Over 50 years ago in either Popular Science or Popular Mechanics, there was a little article with illustrations (drawn) of a type of vehicle of the future. You hung differant chassis from overhead and lowered the one you wanted onto a platform w/motor. Sports car, family sedan, light truck were in the artists conceptions The model S and model X really sound similar. If any of you worked on computers years ago it was a PITA nightmare. Now stuff is modular I really really like Tesla's and plan on one within the next year so I can do a cross country joyride.
------------------------------ On Sat, Jun 22, 2013 1:52 PM EDT Martin WINLOW wrote: >Hi Chris, > >'Fraid I couldn't disagree with you more - and on all 4 points. > >Firstly, Mr M has made it clear that he likes the 'one size fits all' concept >for sharing the underpinnings of his vehicles (the 'Tesla Vehicle Platform') - >for S and X at least. Granted, something smaller will have to be designed for >the next lower cost model but again this might be shared amongst other future >models. So 2 different sizes for the swap robot to contend with - hardly a >deal breaker. > >On the battery upgrade front, again the ludicrously simple 'box' design for >the battery pack makes it very simple to upgrade battery tech - I see no >reason why the 18650 cell format will not continue to advance, as it has >already done, increasing its capacity 3-fold, at least, since its commercial >inception. Don't forget, it isn't just Tesla that use these cells - which is >of course precisely why Mr M chose to use them in the first place. > >I really don't see why the 'inventory' as you put it needs to be particularly >extreme - I cant see why initial Tesla Stations will need any more than one >swap robot, for example. > >Lastly, it is not just Jared (who-or-whatever s/he is) who thinks they need >long range capability in their EV, practically EVERYone does - but yes, at >least I agree they are wrong! > >MW > > >On 22 Jun 2013, at 15:26, Chris Tromley wrote: > >> It's an impressive stunt, but you don't have to think it through too much >> to see the likely real-world problems. Here are some obvious ones: >> >> 1. Will ALL Teslas use the same mechanical layout for the battery pack? >> Clearly not, meaning each new model must consider the existing >> infrastructure for battery swaps. Development engineers don't need more >> restrictions. >> >> 2. Will this allow seamless upgrades to new battery technology? >> Interesting thought, but think it through and you see a potential rat's >> nest of software and hardware incompatibilities. >> >> 3. I'm guessing if you run some numbers you might be stunned at the amount >> of inventory needed at each Tesla station and how it increases >> exponentially with different models and pack capacities. >> >> This ain't as easy as it seems. I think the key to this demo is captured >> in Musk's words from the video: >> >> "...what this is about, it's convincing the people who are skeptics. There >> are some people ... they take a lot of convincing." >> >> This is not so much about a practical solution. It's about winning hearts >> and minds. When you think about it, that's Musk's singular key to success. >> All of us here are deep in the tech, but Musk knows he has to win people >> over whether the means make any sense or not. Get them on your side first >> - making sense will come later. Does anyone here really believe 265 miles >> of range is really necessary? Of course not. But Jared the high-roller >> techie hipster does, so you give Jared what he wants. By doing so you put >> EVs on the map in a very big way. >> >> I for one am willing to put up with what I see as silliness if it gets more >> people thinking positively about EVs. Making sense will come. >> >> Chris >> >> >> On Sat, Jun 22, 2013 at 4:50 AM, Martin WINLOW <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> When I watched the video the thought occurred to me that unlike BeP, to >> provide the technology to do the swapping, all Tesla has to do is reproduce >> the already well-proven battery insertion robot technology used in their >> factory as - apparently - there is no whizzo clamping system etc - it just >> undoes the bolts used to bolt the battery into place in the factory. >> >> That alone (if true) will save a serious amount of money. >> >> My issue is this:- Would you, as the careful owner of a relatively low >> miles 85kW Model S be entirely happy to swap your cherished and pampered >> battery for Lord-knows-what at a 'Tesla Station'? >> >> I, too, hope Mr Musk has something clever in mind to make this idea work. >> I do like the 'fast or free' idea, though. On its own that might just >> swing it. >> >> MW >> >> >> On 21 Jun 2013, at 19:49, Chris Tromley wrote: >> >>> I have tremendous respect for Tesla, but I think they've taken a >> seriously >>> wrong turn here. Swapping has been debated ad nauseum. It's an enticing >>> concept, but there are far too many ways it can fail in the real world. >>> Elon better have something very clever up his sleeve or this will likely >>> turn into a very visible failure. Hopefully it just disappears quietly. >>> >>> Chris >>> On Jun 21, 2013 8:17 AM, "Cor van de Water" <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> The Tesla video shows them swapping a Tesla pack on-stage in 90 secs >>> flat >>> from driving onto the swapping unit until driving off. >>> >>> While they swap the packs in 2 Teslas, they have a parallel video >>> of someone filling his gas tank as fast as he could - which takes approx >>> 4 minutes (at the fastest station they could find nearby), so they >>> actually have to wait for him to complete the fillup after the second >>> Tesla S has left the swapping station... >>> >>> The comment: now you can choose between free and fast. >>> (The fast-charging of Tesla is free, the fast-swapping apparently costs >>> about the same as a fillup - they show the end result of the fillup at >>> $99 so that may be an indication of the price, I did not catch how much >>> a swap actually is going to cost. >>> >>> http://www.teslamotors.com/batteryswap >>> >>> >>> Cor van de Water >>> >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: < >> http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20130622/07a99004/attachment.htm >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub >> http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org >> For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( >> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) >> >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20130622/7f05f6e1/attachment.htm> >> _______________________________________________ >> UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub >> http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org >> For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA >> (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) >> > >_______________________________________________ >UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub >http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org >For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA >(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
