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Where I live electricity prices are about 1/8 the price per kilometer compared to gasoline. And I have rooftop solar, so for me it's even better. And I have not

Where I live electricity prices are about 1/8 the price per kilometer compared to gasoline. And I have rooftop solar, so for me it's even better. And I have not had to suffer a gas station in over a year - that in itself would be worth it even if not for the cost per kilometer. Not to mention no oil or filter to change, no plugs or coil packs to go bad, no catalytic converters to steal...

londons_explore 3y ago
> no catalytic converters to steal.. I predict that within 10 years gangs will start stealing EV batteries. With a grinder, trolley and 5 minutes you could remove one from a car. Then take it away and connect it to the grid as stationary storage and earn a few thousand dollars a year in balancing fees.
- cf141q5325 3y ago
  I am honesty surprised to not already see massive theft with bike and scooter batteries.
  - dharmab 3y ago
    Thieves currently make more money stealing entire sport and touring motorcycles, or lightweight high end bicycles.
  - londons_explore 3y ago
    Having been to car boot sales and seeing people selling 50 damaged (ie. ripped out) ebike batteries at once, I can tell you they are actively traded...
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago
  That's not nearly as easy as removing a catalytic converter. You can walk off with the catalytic converter. But a battery pack can be a quarter of the vehicle's considerable weight. EVs weight more than fossil fuel cars because of this. You're not going to casually walk off or moped away with 1,000 lbs of battery.
  - londons_explore 3y ago
    The thieves I see have a truck with 50 catalytic converters in the back. They could equally have a truck with 3 EV batteries in the back.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago
      I'm not saying that it's impossible, just that the weight and economics of it seem a lot less favourable. By an estimated ratio of 3:50, or 6%.
    - theshrike79 3y ago
      A single man can throw the catalytic converter in the back of the truck. It can also be sawed off with a 50€ battery angle grinder in a few minutes. A single man cannot throw a 500kg battery bank on the truck. The battery bank in many EVs is a structural part of the car and very well protected from the underside for a reason.
- oblio 3y ago
  LOL :-)) EV batteries are under the car and connected to many other components. They'd basically need to steal the car itself to do it. It's far from a trivial thing.
- robertjpayne 3y ago
  I really doubt this. Messing with high voltage battery packs will get people killed very fast. It's not an inert part with barely any risks. That doesn't take into the account the software required to safely and properly charge these packs that will likely be factory or dealership locked to a vehicle if thefts start to happen on a larger scale.
  - cf141q5325 3y ago
    >I really doubt this. Messing with high voltage battery packs will get people killed very fast. I dont think the safety argument holds much weight. For comparison, there is a lively market in Europe for WW2 relics. People dig up former front lines by night (sometimes even with heavy equipment) and burn out any explosives they can find to sell the "decommissioned" shells to collectors.
- dharmab 3y ago
  > With a grinder, trolley and 5 minutes you could remove one from a car. No, you cannot. Look up SuperFastMatt's video about the construction and layout of the Tesla battery he had to "chop up" for this custom build.

londons_explore 3y ago

> no catalytic converters to steal.. I predict that within 10 years gangs will start stealing EV batteries. With a grinder, trolley and 5 minutes you could remove one from a car. Then take it away and connect it to the grid as stationary storage and earn a few thousand dollars a year in balancing fees.

cf141q5325 3y ago
I am honesty surprised to not already see massive theft with bike and scooter batteries.
- dharmab 3y ago
  Thieves currently make more money stealing entire sport and touring motorcycles, or lightweight high end bicycles.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  Having been to car boot sales and seeing people selling 50 damaged (ie. ripped out) ebike batteries at once, I can tell you they are actively traded...
SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago
That's not nearly as easy as removing a catalytic converter. You can walk off with the catalytic converter. But a battery pack can be a quarter of the vehicle's considerable weight. EVs weight more than fossil fuel cars because of this. You're not going to casually walk off or moped away with 1,000 lbs of battery.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  The thieves I see have a truck with 50 catalytic converters in the back. They could equally have a truck with 3 EV batteries in the back.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago
    I'm not saying that it's impossible, just that the weight and economics of it seem a lot less favourable. By an estimated ratio of 3:50, or 6%.
  - theshrike79 3y ago
    A single man can throw the catalytic converter in the back of the truck. It can also be sawed off with a 50€ battery angle grinder in a few minutes. A single man cannot throw a 500kg battery bank on the truck. The battery bank in many EVs is a structural part of the car and very well protected from the underside for a reason.
oblio 3y ago
LOL :-)) EV batteries are under the car and connected to many other components. They'd basically need to steal the car itself to do it. It's far from a trivial thing.
robertjpayne 3y ago
I really doubt this. Messing with high voltage battery packs will get people killed very fast. It's not an inert part with barely any risks. That doesn't take into the account the software required to safely and properly charge these packs that will likely be factory or dealership locked to a vehicle if thefts start to happen on a larger scale.
- cf141q5325 3y ago
  >I really doubt this. Messing with high voltage battery packs will get people killed very fast. I dont think the safety argument holds much weight. For comparison, there is a lively market in Europe for WW2 relics. People dig up former front lines by night (sometimes even with heavy equipment) and burn out any explosives they can find to sell the "decommissioned" shells to collectors.
dharmab 3y ago
> With a grinder, trolley and 5 minutes you could remove one from a car. No, you cannot. Look up SuperFastMatt's video about the construction and layout of the Tesla battery he had to "chop up" for this custom build.