Video: The New Tesla Model S Goes 0-60 in 3.2 Seconds and Has an Autopilot System

http://www.wimp.com/teslamodel/

Elon Musk is helping to take us to a brave new world.....

The Tesla Model S is a $90,000 car.  The Tesla Model S is selling to rich people in the luxury car market.
Musk wants to take his all electric car to a more of a mass market buyer.  

But many who will put down $40,000 for the next generation Tesla will want to be one-car owners.  They aren't filthy rich like the Model S buyer.  The Model S buyer also owns a nice gas fueled car to use for distance driving.  

There is an insurmountable deal-killer which will prevent any one-car owner from wanting an all electric vehicle.  No one is going to want to spend 2 hours to refuel (re-charge) a car every 200 miles on a driving trip.  
I just took a 3500 mile driving trip.  If I had been driving an all electric car,  I would have needed to stop 17 times to re-charge the car.  And at each recharge stop I would be spending about two hours to recharge the car.
It doesn't matter if Musk has charging stations on every corner.  It still requires that you waste 2 hours every 200 miles to keep driving.

Bob wrote:There is an insurmountable deal-killer which will prevent any one-car owner from wanting an all electric vehicle.  No one is going to want to spend 2 hours to refuel (re-charge) a car every 200 miles on a driving trip.  
I just took a 3500 mile driving trip.  If I had been driving an all electric car,  I would have needed to stop 17 times to re-charge the car.  And at each recharge stop I would be spending about two hours to recharge the car.
It doesn't matter if Musk has charging stations on every corner.  It still requires that you waste 2 hours every 200 miles to keep driving.

That is why you rent a car for your long distance road trip. Not only does it solve the problem that you mention, it saves the added miles on your day to day car. Problem solved.

boards of FL wrote:


That is why you rent a car for your long distance road trip.  Not only does it solve the problem that you mention, it saves the added miles on your day to day car.  Problem solved.

Depends on the distance and the length of time spent on the road.
I drove 3500 miles in 11 days so for that I did rent a car for the reasons you mentioned.
But it's not a good option for all the trips I take when I go shorter distances.  
If I go to Birmingham for a week I don't want to pay for a week's car rental.
And I certainly don't want to have to recharge an electric car for two hours in Montgomery on the way up and then again on the way back.

SO,  in my opinion the best option right now is a PHEV (plug-in HYBRID electric vehicle).  I can drive on electric for my daily around town trips. But I can also use the same vehicle for all my road trips (when I'm not renting).

Sal wrote:

The Tesla is compatible with a direct current charging device called CHAdeMO that can fully charge a battery in as little as ten minutes.

I was unaware of that. When that is widely available that definitely will be a game changer.

I just did some reading on this CHAdeMO charging technology, Sal.

It's not compatible with the materials used in today's electric car batteries (Tesla included).
It will require that the battery designs make use of tungsten oxide and vanadium oxide which right now are a LOT more expensive materials.
So this is not going to happen any time soon.