The possible social problems with electric vehicles

A short run diesel truck would still be carrying 100 to 200 gallons of fuel so no concerns.

An 80 mile range isn’t enough for more than maybe a 30 mile trip and back.

80 mile range for a semi truck is pretty pathetic.

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If the claimed range is 500 miles, it seems unlikely that the observed range could be 80 miles.

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It IS Tesla we’re talking about here…Over promise and under deliver!

All is speculation since neither Tesla nor Pepsi has published actual real-world data about the range.

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Elon, the champion (in his own mind…) cage fighter? :smirk:
Say it ain’t so!

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I’ve always been amazed at how many people let their gas gauge drop to E or less and keep going until it runs out. Some people say they have a system for knowing exactly how far they can go after it hits E, but still, how many times have they chanced it to gain that knowledge?
I’ve heard Teslas will actually route the driver to the nearest charging station when the car gets below a certain percentage, but I’m not sure how true that is. I rarely ever let my Bolt’s charge get below 100 miles remaining before I plug my car back in.

I think it is likely true, due to Tesla’s superior e-functioning.

Even my lowly :wink: Lexus plug-in hybrid guides me to the nearest charging stations when I use the mfr’s app on my Smartphone. But, because I am careful to use the gas engine when my battery charge gets somewhat low, I have only been in a position on one occasion when I ran out of battery power. At that point, the gas engine automatically kicked-in.

That situation took place when I was driving home from the dealership after taking delivery, and apparently they never bothered to charge it before I arrived. When I spoke to the service manager the next day, he confessed that they had previously only had “regular” hybrids delivered, and that his staff didn’t realize that my plug-in could actually be recharged from a wall outlet.

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Tesla is claiming 500 miles.Pepsi has no plans to test that, They are planning delivery routes only 80 miles from the terminal. The plug is not compatible wit any car charger so the driver canyon recharge on the run.

Well played MikeinNH, well played… :rofl: :rofl: Didn’t see that coming… :grin:

But the biggest difference would be that I can call my neighbor, friend, family member, pastor, etc etc and chances are that they have a gas can (I have 5) and can bring you gas… Not to many places (at this time anyway, I know times are changing) have a portable charging station…

I expect there will be more in the future. The infrastructure will change as we move more toward EV or maybe Hydrogen. One company I read is looking at having an Extra EV battery in case of emergencies. You have to manually turn it on. Range for up to 20 miles (Hopefully enough to get you to a charging station).

The other caveat in the mix is autonomous vehicles. When they are fully autonomous, there’s a very very low probability they’ll ever run out of power. They’ll know when the computer system will constantly be monitoring the battery status and drive to the nearest available EV station when it needs to.

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Unless the AC or heat is on, the EV will actually have more range in slow moving traffic like that!

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My Model 3 tells me where Tesla chargers are and provides directions through the GPS app. It’s up to me to actually drive there. I did not buy the (not)autopilot feature for $6000 though.

Tesla didn’t build multiple Gigaplants selling cheap cars.

Mine works the same way.

Unlike ICE powered cars, EV’s consume almost zero energy when they are not moving. On the freeway, a traffic jam can actually increase your range because of how slow if forces you to go. It takes very little energy to go slow and the range of an EV reflects that fact. EV drivers also pay dearly for the luxury of driving fast as this range vs speed graph shows.
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With an ICE car, the extra energy needed to go fast is offset somewhat by the engine being more efficient when operating at a more fully open throttle. Electric motors on the other hand have a nearly flat efficiency curve.

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I can’t wait to tell someone that the EPA measures EV range at 7 MPH!

Maybe, but the radio is still blasting, playing with the infotainment system, cell phone is being charged and either the heat or ac is still running… Funny thing is, I don’t think I have ever seen someone driving an EV with the windows down… So the battery is still being depleted… to some degree anyway…

The fact that the Tesla’s range decreases rapidly as you go slower than 20 mph probably indicates that it takes so little power to move the car that slow that the standby energy consumption starts to become a large percentage of the total energy consumed. If you go zero miles per hour, your range will be zero no matter how long the battery lasts with the car on.
The dramatic reduction in range when driven by a lead foot likely explains why most Tesla owners drive like grownups with nothing to prove.

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When I first bought my Model 3 I drove with two toes through the floorboard but I found that the instant torque allowed me to get off the line so much faster than everyone else while at the head of the line that I didn’t need to jackrabbit off the line to stay ahead of the traffic. Charging less frequently is also a part of it too. Same thing as ICE drivers and their gas mileage.

The power draw of the radio and cell phone charger is trivial, but heating and AC do consume a lot of power. Like I tell people, “it’s not the light bulbs that are running up your $200/month electric bill”.