesla is still the best when it comes to range.

GloriousKoji 4y ago

After going on a number of long road trips in different electric vehicles, the bigger thing to beat is Tesla supercharger network. Electrify America locations just aren't as well spaced out and about every other charging station seems to have a broken charger. While it wasn't a problem for me, they also don't have enough chargers at each station.

Melting_Harps 4y ago
> After going on a number of long road trips in different electric vehicles, the bigger thing to beat is Tesla supercharger network. Electrify America locations just aren't as well spaced out and about every other charging station seems to have a broken charger. While it wasn't a problem for me, they also don't have enough chargers at each station. I've only driven Teslas in CA where super chargers are rather common, my favorite being the one next the SpaceX factory in Hawthorne. And I keep telling people the same thing you said, this is why I think Tesla is more an energy company that makes cars to use it's network rather than the other way around. I'm glad they have competition, as EV was always going to be more than a one horse race if it were to succeed and while Nissan had 1st mover advantage they have fallen way behind with the Leaf project: luckily a post Ghosn era will see most of their lineup going EV and they're spending $18 Billion to offer more EV models in the next 5 years [0]. And Buick is re-branding as an EV only company [1], I'm actually interested in what they could deliver if they go for moonshots as classic Buicks were actually quite stunning in the 30-70s eras. They never got the same recognition as a Cadillac but they were on par style wise in my opinion. They could just emulate Lexus styles (that Wildcat screams of LC) with Electric motors and it would probably be a solid platform if they market themselves better and takes hints at why it works in China. Maybe if they stick with wagons as the Roadmaster still has a lot of cache and no one has offered a EV wagon yet? The issue, of course, is where will they charge? 0: https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/29/22807700/nissan-electric-vehicle-investment-plan-concepts https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/29/22807700/nissan-electric... 1: https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/1/23148699/buick-ev-electric-rebrand-electra-wildcat-concept https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/1/23148699/buick-ev-electric...
maxerickson 4y ago
The charging stations are likely not a durable advantage, they are cheap enough to build out that other companies will be able to catch up.
- ok_dad 4y ago
  The hard part is probably being able to support something around 1 MW peaks when charging a few cars at once with fast charging on a small lot zoned for light commercial. I believe Tesla is storing energy on-site so they don't have to load the local grid with those kinds of peaks. That kind of grid energy storage is kinda expensive, if you don't build it yourself.
  - dijonman2 4y ago
    Doesn’t this shift the burden onto local utility grids and their customers instead of vehicle owners?
    - ok_dad 4y ago
      That’s the point, Tesla has experience in not making it a local problem, by using their own technology. Other car makers don’t have an energy company to lean on.
      - carlivar 4y ago
        Ah yes, the fabled solar powered superchargers. One of the oh-so-many failed promises. https://electrek.co/2017/06/09/tesla-superchargers-solar-battery-grid-elon-musk/ https://electrek.co/2017/06/09/tesla-superchargers-solar-bat...
  - maxerickson 4y ago
    I don't see how the costs would be any different for Tesla than for some other company that is also supported by an electric car maker. The fenced off area at my local Meijer is pretty small.

deadmutex 4y ago

> Tesla is still the best when it comes to range. I thought Lucid was offering much higher ranges? e.g.: Lucid Air Dream Range. TBH, I rather have more efficiency on a day to day bases + faster charging than range :).