All throughout their development, electric vehicles (EVs) have been criticized by skeptics of not having a comparable range to gas powered vehicles. However, the CEO and founder of Tesla Motors stated that his company will create an EV with a 500 mile range. A vehicle with that range will be twice as effective as the latest Tesla car, the Model S. Musk stated that his company already has the technology to manufacturer the EV. The owner of the company continued to describe that they could have a car available with this range “fairly soon” but it will be more expensive. Over time, as Tesla Motors improves and turns a profit, the company suggests that car with a 500 mile range will be made available at a reasonable price.
Estimations have been made about the price an EV with this type of range could be considering that the base price of the Model S is $69,000, and the performance model is well above average at $93,000, with this in mind, the estimations are somewhere around $180,000. Batteries are a significant part of that cost. Musk explained that Tesla Motors has the highest energy density battery in existence, twice as effective as the one utilized in the Nissan LEAF, however that is precisely why the Model S costs twice as much as the LEAF.
Musk expressed that even though Tesla Motors have the technology to create an EV with a 500 mile range, they are going to wait until their less ambitious and more affordable models garner success and profit for the company. Tesla’s new Model |||, a rival to the BMW Series 3, will have a range of 200 miles and will cost about $35,000, much closer to the average price of an automobile in today’s market.
Observers have guessed that the 500 mile range capabilities will be made available to the Model S and Model ||| as an add-on. The Tesla Motors CEO also offered insight into why he first started Tesla and where his passion for electric vehicles began. Musk admitted that his interest began while he was in college and he always found it odd that it was accepted practice that gas is utilized to power cars. He expected that major automotive factors would make the switch to electricity, but when they didn’t, he took matters into his own hands and founded Tesla Motors.
Musk also described other factors that contribute to a car’s range other than the capabilities of the battery. Factors like the car’s weight, motor efficiency, and gearbox. He stated that during a recent drag competition, his company’s product won with a drag coefficient of 0.24. When asked what he intends to do if his cars become so popular that Superchargers are always busy, Musk stated that his company will always have more Superchargers than the people’s needs. Also, Superchargers will have the ability to notify drivers whether there is a queue at the station, and redirect them to the nearest one. Only time will tell whether Elon Musk will follow through on what he said about Tesla Motors creating an EV with a 500 mile range, but the company has expressed their confidence in their ability.
By Andres Loubriel
Sources:
AutoExpress
DigitalTrends
World Car Fans
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10 Responses
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I wouldn’t bet against Tesla
Very good perspectivs for EVs .
I received my Tesla model S in June and it is amazing. I am an engineer and can tell that it was made to function; not made to a price point like other American vehicles. It was made to be the best car it can be with the current technology. How refreshing. It is more like an aerospace project than a car. Go drive one and you with see how practical it is. Then you might vote with your dollars for the future like I did. I know not everyone can afford one, but I made the stretch and I couldn’t be happier.
If the battery is about ¼ the total cost, as suggested by exec Straubel, that’s about 20K on the average 85 kWh car. Double that adds another 20K to the total. 180K is ridiculous.
Mr. Musk,
Our team of engineers have a proposal for your quick charge EV stations in Calif.
that I’m sure you will like. Please call or email.
Thanks,
Jon Gardner
The very source you linked at the bottom of the article shows that nobody said anything about “will create.” I would imagine that’s why you didn’t put it in quotes, because it’s a complete fabrication.
The actual exchange went:
“How far will a battery-powered car be able to go?
It will be possible to have a 500-mile range car. In fact we could do it quite soon, but it would increase the price. Over time you could expect to have that kind of range.”
This is in line with ALL of Elon’s former commentary on this subject, which is that it’s entirely possible to make a 500 mile car, but that it would make the car horribly expensive and wouldn’t be practical, so they didn’t do it. Because there’s no reason to do so. He acknowledges that under some future paradigm maybe this sort of thing will happen, but under the current one it wouldn’t make any sense. This is a shorter answer than he usually gives, and it’s too bad that he gave it, because it apparently allowed people who don’t know a lot about the industry or the company to post completely inaccurate headlines about it.
Please edit your headline, or simply delete this article since it seems to have been pretty much made up.
That’s some pretty fancy math on those estimations there. You do realise that there’s more to a car than the battery, right? There are things like seats, windows, wheels, suspension, GPS, airbags, seatbelts, headlights, heater, speakers, tail lights, air conditioning, radio, steering wheel, gauge clusters, floors, doors, door handles, leather, armrests, gloveboxes, fans, pedals, keys, motors, and last but not least, cupholders. Your ‘estimate’ of $180,000 is just ridiculous. Just because it has twice the range, it does not mean it will be twice the price.
I won’t even tackle that whole thing about the LEAF. That’s just inane and lazy reporting.
The estimations were based on the regular version not the performance vehicle which is just under 69,000. So it is slight over double the price. FYI, as the reporter on this story, I did not do the estimations myself.
However, the Model S does have seats, windows, wheels, suspension, GPS, airbags, seatbelts, headlights, heater, speakers, tail lights, air conditioning, radio, steering wheel, gauge clusters, floors, doors, door handles, leather, armrests, gloveboxes, fans, pedals, keys, motors, and last but not least, cupholders, so if you were making an estimation based on the Model S price (which has all of the above amenities included), it’s fair to assume that the price of these things during the construction will be relatively the same and therefore can judge the increase based on the power capabilities since the cost of the plastic cup holders are made of is not likely to increase as much as a twice as powerful battery.
All of what was said about the Nissan Leaf is taken from what Musk said in the interview with AutoExpress. I would suggest reading the sources of articles beforehand.
Go Elon.