Tesla Motors: Another Elon Musk enterprise, Another of the SpaceX founder's investments Options

[crabbsaline]

I'm not sure when the countdown page went up, but looks like the first peek will come on July 20:

Tesla Motors Homepage

Random thoughts:

• I wonder how similar the batteries are to those used on the MERs.
• I wonder what the replacement costs of the batteries will be.
• I wonder what the best disposal of the batteries will be.
• I wonder when they will reach a price range that I can purchase one.

As a related matter, check out the competition:

Wrightspeed Homepage

I'm glad that Doug has this chat section. This seems far enough from the subject matter of UMSF that I worried about posting it. Five degrees of separation on this topic, I suppose...UMSF : Launch Vehicles : Falcon : Elon Musk : Tesla Motors.

[Guest_DonPMitchell_*]

If you factor in the efficiency of generating and distributing electricity from power plants, is it more efficient to have an electric car, or to power a car directly by gasoline?

[Guest_Richard Trigaux_*]

If you factor in the efficiency of generating and distributing electricity from power plants, is it more efficient to have an electric car, or to power a car directly by gasoline?

That depends on the energy source.

From oil, we gain the much better efficiency from power plants, and we lose the efficiency of the power lines and batteries. The balance must be positive I think. On environment, power plants pollute much less than car engines, and the better energetic efficiency also saves carbon dioxyd emissions.

But electricity can be produced from clean energies or dirty energies (such as nuclear). In these cases, it is more difficult to compare the overal efficiency (as we cannot do a car which would work with hydro power, for instance) but, I think, analyses show that, with any clean energy, electric cars make us win in both economic, environment, social or energetic sides.