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Right...because we haven't wanted better batteries for the past 30+ years, and it's just our lack of desire which is keeping it from happening. SpaceX didn't d
by rdl 13y ago
Right...because we haven't wanted better batteries for the past 30+ years, and it's just our lack of desire which is keeping it from happening.
SpaceX didn't do any new science in building their rockets, really. They took functional technology and a lot of great engineering and made it work. I don't think it would be responsible to bet Tesla's success on a battery technology which doesn't exist yet; 50% cheaper Lithium-Ion through Tesla/SpaceX style vertical integration and awesomeness is good enough.
If better battery chemistries come out, then sure Tesla could use them, but the planning for the next car needs to work even if they don't.
- rdw 13y agoI think that there wasn't as much demand for batteries in the past as there has been this decade. Think of all the things that need batteries now that didn't exist in quite as large numbers 10 years ago. Laptops, phones, tablets, household devices, cars, power utility energy balancing, UPSes, personal sensors. Usage of these things in a battery-powered context has grown by several orders of magnitude, a really truly huge amount, and that level of demand is driving battery research forward. There also seems to be a shift from disposable to rechargeable. It's also the other way around, too, of course. I would have thought it ludicrous in the 90s to have my primary vacuum cleaner be battery powered. But this year, I didn't even think twice about it.