5 ms·

I'll wager that JB Straubel will be Tesla's CEO in 3-5 years and Tesla will no longer be a car company but a battery/infrastructure company.

threeseed 12y ago
Likely it will be just a battery company. The supercharger network is still proprietary i.e. it isn't a standard and there is no evidence that car companies are planning to adopt the Tesla connector. Especially with governments rallying around standards and directly competing with Tesla. And for me personally I am dubious about electric being the future solution. The world can live without Tesla and even BMW. Far harder without Toyota.
- theguycalledtom 12y ago
  > supercharger network is still proprietary Tesla opened up their patents but I doubt current non-Tesla electric cars can actually be charged by them without over-heating. I also doubt they will just let anyone use their superchargers because they are currently paying the power bill... but you'd have to be on the pay from some dubious source to turn this fact into anti-tesla spin.
  - olavgg 12y ago
    There is a local company where I live that is making chargers that will work on anything from Tesla to Leaf's http://www.zaptec.com/home/zapcharger/ http://www.zaptec.com/home/zapcharger/
  - seanflyon 12y ago
    > I also doubt they will just let anyone use their superchargers because they are currently paying the power bill Yup, Tesla would love for other companies to use and pay for their superchargers. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/184141-tesla-reveals-plan-to-share-supercharger-network-with-other-electric-car-makers http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/184141-tesla-reveals-plan...
- drzaiusapelord 12y ago
  I'm starting to also question a lot of the pro-electric propaganda. Gas is still too cheap and too plentiful and battery tech is still too terrible. All the breathless Elon Musk PR pieces don't change that. Even if the future is eventually electric, which I think it is - just when is the question. Who is going to win? The guy selling pricey luxury cars or Toyota, Chevy, and others who are already beating him on price today, let along 5-10 years from now.
  - SuperChihuahua 12y ago
    2020 is the "when" according to Elon Musk, so it's a good idea to begin before 2020 as it takes a few years to build up a car company.
  - hga 12y ago
    There's also issues with building out the grid. Last time I checked, California electric companies were concerned that a neighborhood that got more than 1 electric car needed a new transformer, since they're sized to cool down during the night when they're normally under a minuscule load.
  - toomuchtodo 12y ago
    > Gas is still too cheap and too plentiful and battery tech is still too terrible. Please don't get any ideas that this is the case. Most of OPEC requires $100/barrel or more to balance their budgets. The only reason we're seeing oil prices plummet is because OPEN is attempting to play chicken with US tight oil ("fracking") plays. Fracking in the US, in some cases, is profitable all the way down to $42/barrel. Several tight oil companies have already cancelled their dividends, and there are concerns they won't be able to obtain financing to continue operations (depending on the company). This ignores the elephant in the room that is China, that is ramping up filling their strategic oil reserves at these low prices. Sidenote: Tesla adds 1-3 Superchargers to their network per day.
  - justifier 12y ago
    electric, or some other zero or positive emission option, has to be the future this is more than an issue of financial costs it is also a quality of human life cost do you live in a city? i live in downtown sf and if i leave the windows of my apartment open for an hour the sill and any items inside will begin to have a coated layer of what i assume is a combination of exhaust particulate and dirt kicked up from tires if you live in a city then the next time you are walking down the street rub you fingers on a leaf of a sidewalk tree and you will see what i am talking about zero or positive emissions need to be here now i am waiting with bated breath

threeseed 12y ago

Likely it will be just a battery company. The supercharger network is still proprietary i.e. it isn't a standard and there is no evidence that car companies are planning to adopt the Tesla connector. Especially with governments rallying around standards and directly competing with Tesla. And for me personally I am dubious about electric being the future solution. The world can live without Tesla and even BMW. Far harder without Toyota.

theguycalledtom 12y ago
> supercharger network is still proprietary Tesla opened up their patents but I doubt current non-Tesla electric cars can actually be charged by them without over-heating. I also doubt they will just let anyone use their superchargers because they are currently paying the power bill... but you'd have to be on the pay from some dubious source to turn this fact into anti-tesla spin.
- olavgg 12y ago
  There is a local company where I live that is making chargers that will work on anything from Tesla to Leaf's http://www.zaptec.com/home/zapcharger/ http://www.zaptec.com/home/zapcharger/
- seanflyon 12y ago
  > I also doubt they will just let anyone use their superchargers because they are currently paying the power bill Yup, Tesla would love for other companies to use and pay for their superchargers. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/184141-tesla-reveals-plan-to-share-supercharger-network-with-other-electric-car-makers http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/184141-tesla-reveals-plan...
drzaiusapelord 12y ago
I'm starting to also question a lot of the pro-electric propaganda. Gas is still too cheap and too plentiful and battery tech is still too terrible. All the breathless Elon Musk PR pieces don't change that. Even if the future is eventually electric, which I think it is - just when is the question. Who is going to win? The guy selling pricey luxury cars or Toyota, Chevy, and others who are already beating him on price today, let along 5-10 years from now.
- SuperChihuahua 12y ago
  2020 is the "when" according to Elon Musk, so it's a good idea to begin before 2020 as it takes a few years to build up a car company.
- hga 12y ago
  There's also issues with building out the grid. Last time I checked, California electric companies were concerned that a neighborhood that got more than 1 electric car needed a new transformer, since they're sized to cool down during the night when they're normally under a minuscule load.
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  > Gas is still too cheap and too plentiful and battery tech is still too terrible. Please don't get any ideas that this is the case. Most of OPEC requires $100/barrel or more to balance their budgets. The only reason we're seeing oil prices plummet is because OPEN is attempting to play chicken with US tight oil ("fracking") plays. Fracking in the US, in some cases, is profitable all the way down to $42/barrel. Several tight oil companies have already cancelled their dividends, and there are concerns they won't be able to obtain financing to continue operations (depending on the company). This ignores the elephant in the room that is China, that is ramping up filling their strategic oil reserves at these low prices. Sidenote: Tesla adds 1-3 Superchargers to their network per day.
- justifier 12y ago
  electric, or some other zero or positive emission option, has to be the future this is more than an issue of financial costs it is also a quality of human life cost do you live in a city? i live in downtown sf and if i leave the windows of my apartment open for an hour the sill and any items inside will begin to have a coated layer of what i assume is a combination of exhaust particulate and dirt kicked up from tires if you live in a city then the next time you are walking down the street rub you fingers on a leaf of a sidewalk tree and you will see what i am talking about zero or positive emissions need to be here now i am waiting with bated breath