Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Grumpy_chap

michaels said:

zeupater said:

Grumpy_chap said:

.....  Perhaps Elon has some other trick up his sleeve.

Hi

Obviously the use of differential pricing in the face of a captive audience would serve as a useful 'free' marketing tool for someone averse to pouring vast proportions of business profit down a lucrative (to others in marketing!) drain .... that and investing the additional income directly into accelerating the growth of infrastructure ??!

If the intent is to hide this up a sleeve, perhaps I've just spoiled the illusion .... sorry! 

HTH - Z

Have to say if it were my network I would have a priority queue / book a space ahead of time facility for Tesla owners whilst all others had to go in the 'normal' queue and see Teslas arrive after them but get served first....

AIUI the TESLA app does work on that kind of basis for TESLA drivers, with charging suggested by the app based on route plan, battery life, even dynamic for travel congestion.  That is second hand information though.  I was also told that the system works because people move on if prompted to do so by the app.

orrery

zeupater said:

Grumpy_chap said:

.....  Perhaps Elon has some other trick up his sleeve.

Hi

Obviously the use of differential pricing in the face of a captive audience would serve as a useful 'free' marketing tool

I think it may be as simple as Tesla collecting the contact details of every EV driver in the country to market their cars at.

JKenH

The Mercedes Vision EQXX has driven over 1,000km on a single charge

On Tuesday 5 April the all-electric one-off Mercedes Vision EQXX concept turned a wheel on a public road for the very first time as it left its home in Sindelfingen near Stuttgart. It then proceeded to drive across the Swiss Alps and through Northern Italy without a single charging stop, before finally arriving in Cassis on the Côte d'Azur just over 12 hours later. For anyone whose first name isn’t Google (second name Maps), that means a total trip of 1,008km – or 626 miles – on a single charge. 

Oh, and the best bit? The EQXX still reckoned it had 140km (87 miles) of range left in its battery when it pulled up on the French coast. That is mightily impressive. 

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/mercedes-vision-eqxx-has-driven-over-1000km-single-charge

zeupater

orrery said:

zeupater said:

Grumpy_chap said:

.....  Perhaps Elon has some other trick up his sleeve.

Hi

Obviously the use of differential pricing in the face of a captive audience would serve as a useful 'free' marketing tool

I think it may be as simple as Tesla collecting the contact details of every EV driver in the country to market their cars at.

Hi

Issue in the UK is regulation of such forms of marketing is covered pretty well by the DPA and therefore requires explicit consent.

Anyway, considering Tesla's track record on investing in forms of mass or even targetted direct marketing, I doubt there'd be too much openness to perform that much of an 'about face' whilst the main product is still supply-side constrained.... however, whilst sitting around for more than a few minutes whilst paying for bucket loads of electrons there'd probably be ample time to become aware that certain brands are continually receiving a faster (/better) service whilst paying a lower £/unit than others (offering a form of brand-loyalty subsidy!) - possibly having VIP type access to exclusive 'facilities' at the same time, maybe even pass time by browsing on-line product news & updates delivered by cheap 'digital marketing' via QR codes on the chargers .... after-all, aren't some of the most utilised marketing tools based on the premise of envy, perceived value, experience satisfaction & overall happiness.

HTH-Z

 

Martyn1981

Personally I like the fact that Tesla is opening up the network, but that's an 'on balance' opinion from four different views I have.

• As a Tesla owner, I'm slightly negative about potentially having to queue, but Tesla is expanding the SC network at a staggering speed, and virtually all new chargers are level 3, capable of 250kW+, so capable of greater throughput than the older chargers.
• As a BEV enthusiast, I love the decision, no need anymore to caveat discussions about BEV buying, that non-Tesla's may be trickier to charge on long distance drives.
• As a Tesla shareholder I think it's a positive, should help to 'market' Tesla's to other owners, without cost, and should raise a bit more income as the leccy is sold at a higher price, or the same with a monthly fee, so greater income from the same infrastructure.
• As a G&E enthusiast, it's excellent news as it will make switching to a BEV easier, and thus accelerate the end of the ICE age, a point that ties in with being a shareholder, and Tesla's main aim of accelerating the transition to sustainable transport.

Regarding Tesla being supply constrained, that also fits in, since they are developing ways to speed up supercharger deployment, such as the 'plug n play' units now being built with multiple chargers attached to base plates for faster install. So if they can't build cars fast enough to meet demand, and have been increasing prices in an attempt to manage delivery times (even UK base 3 and Y's ordered now, won't be delivered till Sept-Nov), then maximising use of SC's is another lever to pull to meet their main goal.

Martyn1981

Nice news, Bermuda has rolled out 30 BEV buses. May not sound a lot, but that's a third of the fleet. Always great to hear about Island nations, especially those with great RE potential, moving away from FF's that have to be shipped in.

Bermuda Electrifies 1/3 Of Its Public Bus Fleet

Yesterday, on April 13, at a ceremony attended by the Minister of Transport, Bermuda’s Department of Public Transportation launched the first of 30 electric buses into service on the island, comprising a third of its public bus fleet. The electric buses are replacing antiquated diesel-powered buses, cutting capital, maintenance and operations costs in half — saving $10 million over the buses’ lifetime. Once the entire fleet is electrified, the electric buses will avoid emissions equivalent to removing at least 1,500 cars from the roads per year.

Due to cost savings from electrifying public transportation, Bermuda will be able to add more buses on the roads, increasing reliability, which has been a key goal of the public bus service. Bermuda plans to fully electrify its public transport bus fleet by 2030.

Martyn1981

This news tickled me, mainly because it took 6 months, but a small autonomous BEV boat crossed the Atlantic. It has been done before by larger crewed boats using solar power.

Not sure if there is a use/market for this, maybe some use, as speeds improve, and they get bigger, who knows?

Autonomous electric vessel ‘Mahi Two’ crosses Atlantic Ocean

An all-electric boat has crossed the Atlantic Ocean. The ‘Mahi Two’ made the journey without a crew but powered by a Torqeedo electric motor and solar energy. They were being steered from the land through storms and high seas.

The Mahi Two team claims this to be the first solar-electric autonomous vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean successfully. The ship left the coast of Spain in September 2021 and reached the island of Martinique in the French Antilles six months later.

Onshore, Pieter-Jan Note had tracked the small boat between high waves, navigating farther and farther away. “It felt like leaving your child alone in the ocean,” the Belgian engineer recalls. He and the team had done everything to make their four-meter boat robust and autonomous, reports Torqeedo.

The German company provided a Torqeedo Cruise 2.0 Pod electric motor that “goes on and on,” as Note found. Also on board were two 24 V batteries for which Torqeedo usually works with BMW. This time, the batteries were constantly recharged by Solbian solar panels.

In addition, the engineers had ensured that the watercraft could right itself in heavy swells. Cameras, sensors, satellite connectivity, and an onboard computer helped the Mahi Two keep upright for no less than 4,300 nautical miles, nearly 8,000 kilometres. The journey took half a year since the vessel travelled at speeds between five to nine knots, 10 to 15 kph.

Martyn1981

Could have posted this on so many threads but I think battery size and weight is more crucial for transport. Super short article, one paragraph in fact, so I haven't quoted in case that breaks some copyright rule, but the pic says it all.

Volumetric Energy Density Of Lithium-Ion Batteries Increased By 8+ Times Between 2008 & 2020

Coastalwatch

That curve appears almost parabolic Mart, wouldn't it be exciting if it continued along that path appreciating there must be a finite limit surely!

Wasn't it Elon who suggested that density needed to reach 400 Watt-hours/litre, or was it kg, before BEV powered aircraft would become viable?

gefnew

It is very like CPU speeds when the speed race between the different producers of CPU`.