Electric cars and the impact on the environment


PL510*Jeff

Well-known member
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Nov 3, 2005
4,876
Renton, Washington
EV's, Autonomous, driverless - what ever you want to call it, while sounding enticing, have serious limitations.

Wondering out loud what the EV owners in Malibu are going to do, while waiting for the power grid to be restored. Read today that some may have to wait another 4 weeks.

Price of electricity is going to sky rocket, as the liability of the two recent very large California fires, have been attributed to the electrical providers. And they have applied for emergency 'very large' rate increases. Billions of dollars.
 

DoctorV8

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Feb 28, 2006
1,173
Houston
EV's, Autonomous, driverless - what ever you want to call it, while sounding enticing, have serious limitations.

Wondering out loud what the EV owners in Malibu are going to do, while waiting for the power grid to be restored. Read today that some may have to wait another 4 weeks.

Price of electricity is going to sky rocket, as the liability of the two recent very large California fires, have been attributed to the electrical providers. And they have applied for emergency 'very large' rate increases. Billions of dollars.

Sounds like its time to go solar.
 

Awsum GT

GT Owner '18
Mark IV Lifetime
Sep 17, 2005
3,985
Carmel & Cntrl Ca
EV's, Autonomous, driverless - what ever you want to call it, while sounding enticing, have serious limitations.

Wondering out loud what the EV owners in Malibu are going to do, while waiting for the power grid to be restored. Read today that some may have to wait another 4 weeks.

Price of electricity is going to sky rocket, as the liability of the two recent very large California fires, have been attributed to the electrical providers. And they have applied for emergency 'very large' rate increases. Billions of dollars.

guessing gas cars will have issues in fire areas where power is out without electricity to pump gas?
 

2112

Blue/white 06'
Mark II Lifetime
Price of electricity is going to sky rocket, as the liability of the two recent very large California fires, have been attributed to the electrical providers. And they have applied for emergency 'very large' rate increases. Billions of dollars.

The source of ignition will be a footnote. Expect the Climate Change hysteria to ramp up significantly.

Taxing our economy into submission will of course replant the rainforests, reduce the billion extra humans we add to the planet every 12-15 years and stop the construction of coal-Fired electrical generation plants in that part of the world where the population booms unabated.

:bored
 

PeteK

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Apr 18, 2014
2,267
Kalama, Free part of WA State
Consumer Reports has put all Teslas in its "not recommended" column. Tesla announced Thursday that they would stop selling cars through dealerships and sell instead through the internet. And yesterday they had to pay $960M to buy out convertible bonds.

Musk also got his nuts in a vise with the SEC again. The guy may be brilliant but he keeps doing stupid stuff. Will his company survive him?

Nothing against electric drive per se, but I doubt Tesla will be the company that gets us there.
 

Brombear

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
May 16, 2013
1,396
Frankfurt Area, Germany
No matter what happens with Tesla within the next years, I am quite sure without Musk/Tesla we would not be there yet. I am crossing fingers for them, because they achieve while everyone doubted it was possible to setup a car company from scratch. Still I see advantages for the big guys and I would love to have an EV that has interior quality comparable to Audi/Porsche.

Regarding the climate debate I am quite surprised about the differing views. Here in Europe photovoltaics are not questioned, most discussions arise about when. Of course there is a lot of FUD arguments from all those companies earning easy money from the old status quo having a hard time adapting.
 

GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Jeff,
I agree - the answer for many years to come is no single solution (e.g. petrol vs EV), but rather a combination. The above thread reminds me of the arguments regarding the production of ethanol (not as efficient as "pure" gasoline, needs to be subsidized by govt, impacts to the environment, etc.). The reality is our species is trying multi-faceted solutions to address a host of growing problems that are primarily due to too many people. Hopefully we will figure out the right compromises before we totally ruin the planet!
 

2112

Blue/white 06'
Mark II Lifetime
multi-faceted solutions to address a host of growing problems that are primarily due to too many people. Hopefully we will figure out the right compromises before we totally ruin the planet!

Exactly
 

Beach-GT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
May 8, 2006
887
Seminole Florida
I just ordered a Tesla Model 3 for the wife. It's basically a fast golf cart. So far the process has been pretty Mickey-Mouse. I hope it materializes without any hassles. I also ordered a tier 1 solar system to charge it and stick it to the local power company. Should entertain me this summer.
 

Cobrar

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 24, 2006
4,017
Metro Detroit
And then again, maybe the future is something other than electric, and just a costly short term proposition. That direction certainly has its’ inherent drawbacks.

 

GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Good point, I read where Iceland has gone big into Hydrogen power...
 

Ed Sims

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 7, 2006
7,850
NorCal
We have 4000 solar windmills near us in Altamont Pass. They are idle:

"It turns out Altamont Pass is a major migratory route and offers prime hunting grounds for golden eagles, American kestrels, and red-tailed hawks. Further studies have shown that 2 to 4 thousand birds, including the federally protected golden eagle, die each year from colliding with a turbine while flying through Altamont Pass" www.mobileranger.com

Seems like they would check on this before installing that many wind mills.

A small displacement diesel is more energy efficient than a hybrid.

Ed
 

BtwoG

GT Owner
Dec 8, 2013
1,039
Atlanta, GA
Shorted TSLA today...putting proceeds into NFGT fund. I figure the stock will be around zero when I need the money:)
 

texas mongrel

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
May 3, 2009
1,661
Houston Texas
We have 4000 solar windmills near us in Altamont Pass. They are idle:

"It turns out Altamont Pass is a major migratory route and offers prime hunting grounds for golden eagles, American kestrels, and red-tailed hawks. Further studies have shown that 2 to 4 thousand birds, including the federally protected golden eagle, die each year from colliding with a turbine while flying through Altamont Pass" www.mobileranger.com

Seems like they would check on this before installing that many wind mills.

A small displacement diesel is more energy efficient than a hybrid.

Ed
When I was working my company was heavily involved in developing offshore windfarms in Europe. There are so many over there because the governments gave companies a choice - pay your taxes or invest the money in wind energy. They are hopelessly inefficient, if there’s not enough wind they don’t work, if there’s too much wind they can’t work. In rough terms, 25% of the UK’s electricity comes from wind but over one third of your bill goes to pay for it. But, if it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy it’s worth it, right?
 

dbk

The Favor Factory™
Staff member
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jul 30, 2005
15,187
Metro Detroit
Shorted TSLA today...putting proceeds into NFGT fund. I figure the stock will be around zero when I need the money:)

Congrats.

I hope we can look back and laugh at how ridiculous all this was now. "Funding secured" at $420 to $195 a share. Endless lies about various unsustainable production rates that never hold up. From closing almost every store to "never mind" days apart. The $35k Model 3 that never really was. January 30th Musk said he believed the company would be profitable in all quarters going forward. Days ago he sent out a memo saying the company would be insolvent in 10 months without slashing and burning everywhere after doing a capital raise he claimed they wouldn't need.

I don't believe Musk is a stupid man. I believe he's both utterly brilliant and an unconscionable liar with no business running a public company, that has an exceptional talent for selling unachievable dreams to the easily suggestible. It takes no particular talent, education or insight to identify the various falsehoods that originate from the company, but organized religion makes people believe funny things.

I will spoil the surprise now - there will not be a fleet of a million Tesla robotaxis shuttling people around next year, making their owners an extra $30k a year. Don't share that widely though; it's proprietary inside info...
 

Ed Sims

GT Owner
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Apr 7, 2006
7,850
NorCal
...I will spoil the surprise now - there will not be a fleet of a million Tesla robotaxis shuttling people around next year, making their owners an extra $30k a year. Don't share that widely though; it's proprietary inside info...

My bubble is now burst!

Ed
 
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Special K

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Aug 23, 2016
1,775
Franklinton, LA
He should have put his focus on battery development and left the cars alone.
 

Cobrar

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 24, 2006
4,017
Metro Detroit
IMO - What he needed when he entertained the venture from the outset was an exit strategy. There were opportunities to sell the company, realize considerable financial benefit, and move onto the next great thing.
 
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Ed Sims

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 7, 2006
7,850
NorCal
IMO - What he needed when he entertained the venture from the outset was an exit strategy. There were opportunities to sell the company, realize considerable financial benefit, and move onto the next great thing.
The captain always goes down with the ship.

Ed
 
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MTV8

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 24, 2010
1,017
Houston Texas
Congrats.

I hope we can look back and laugh at how ridiculous all this was now. "Funding secured" at $420 to $195 a share. Endless lies about various unsustainable production rates that never hold up. From closing almost every store to "never mind" days apart. The $35k Model 3 that never really was. January 30th Musk said he believed the company would be profitable in all quarters going forward. Days ago he sent out a memo saying the company would be insolvent in 10 months without slashing and burning everywhere after doing a capital raise he claimed they wouldn't need.

I don't believe Musk is a stupid man. I believe he's both utterly brilliant and an unconscionable liar with no business running a public company, that has an exceptional talent for selling unachievable dreams to the easily suggestible. It takes no particular talent, education or insight to identify the various falsehoods that originate from the company, but organized religion makes people believe funny things.

I will spoil the surprise now - there will not be a fleet of a million Tesla robotaxis shuttling people around next year, making their owners an extra $30k a year. Don't share that widely though; it's proprietary inside info...
Will you be ordering the rocket thruster option for your new Tesla Roadster?
 
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