Check my math - Tesla CO2 footprint

[Shock-On-T]

Don't forget that this early work Tesla is doing will hasten the transition to electric for all road transport.

Thanks to Tesla this transition will occur early than it otherwise would have.

The CO2 savings of moving all cars to electric earlier is almost incalculable.

 

[OBX John]

I wish I could figure out the total energy and CO2 costs of manufacturing my 8kw solar array and coming Tesla. It seems that would be by total lifetime expenditure if I considered them as a complete transportation system with the grid acting as storage for the solar output.

I'm sure I'm going to run into naysayers with ICEs who claim that I'm not really saving anything due to the high upfront energy costs to produce the cells and battery.

 

[dhrivnak]

The up front is not my ch larger than a similar ICE car and large standby generator. They have yet to show s credible study showing why the manufacturing footprint of a Tesla is more than a Mercedes S class

 

[Shock-On-T]

You don't have to save CO2 emissions for buying a Tesla to be worthwhile.
Just by supporting the company you are moving everyone toward electric vehicles sooner, so will be saving CO2 in the long run, regardless of your individual contribution.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Eg. the first Roadsters were nowhere near carbon neutral because of all the work and building that went into creating such a small number of vehicles.
But they enabled the Model S to exist, which will in turn enable the Model 3.
So focusing on one particular car's carbon contribution misses the larger picture.
Having said that, my Model S replaced a car that I used to burn 3,000kg of diesel per year. I'm planning to keep it for about 5 years before selling, so will have left 15,000kg of diesel unburned. Also whoever buys my car second hand will do the same for many more years.

 

[Missile Toad]

My back-of the envelope calculations based on a power generating fleet chiefly of natural gas, wind and coal (in roughly that order) was I was offsetting some $2,000-8,000 in carbon during 10 year ownership of the car. A side benefit, is that the local Houston industry already puts a bunch of other stuff in the air, so I'm subtracting smog-precursors (ozone), and other smelly fumes.... so my next door neighbors get a little bit out of that.

However, I also knew, going into it, that the car, itself, is a powerful symbol of an upwards facing arc of innovation and the deflationary effect that technology places on the manufacturing (at scale) of the new stuff. In other words, it is a way to tell people, "hey, its coming. And I'm driving the prototype.". So, its as if the car, itself, were a bumper sticker.

 

[Topher]

Is there really nearly $2 per gallon of petroleum subsidies?

No. More like $8 per gallon (of one sort or another).

Thank you kindly

 

[SageBrush]

No. More like $8 per gallon (of one sort or another).

Thank you kindly

I was wrong. I thought you would say "yes, and another $6 additional." ;-)