Troubled time at Tesla Motors

[grober]

Sounds as if the wheels are maybe coming off at TESLA MOTORS with Martin Eberhard replaced as CEO. Pity -lets hope is not another "Delorean" debacle http://www.teslamotors.com/

 

[gl boy]

never heard of them but read your link,they do some stunning cars lets hope its sorted out..keep these cars on the road

 

[Colin_b]

never heard of them but read your link,they do some stunning cars lets hope its sorted out..keep these cars on the road

Never heard them either. The web site is very light on detail.

Sounds clever to me, though. 0-60 in 4 seconds needs a lot of power, I'd imagine at least 100kw motor assuming the car weighs around 1000kg.

Range of 200 miles at say a steady 60mph, around 3.5 hours. To cruise at that speed it would need between 5 and 10kw. So it will use between 15.5 and 35kw.

The web site says it will charge from a domestic plug in 3.5 hours.

A domestic plug is 13A at 250v (UK) or 15A at 125v will supply just over 11kw(UK) or 6.5kw(US) in 3.5 hours.

How do they do it?

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Thats Shocking

 

[BTB 500]

Never heard them either. The web site is very light on detail.

Sounds clever to me, though. 0-60 in 4 seconds needs a lot of power, I'd imagine at least 100kw motor assuming the car weighs around 1000kg.

Range of 200 miles at say a steady 60mph, around 3.5 hours. To cruise at that speed it would need between 5 and 10kw. So it will use between 15.5 and 35kw.

The web site says it will charge from a domestic plug in 3.5 hours.

A domestic plug is 13A at 250v (UK) or 15A at 125v will supply just over 11kw(UK) or 6.5kw(US) in 3.5 hours.

How do they do it?

The Tesla is actually an electric-powered Lotus Elise.

The battery pack is 53 kWh capacity (6,800 individual Li Ion cells). Peak power is 200 kW.

All quoted charge times are based on the "home charging station" that comes with the car. This operates at 70A and must be installed (typically in a garage) by a qualified electrician. The mobile charging kit that allows you to charge from any 110V or 220V electrical outlet is an optional accessory, and obviously operates at lower currents.

When looking at power consumption etc. remember the car has regenerative braking, so it's not solely using what has gone in from the mains supply.

 

[Colin_b]

Thanks Bill, that makes sense.

A 70A supply is pretty heavy duty - is that really going to come of a standard domestic supply?

 

[BTB 500]

A 70A supply is pretty heavy duty - is that really going to come of a standard domestic supply?

I think cooker and power shower circuits are 45A, so it should be possible. So long as you don't have a shower while the car's charging

 

[jeremytaylor]

Sadly, I don't see how any small volume car company can possibly survive these days. The development costs are just so big.

TVR, Marcos, and now Tesla?

How long for Morgan, Bristol? Oh, I just realised, they don't do 'new' cars!

 

[Rose Chap]

Shame that Tesla might not make it. Its the first electric car I could actually see myself wanting!

Was very impressed by them at Goodwood this year. Lets hope they manage to ride out these rough times.

 

[fredfloggle]

Thanks Bill, that makes sense.

A 70A supply is pretty heavy duty - is that really going to come of a standard domestic supply?

No , practically speaking -

 

[fredfloggle]

The Tesla is actually an electric-powered Lotus Elise.

The battery pack is 53 kWh capacity (6,800 individual Li Ion cells). Peak power is 200 kW.

All quoted charge times are based on the "home charging station" that comes with the car. This operates at 70A and must be installed (typically in a garage) by a qualified electrician. The mobile charging kit that allows you to charge from any 110V or 220V electrical outlet is an optional accessory, and obviously operates at lower currents.

When looking at power consumption etc. remember the car has regenerative braking, so it's not solely using what has gone in from the mains supply.

Yes it is ! regen braking will recover energy that may otherwise be lost as heat in the braking systems but since that kinetic energy came from potential energy up the mains lead in the first place regen only conserves energy , it doesn't make it .

 

[Rose Chap]

Yes it is ! regen braking will recover energy that may otherwise be lost as heat in the braking systems but since that kinetic energy came from potential energy up the mains lead in the first place regen only conserves energy , it doesn't make it .

Though I wouldn't claim to be an authority on this, I respectfully disagree with what you're saying here.

Whilst it may be true in practice, in theory if you lived at the top of a very long hill, you could start off with your battery at n% full, brake all the way down the hill, which would top up your battery.

Therefore you're transferring the energy from braking to the battery - the mains isn't involved at all.

 

[fredfloggle]

Though I wouldn't claim to be an authority on this, I respectfully disagree with what you're saying here.

Whilst it may be true in practice, in theory if you lived at the top of a very long hill, you could start off with your battery at n% full, brake all the way down the hill, which would top up your battery.

Therefore you're transferring the energy from braking to the battery - the mains isn't involved at all.

How did you get it up to the top of the hill in the first place ?

 

[Rose Chap]

How did you get it up to the top of the hill in the first place ?

Helicopter.

 

[TonyVianoAmbiente]

Sadly, I don't see how any small volume car company can possibly survive these days. The development costs are just so big.

That's precisely why Tesla chose to use an already developed car (Lotus Elise) as the basis for the Tesla Roadster.

But at $98,000 for the basic car, up from a price of $70,000 only a year ago, there may not be enough takers. I don't think they have actually delivered any to customers, although they have taken many orders.

 

[Rose Chap]

Already posted

 

[Rose Chap]

I seem to remember watching a TV programme where Tesla delivered one of their cars to Roger Moore's wife in Monte Carlo.

I think he had bought it as a birthday present for her.

 

[Shude]

I seem to remember watching a TV programme where Tesla delivered one of their cars to Roger Moore's wife in Monte Carlo.

I think he had bought it as a birthday present for her.

You might be thinking of the Venturi Fetish, which is also manufactured in Monte Carlo.

AFAIK the Tesla, the Venturi Fetish and the AC Propulsion TZero all use the same motors, batteries, speed controllers etc anyway, the only difference is the car's body

 

[grober]

Here's a video from Edmonds InsideLine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ4gitSm1Xg

 

[television]

Thank you Grober that was good to see some progress.