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Tesla Preps Bigger 100 KWh Battery For Model S and Model X (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Tesla will soon offer a 100 kWh battery for the Model S and Model X that will allow for increased range -- perhaps as much as 380 miles for the Model S. Currently, the 90 kWh batteries are the company's largest capacity. Kenteken.TV is reporting that the Dutch regulator that certifies Tesla's vehicles for use in the European Union, RDW, has recently published a number of new Tesla variants. RDW's public database now includes entries for a Tesla "100D" and "100X," which are titles that follow Tesla's current naming system based on battery capacity. The listing for the 100D claims the vehicle has a range of 381 miles or 613 kilometers. The motor output is reported as 90 kilowatts (121 horsepower), which is the maximum output the Tesla motors can sustain without overheating. Autoblog notes that EU range estimates tend to be more optimistic than those issued by the U.S. EPA. A more realistic range might be 310 to 320 miles.
Those mileage figures need to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. Based on my own experience with my 70D (my real world range estimate = 200 miles) I estimate a 100D would have a range of around 285 miles. Which is still excellent.
I think 381 miles will only be possible driving 30mph on a flat road with no wind.
Batteries are generally extremely heavy in their weight to energy ratio compared to gasoline. They also cost a fair bit of money and take a while to charge if you manage to drain that huge of a battery. Even your regular 240v home outlet could take a while. At some point aside from bragging rights it becomes impractical to have a battery that big. The Volt only has about a 40 mile battery and I've made it through the entire summer without having to resort to gas on my daily trips. I've even forgotten to plug the thing in at times and it still had enough. Granted I live in a small city so that helps but I can't see what having past 200 miles gains for you. It might be a bit easier for cross-country trips if you're hopping supercharger stations but I have a bad feeling that you're paying a huge amount in extra weight and costs for that minuscule usage situation. (Unless driving hundreds of miles a day is normal for you.)
From TFA (this is Slashdot, you're excused for not reading it):
[NOTE: An earlier version of this article suggested that the quotation of 90 kw (121 hp) for the Tesla's motor output was a typo or an error. We thank our reader Vigge50 for pointing out that EU requirements appear to require quoting maximum sustainable power over a long period, rather the peak outputs quoted by Tesla in North America. We've corrected the error.]
I think people who actually need to tow things are the niche market since most people don't. Most people here go from home to work, home to drop the kids at school, home to the store etc and for that the range of the Tesla is good enough. On top of that, instead of 2-5 minutes filling up, you can fill up overnight or use one of the higher power chargers at the shopping mall (Several malls here in Montreal have them) and have a full charge when you are done shopping or eating. If you think about it, it's actually a more efficient use of your time since you no longer have to supervise the car while it charges. It's just a matter of not thinking of "refueling the car" as a separate task the way we do now. If we can get the low hanging fruit of small car needs, we will vastly reduce how much crap we put unto the air and reduce the money we are sending to crazy Monarchies in the middle east who then use a bunch of that money in ways that cause us trouble.
Well with that the range will about catch up with my M3, but the horsepower and refuel time remain lacking.
1. A Tesla has more HP than a M3.
2. The "refueling" happens in your home, while you get on with your life, rather than waiting in line at the gas station.
For long trips, you either pre-plan so that your recharges coincide with a meal at a nice restaurant, or just use your spouse's car (or maybe your mom's).
Regardless, as somebody who actually likes driving, I would still never buy one.
Have you ever actually driven a Tesla?
"niche market" is kind of an overstatement. In fact, your usage scenario -- according to statistics -- is the "niche market". Very very few people actually need the ability to get into an 8000lb truck and drive 600+ miles before needing to refuel.
Most people need to drive 5-40 miles twice a day with a ~8 hour gap in between. Hardly a "niche market".
As for hauling and towing...it depends on your fleet size. Electric motors are actually far more ideal for the job of towing due to the flat torque curve. But if you're a one-truck-shop and can't swap trucks out to recharge (like larger businesses can) then ya, electric would be very impractical.
I could totally see shipping trucks being an ideal situation for electric. Regular schedules, a lot of dead-time and regular routes where chargers could be installed.
Realistically, gas cars *are* the niche market. The cost is what's keeping electric sales down. But battery cost/kWH is actually dropping quite a bit in recent years due to all the advances made for smartphones.
My model S actually handles quite well in turns. It also is not surprisingly heavy for a car in its class, largely in part due to the all-aluminum body. Now the newer versions of my car have even better handling. My car weigh around 4700lbs (P85, 2013). A Lexus LS weighs between 4233 and 5115lbs according to Google.
Despite the weight, the car handling is supurb since all the weight is so low.
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That seems surprising to me, since I have taken my Tesla P85 up numerous long steep grades in the Sierra Nevada mountains, usually driving well over the speed limit. The only thing I notice about going up grades like that is the battery drains rather faster than normal. 120HP (90KW) for steady driving is a lot. For freeway cruising in my model S I average around 35KW.
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Obviously bigger batteries are going to give you more range and possible better acceleration (at the risk of melting the motor). But at some point, aren't you limited by the physical space available to store the battery? Or have they figured out how to pack more kilowatt-hours into the same physical space? I would be inclined to spend more upfront for better range, but I can't afford the Telsa I want anyway.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
It's really not safe, let alone desirable, to drive 7 hours non-stop without a rest break or food.
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It's a perfectly practical only car. I've never needed another car the 2.5 years I've had my Tesla. I'm trying to remember the last time I drove over 500 miles. I think it was in 2004. If I need to go far I fly.
I think people who actually need to tow things are the niche market since most people don't. Most people here go from home to work, home to drop the kids at school, home to the store etc and for that the range of the Tesla is good enough.
For that a Nissan Leaf will do, really. But how often do you do those not so everyday things? If it's one trip a year maybe, if it's ten trips a year I have to take out a lease, go collect the car, inspect it for any damage so they don't blame me, transfer all my belongings, deal with an all new car and once I'm done drop it off and get home I'm not going to do it. Actually a Tesla would be pretty sweet, but it's also a premium car. I can get a compact that serves my needs for half the price if all I need is the occasional range. Not to mention my Ford Focus can pull a trailer, no need for the Model X.
On top of that, instead of 2-5 minutes filling up, you can fill up overnight or use one of the higher power chargers at the shopping mall (Several malls here in Montreal have them) and have a full charge when you are done shopping or eating. If you think about it, it's actually a more efficient use of your time since you no longer have to supervise the car while it charges.
Of course my gas engine car has a 55L tank and uses about 0.7L / 10km so it's 6-700 km between tanking with 100 km to spare. Also unlike an electric car it's not a big deal if I run close to empty, while being stuck at a charger when you don't want to sucks so I'd probably top off the EV all the time though I technically didn't need to. Maybe you can shave off a few seconds but you only need to screw up once because you were in a hurry or distracted or the charger malfunctioned and you could be stuck for half an hour or more.
Here in Norway they've given huge incentives to EVs, built out a massive number of chargers but the sales peaked at about 15% and is now trending back towards 10% market share. And that's in a market where a Tesla P90D costs less than a Ford Mustang V8... okay so muscle cars are punished horribly. Anyway the Leaf has been doing well paired with a big "family car" as the commute car, but I think they have a long way to go to make any serious dent in the ICE market. Globally the need for cars probably grows faster than EVs can, so at best it's slowing a trend not turning it.
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Too late. We went for a test drive on a 70D model, and I'm already looking at finances on affording a model s. Maybe if I work 2 50-hour a week jobs? The girls (my wife included) loved the acceleration. I loved the free LTE data, and was considering finding a way to set up a local hotspot for us.
If a job's worth doing, it's worth over-doing. I wouldn't be happy unless I had several thousand horsepower available, and a good few tens of tons so I can take a few knocks.
A tank. What I need is a tank. Armor plated for those dangerous 5 mile drives to the bus depot or Safeway. Enough power to tow my wife's Honda along with all the other cars in the neighborhood...simultaneously. Cuz you know that happens EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN DAY. I need a good size gas can on board for when I need the range. 200 gal cans on the side should be good.
Except parking is a bitch, you can't use compact spaces. You can park on top of other cars but the owners might get mad. You have machine guns for that though...
Model S is SIGNIFICANTLY larger than a BMW M3, Mercedes C or Audi A4.
Model S is wider than the Mercedes S or Audi A8, and about the length of a Mercedes E or Audi A6.
Drove a A4 for a week this summer, and it was ridiculously small.
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