So I got a new job...

[iamdarkyoshi]

At Tesla Gigafactory 1!!

And no, I cannot confirm information, nor can I say anything that isn't already public. So don't ask

And yet I drive a Chevy Volt... I hope to get a model 3 soonish (I'm still 18 lol) Who else is planning on getting the model 3?

[xrunner]

And no, I cannot confirm information, nor can I say anything that isn't already public. So don't ask

Can you confirm this information, or tell us anything more that isn't already public?

[MarkS]

I'll buy an electric car when 1.) oil goes extinct, or 2.) when someone invents a portable fusion reactor allowing for infinite drive time.

[iamdarkyoshi]

I'll buy an electric car when 1.) oil goes extinct, or 2.) when someone invents a portable fusion reactor allowing for infinite drive time.

If you have to drive over 200 miles a day without access to a charger every 24 hours, I feel sorry for you.

[MarkS]

If you have to drive over 200 miles a day without access to a charger every 24 hours, I feel sorry for you.

I like road trips. 200 miles is just over one state away. It limits my range drastically. I could just barely make it from Oklahoma City to Dallas, but who wants to go to Dallas? I can drive 500 or more miles before I need to rest. 200 miles and then an 8 hour charge will not work.

Not good enough:


Congratulations on the job though! I really do like Tesla, just not the current tech limitations.

[calexanian]

Congratulations. First Vincent and now you. Eventually there will be enough EEV blog members working for Tesla that Elon will have to listen to our demands! hahahaha (Evil laugh)

[Bud]

Yes and please ask the boss to focus on one thing at at time. Either make a good car, or send tourists to the Moon, or flew colonists to Mars, or solve Australia's energy problem.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Congratulations. First Vincent and now you. Eventually there will be enough EEV blog members working for Tesla that Elon will have to listen to our demands! hahahaha (Evil laugh)

Who's vincent?

[Halcyon]

Congratulations. First Vincent and now you. Eventually there will be enough EEV blog members working for Tesla that Elon will have to listen to our demands! hahahaha (Evil laugh)

Doesn't that just reaffirm rumours purported by Batteroo/Roohparvar that Dave/EEVblog is involved with "big battery". ;-)

[calexanian]

Congratulations. First Vincent and now you. Eventually there will be enough EEV blog members working for Tesla that Elon will have to listen to our demands! hahahaha (Evil laugh)

Who's vincent?

Somebody please correct me if I am wrong but Vincent, Free_Electron here of the forum, works for Tesla if I am not mistaken.  I suggest anybody who has not done so, go listen to his The Amp Hour episode with Chris and Dave. Very entertaining and informative.

[Vgkid]

I'm quite certain he does, as well.
Wow, I remember trying to get a job at 18. "Sorry you have never worked a "real" job before, we cannot hire you. I heard that to many times .

[aargee]

Congratulations! I like what Tesla is doing on the energy front.

[vk6zgo]

I'll buy an electric car when 1.) oil goes extinct, or 2.) when someone invents a portable fusion reactor allowing for infinite drive time.

If you have to drive over 200 miles a day without access to a charger every 24 hours, I feel sorry for you.

If you live in Australia, it is not at all unusual.

When we lived in the WA wheatbelt (in Quairading),it was 160km (100miles) to Perth.
If you had to go to the city & back, plus drive around from place to place in the city, (it's a really spread out place), you would have to drop the car in to a recharge point & spend the night, if you only had a 200 mile limit.

[rrinker]

 I like the driving experience too much to have ONLY an electric. And that includes shifting - I will drive an automatic transmission if and only if either my left leg or right arm stops working. And if it's my right arm I might just pick up a RHD car.
 I COULD use an electric as a daily driver, my commute most days is < 5 miles each way. I go weeks without putting gas in my car. Occasionally I need to drive longer distances to a client, in those cases a trip would take much longer because of having to stop somewhere (and not necessarily on my way) to recharge the battery, as I can easily get 400 miles on a tank of gas in my car.

[NiHaoMike]

How come nobody has yet commercialized the idea of temporarily converting a pure EV into a plug in hybrid by attaching a generator trailer?

[Cerebus]

How come nobody has yet commercialized the idea of temporarily converting a pure EV into a plug in hybrid by attaching a generator trailer?

They have, it's just that they only run on railway tracks, or underwater, or moving really big rocks around quarries.

[CJay]

First, huge congratulations to iamdarkyoshi, that sounds like an awesome job to get at 18, I'm supremely envious of the opportunity you have and wish you all the luck in the world in making the most of it, who knows, it may even be possible to 'migrate' across to the space program if that's your bag?

How come nobody has yet commercialized the idea of temporarily converting a pure EV into a plug in hybrid by attaching a generator trailer?

Seriously though, I'm surprised that there don't seem to be serious plans for exchangeable battery packs...

I'm not sure how the numbers stack up, do pure EV vehicles charge fast enough to make a generator trailer feasible? (I realise Hybrids work but I've little idea of the numbers involved)

The hybrids I've looked at use the engine to drive the wheels when there's not enough battery life I think, is this the case for all?

[rstofer]

I have a wee bit of experience in the battery car arena.  I just turned in my Chevy Spark EV that I leased for 3 years and I'm really sorry to see it go.  That car was a kick to drive.  400 ft-lbs of torque (albeit just 105 HP) makes passing a true event!  Punch it and fry 'em - that's my style!

At our previous house, we had an 8 kW solar array with a Power Purchase Agreement of $0.15/kWh.  I could get 5 miles/kWh (if I kept my foot out of it) so I was driving for $0.03/mi.  Sure, it had a limited range but not every trip winds up out of state.  More often than not, it's off to Mickey D's a few miles away for a frappe'.  The cost of driving my truck is probably $0.25/mi (perhaps more if I throw in maintenance) and its a lot harder to park.

I had thought to buy the car at the end of the lease but I just don't want to own it when the battery dies.  But, other than that, there is just about zero maintenance required and, for certain, it doesn't need a semi-annual smog test.

Regrettably, the roof of our new house isn't conducive to solar arrays, or so I have been told.  Otherwise, we have room for a monster array and I would be looking at the Chevy Bolt.

I don't think a battery car should be the ONLY vehicle but it can certainly be the primary vehicle.  I had probably only put 100 miles on my truck over the last several months as we mostly used the EV - 'Sparky' as we called it!  It was a great car!

As to a job:  I retired 13 years ago and have no intention of ever going back to work.

[wraper]

I'm not sure how the numbers stack up, do pure EV vehicles charge fast enough to make a generator trailer feasible? (I realise Hybrids work but I've little idea of the numbers involved)

They do. You can charge Tesla model S from 0 to 80% in 40 minutes... Just need 120 kW of power supply

[mtdoc]

How come nobody has yet commercialized the idea of temporarily converting a pure EV into a plug in hybrid by attaching a generator trailer?

That is essentially how my Chevy Volt works but without the trailer. It has a very efficient gas engine that acts as a generator to power the electric motors that drive the wheels.

Of course that only kicks in if the the battery has run down. 99% of the time it is running pure electric.  But if I want to take a 1000 mile road trip I can get in the car and go just like any other car. It really is the best of both worlds.   

However, I rarely drive more than 40 miles a day so I rarely burn any gas in it!

[calexanian]

First, huge congratulations to iamdarkyoshi, that sounds like an awesome job to get at 18, I'm supremely envious of the opportunity you have and wish you all the luck in the world in making the most of it, who knows, it may even be possible to 'migrate' across to the space program if that's your bag?

How come nobody has yet commercialized the idea of temporarily converting a pure EV into a plug in hybrid by attaching a generator trailer?

Seriously though, I'm surprised that there don't seem to be serious plans for exchangeable battery packs...

I'm not sure how the numbers stack up, do pure EV vehicles charge fast enough to make a generator trailer feasible? (I realise Hybrids work but I've little idea of the numbers involved)

The hybrids I've looked at use the engine to drive the wheels when there's not enough battery life I think, is this the case for all?

Ah yes. The Eagle iThrust I do believe. One of my favorites.

[james_s]

I'll buy an electric car when 1.) oil goes extinct, or 2.) when someone invents a portable fusion reactor allowing for infinite drive time.

I hear this a lot as an argument against electric cars, and I do love my gasoline car and don't intend to get rid of it but most families in the US have more than one car. I could easily do 95% of my driving in an electric car with only a 30 mile range and I suspect a substantial fraction of the population could do the same, or maybe double that. When you want to take a longer trip, leave the electric in the garage and take the other car.

Two of my friends recently got pure electrics, they use them as daily drivers commuting to work and running errands. Both of them still have a gas car as well, they already had multiple cars and just replaced one of them with the electric. The best thing about it is they don't ever have to stop and get gas anymore, just pull into the garage and plug it in for the evening. I drove one of them and was astounded by the acceleration, it feels a hell of a lot more powerful than the average compact. The torque off the line is phenomenal, and even at highway speed it still feels adequate.

[Fred27]

I've just switched to electric - a Zero FXS motorbike. Awesome and manages 95% of my requirements. My wife's petrol car covers the rest.

Sorry - this is heading a bit off topic. Congratulations on the job!

[macboy]

I'm quite certain he does, as well.
Wow, I remember trying to get a job at 18. "Sorry you have never worked a "real" job before, we cannot hire you. I heard that to many times .

On the other hand, Tesla has proven it's not afraid to try something new and unproven.   

[nctnico]

If you have to drive over 200 miles a day without access to a charger every 24 hours, I feel sorry for you.

I like road trips. 200 miles is just over one state away. It limits my range drastically. I could just barely make it from Oklahoma City to Dallas, but who wants to go to Dallas? I can drive 500 or more miles before I need to rest. 200 miles and then an 8 hour charge will not work.

I greatly depends on where you live. In the NL you can spot lots of Teslas on the road but once you go near or over the border they are gone.