Solar Power sounds good. How ever, producing the batteries, is not so good to the enviornment, or to people. And when these battery operated vehicles crash, and they do, burning and or exploding batteries really sucks to the rescue personel, and the vehicle recovery people. And where are we putting these damaged, leaking "super batteries"?
Like Willtill, I feel what some perceive as healthy, may be unhealthy to me; as it relates to the end game.
These complaints sound pretty antiquated. You could almost substitute the same arguments from the time we went from horse drawn carriages to automobiles. "They're so dangerous. I don't trust the technology. When they crash gas is highly flammable and can explode." It sounds like garden variety resistance to change without much reason.
Jason
Well, plenty of actual crash videos on line, and fire dept test crashes, showing the difficulties of putting out these type fires. Firefighters must wear masks and respirators. Some of the chemicals in the electric fires cannot be extinguished with water, must use special foams, then must call in Haz-Mat teams for final cleaning of crash sites, etc. That's not "garden variety" resistance. I'm not against progress, but these are real issues.
Read the article published today by Barrons..It pretty much tells it like it is and I totally tend to agree...The major players in the automobile industry, Mercedes. BMW, Ford, GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, etc. will crush Tesla's efforts very soon..Tesla is burning way to much cash, has to many challenges in the future, does not have enough production to make a dent in the industry, etc. etc. Musk is a typical "BS" artist and when he loses taxpayer support and other incentives...Goodbye!!...Most other car makers already have electric cars, self driving cars, and battery technology that matches that of Tesla, better dealer networks, and cars that many can afford...The "big-rig" concept for over the road driving is a joke...Ask most truckers about this monster....Not against improving technology and future advances, just a little tired of government/tax payer money going to support this guy!!!....JMHO and ride safe
Opus, I'll read the article per your suggestion. And I think some of your observations have merit. The production bottlenecks are a definite problem, and if he has trouble with his lower end model selling, I agree with you that could be a big problem for his business. But if other automakers end up swallowing him up, then it will partially be with the help of his technology through his released patents that they do so. Calling him a BS artist might be one of the biggest underestimations I've seen. He literally built the first ever reusable rocket with his company space x. Interesting dude. You should read his Wiki.
Jason
I'm not saying there aren't new adaptations required for electric, jm21. I'm just saying that's always the case with every new thing. Just imagine yourself as a horse drawn carriage passenger who saw your first automobile fire on a road. You'd probably think it was pretty dramatic, and much more dangerous than a carriage, and that would never happen with a carriage. And you'd be right. But would that have been a good enough reason to stem progress? I don't think so then or now.
Jason
Just curious, how many horses crashed and burned. How many single horse and buggy fatalities were there? I know we'll never know the truth but your sarcastic response is technically true.
eta. In fact, just this past weekend in my town, a dangerous and highly combustible automobile just sent a young girl on a helicopter ride to a hospital because it struck the horse drawn carriage. Which one is more dangerous?