I'm going to be a guest on a half hour radio segment on Tuesday, Feb 23, 2016 at 5pm Central. We will be discussing EVs and Tesla. It will be on KOPN 89.5 fm (News | KOPN 89.5 fm).
I'm putting together some general talking points based on what I expect to be discussed. I'm posting here for community review. Let me know if you think anything is missing, or wrong, or if you have any other relevant thoughts.
Here's my list so far:
Tesla / EV Talking Points
-------------------------
1) ICE / Hybrid / EV
* Hybrid has battery, regenerative braking, can use energy from regen to help power car. More efficient than ICE but still ultimately powered by gas.
* Plug-in Hybrid has bigger battery, can be plugged in. Can operate on battery alone in many cases until battery is depleted, then operates much like a hybrid. Powered by electricity and gas.
* EV powered entirely by battery.
* EV Pros/Cons
** Pros
*** No emissions (green, no local smog, no smell, can operate indoors)
*** Promise of low maintenance
*** More interior space
*** Quiet operation
*** Can refuel at home
** Cons
*** Battery cost
*** Range
*** Refuelling time
2) Efficiency in general vs cost. Break even?
* EVs more efficient than gas cars and generally cost less to fuel. How much can be saved depends on electricity rates and gas prices. An EV like the Leaf, if using average electricty cost in the US, would cost around $3.48 to travel 100 miles (based on Edmunds article).
** Discussion of MPGe?
*** Developed to provide comparison against traditional MPG.
**** Gallon of gas has 115K BTUs, the electricity equivalent is estimated at 33.7 kilowatt-hours.
3) On the market now?
* Gas/Hybrid cars of interest
** Prius
** Smart car
** Elio (not on market, but worth a mention)
* Plug-in hybrids
** Chevy: Volt
** Ford: Energi brand -- Fusion Energi, C-Max Energi
** Toyota: Prius Plug-In
** Honda: Accord Plug-In
** Hyundai: Sonata Plug-In
** Porsche: E-Hybrid brand
** Audi: A3 E-Tron
* EVs
** Nissan: Leaf
** Chevy: Spark EV, Bolt (on market soon)
** Ford: Focus EV
** Tesla: Roadster, Model S, Model X, Model 3 (coming soonish)
** BMW: i3
** Volkswagen: e-Golf (limited availability)
** Kia: Soul EV
** Smart: Smart Electric Drive
4) new and near term prototype attributes
* Auto-pilot
* Self-driving cars
* Gigafactory mention?
5) About Tesla...
* The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (8/2/2006)
** Build sports car
** Use that money to build an affordable car
** Use that money to build an even more affordable car
** While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options
* The Green Argument
** Rising CO2 levels a concern. All our eggs are in one basket.
** Experts overwhelmingly say it's a problem.
** Need to move away from fossil fuels someday anyway.
* Don't build green cars; build great cars. Doesn't matter who buys into the green argument; everyone wins.
* Subsidies?
** EV tax credit -- no direct funding to Tesla, benefit goes to buyers, This is not a subsidy, but a tax credit -- the government is not giving out money, they are taking less.
** CARB green car credits -- California regulations requiring manufacturers to build low emission vehicles. Manufacturers can buy and sell credits from each other. Telsa being entirely zero emission has plenty of credits to sell.
** ATV loan (Advanced Technology Vehicles loan) -- Tesla was granted an ATV loan of 465 million, which has already been paid back in full with interest. Nissan and Ford also received loans.
** Gigafactory deal -- this is primarily tax abatements over a 20 year time span that require Tesla to meet commitments investing in manufacturing equipment, property, etc.
* The Long Tailpipe?
** Eliminating emissions entirely will require addressing energy production in addition to energy consumption. Tesla is helping on this front as well.
*** PowerWall and PowerPack (and the Gigafactory)
*** SolarCity connections
** In the meantime, EVs are still cleaner than gas cars according to almost all studies.
* Tackling the EV Cons
** Battery Cost -- Gigafactory
** Range -- Bigger batteries and the Supercharger network
** Refuelling time -- Supercharger network
I'm putting together some general talking points based on what I expect to be discussed. I'm posting here for community review. Let me know if you think anything is missing, or wrong, or if you have any other relevant thoughts.
Here's my list so far:
Tesla / EV Talking Points
-------------------------
1) ICE / Hybrid / EV
* Hybrid has battery, regenerative braking, can use energy from regen to help power car. More efficient than ICE but still ultimately powered by gas.
* Plug-in Hybrid has bigger battery, can be plugged in. Can operate on battery alone in many cases until battery is depleted, then operates much like a hybrid. Powered by electricity and gas.
* EV powered entirely by battery.
* EV Pros/Cons
** Pros
*** No emissions (green, no local smog, no smell, can operate indoors)
*** Promise of low maintenance
*** More interior space
*** Quiet operation
*** Can refuel at home
** Cons
*** Battery cost
*** Range
*** Refuelling time
2) Efficiency in general vs cost. Break even?
* EVs more efficient than gas cars and generally cost less to fuel. How much can be saved depends on electricity rates and gas prices. An EV like the Leaf, if using average electricty cost in the US, would cost around $3.48 to travel 100 miles (based on Edmunds article).
** Discussion of MPGe?
*** Developed to provide comparison against traditional MPG.
**** Gallon of gas has 115K BTUs, the electricity equivalent is estimated at 33.7 kilowatt-hours.
3) On the market now?
* Gas/Hybrid cars of interest
** Prius
** Smart car
** Elio (not on market, but worth a mention)
* Plug-in hybrids
** Chevy: Volt
** Ford: Energi brand -- Fusion Energi, C-Max Energi
** Toyota: Prius Plug-In
** Honda: Accord Plug-In
** Hyundai: Sonata Plug-In
** Porsche: E-Hybrid brand
** Audi: A3 E-Tron
* EVs
** Nissan: Leaf
** Chevy: Spark EV, Bolt (on market soon)
** Ford: Focus EV
** Tesla: Roadster, Model S, Model X, Model 3 (coming soonish)
** BMW: i3
** Volkswagen: e-Golf (limited availability)
** Kia: Soul EV
** Smart: Smart Electric Drive
4) new and near term prototype attributes
* Auto-pilot
* Self-driving cars
* Gigafactory mention?
5) About Tesla...
* The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (8/2/2006)
** Build sports car
** Use that money to build an affordable car
** Use that money to build an even more affordable car
** While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options
* The Green Argument
** Rising CO2 levels a concern. All our eggs are in one basket.
** Experts overwhelmingly say it's a problem.
** Need to move away from fossil fuels someday anyway.
* Don't build green cars; build great cars. Doesn't matter who buys into the green argument; everyone wins.
* Subsidies?
** EV tax credit -- no direct funding to Tesla, benefit goes to buyers, This is not a subsidy, but a tax credit -- the government is not giving out money, they are taking less.
** CARB green car credits -- California regulations requiring manufacturers to build low emission vehicles. Manufacturers can buy and sell credits from each other. Telsa being entirely zero emission has plenty of credits to sell.
** ATV loan (Advanced Technology Vehicles loan) -- Tesla was granted an ATV loan of 465 million, which has already been paid back in full with interest. Nissan and Ford also received loans.
** Gigafactory deal -- this is primarily tax abatements over a 20 year time span that require Tesla to meet commitments investing in manufacturing equipment, property, etc.
* The Long Tailpipe?
** Eliminating emissions entirely will require addressing energy production in addition to energy consumption. Tesla is helping on this front as well.
*** PowerWall and PowerPack (and the Gigafactory)
*** SolarCity connections
** In the meantime, EVs are still cleaner than gas cars according to almost all studies.
* Tackling the EV Cons
** Battery Cost -- Gigafactory
** Range -- Bigger batteries and the Supercharger network
** Refuelling time -- Supercharger network
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