OT: Tesla cuts Supercharger team

[VikingOracle]

My wife owns a Tesla.  There is a lot to like and a lot to dislike -- the user interface is really stupid and problematic.

Today I used my wife's Tesla to travel to San Diego for a meeting (from Los Angeles).  I did this because in California I am able to ride in the car pool lane so it saved me significant time.  I probably could have gone round trip on a single charge but I chose to super charge it instead of risk it.  This is the first time I have supercharged it.  I asked the car to locate a supercharge station (about 3 miles away from my meeting), drove there.  There were 2 empty spots so I immediately pulled in.  Plugged it in, went to the bathroom, went to 7-11, came back and it had already charged about 100 miles.  I was really surprised about how simple and seamless it was.

[JimmyinSD]

As our society continues to move into AI and other supercomputing avenues, our power grid becomes more and more taxed, the path that the current administration and its affiliated party has been on to force these green directives is only making the matter worse. Until we put major money into local production putting the production where the demand is( IE: nuclear, or other unknown tech under development ) or ridiculously more money into our electrical grid that would be capable of getting the power from the rural production locations ( cheap land and lease payments, also typically lax regulations or govt agents more easily bought off for permitting reasons ) to the areas where it is being consumed.... well all this green car stuff is mostly pissing in the wind IMO. With all this said, from a speed freak, I love what I hear about the torque and 0-6/100 times from these things. I think just like the railroad ( wood to coal to diesel to electric ) we are going to eventually do this right and make a change from fossil fuels, I just dont see the current path being the game changer that legislation is trying to mandate, for a country on its ass in debt, funding all these feel good attempts is only going to set real change further behind, and honestly I know the tech for fossil fuels has been repressed for decades.... what makes anyone think the same isnt being done for other energy sources in the name of special interest profits?

[purplefaithful]

My hope is more funding goes into Hydrogen. I was pretty excited about that at one time, but I dont see it anytime soon.

[JimmyinSD]

My hope is more funding goes into Hydrogen. I was pretty excited about that at one time, but I dont see it anytime soon.

Too much money being boondoggled into trying all the wrong paths to benefit special interests....see ethanol for example. Most all our energy and environmental efforts seem to be massively flawed and corrupt.

[StickierBuns]

EVs need to become less expensive and the 'range anxiety' needs to be addressed. More education to the public is required. EV charging infrastructure needs to be addressed as far as maintaining charging stations and keeping them operable. I think we will make progress in those areas, but not at the lightning speed that the evangelists were projecting. Follow the money: ICE automakers have cooled or stopped altogether new initiatives for EVs and some EV manufactures have gone out of business. Too much, too soon blah blah blah. The way of the world today.

But like I said, they are great cars. And they continue to get better with each brand version. They are easy to fall in love with when driving them.

[JimmyinSD]

EVs need to become less expensive and the 'range anxiety' needs to be addressed. More education to the public is required. EV charging infrastructure needs to be addressed as far as maintaining charging stations and keeping them operable. I think we will make progress in those areas, but not at the lightning speed that the evangelists were projecting. Follow the money: ICE automakers have cooled or stopped altogether new initiatives for EVs and some EV manufactures have gone out of business. Too much, too soon blah blah blah. The way of the world today.

But like I said, they are great cars. And they continue to get better with each brand version. They are easy to fall in love with when driving them.

I think the range issue will take care of itself with battery tech. A while back I was hearing about a next generation battery that holds more charge, charges faster, and doesn't suffer some of the stability issues that the current lithium batteries do, I suspect this will be the break that EV mfgs are looking for. Like with many emerging technologies, they are so desperate to show proof of concept that they sometimes grab something that works and ride it to long and fail to continue to try to innovate until they lose momentum, I think EV is losing much of its momentum and need this battery breakthrough soon.

[StickierBuns]

I think the range issue will take care of itself with battery tech.  A while back I was hearing about a next generation battery that holds more charge, charges faster, and doesn't suffer some of the stability issues that the current lithium batteries do, I suspect this will be the break that EV mfgs are looking for.  Like with many emerging technologies,  they are so desperate to show proof of concept that they sometimes grab something that works and ride it to long and fail to continue to try to innovate until they lose momentum,  I think EV is losing much of its momentum and need this battery breakthrough soon.

Cost will still be an issue. They don't sell enough vehicles to get economy of scale. Its why Tesla was so reticent to offer lower-cost options. They'd sell even less if there weren't these tax incentives out there....if they ever go away soon, good luck EV industry. You'll need it. As I mentioned previously, the 'range anxiety' is really overblown perception-wise for potential EV buyers but education on that is slow to sink in.

As I've mentioned: I'm a fan of EVs. Its just the fanatical evangelists that I have the problem with. Same with plant-based meat. The hype was ridiculous and they are bleeding out....but not dead. It was hyped as superior nutritionally and it isn't. Expensive. Once people got past the evangelism on it, they stopped buying it. Our next vehicle purchase will be a EV.

[purplefaithful]

China is helping with lower EV costs...Whether anyone is a fan of that (or not) I'm sure is all over the map.

I really like Rivian, I think they will be one of the "boutique brands" that will survive in the long-run. Fisker and a few others most likely wont.

I know BMW Neue Klasse BEV's (25/26 release) have been reported to have 1/3 more range and 30% quicker charging. Thats just one example of how the tech continues to advance. I am sure its not long until the next gen Chevy Bolt is released.

Most Americans over-estimate the range they need imo. If you can charge at home you have most likely 80% of your needs being met.

[StickierBuns]

China is helping with lower EV costs...Whether anyone is a fan of that (or not) I'm sure is all over the map.

I really like Rivian, I think they will be one of the "boutique brands" that will survive in the long-run. Fisker and a few others most likely wont.

I know BMW Neue Klasse BEV's (25/26 release) have been reported to have 1/3 more range and 30% quicker charging. Thats just one example of how the tech continues to advance.  I am sure its not long until the next gen Chevy Bolt is released.

Most Americans over-estimate the range they need imo. If you can charge at home you have most likely 80% of your needs being met.

Rivian is in deep shit currently:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/earnings-...00683.html

[purplefaithful]

Rivian is in deep shit currently:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/earnings-...00683.html

They are...

My outlook for them is clouded by my personal affinity for their vehicles. I still contend they will survive, whether that is as an independent or not?

That is certainly debatable.