A thread to discuss electric vehicles and hybrid technology. No politics, please.
Technology, commercial aspects and marketing are all on-topic.
- Companies (e.g. Tesla Inc.) are only on-topic when discussing their electric vehicle products and research, not their wider activities. The exception is when those wider activities directly impact (or are impacted by) their other business areas - e.g. if electric vehicle development is cut back due to losses in another part of the business.
- Technology that's not directly related to electric vehicles (e.g. general battery research) is off-topic unless you're discussing how it might be used for vehicles.
- If we're talking about individuals here, that should only be because they've said or done something directly relevant to the topic. Specifically, posts about Tesla do not automatically need to mention Elon Musk. And Musk's views, politics and personal life are firmly off-topic unless you can somehow show that they're relevant to electric cars.
Also, posting this late, so sorry for any misspellings I might have left in there.
(Mod edited to replace original post)
Edited by Mrph1 on Mar 29th 2024 at 4:14:39 PM
A procrastination in of itself
I believe the idea would be to basically build an artificial saltwater lake at the top of a costal cliff, then you can drop the water back into the ocean to generate power and pump it back up when there’s power to spare.
Is there some dramatic environmental impact to building a saltwater lake atop a costal cliff?
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
Quite aside from the fact that creating an artificial lake costs way more than using a pre-existent sink or valley, saltwater seepage would be an issue in many cases. Plus you'd need a suitably high and stable cliff and I don't know if California has them in non-protected areas.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
A procrastination in of itself
Oh you’ve very much still got location limits, you just have a wider selection compared to when you’re trying to find a pair of suitable freshwater lakes.
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
Lost in Space
How did we get to discussing energy storage in the electric vehicles thread and self-driving in the sustainable energy thread? My head is spinning.
Edited by Fighteer on Feb 26th 2021 at 7:14:49 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Who Am I?
I took this conversation over to the Sustainable Energy
thread.
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Ars Technica: Nikola admits to making “inaccurate” statements under disgraced founder
Nikola Motors has copped to nine — okay, let's call these what they are — outright lies that it made under its founder and former owner Trevor Milton, including that its prototype "One" semi truck was functional and that it had the ability to produce hydrogen.
The company could still face legal consequences for these statements, but it appears sincere about moving on and actually building a product. It expects to produce some battery-electric semi trucks by the end of the year. It'll have to move fast: by its latest financials it has no more than six months of operating cash left.
It remains unclear what Nikola's strategy is to innovate in the electric vehicle market, since it still appears to be working with partners for all of the actual technology going into its products. Comments on the article are highly skeptical and I share their viewpoint, but it's not entirely impossible that it could pull through and deliver something of value.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
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The Verge: Volvo’s first EV is stuck at cargo ports waiting for a software update
An undisclosed number of Volvo XC40 Recharge electric SUVs are sitting in ports waiting for a software update before they can be delivered to customers. This update activates the Volvo On Call software that allows control of the vehicle's features via a smartphone.
Volvo is not the first manufacturer to have issues with software on release. VW's ID.3s sat in lots for months waiting for fixes. The XC40 does have over-the-air updates, allowing most software to be deployed without the need to take the cars to dealers.
Volvo has issued a number of critical updates during the XC40's release, so if you get one, make sure it's receiving them.
Edited by Fighteer on Mar 2nd 2021 at 9:58:28 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
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Teslarati: Ford addresses Mustang Mach-E delivery delays with monetary offer and free charging
It looks like Ford Mustang Mach-E customers who experienced delays in delivery of their vehicles may be getting an extension of free charging and a cash rebate of $1,000. This is based on emails received by customers and shared in the Mach-E Club forum. Some members shared similar emails that they received that lacked the cash offer but included the additional free charging.
Organized Canine Bureau Special Agent
Singapore announced that after 2025, diesel-powered vehicles for taxis can't be legally registered anymore.
Guess that means moolah for the Singaporean used car export business.
"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"
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![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Not sure who would buy them. Diesel is the worst of all the fuel sources for cars. Sooner or later the world will run out of nations willing to take the polluting hand-me-downs.
Teslarati: Volkswagen ID.3 measures up favorably to Tesla, claims UBS after teardown
Volkswagen's ID.3 is apparently shaping up to be a decent car. It took legacy auto long enough. The company discussed plans to ramp up production to 700,000 vehicles for 2021, which is remarkable, especially as I'm unsure where it's getting the batteries. I also hope that these cars will be sold to actual customers.
Now it's the other legacy automakers' turn to step up.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Figure of Hourai
I have no idea why you keep calling them legacy manufacturers, particularly when they're making electric vehicles too.
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A procrastination in of itself
Have we touched on Volvo (the Swedish automaker) making a new commitment to electric? They’d already said they wanted half their sales to be electric come 2025 and they’ve now committed to sell only electric come 2030 (which is also when the UK (and I think other countries) will ban the sale of new fossil fuel cars).
They’re also moving to online sales alongside the traditional dealership sales method.[1]
As for who would buy older internal-combustion cars, there’s a big need for private transport in the developing world, so as long as they’re the cheeper option they’re liable to find a home there. I think some countries are looking at export limitation to prevent a massive dump of internal-combustion cars onto the developing world where they will continue to pollute.
Edited by Silasw on Mar 4th 2021 at 2:23:58 PM
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
Lost in Space
I just linked an article above about the XC40. Teething issues seem to be fairly common with the new technology but we are making progress.
They'll be legacy until they fully transition to electric. VW is making good progress and it's by far the leader in Big Auto.
Organized Canine Bureau Special Agent
Don't underestimate the buyers of Singaporean-based cars. Seen exports made in Africa and parts of Central/South America. But if those parts of the world will also adopt policies to stop using diesel-based vehicles that is...
Edited by Ominae on Mar 4th 2021 at 6:53:23 AM
"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"
Lost in Space
All that really does is delay the full adoption of electric vehicles. People will attempt to preserve IC cars for quite a while until laws catch up, but the primary factor for at least the next 20 years will be supply.
Edited by Fighteer on Mar 4th 2021 at 10:23:55 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
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Teslarati: Tesla contacts Model S, X owners for eMMC recall repair, offers reimbursement
It seems as if Tesla has accepted the recall order from the NHTSA on the eMMC chips in versions of the Tesla Model S and X made before 2018. In these vehicles, the memory cards can fail due to repeated read/write cycles from engineering logs, rendering the Media Control Unit inoperable.
Tesla is repairing all of those vehicles under warranty. Users who had previously had the MCU repaired will be reimbursed for the service.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Lost in Space
Apparently there was a minor fire yesterday at Tesla's Fremont factory. I haven't heard anything about how this may or may not affect production. CNBC reports
Speaking of fires, Hindenburg Research, the short-selling firm that famously investigated Enron and recently Nikola Motors, has published an exposé on yet another electric vehicle startup: Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ: RIDE). Read the Twitter thread here and the full article here.
This company has recently gone public via SPAC with no vehicle production or deliveries, basing its valuation on its supposed backlog of 100,000 orders for its "Endurance" all-electric pickup truck. Hindenburg has investigated these orders and found many of them to be suspicious: placed by companies with no vehicle fleets, no intention to build vehicle fleets, and no assets with which to purchase them. Many of these "customers" were paid to place pre-orders.
The company has ostensible plans to begin production in September 2021 but is facing extensive delays, putting real production 3-4 years out at minimum. Despite claiming vertical integration of battery production, it has no manufacturing lines and no equipment with which to do so. Its one and only prototype burst into flames ten minutes into a road test in January 2021.
Founder and CEO Steve Burns is described by many as a "con man". Lordstown's owners sold significant amounts of stock post-SPAC, indicative of a common scheme wherein a company will go public and then loot its own valuation.
Note when evaluating this report that Hindenburg stands to profit from its short position in $RIDE.
Edited by Fighteer on Mar 12th 2021 at 9:44:50 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
This company has recently gone public via SPAC with no vehicle production or deliveries,
I know that maybe I am not the type that hangs out in the finance industry, but I would like to see production and quality up front before investing in anything. Wasn't there another company named Nikola Motors or something like that which pulled the same stunt?
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Lost in Space
Yep, and Hindenburg tore Nikola down as well, which I mentioned in my post.
These startups are apparently counting on enthusiasm for "the next Tesla" to overcome the natural caution that investors should have when buying into an unproven company.
Edited by Fighteer on Mar 12th 2021 at 10:44:00 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Lost in Space
Tesmanian covers the fire at Tesla's Fremont Plant.
It occurred in the "Giga Press" that performs casting for the aluminum body of the Model Y vehicle. Leaking hydraulic fluid came into contact with molten aluminum, starting a fire. It was rapidly extinguished with no harm to personnel and operations are expected to resume in a few days.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Lost in Space
Edit: reposted in Self-Driving thread as it's on-topic there
Edited by Fighteer on Mar 12th 2021 at 12:03:37 PM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Lost in Space
Canoo has just revealed its upcoming pickup truck in a virtual presentation. The styling is... interesting. It's very much in keeping with their autonomous van design. It's supposed to be very space-efficient with seating for four, a six-foot bed (extensible to 8), and 200+ miles of range. Here's the press release.
I don't see a date listed for its production yet.
Lost in Space
Oh, right. Do you want to see and hear a Tesla Semi doing track testing? Here you go.
It's not rolling downhill. *cough*
Edited by Fighteer on Mar 14th 2021 at 12:47:25 PM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Lost in Space
Burn of the day:
Volkswagen tweets: "What’s the best photo of a VW you’ve ever seen?" A Twitter user that I follow replies with an image of a parking lot full of VW cars that were recalled over the DieselGate emissions cheating scandal.
California isn't a good place for this b/c you need a reservoir that can be filled with saltwater without undue environmental impact. That means a salt lake or salt pan or salty aquifer, and while California has these things none of them are within a reasonable range from the sea. I could imagine pumped storage coupled with desalination (i.e you pump-and-store desalinated water rather than saltwater) but that requires a fair amount of fine tuning, at least two suitable reservoirs and way more power and water consumption.
I believe Chile however has been planning such constructs as they have a more suitable geography.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman