Cartwright-I love Tesla’s concept, and I love what Elon Musk is doing. They’re making beautiful cars, and I want them to succeed. I love the fact that electric cars don’t emit the greenhouse gases that gas guzzling cars do. It’s a plus for the environment. Do I think we’ll all be driving electric cars anytime soon? No. The average consumer isn’t in love with the idea of electric cars and doesn’t want to be restricted to only going three hundred miles before you have to stop and recharge for an hour or whatever. It’s much easier to hop in your gas guzzler, hit the road, and stop every so often for five or ten minutes to fill up with gas then be back on your way. That’s just the reality of it. If Tesla, or anyone else for that matter, wants to bring electric cars to the forefront, they are going to have to improve the batter capacity and the charging times. More importantly, they are going to have to vastly increase the charging stations. As it is, if you have a Tesla and you’re traveling north and south on I-95, you have to map out when and where you’re going to stop to recharge. If you get off the main roads, you’re definitely going to have to plan your trip very well. The majority of people don’t want to have to worry about that; they want to get in their cars and go. If Tesla or another electric car maker can overcome this, good for them. The world will probably be a better place.

But let’s also consider the impact of more people going to electric cars. They use electric, right? They have to be charged and pull electric from the power grid, right? As more and more people hook up their electric cars to the grid, the strain on the electric grid increases and the power companies must generate more electricity. We know the power grid has some serious weaknesses and needs significant attention and investment. If there’s a large increase in demand and the capacity isn’t there, we’re in trouble. Remember the brownouts in California in the late 1990s and early 2000s? How are the power companies going to generate more power for the increased demand stemming from electric cars? More nuclear power plants? More coal fired plants? More wind or solar? Hydroelectric? It will take substantial investment in more electric generating infrastructure and that can also have an impact on the environment. Something to think about.

Gastonia, NC Correspondent-I see an unlimited top end for Elon Musk’s wild child of a carmaker, Tesla. One of the reasons is that while other carmakers that have dabbled in battery-powered vehicles have largely used existing technology without really trying to improve upon what’s available, Tesla is putting significant funds into research into battery technology that have already dramatically increased the range of the company’s vehicles between charges. Continue reading →