Recent content by Darko

Love it! I've been in the doubter camp of a primary battery swap ever since the idea was floated, but I have to say this is the first conceptualization of it that seems to make any real sense to me beyond mere symbolism - it's the equivalent of AAA for EVs. Show me the techiest Go Go Gadget...

Actually I think we're the children, here in these forums hyperventilating with anticipation.

You want a conspiracy theory? - there's a high-density range-extending battery already in the car's architecture that maybe needs to be changed out after 1000 or 5000 miles or so after the recharging degrades- I know I'll get a thousand replies as to why this is not possible, and I don't know...

Agreed, there's definitely more to it than the conventional wisdom so far. There has been a rush to consensus that battery swapping refers to the main battery because of some perceived smoking gun quote- I just don't see it, not because it wouldn't be possible for Tesla to demonstrate some...

Just to propose a balance between waitlist vs. immediate gratification, it appears Tesla doesn't want to become just another carmaker with dealerships that have massive lots full of unsold cars, and instead give buyers the opportunity to custom-order their car in exchange for an acceptable wait...

Um, I think ckessel was saying exactly that the short-term data doesn't matter, good or bad, which is taking a bit of breath....I think your beef is with the previous post.

+1 And if not why not?

No, actually I heard an Audi or something. Did they have a McLaren F1 also? Aiming high... I guess the takeaway is that Tesla has the serious attention of some major carmakers, and the ones that it doesn't are toast.

Certainly, and I remember someone mentioning that even Tesla at one point had some topline German car in their design studio to compare - don't think they were running electrical diagnostics though.

Oh man that's funny, not least because as you tell it the guy was so open as to what he was doing. I imagine Tesla has already assumed this though - two cars to each major car manufacturer, one to do a teardown and one to analyze the performance. What's that, maybe fifty cars in extra sales -...

Ting Louie, Personally I agree with JohnQ that most of the things you list are bells and whistles of lesser importance to me, but everyone has a different opinion and certainly if you want those features you'd be better off with other luxury car brands. I do find it curious, however that on...

Actually, I think your photo series confirms my point that they started out with a lot of available area for venting between the nose, the underside and the two side intakes, and in the end covered up the majority of the nosecone. Yes, the heat exchangers still need some airflow, but for the...

Using the same comparative logic, 55 seems too high, as it is only 5 kWh less than the Model S 60 that already gets 208 EPA, especially if as jdevo suggests the cell efficiency increases, thereby creating compounding gains on battery weight through fewer cells per equal kWh rating. 50kWh sounds...

Although I think overall Tesla's done a fantastic job with the design, the nose is the weakest part, where they capitulated to convention. My understanding is that an electric car needs some intake, but comparatively little to an aspirating ICE engine. I don't know what the Alpha looked like...

My pocketbook will keep me waiting for Gen III, but I'm jealous of all you Roadster and Model S owners who, over the next 3 years as the supercharger networks expand will be taking roadtrips all across the North American and European continents - the conversion won't happen overnight per se, but...