FUD never rests

[John K]

Turning a fatal accident into fear pieces.

https://www.technicalripon.com/cars...-catastrophe-but-with-only-electric-vehicles/


Applefeed, Washington Post Opinion story
https://apple.news/AAxFLehJ0T1CAAM_rSViBLA

 

[CyberGus]

 

[CyberGus]

IDK who “technicalpiron.com” is pretending to be, but I counted them out when the article started with “It’s a scientific incontrovertible fact…”

Being stuck on the highway in a Tesla would be awesome. The “camp mode” uses about 1kW per hour, so a full pack is good for about 3 days. Plus I’ve got Netflix lol

Despite the article’s assertion, Teslas do not have a “warmth pump” to heat the battery, although the battery is warmed as needed. I believe normal operating temp is about 110°F.

 

[Bill906]

How about before posting the link you post just a screenshot of the article (It's fairly short). Then put a link to the article with instructions that say "If you feel this article deserves a click, please click here".

After reading the article I felt ashamed for giving them a click.

 

[CyberGus]

After reading the article I felt ashamed for giving them a click.

My Instagram is mostly shame and regret.

 

[CyberGus]

There's an interesting discussion about the winter storm over on TMC:

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/snow-storm.252778/

No one has yet claimed to have been stuck on I95, but there are other first-hand reports of using a Tesla in adverse weather.

 

[CyberGus]

Tesla Owners Worry About Winter. The EV Industry Is Working On it.
The Washington Post's opinion piece titled "Imagine Virginia’s icy traffic catastrophe—but with only electric vehicles" was a good thought experiment. The conclusion, however, isn't as dire as the headline suggests.
Al RootJan. 6, 2022 10:51 am ET

Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Imagine a world where electric vehicles replaced all conventional cars. It isn’t all that easy if you try.

Some are trying, though. The Washington Post published an opinion piece titled “Imagine Virginia’s icy traffic catastrophe—but with only electric vehicles.” Imagining the future is a good exercise investors should go through for any new, disruptive technology. The conclusions reached with this one, however, aren’t as dire as that headline suggests.

The main point of the opinion piece, which referenced an epic traffic jam earlier this week, appears to be that EVs lose range in the cold. The story is told through the lens of a bunch of dead batteries strewn about I-95 in wasteland of snow and ice.

Cold-weather range performance isn’t a revelation for EV buyers and drivers, but it still might surprise the driving public. EV penetration of new-car sales in the U.S. is very low at about 3%. EVs aren’t quite mainstream yet, so everyone has to learn the details of the new technology. For EVs, key information includes per-charge range, charging times, maintenance costs, resale values, as well as cold-weather performance.

Maintenance costs and resale values of EVs have an edge on conventional cars. EVs are easier to keep up and cheaper to fix, and used EVs have sell at a premium because they’re cheaper to charge than buying gas.

Anxiety over the range EVs have is still a thing, but it’s improving. That’s where the icy-thought experiment breaks down a little. In an all-EV-world, availability, infrastructure, and technology for charging would be very different from now.

All of the stalls in an EV world are plugs not pumps. And charging times are improving. The General Motors (ticker: GM) electric Silverado truck, unveiled Wednesday at CES, gets 100 miles of range after 10 minutes at a new, direct-current charger. That isn’t as fast as a fill up, but represents improvement with the past. Mercedes unveiled a concept car at CES that it expects to get 600 miles of range on one charge—in normal weather—without greatly increasing the size of the battery pack.

Cold weather remains a challenge for EVs. The issue is listed on the Tesla (TSLA) website. But companies are working on that, too. Tesla vehicles now have heat pumps to help maintain range in cold weather.

Ultimately, the success of any new disruptive technology comes down to whether or not it is better than the old, whether it makes people, and the economy, more productive in the end. For EV tech, will it become cheaper to purchase and stay cheaper to maintain and operate? What’s more, will battery-powered cars continue to add features, such as backup power for a house, that improves the overall consumer experience?

Those are better questions for a thought experiment. Investors can’t forget how dynamic technology tends to be. Don’t forget, President Benjamin Harrison refused to turn on electric lights, fearing electrocution. Lights got better. And, with improvement, they were much better, and safer, than candles and gas lamps.

Why does Barron’s care about icy opinion pieces at all? Stock prices of course. How broadly applicable EV technology is to the entire personal-transportation landscape impacts EV sales and sales growth. Tesla certainly wouldn’t be worth north of $1 trillion, the fifth most valuable company in the S&P 500, if its products couldn’t address the entire personal, and commercial, transportation landscape.

Tesla isn’t the only stock at risk. Most traditional auto makers, roughly speaking, believe half of new car sales will be all-electric by 2030 to 2035. GM wants to be an all-EV seller by 2035. Ford Motor (F) is targeting 40% of its new-car sales to be electric by 2030. The entire industry is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to make that happen. That money has already been committed and is being spent today. EVs better keep getting better, or the spending will be a colossal waste of money.

Write to Al Root at [email protected]

 

[Crissa]

People seem to forget:

• EVs don't need to idle to maintain their cabin temperature.
• EVs are usually heavier, heavier vehicles do better in icy conditions.
• Newer EVs mostly will tell you if you don't have the energy to reach your destination.
• EVs can stay on and heated (well, except the vw) while plugged in. All they need is a place to plug in, and they remain heated shelters in a storm.
• EVs while some have reduced range or power in cold weather, never have trouble starting back up in the cold. They are therefore less likely to strand people.

All in all, EVs are better in winter than ICE vehicles.

-Crissa

 

[CyberGus]

 

[CyberGus]

Local bakery truck gives out bread to stranded drivers in I-95 traffic jam
https://www.today.com/food/news/loc...ead-stranded-drivers-95-traffic-jam-rcna11075


They had bread and jam

Sweet

 

[nomadmusk]

Turning a fatal accident into fear pieces.

https://www.technicalripon.com/cars...-catastrophe-but-with-only-electric-vehicles/


Applefeed, Washington Post Opinion story
https://apple.news/AAxFLehJ0T1CAAM_rSViBLA

If anything this is a great way to advocate for vehicle to vehicle charging. Imagine police have power running at one end and all the cars are hooked together like power lines. All while they work to resolve the holdup, and you sit there watching Netflix with a USB popcorn maker

And all the more reason to get solar or wind working to super trickle charge the car in an emergency.

 

[John K]

Regarding the many hours people were stuck, I question emergency response action to clear the plug and route people stuck on possible turnouts. But, my personal hindsight does not know all the details.

 

[Crissa]

Regarding the many hours people were stuck, I question emergency response action to clear the plug and route people stuck on possible turnouts. But, my personal hindsight does not know all the details.

When it gets cold, it become difficult to move each of the vehicles as they becomes stuck on slippery patches that only get worse underneath the vehicles.

So sure, you release the first thing after waiting two hours for the right set of trucks... But then they have to set to getting each additional truck in the line un-stuck after that. And now that you're hours later, the weather may no longer match the mix of tires/vehicles that are on the road, leading to more stranded vehicles...

And then some segments of the road may become impassible at all. That happens regularly on the high mountain passes like I-80. They shut it to 'carrying traction' and then 'equipped traction' and then '4x4 with equipped traction' and then... No one can pass.

If that happens while there's a long line of cars, well, all those cars can be effectively trapped. In the passes along I-80 they have lots of extra charging so that EVs can just plug in and hunker down in parking lots. The motel parking lots fill with cars and people just sitting there - only the lucky ones will have rooms. The really unlucky ones can't get back to town.

It happens. I always carry blankets and water in my car ever since I went to University in the desert. I've had to add water to my battery or radiator more than I've every had to replace a busted tire!

It's so easy to get stuck somewhere waiting for help and it's up to you to keep yourself safe. EVs make this easier, in some ways. At least modern ones. My bike is pretty dead if it's dead ^-^; Sometimes the battery will recover after an hour or so.

-Crissa