Re: Electric Vehicles, in favor of? or disapprove?
 

Some interesting news coming back from Tesla Motors yesterday. They are currently looking to build a new factory in either New Mexico or California to begin manufacturing the Model S, a $60k electric sedan with a range of 225 miles.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/30/t...five-passenge/

Later that day, Elon Musk - founder of PayPal and SpaceX, as well as one of the Board of Directors for Tesla - reported that he expects the electric car technology to drop to below $30k within four years. There is still a lot of work to do to get the price this low, but it is encouraging news.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/30/t...ric-car-in-le/

And in case anyone hasn't heard yet, Tesla also is working on redesigneding their transmission for the Roadster. It's a great read for the ME or general gearheads out there. So far, they've gone to a single speed gearbox - increasing the efficiency - which added another 10 miles to the range of the car.

Re: Electric Vehicles, in favor of? or disapprove?
 

Tesla Motors hasn't announced any details about the Model S sedan except its starting price. The 225 mile range appeared in a California state press release, but no one at Tesla Motors has said anything like that. Engadget is not known for their fact-checking prowess.

I hope the range on the sedan is that high, but I'm not going to set any expectations until I hear official specs from Tesla Motors.

I was great to hear Elon say that the < 30k EV will be available "sooner than anyone is expecting" and within 4 years. It's been their plan all along to use the Roadster and the sport sedan to jumpstart their goal of producing lots of affordable EVs, so it means a lot to know they think they are still on target to deliver on that goal in the 40-year time frame.