Elon Musk is being interviewed tonight at the D11 conference, and gave an early preview of news coming tomorrow: his company’s Supercharger EV stations will be available in more areas soon. The network will triple its coverage area this month, and he predicts Tesla owners will be able to drive from LA to NY using only Superchargers by the end of 2013. As he mentions, the company is adding more density to “well-traveled routes”, as well as increasing overall coverage, but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get a map. That’s all consistent with promises made at the network’s launch, when he said it will allow the Model S to drive across the country for free. Another thing making that easier is an incoming software patch for the cars that will let drivers route directly to the nearest Supercharger — perhaps Tesla can get John Broder to give it a shot first.
There’s going to be a dramatic acceleration of the supercharging network. By the end of next month, we’ll triple the supercharger coverage area. There’s a map that’ll go live tomorrow, obviously.
By the end of this year — you’ll be able to drive from LA to NY just using the supercharger network. We’re improving the density of superchargers in well-traveled routes, as well as the overall coverage area.
Ambitious plans to make electric cars as quick to refuel as their gas counterparts, by setting up a huge network of swap-out battery stations, have ended in liquidation, as Better Place folds up after chewing through $850m in investment. “After a year’s commercial operation,” the company said on Sunday, “it was clear to us that … wider public take up would not be sufficient and that the support from car producers was not forthcoming.” Better Place’s most recent funding chase proved a tougher sell than earlier rounds, and there’s no longer sufficient cash to keep things operational.
While most EV range extension schemes have focused on fast-charging battery technology, Better Place took an altogether different approach, making the battery packs themselves modular. Cars – initially provided by French firm Renault, in the shape of the four-door Fluence Z.E. sedan – would pull into special “battery switch” stations that would drop the depleted battery pack out of the base of the car, and fit a new, fully-charged pack in its place.
Better Place “battery switch” overview:
Each full battery would be good for around 50-124 miles of driving, Better Place and Renault suggested, with the goal being to provide “unlimited range” by building out a network of “battery switch” stations in a similar manner to widespread gas stations. A rolling membership with Better Place would include as many swap-overs as the driver required.
However, for that to work in practice, Better Place would need to have sufficient stations, and investing in that degree of infrastructure proved simply too expensive. The Fluence Z.E. was offered in Israel for a year, but take-up was illusive. In total, less than 1,000 of the cars were deployed.
“This is a very sad day for all of us. We stand by the original vision as formulated by Shai Agassi of creating a green alternative that would lessen our dependence on highly polluting transportation technologies. While he was able with partners and investors to overcome multiple challenges to demonstrate that it was possible to deliver a technological solution that would fulfil that vision. Unfortunately, the path to realizing that vision was difficult, complex and littered with obstacles, not all of which we were able to overcome. The technical challenges we overcame successfully, but the other obstacles we were not able to overcome, despite the massive effort and resources that were deployed to that end” Better Place board of directors
That fleet was a far cry from Better Place founder Shai Agassi’s original goal of having 5,000 running by the end of 2011. The outspoken exec had predicted that the majority of cars sold in Israel would be electric by 2016, but the Fluence Z.E.’s roughly $32,000 sticker price and then $300-500 per month for battery plans proved too rich for drivers.
Agassi left Better Place in late 2012, the same time as the company sought a new round of funding to tide it through lower than expected sales. Renault also cast doubt on the project, by confirming that it had no plans to fit the battery-swapping technology to any other new car. Its mainstream EV, the Zoe, uses a more traditional approach to charging, offering both standard and “fast charge” options which can deliver enough juice for 31 miles of range in 10 minutes. The car company is also working on fuel-cell alternatives in partnership with Ford, Daimler, and Nissan.
It’s unclear at this stage what will happen to Better Place’s infrastructure and existing customers. The company has swap-stations in Israel and Denmark (it axed plans for Australia and the US) and there’s no word on whether they will continue operations. However, one former exec at the company claims there has been “interest in the technology from China and India” suggesting that the hardware approach, if not Better Place’s deployment of it, may still have applications.
Addressing range anxiety around electric vehicles has seen a number of different strategies spring up by manufacturers, of which physically switching out the battery is arguably the most extreme. Tesla, for instance, has been gradually rolling out “Supercharger Stations” in the US, where its cars can pick up enough power for 300 miles of range in an hour. The company plans to outfit “major interstates throughout the country” with Supercharger stations.
Other approaches have turned to more traditional sources of power, such as using efficient gas or diesel engines to recharge batteries. The Cadillac ELR, for instance, will use a 1.4-liter four-cylinder gas engine to fill up its Li-Ion battery array when it hits showrooms in 2013; GM claims that starting out with a full battery and a full tank of gas will mean up to 300 miles in range, with the reassurance that any traditional fuel station can be used to extend that further.
Better Place’s plan for electric cars with swappable batteries is coming to an end. Despite a change in leadership and a streamlining effort over the past six months, the Israeli EV maker has filed a court motion for liquidation, citing insufficient cash to continue operations and a failure to raise the necessary funds. According to Israel Corporation, the firm’s controlling shareholder, other investors willing to pitch in the vast amount of money needed couldn’t be found. With approximately $812 million lost in operations and deployingbatteryexchangestations since 2007, and $454 million of that within 2012 alone, it’s estimated that just recouping those loses would take $500 million and four years.
“Unfortunately, after a year’s commercial operation, it was clear to us that despite many satisfied customers, the wider public take up would not be sufficient and that the support from the car producers was not forthcoming,” said Better Place CEO Dan Cohen. Sure, it might be curtains for the company, but the existing battery network looks like it might live on, as the liquidator is being asked to “maintain the functioning of the network.”
Chevrolet’s Spark could slip under the all-important $20k barrier, assuming government eco-car subsidies work in your favor, with the EV priced up ahead of its showroom arrival in mid-June. The sticker price of the battery-powered Chevy will be $27,495, the company has confirmed, but it hopes a brace of tax credits, incentives, and a new lease option will see the car hit Tesla Model S style popularity, rather than moldering like a Nissan Leaf.
Those tax incentives could amount to as much as $7,500, depending on where the car is registered. Add in California credits some are eligible, and that could knock another $2,500 off the sticker; in fact, GM says, the Spark EV could end up $17,495 if the driver can get all the potential discounts.
Difficulty in getting behind the wheel might be a matter more of finding a showroom with the Spark inside, rather than affording it. Chevrolet’s initial roll-out plans consist of select dealers in California and Oregon; beyond that, it’s not clear which states will get the car next.
As for the lease, that’s $199 per month over the course of three years, after a $999 initial payment and fees, assuming you qualify.
Since range anxiety is likely to be a lasting concern for electric car drivers, the Spark EV works with Chevy’s RemoteLink app that hooks up via Bluetooth with the in-car systems and OnStar; that can re-plan your journey so that you drive via a charging station if you won’t have sufficient power to make it all the way.
That’ll work best with the optional DC Fast Charging – though not quite ready for the June launch – which will allow the Spark to power back up to 80-percent in around 20 minutes. Chevrolet says that, unlike some of its (unnamed) rivals’ cars, the Spark can use DC Fast Charging multiple times during the day without ill-effect. From a 240V supply the car will get to 100-percent in under 7hrs.
Chevy just announced pricing for its 2014 Spark EV. The all-electric compact will retail for $27,495 before incentives, such as a $7,500 federal tax credit and up to $2,500 in state and local credits. All told, you could drive the car home for less than 18 grand, and California residents will net HOV (carpool lane) access to boot. The two-door vehicle ships with a 21kWh battery pack, giving you an estimated range of 82 miles on a full charge. You can also add on DC Fast Charging capability, letting you recharge up to 80 percent in about 20 minutes at select stations. Alternatively, you can charge up using a 240-volt system in about seven hours. The car also includes Chevy’s MyLink infotainment platform, the RemoteLink smartphone app and three years of OnStar service. It’ll be available at select dealers in California and Oregon by mid-June.
Tesla has hit an undeniable home run with this Model S electric vehicle, despite the car’s high cost. Tesla has created an attractive electric vehicle with an impressively long driving range that has wowed drivers and reviewers alike. The only downside to the vehicle is that a well-equipped version runs and the $100,000 range.
Recently Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter dropping some teasing details about a future electric vehicle that he and Tesla are dreaming up. Musk said, “It has always been my dream to produce a low cost, compelling electric car. We are 3 to 4 years away. Wish it could be sooner.” That would put timeframe for Tesla’s next electric vehicle at approximately 2016 to 2017.
Musk then answered another question when people were curious what sort of pricing Tesla was considering for its future electric vehicle. Musk tweeted in response to that question, “$30k in 2013 $.” He also said that the new vehicle would have a 200+ mile range with some “really cool tech that we can’t talk about yet.”
I’d wager that really cool tech will be the hot-swappable battery packs that Tesla recently mentioned in an SEC filing or fast battery changing stations. Musk also tweeted that the vehicle would be about the size of the Audi A4 or BMW 3-series compared to the Model S being sized like the Audi A7 or BMW M5.
Musk even said that he thinks when we consider the savings the vehicle will give you in gasoline, that you can actually cross-shop a $30,000 Tesla EV with $25,000 gasoline-powered vehicles. Tesla could be right to assuming this future technology Musk isn’t ready to talk about has something to do with making it quick and easy to recharge or swap battery packs at a low cost.
If you think about automotive racing, green probably doesn’t come to mind. However, race teams are very keen on fuel efficiency and races are commonly won based on fuel economy alone. If one racecar can go more miles in the form of laps that another, they have to make less stops for fuel and therefore win more races. There are also a number of pure electric racecars out there that race various types of events.
One of the biggest races where electric vehicles play a significant role is the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The 2013 version of the race will be held on June 30, 2013 and Mitsubishi has announced that it will be fielding a pair of all electric four-wheel drive prototype racecars at the event. The racecars are called the MiEV Evolution II.
These electric racecars are quite strange looking. Whereas some racecars are incredibly beautiful, I don’t think you can call Mitsubishi’s electric racecars beautiful. Vehicles designed specifically for hill climb racing are often very odd looking with gigantic wings and lots of canards to provide more downforce. The Mitsubishi racecars are open cockpit designs with large rear wings and squared off tail sections.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is held each year in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The race takes drivers up the 14,110 foot summit of Pikes Peak with racers covering an elevation of almost 4720 feet. This event is one of the longest running races in all of motorsports in the United States with the first run held in 1916.
The 2013 race will be the 91st running of the hill climb. Behind the wheel of Mitsubishi’s all electric racecars will be Hiroshi Masuoka and Greg Tracy. The Mitsubishi electric racecar has four electric motors with two in the front and two in the rear providing a maximum output of 400 kW. The battery pack has a maximum capacity of 50kWh. The vehicle’s make extensive use of lightweight technologies including a tube frame chassis and carbon fiber.
Electric vehicles still have a few obstacles that prevent them from going fully mainstream. These typically center on the price of the vehicle itself (though this is changing), and its range. One other barrier has also been the price of home-based chargers. Now, Bosch is offering a level 2 (quicker than the usually cheaper, and slower level 1) home charging system for just $450. For that price you get 16 amp charging and a 12 foot cord. There are two other options that increase the amperage to 30, with a choice of 18 or 25 foot cables — costing $593 and $749 respectively. These don’t include any additional networking features and so on, but for this price, and reduced reliance on external charging networks, it’d be worth clearing out the garage for.
While we largely enjoyed our time behind the wheel of the Tesla Model S, we clearly didn’t have as much fun as Consumer Reports. The often stringent outlet just gave the EV sedan a 99 out of 100 rating, which makes it not just the publication’s highest-ranked electric car, but its highest-ranked car… period. In particular, Tesla earned high marks for efficiency and quietness, as you’d expect, although CR is equally impressed with the Model S’ performance and that inescapable 17-inch touchscreen. The review isn’t uniformly positive, though: not surprisingly, the luxury pricing and inherent range limits prevent a flawless verdict. It’s still a symbolic win for eco-friendly transport, however, and might help one Mr. Musk feel better about his pride and joy.
One of the most successful and intriguing electric vehicle makers is Tesla. Compared to the likes of Ford or GM, Tesla is certainly small potatoes. However, the company has been successful in producing some the best performing and longest driving electric vehicles on the market. The latest and greatest vehicle from Tesla is called the Model S.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said that his company is considering including driverless technologies in its vehicles and has been discussing autopilot systems with Google.
Google is one of the biggest technology firms in the world that is working on driverless cars. Musk believes that the next step is something more like an airplane’s autopilot system than a self-driving car.
The difference between self-driving systems and autopilot style systems is significant. Google’s autonomous vehicles are able to drive between two specific locations with no human intervention. Autopilot style systems allow the vehicle to take over from the driver in certain situations, such as in traffic or when driving down the highway – like cruise control on steroids.
There’s no word on if or when autopilot systems will find their way into Tesla’s vehicles, but the discussions are certainly indicative of where the automotive industry is going.
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