The Tesla Model S is “practical” for the small number of people who have sufficient disposal income to afford a $70k high performance sport sedan suitable for urban driving in warm climates. “A factor of two” of energy storage density does not result in “game over” for hydrocarbon fuels even for just personal transport unless it comes with some means to rapidly charge or swap the battery.
Stranger
I have it on a good source that within 4 years there will be affordable electric cars for the middle class with 500 mile range… no cite though… I just heard it from his mouth though.
I am doing it. I have a Model S and charge it, at home, entirely from Solar in my Off Grid system. I have a fairly large array (18KW) and 26KWHr of battery so I have to be careful about the charge rate unless we have full sun but I am living proof that it is possible.
So what is your cost per KWH, and how long does it take to charge your car? And can you drive 400 miles on that charge, as I had to do last weekend with my Honda?
Simple answer.
If you put in a solar system capable of completely running your home (You dont need acres of panels) You can just plug in your car and it will charge in the normal amount of time.
If said system also has a battery system capable of totally running your home during night time hours etc also, then you are ready to go 24/7
Or do you specifically just want to charge the car only?
Even those are really solar in nature, too. Both are dependent on the existence of a planet, which was interstellar matter that was gathered together into a planet largely by the gravity of the sun. So really, all our power comes from the sun.
Digging back a few years,
If he literally runs it entirely from his solar farm, and is still on the dealer-original gas in the tank, then why did he buy a hybrid instead of an all-electric? The ICE and fuel tank is added bulk, weight, and complexity that he’s never using, and so it’d be more practical and efficient to do without them.
Perhaps for the same reason people buy pickup trucks who almost never haul things. Or the reason cars have spare tires which are almost never used.
The incremental cost for the ICE backup is $X. The incremental hassle of being trapped in a situation where ICE is needed is Y (measured in dollars and hassle-units). Multiply that out by some probabilities and personal preferences and getting the ICE makes sense to some people.
It is interesting how many people choose their vehicles not for their 99% use case but for their 1% use case. ISTM there’d be a good business renting pickup trucks, tow vehicles , panel vans, flatbeds, long range cruising cars, and other specialized vehicles if only the majority of people could be persuaded to not buy for their 1% use cases.
Did this happen? It’s about 4 years later.
Not quite 500 mile range but the Chevy Bolt?
Plus the charging stations are much more widely available than they were a few years ago.
On cNet I recall a electric car with a solar panel. The car would be parked under a fresnel lens to concentrate the sun’s light to the lense and the car would move autonomously to track the sun when parked there.
I own a Volt and I have solar panels on my house. I bought the Volt used with 30k miles for 18k. The solar panels cost 30k after 10k tax credit, if anyone is curious of the cost.
The price of the loan for the panels, plus the extra electricity I purchase is less than my monthly bill for electric used to be. In other words, buying the panels cost less money than not buying them. Of course I live in AZ so, there’s plenty of sun.
At some point, I buy a third generation Tesla Powerwall and additional solar panels. Historically, my utility bills only go up in price, so solar is a hedge against that.
At this point, the best you can get is a Tesla 100D (335 miles EPA range for ~$88,000 after tax credit).
It can be done, but at that point you might as well just replace the Fresnel lens with more solar panels, and continue generating power even when the car’s not parked under it.
I would like to get an electric car to drive between my two homes, which are about 325 miles apart. I feel that a Tesla 100D might work, but it’s a little pricey and its range is too close to 325 miles to rely on. But, if there were a charging station at the halfway point (Albany, NY), then this or perhaps a Bolt, might be doable.
There are tons of Tesla superchargers in that area including Albany. So with a Tesla your drive is no problem.