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Steve Wozniak May Swap His Tesla For A Chevy Bolt (siliconbeat.com)

An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes a San Jose Mercury News article about "Apple co-founder and electric vehicle fan Steve Wozniak." Woz posted a picture of himself, smiling, next to a new, white Chevy Bolt. General Motors gave Woz the fully electric sedan for an extended test drive. He liked it. "I expect to be switching cars soon!" Woz wrote in a photo caption.

The battery-powered Bolt is due for release late this year. The four-door hatchback has an advertised range of 200 miles per charge, with a sticker price around $37,500. The EV will compete head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3. The Tesla entry-level sedan, expected to start at $35,000, will be released late next year.

It's interesting to read Wozniak's later comments on the post. "A lot of things wrong with the Tesla model S are done correctly (my opinion) in this car... It gets down to my product ideas of balance and getting the most from the least. Try to make things simple and affordable but very adequate. This car hits my sweet spot."

And in response to the obvious question, Woz replied "Maybe one Segway would fit. And a seat can be folded down."

2 of 286 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A real comparison? by pixelpusher220 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The thing about electrics though is the gas is a small part of the savings. There just aren't significant parts to break and need replacement; though obviously depending on design.

    No ICE, no oil, no maintenance. No transmission, just a straight connection from motor to wheel (linkages as necessary but no gears, etc).

    Replacing a battery isn't cheap but it is a very very straightforward thing. Unlike replacing an engine, which your transmission isn't engineered for.

    The 'life' of an electric vehicle should realistically be multiple years beyond even the best ICE vehicles...bringing the ownership cost down even farther.

    And then take into account that if you can put in a house battery and solar, you could get your 'fuel' entirely for free. You'll never do that with an ICE even with ethanol. This perhaps ties to your 5-10 years prediction which is reasonable. But there are still lots of savings involved beyond the fuel.

    The cheapest option of course is a used ICE car for $5-10K ;-)

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    People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people :-D
  2. Re:Horrendously Expensive Windshield Wipers by Dan+East · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Obviously you're being facetious, as the Leaf uses tires like any other car. It also has regular pneumatic brakes too, although with regenerative braking you shouldn't go through pads very fast unless you brake really hard a lot.

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    Better known as 318230.