If you're not a regular reader of Eric Peters Autos (dot com... your libertarian car guy), you should be. He's reviewed a few EVs, which are delivered to his rural home in western Virginia. Because the closest charger to him is down in Roanoke, by the time the vehicle is delivered it usually doesn't have much charge left. And because he doesn't have a 220V outlet in the driveway he tries to charge it up with a drag cord. That might add a few more miles, enough to get to the "fast" charger in town, but only if the weather is nice. If it's outside of the Goldilocks zone, the energy consumed goes to keeping the battery pack at the right temperature.
My take on EVs is that they're just not a practical solution as a primary vehicle outside of the suburbs. Probably an OK solution when you're below the 37º parallel, in a city or densely developed area, and have another vehicle driven by gasoline. Oh, and there's a lot of excess generating capacity available on your power grid. And your service drop is 100A or larger. And you won't need to run a 220V line very far to add the charger. And you only have a few neighbors with EVs because your neighborhood distribution lines can only handle about 4-5 cars charging at a time. And... And... And...
I've been following the space for a few years now. The holy grail right now is solid state batteries. I got all excited about a company called Solid Power because they had backing from Ford and Toyota. But after a year I watched my stop loss trade kick in, "only" losing half my money. Solid State batteries do solve many of the issues that plague EVs now, but until someone is able to get the tech to scale up it's just a cool idea.
But even if they do crack the solid state battery production issues, there's still that problem of where do we get the electricity from? Enough to replace all the watts in gasoline that's used for transportation now? The only thing that comes close to that scale is nuclear, and that's going to continue to be a non-starter, at least as long as department of energy has any role.
I, for one, love my EV. I adore the vehicle. I've never had such a joy for an automobile before. I'm not a car guy, but this thing is just something else that thrills me.
Of course, I don't love it because it's an EV, I love it because it's a Tesla. The answer to the question "What would happen if a software company built a car?" is "something really really really good".
The instant acceleration of the electric motor, the low maintenance burden, the "full tank" every morning without having to go anywhere are all awesome.
It's the software, though, that makes the experience. Full self driving in my Tesla is a mind-blowingly wonderful joy.
I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise, given that I'm a software guy and not a car guy that a car that's software first is a revolutionary change at how I look at a cars.
Anyway, yeah, you're right about all of this. I agree completely. I'm thrilled not that I bought an EV, but that I bought the Model 3 that I did. There's no changing that. If Tesla made a gas vehicle, I'm sure I'd love it too.
This was like solar power in my area. So many people got solar panels that it was putting a dent in the electric company. So they (either the electric company or the city, I can’t remember which) decided to add a large monthly fee to anyone who has solar panels.
I think there was a huge outcry and they had to remove the fee, but it just shows you that you can’t plan your life. Not easily anyway.
Thank you! "Regime uncertainty" the economists call it. How do you plan and invest rationally when there's an 800 lb gorilla (government) mucking things up and changing the rules all the time?
If you're not a regular reader of Eric Peters Autos (dot com... your libertarian car guy), you should be. He's reviewed a few EVs, which are delivered to his rural home in western Virginia. Because the closest charger to him is down in Roanoke, by the time the vehicle is delivered it usually doesn't have much charge left. And because he doesn't have a 220V outlet in the driveway he tries to charge it up with a drag cord. That might add a few more miles, enough to get to the "fast" charger in town, but only if the weather is nice. If it's outside of the Goldilocks zone, the energy consumed goes to keeping the battery pack at the right temperature.
My take on EVs is that they're just not a practical solution as a primary vehicle outside of the suburbs. Probably an OK solution when you're below the 37º parallel, in a city or densely developed area, and have another vehicle driven by gasoline. Oh, and there's a lot of excess generating capacity available on your power grid. And your service drop is 100A or larger. And you won't need to run a 220V line very far to add the charger. And you only have a few neighbors with EVs because your neighborhood distribution lines can only handle about 4-5 cars charging at a time. And... And... And...
I've been following the space for a few years now. The holy grail right now is solid state batteries. I got all excited about a company called Solid Power because they had backing from Ford and Toyota. But after a year I watched my stop loss trade kick in, "only" losing half my money. Solid State batteries do solve many of the issues that plague EVs now, but until someone is able to get the tech to scale up it's just a cool idea.
But even if they do crack the solid state battery production issues, there's still that problem of where do we get the electricity from? Enough to replace all the watts in gasoline that's used for transportation now? The only thing that comes close to that scale is nuclear, and that's going to continue to be a non-starter, at least as long as department of energy has any role.
Very good info. Thank you!
I read Eric Peters, but not nearly often enough.
I, for one, love my EV. I adore the vehicle. I've never had such a joy for an automobile before. I'm not a car guy, but this thing is just something else that thrills me.
Of course, I don't love it because it's an EV, I love it because it's a Tesla. The answer to the question "What would happen if a software company built a car?" is "something really really really good".
The instant acceleration of the electric motor, the low maintenance burden, the "full tank" every morning without having to go anywhere are all awesome.
It's the software, though, that makes the experience. Full self driving in my Tesla is a mind-blowingly wonderful joy.
I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise, given that I'm a software guy and not a car guy that a car that's software first is a revolutionary change at how I look at a cars.
Anyway, yeah, you're right about all of this. I agree completely. I'm thrilled not that I bought an EV, but that I bought the Model 3 that I did. There's no changing that. If Tesla made a gas vehicle, I'm sure I'd love it too.
I’m afraid to drive one because I’m sure I would love it. And dammit, I’m not ready!
Let me know when you are ready and my referral code will save you $1k. 😀
This was like solar power in my area. So many people got solar panels that it was putting a dent in the electric company. So they (either the electric company or the city, I can’t remember which) decided to add a large monthly fee to anyone who has solar panels.
I think there was a huge outcry and they had to remove the fee, but it just shows you that you can’t plan your life. Not easily anyway.
Great article!
Thank you! "Regime uncertainty" the economists call it. How do you plan and invest rationally when there's an 800 lb gorilla (government) mucking things up and changing the rules all the time?
Sounds like the famous Roddy Piper line, "Just when they think they got the answers, I change the questions!" 🤣
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VTSdjoQfpk0
LOL. Exactly!