Well actually that would be super easy to do. You add a square hitch to the back of the car and then attach a standard flat platform to it. Done.
The only problem is that the Tesla is a beautiful sports car and I’m guessing that potential owners of a $100K car don’t want to drive around with a steamer trunk hanging off the back of the car.
I think they’d be better off bringing out an extended range hybrid and letting the chips fall where they may. It really is a beautiful car IMO. It has Maserati lines. If they can make a go of the company in the short term with extended range models then they’ll be well positioned to take advantage of better batteries when they show up.
Well, they could integrate it into the car’s design and make it look pretty cool - maybe even to the point where the car looks even more “trick” with it on. And it could have fringe benefits in that it could also be used as a conventional generator to power things external to the car in emergencies, or camping, etc.
It just seems like the best of both worlds, since most people only need the ability to travel long ranges with their car a few times a year, and usually in situations that are planned beforehand. They could even rent out the generator modules for those who don’t want to pay upfront for, store, or install them themselves.
This reminds me of an old story. A guy treats himself to really expensive shoes for work and buys them from a high end menswear store. They wear out in a couple of months and he takes them back to the store and complains. The salesman points out that the shoes were never meant to be worn daily. They were not “work shoes”.
Nobody is taking a Tesla on a cross country trip with the kids. That’s not it’s function. However, to travel anywhere outside the city you live in requires a range that exceeds the car’s design (on a nice day). Maybe people who buy $100K cars also buy an everyday sports car for day trips to the next town over. Don’t know. I do know that personally it would be off-putting if I had to plan out trips in my new sports car to ensure a successful return. I just want to hit the garage door opener and be on my way.
Forget that we’re talking about this particular sportscar model, or even a Tesla at all. Something along those lines seems like it would be a good solution to the range anxiety issues and charging times in electric-only vehicles. Just design them to accept an easy add-on generator module for the occasional times when its needed.
Well I thought the Dodge Magnum was on the right track for a multipurpose sports car. didn’t handle worth squat but it was a station wagon that got out of it’s own way.
While I agree with your overall point, I feel the need to point out the the review was of the Tesla Model S, not the Roadster. Totally different cars with totally different price points.
My sister and BIL have a $50k beemer and a $30k van. Before that she had an even more expensive Jag. When they need to go cross-country (and they do on occasion), they take the van, not the expensive car.
The Model S, fully equipped would be in the $100K range. It would be comparable to a high end 4 door sport coup. It has nearly the performance of a Boss 302 and I have to retract my statement about range. The high end version of the car is rated at 265 miles on a charge and it’s realistic to go 250 miles in good weather. That’s much better than I thought. You could mash your foot a couple of times (on a night out) and still drive 150 miles comfortably. The low end model is about half the price and goes about half as far.
This is what sucks about the car to me. Its balls-out fast, but if you drive it like it’s intended to be driven, ie, a sports car, the range is spectacularly bad. The fact that there were requests by the Tesla people to “not exceed 55mph” and essentially “don’t crank the heat” is pretty telling. If driving normally in winter weather rapidly depletes this car’s range (driving 65 or so on interstates with the heat on a comfortable level), then driving this car to it’s capabilities certainly makes it even more of a toy…a bit of a lark. And not a serious car that anyone would purchase other than rich people out of desire to own a curiosity.
Still, if we’re making progress on EV’s, then great. I don’t see a limited production, severely limited range $100k sports car as much advancement, though.
We’ve got to get cracking on that battery technology.
Serious question: what is our current (natch) limiting factor when it comes to EV’s and their power storage capacity? Is it amount of batteries, type of batteries…what?
And just to remind you all of how badass an electric car can be (in limited doses), I once again present White Zombie, the fully electric 1970’s era Datsun drag car and the story behind it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=369h-SEBXd8
Batteries are a pretty mature technology. It’s unlikely we’re going to make some huge discovery that changes the fundamental nature of batteries. There might be some other angle we can attack this from - supercapacitors or something - but people seem to think batteries are going to undergo massive improvements to their technology, and they’re really not.
And therein lies the rub. I still want to know what the life expectancy of the batteries in this car are, can they sustain a full charge over years of use, etc.
Well I distinctly remember somebody announcing a breakthrough in charging time a couple of years ago. Something about micro-drilling zillions of tiny holes in the anode that allowed rapid recharging. It was suppose to reduce charging a cell phone to 2 minutes.
I’ve seen capacitor batteries demonstrated years ago and it blew me away. It took seconds to recharge a cordless drill. Now it didn’t have the same amount of charge (per volume of battery) but it was much lighter than any other type.
I have to believe there will be major breakthroughs in cost, weight, and charging time.
The current most feasible market for an electric car is for a small commuter car for going to work (where a family would have at least two cars and the other car would be a traditional car and would be used for going on long trips). This commuter car would be charged overnight at home. Yet even this type of car doesn’t make economic sense at current gas prices–because these type cars are too expensive (a $40,000 Volt…).
A Tesla is a premium car with a premium price tag that only people with a certain wealth can buy.
In the broader view about economics, it makes sense to let wealthy individuals pay the upfront fee of early adoption. Later on, as economies of scale are realized, costs are driven down for the average people to be able to afford the new technology. At the same time, the early adopters are putting money down to stimulate research and development into better technologies, which will only benefit much much later adopters for a lower price. Doesn’t anybody remember the prices that Apple charged to the iPhone when it first came out?
I remember paying $2500 for one of my very first computers, in the 80’s. A phenomenal amount of money in today’s dollars. The first VCRs were many hundreds of dollars.
But the Model S can perform. From the Motor Trend 2013 Car of the Year review, “The 4766-pound Tesla Model S Signature Performance version will nail 60 mph in 4.0 seconds and the quarter in 12.4 seconds at 112.5 mph, with a top speed of 133 mph.”
You can easily pay $40,000 for a regular sedan. Thus, paying $40,000+ for a Volt doesn’t have to make “economic sense” in the way you’re referring to it. It’s an upper tier car, that would be worth $40k with or without 170 mph capabilities.
And note that you can get a $7,500 federal tax credit for the purchase of an electric car, and in California at least, an additional $2,500 state credit. So that lowers the price by $10,000.