That being said, like a lot of things that are amazing it depends on what you want to use it for.
They are probably wonderful around town cars and grocery getters but they are certainly not the car you want to take on a lengthy road trip because you not only have to find charging stations, it takes considerable time to recharge them.
Of course you can refill a gas tank in just a few minutes and be back on the road. A Tesla requires hours at a charger. As of now there is some kind of super charger that can get you back up and running in about an hour. I'm not too sure how good that is for the longevity of the battery, though.
As for the Big Picture regarding the enviornment, I question what it does to Mother Earth because rare metals have to be mined and in some places the miners are exploited children. Also batteries cannot be recycled and can cause fires in accidents.
As far as the energy grid goes, they can't recycle windmill blades, either.
Then there's the question of the existing power grid. Places in California already have rolling brownouts. We simply cannot handle the electrical needs we have now and to add charging cars to the grid is to invite failure and leave us all hurting. Incidentally I have heard the Tesla uses 220 volts to charge which means installing 220 service somewhere near where one parks their car at home. While a one time cost, it is what it is. It's another expense.
It also means on street parking is going to be risky at best because first of all you need an extension cord and become a target for electricity theft and vandalism. For people that have no driveway in the city this will likely lead to parking wars which in some places are bad enough without adding the need to charge cars to the equation.
In short, the general public is not ready for the introduction of the mainstream electric vehicle in a lot of places and in a lot of situations.
It's too bad because the Tesla I rode in was an outstanding piece of machinery.
We're just going to have to wait until we get the other problems solved first as far as I can see.
No comments:
Post a Comment