The Electric Vehicle Thread

[Koolau]

Clearly I took too much chemistry in school.

I read the above as "Amazon Gold" and "EBay Gold". Figured it was gold plated battery terminals or something.

Imagine me (as chemist) trying to figure out pb4uski's name! I should have been more literal and less scientific, I guess. YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

I have to agree, and Musk would be better off if he kept his mouth shut and didn't make promises he could not keep, and he made plenty already.

But, but, but there are plenty of people who think that only Tesla has the technology in certain areas, such as self-driving cars. Or in battery technology. And that's because of Musk's statements that they take as gospel.

Musk's sales pitch is a big part of Tesla's success. His Twitt will continue to work until it doesn't.

 

[Koolau]

But, but, but there are plenty of people who think that only Tesla has the technology in certain areas, such as self-driving cars. Or in battery technology. And that's because of Musk's statements that they take as gospel.

Musk's sales pitch is a big part of Tesla's success. His Twitt will continue to work until it doesn't.

I sense that Musk is trying to do too many things at once. He probably has good project leaders on some things but maybe not on all things. I don't underestimate him, but I think he's stretched too thin - but YMMV.

 

[aja8888]

I sense that Musk is trying to do too many things at once. He probably has good project leaders on some things but maybe not on all things. I don't underestimate him, but I think he's stretched too thin - but YMMV.

He had enough free time to have 5 sons (from his ex wife) and another son (from a girlfriend) so he didn't spend all his time on the factory floor. Oh, he did free up some time when he divorced his wife who has the 5 sons. Plus he has been married three (?) times (twice to the same lady) during all of this.

 

[Fermion]

He had enough free time to have 5 sons (from his ex wife) and another son (from a girlfriend) so he didn't spend all his time on the factory floor. Oh, he did free up some time when he divorced his wife who has the 5 sons. Plus he has been married three (?) times (twice to the same lady) during all of this.

Like, when does he sleep?

 

[Koolau]

He had enough free time to have 5 sons (from his ex wife) and another son (from a girlfriend) so he didn't spend all his time on the factory floor. Oh, he did free up some time when he divorced his wife who has the 5 sons. Plus he has been married three (?) times (twice to the same lady) during all of this.

I have too many smart alec responses to pick just one. But, seriously, some folks are just by nature "over achievers" in many aspects of their lives. I've always envied such folks - sort of. YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

Away from Tesla and Musk, I read yesterday that Audi plans to have 20 EV models by 2025, plus 15 hybrid models.

What the heck? How many models Audi has in total? This probably means Audi will make no pure 100% ICE cars.

What will be interesting to watch is the development of the infrastructure to support all this EV charging. Not just in the US but also Europe, where they are back to burning coal in power plants to meet demand.

I want to look into investing in the grid build up. No matter who wins in the EV making business, they still need the grid to plug their EV into. Heh heh heh...

 

[explanade]

Steve Jobs had no engineering training.

But he could demo and sell technology from the stage because he shaped the technology that he approved.

He was a great editor, killing many projects and getting into the minutiae of the ones he approved. He didn’t write code or sketch the design of iPhones. Instead he directed how the user experience would work and chose how it should work for the user.

I’ve no doubt he chose how the pinch zoom and swipe scrolling would work, right down to how fast it would scroll, the scrolling momentum effect it would have when you did a long swipe.

His engineers didn’t question his lack of technical chops — the ones who did were purged.

The ones who were left bought into his guidance on these aspects of product design.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have read the biography "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson. Jobs was described as someone obsessed with minutiae. It's not just with Apple products, but with other things in his life. For example, he was personally involved in the interior design of his private jet, and was picky even to the doorknob of the lavatory.

He was probably more right than wrong about the user interface of Apple products. I don't really know because I have used only a couple of Apple products. I read that Jobs was against making the iPhone larger to match Samsung smartphones. He said that nobody would want a phone that large, that they could not use with just one hand. Only after Jobs' death that Apple could grow the iPhone larger.

I just looked at iPhone sizes, and the above seems to be true. The iPhone grew larger starting with the iPhone 5 in 2012. Jobs died in 2011.

 

[Samsung4321]

Inventors who choose salary over intellectual property consign intellectual property rights to employer. Some inventions require R&D risk capital beyond the individual inventor's grasp.

The public are mainly capital and income deficient and indebted consumers - for whom capital has more cachet than embedded technology.

 

[Samsung4321]

iPhone grew larger starting with the iPhone 5 in 2012. Jobs died in 2011.

Wright brothers advocating wing warping vs ailerons.

 

[travelover]

My take on these modern oligarchs is that there is a difference between intelligence and wisdom. Musk is very intelligent.

 

[Sunset]

An indelicate question for Tesla owners (okay, ICE owners as well): Where is the bathroom? Stuck in traffic on I95 doesn't offer much privacy. Stuck that long, I would be upset and my wife would be hysterical without facilities. YMMV

We carry this in our van, so don't have to go outside. Haven't used it, but it's reassuring:

 

[Midpack]

Judging by the growth of Apple during his tenure and the revolutionary products introduced under his leadership, one can safely conclude he was right way more often than not, and when/where it mattered most. The world benefits from the Jobs, Musks, Gates and others that come along every so often. No one is perfect, we all have idiosyncrasies and blind spots. Pointing them out misses the big picture.

 

[zinger1457]

Judging by the growth of Apple during his tenure and the revolutionary products introduced under his leadership, one can safely conclude he was right way more often than not, and when/where it mattered most. The world benefits from the Jobs, Musks, Gates and others that come along every so often. No one is perfect, we all have idiosyncrasies and blind spots. Pointing them out misses the big picture.

Agree, when you reach the top in any field there always seems to be an effort to cut them back down and focus on the negatives.

 

[NW-Bound]

People tend to forget that these successful people are businessmen first. Their motivation is financial reward and personal satisfaction. And because their products are useful, they are amply rewarded. There's no need to worship them on an altar.

There were other leaders in technology who were as influential, but not known in the public. They were not as rich, did not tweet (or predated Twitter), hence not talked about as often. How many laymen know about the leaders at Intel and various companies that make the chips that we depend so much on? How many people know about Linus Torvalds? These others don't crave the limelight, and they are not the flamboyant, attention-seeking type.

Revering these businessmen will cause people to put side blinders on and neglect other contributors/competitors in the same field. How many times have I seen statements to the effect that nobody else but Tesla knows about self-driving cars, or can build batteries for EV? They seem ignorant that Mobileye built the first self-driving hardware for Tesla, and the lithium cells were made by Panasonic. And Tesla now buys lithium cells from the Chinese.

These guys are good, but why should anyone believe everything they say without daring to question it, or to look out to see what someone else is also doing?

 

[Midpack]

If it makes you feel better to point out the shortcomings of people like Jobs and Musk, help yourself. It's not a matter of 'daring to question' or 'worshiping' anyone at all. I am way more interested in how the technology of EVs is developing than who likes to pick out doorknobs...

 

[NW-Bound]

All this was started when aja8888 shared an article about Mobileye and self-driving technology. Then, a post was made which called Mobileye a Tesla wannabe. Whenever I tried to set the record straight, people did not like it.

It went downhill from there. I did not start it.

EV and SDC technologies are interesting and important and involve a lot more than Tesla and Musk. Unfortunately, it's hard to get people's attention away from Tesla and Musk.

 

[Chuckanut]

People tend to forget that these successful people are businessmen first. Their motivation is financial reward and personal satisfaction. And because their products are useful, they are amply rewarded. There's no need to worship them on an altar.

Emphasis added

For a minute I thought you were writing about athletes, entertainers, and pets.

Back on topic:

Rivian is apparently going to sponsor charging stations in some of the National Parks.

https://electrek.co/2022/01/13/rivi...national-parks-for-nonprofit-adopt-a-charger/

EV charging nonprofit Adopt A Charger has announced a collaboration with American automaker Rivian to provide free Waypoint chargers to the public in Yosemite National Park and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).

Current and future Rivian drivers alike can take advantage of the automaker’s Adventure Network – its own plexus of charging piles aptly named “Waypoints.” Last summer, we learned that Rivian was working with US park services to deploy Waypoints in state and national parks beginning with Tennessee and Colorado. Very fitting for the adventure-focused brand.

 

[NW-Bound]

Rivian is apparently going to sponsor charging stations in some of the National Parks.

https://electrek.co/2022/01/13/rivi...national-parks-for-nonprofit-adopt-a-charger/

Free is good, for EV owners that is. I am curious how much electricity they can bring into the park, and whether they will need new transmission lines and a substation.

And talking about electricity, the EU is now considering adding natural gas and nuclear power to the list of green energy sources. Some are crying foul.

 

[JoeWras]

Imagine me (as chemist) trying to figure out pb4uski's name! I should have been more literal and less scientific, I guess. YMMV

Ha ha ha! "Lead for u skis!"

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Ha ha ha! "Lead for u skis!"

That is the way I read it for quite a few weeks!

 

[travelover]

..... How many times have I seen statements to the effect that nobody else but Tesla knows about self-driving cars, or can build batteries for EV? ......

Yup. I recall hearing a tour leader at Henry Ford Museum talk about "when Henry invented the automobile".

 

[aja8888]

All this was started when aja8888 shared an article about Mobileye and self-driving technology. Then, a post was made which called Mobileye a Tesla wannabe. Whenever I tried to set the record straight, people did not like it.

It went downhill from there. I did not start it.

EV and SDC technologies are interesting and important and involve a lot more than Tesla and Musk. Unfortunately, it's hard to get people's attention away from Tesla and Musk.

I apologize.....profusely!

 

[NW-Bound]

Rivian is apparently going to sponsor charging stations in some of the National Parks.

https://electrek.co/2022/01/13/rivi...national-parks-for-nonprofit-adopt-a-charger/

These free chargers are Level 2 and provide only 25 miles of range per hour of charging. I wonder what will be done to prevent a car owner for hogging a charging station all day.

Out of curiosity, I went on Rivian Web site, and learned about their planned supercharger network.

* Exclusively for Rivian owners

* 3,500+ DC fast chargers at approximately 600 sites in US and Canada by end of 2023

* Up to 140 miles of range in 20 minutes for R1T and R1S

* Automatic charging, just pull up and plug in

* In-vehicle nav automatically plans charging

* Charging output of over 200 kW initially and 300 kW+ in the future

* Powered by 100% renewable energy

The 200-kW power is impressive. I wonder where they will get the renewable juice. It's probably by contracting with grid suppliers who have windmills.

Rivian also plans a larger network of Level 2 chargers, this one opened to the public.

Rivian is going to spend a lot of cash. It blew more than $2 billion last year, and still has $17 billion on hand.

* 10,000+ Level 2 chargers planned in US and Canada by end of 2023

* At shops, restaurants, hotels, parks and more

* Automatic charging for Rivian drivers, just pull up and plug in

* Open to the public for EVs using the J1772 plug

* 11.5 kW capable