Would a solar generator power a Tesla?

[israndy]

I also wouldn't want idle solar panels sitting on my car when my battery is full...

If you get the 1000 mile unit the panels will always be feeding the battery unless you stop driving for a month.
If you driving 200 miles a day you won't need to charge every day, with the solar you may only need to charge once a week.

I've been following Aptera for years[...]If you don't have a motorcycle license, you will need to get one.

That's not true for every state, in most it just needs to be registered as a motorcycle, but yes, some states require you wear a helmet and won't let three-wheeled cars on the highway, I am looking at you Alabama, or was it Arkansas...

I am sure with all the new 3-wheelers on the way (Electra Meccanica SOLO, Nobe, Polaris, Elio, Vanderhall, Sondors, Arcimoto, Bricklin) there will be people demanding change to these outdated laws.

 

[nwdiver]

If you get the 1000 mile unit the panels will always be feeding the battery unless you stop driving for a month.
If you driving 200 miles a day you won't need to charge every day, with the solar you may only need to charge once a week.

... if I still need to plug in what's the benefit? This isn't about solar powered vs not solar powered. This is about investing in solar on a roof vs solar on a car with a battery that might be full or parked in a garage...

IMHO it's easier to just plug in as a habit than to have to remember that I need to charge. If I'm only driving ~10 miles per day on average the wouldn't the battery be full after ~3 hours.... what about the rest of the day? Then if I don't have any place to be the next couple days?

 

[israndy]

The battery would be full in ~3 hours IF the battery was full when you left for the drive. But with a 1000 mile battery, it could be weeks until the battery is full. That's the point, you basically never need to plug-in unless you are on a road trip or not driving for weeks at a stretch.

I am not hoping all cars go this way. I understand the habit of plugging in to charge means you always have enough charge the following day, but both of our cars don't get plugged in often, usually, the Tesla goes on a road trip every week or so and gets charged as part of that adventure, and the iMiev gets charged every few weeks when the battery gets slow, so no habit of plugging in for us. I am thinking about replacing the iMiev with the Aptera, then I wouldn't think about plugging it in at all

 

[rjpryan]

I actually tried charging my Model S off of my Goal Zero Yeti 3000, and it doesn’t work. The Yeti batteries don’t really have grounded outlets, and the Tesla charging adapter doesn’t like that, so it refused to even let me try when I plugged it in. I suspect you’d have to figure out a way to get a grounded outlet for it to work.

 

[qdeathstar]

I know people that have made similar comments 100% believing it to be true. That you literally need a ~football field of solar panels to make a dent in your electric bill.

Charging an EV with solar panels isn't exactly convenient but it's not as impossible as you would think.

View attachment 617336

Well that looks ridiculous....

 

[qdeathstar]

I actually tried charging my Model S off of my Goal Zero Yeti 3000, and it doesn’t work. The Yeti batteries don’t really have grounded outlets, and the Tesla charging adapter doesn’t like that, so it refused to even let me try when I plugged it in. I suspect you’d have to figure out a way to get a grounded outlet for it to work.

Drive a ground rod and bond the generator to the ground rod.

 

[Earl]

Goal Zeros are absurdly expensive. An Eco Flow can accomplish the same for ~half the price.

Yes; Both can charge your Tesla but with the most solar you can cram onto that generator you're only going to get ~10 miles/day at most and the internal battery will only give you an additional ~3 miles of range.

ECOFLOW Portable Power Station EFDELTA, UPS Power Supply 1260Wh Battery Pack with 6 1800W (3300W Surge)

My EcoFlow Delta Pro just arrived today. I was able to charge our Model 3 at 2.8 kW (~10 mph) with the TT-30 outlet. I had to craft a bonded neutral-ground plug to put into one of the NEMA 5-20 outlets as it didn't like the grounding without it.