Last night in Los Angeles, Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors, Inc, staged a brilliant show in an attempt to convince skeptics of electric vehicles that charging, or in this case swapping, EV batteries is easier than filling your gas tank.
He did it by simultaneously swapping the battery of a Tesla Model S car on stage, while a colleague filled his Audi at the fastest gas station in LA, which pumps at 10 gallons per minute, according to Musk.
The comparison was shown on screen via remote video feed with a timer running overhead.
Not only did the gas-powered car take longer than one battery swap, but two, as Musk rolled out a second Model S and swapped its battery well before the Audi's tank was full and the transaction completed.
Musk failed to mention that the swap was also less expensive than the gas filling, but he probably didn't want to rub it in.
It was a brilliant piece of showmanship, which is causing some to refer to Musk as the new Steve Jobs.
Here is the video. Watch it all the way through and watch it again, if you still have any doubts.
Showing posts with label electric cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label electric cars. Show all posts
29 January 2013
Robert Frost, Electric Cars, and Poetry
Poet Robert Frost died 50 years ago today, and Poets & Writers magazine offered the challenge of writing a poem using Frost's "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" as a model.
Frost was born in 1874, some time after Robert Anderson (a suspected relation to this author) invented a crude electric carriage in Scotland, and some 39 years after Thomas Davenport of Brandon, Vermont, built his own small-scale electric car. Davenport also invented the first American-built DC electric motor.
Perhaps because I was working on some electric vehicle materials in my day-job today, I couldn't resist penning this over lunch, with apologies to the poet:
##
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| Robert Frost |
Frost was born in 1874, some time after Robert Anderson (a suspected relation to this author) invented a crude electric carriage in Scotland, and some 39 years after Thomas Davenport of Brandon, Vermont, built his own small-scale electric car. Davenport also invented the first American-built DC electric motor.
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| Robert Anderson's Electric Carriage, circa 1832 |
Perhaps because I was working on some electric vehicle materials in my day-job today, I couldn't resist penning this over lunch, with apologies to the poet:
"Stopping by the Roadside on a Snowing Evening"
Whose car this is I think I know;
No keys I need to make it go.
You may not hear me driving by
'Cause electric cars are soft as snow.
My finger on the button here
Will make the engine start and gear
And waken not the woods and lake
--the quietest engine of the year.
I give the foot-pedal a tiny tap
And feel the seat belt on my lap.
The only other sound's the hush
Of lofty wind and goosewing flap.
The road is lively, quick, and steep.
But I have batteries to keep,
And miles to drive before I sleep,
And miles to drive before I sleep.
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| Davenport's Electric Car, 1835 |
10 May 2012
Baby You Can Drive My (Electric) Car - EVS26
Electric vehicles have come a long way since the days for the botched EV-1 experiment of the 1990s.
Formerly considered tin cans without much oomph or sex appeal, EVs took a back seat to the more trendy hybrids (Prius) and powerful SUVs.
Yet, if this year's EVS26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center proves one thing to me it's that electric vehicles range from the sexy sports cars (Fisker Karma and Tesla S) to a rather sedate sedan from Coda Automotive.
In between are new arrivals, such as Lexus and Lotus, and major players like the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt.
Trucks and motorcycles, too, including the improbable, gorgeous Siemens Smart Chopper, were well represented, along with personal mobility devices such a GM's EN-V and a proliferation of electric bicycles.
There was not much in the way of fleet vehicles at this year's EVS, certainly not compared to when the show was in Shenzen, China, according to some. But we know from talking to several at the show that partnerships with FedEx, UPS, and companies like PepsiCo loom large in the sector.
Charging technologies were heavily represented, including a few wireless options.
The trouble with electric vehicles, however, is their reputation as de-featured, boring, and even unexciting. What gets lost, according to acolytes, is that these cars are fun to drive.
Drive a Nissan Leaf or a Chevy Volt, and I have to agree: they are boring. Why? Because they drive just like a regular car, a little quicker pick up at acceleration perhaps, but essentially you're driving a comparable internal combustion engine vehicle made by Nissan or Chevy.
Okay, there is an on/off button like the one on your computer, but it's not very different from their other offerings.
The Tesla and Fisker and Remy, as well as the Qualcomm-Halo-sponsored racing car, however; now, you're talking something that will give your heart a little race.
A few take-aways from the show:
1.) We've got a loooong way to go before mass adoption of these vehicles will happen.
2.) There are more entrepreneurial charging methods/technologies out there than will likely survive, and
3.) The "cool factor"/fun to drive conundrum must be addressed if we're ever going to get the public to switch to EVs.
Finally, things like range anxiety, cost, and perceived risk are still all very real obstacles to widespread public adoption.
But make them fun to drive and we will drive.
 |
| Fisker Karma |
Yet, if this year's EVS26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center proves one thing to me it's that electric vehicles range from the sexy sports cars (Fisker Karma and Tesla S) to a rather sedate sedan from Coda Automotive.
In between are new arrivals, such as Lexus and Lotus, and major players like the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt.
Trucks and motorcycles, too, including the improbable, gorgeous Siemens Smart Chopper, were well represented, along with personal mobility devices such a GM's EN-V and a proliferation of electric bicycles.
There was not much in the way of fleet vehicles at this year's EVS, certainly not compared to when the show was in Shenzen, China, according to some. But we know from talking to several at the show that partnerships with FedEx, UPS, and companies like PepsiCo loom large in the sector.
Charging technologies were heavily represented, including a few wireless options.
The trouble with electric vehicles, however, is their reputation as de-featured, boring, and even unexciting. What gets lost, according to acolytes, is that these cars are fun to drive.
Drive a Nissan Leaf or a Chevy Volt, and I have to agree: they are boring. Why? Because they drive just like a regular car, a little quicker pick up at acceleration perhaps, but essentially you're driving a comparable internal combustion engine vehicle made by Nissan or Chevy.
 |
| Siemens Smart Chopper |
Okay, there is an on/off button like the one on your computer, but it's not very different from their other offerings.
The Tesla and Fisker and Remy, as well as the Qualcomm-Halo-sponsored racing car, however; now, you're talking something that will give your heart a little race.
A few take-aways from the show:
1.) We've got a loooong way to go before mass adoption of these vehicles will happen.
2.) There are more entrepreneurial charging methods/technologies out there than will likely survive, and
3.) The "cool factor"/fun to drive conundrum must be addressed if we're ever going to get the public to switch to EVs.
Finally, things like range anxiety, cost, and perceived risk are still all very real obstacles to widespread public adoption.
But make them fun to drive and we will drive.
11 January 2011
Will an Electric Car Save You Money? The Green Skeptic on FOX Business
Earlier today I helped Stuart Varney on FOX Business answer a question from a viewer about the cost to charge an electric car versus a gasoline-powered engine.
The bottom line is, electric vehicles will be cheaper than gas.
Here is a video:
If the viewer doesn't play in your browser, here is a link: Green Skeptic on FOX Business.
The bottom line is, electric vehicles will be cheaper than gas.
Here is a video:
If the viewer doesn't play in your browser, here is a link: Green Skeptic on FOX Business.
06 August 2010
Green Skeptic Friday LinkFest - 08/06/10
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| An EV1 all-electric car by GM that escaped in 2005. |
After five months of intense work with some great clients, my consultancy, VerdeStrategy, finally has a couple of open slots for new projects and clients. Contact me here if your company can use some help with strategic communications, business planning or developing your investor presentations.
Now, after that shameless self-promotion message, on to the links.
A lot of Electric Vehicle love this week:
First, how'd you like to travel from Alaska to Argentina in an Electric Sports Car? Greentech Media has a story about two entrepreneurs who did just that: Sports Car
Anna Clark from GreenBiz explains that consumer choice will be the ultimate driver when it comes to EVs in Selling Electric Cars Requires Plugged-In Drivers
CleanTechies blog notes that Fast Vehicle Charging Goes by Many Names (Just don't call it Al...)
And here's a video link to my appearance on FOX Business Network this week on $GM and the Chevy Volt: Green Skeptic on FOX
All that EV goodness aside, our StockTwits pal Gregor MacDonald reminds us that we're still Eating Gasoline in America
Is solar now cheaper than new nuclear? A new US study says it's true in North Carolina: Solar
Up next: Two Energy Efficiency Stories from Beantown (or thereabouts):
Always smart @cleantechvc on Energy Efficiency: Where angels will shine.
And congratulations are in order for Green Skeptic-favorite EnerNoc (ENOC) on a profitable quarter and almost 5GW under management: $ENOC
Have a great weekend everyone!
(Disclosure: I hold long positions in ENOC. This post is for informational purposes only and is neither intended to be investment advice nor an offer, or the solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any securities.)
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