Schmidt Wrote: RT, June 13, 2013: US biggest electric car maker Tesla gives away its patents – but why? Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that his company will allow others to use Tesla’s technology in electric car production in the hope that this will advance his vision of building more electric vehicles globally. Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use its technology. “The mission of the company is to accelerate the widespread adoption of electric cars. If Tesla acts as the catalyst for other manufacturers...that will have been achieved,” Tesla spokesperson Simon Sproule told Wired magazine in an interview before the patent announcement was made. In a conference call with Wired, Musk rammed his point home by saying, “Putting in long hours for a corporation is hard, putting in long hours for a cause is easy.” And for Musk it really is a cause, rather than a money-spinning exercise. All I can say is "way to go Tesla". I will be cheering for you. The vision of all-electric vehicles crossing the USA, filling up the streets of urban centers, and significantly contributing to reductions in green house gases is something I hope to see in my lifetime.
jamesn Wrote: jared you are right of course, ..."millions of Americans live within cities that can easily adjust"... to electric cars. The rest of America can adjust, too, but it will be a slower process. I would not characterize it as "kowtowing" to any one segment. And I think they WILL change their way of life, but right now it is about logistics and economics. How many new cars in America are electric? Not many. Here's the top five states by new electric car registration: 1. Washington-1.6% 2. Hawaii-1.6% 3. California-1.4% 4. Georgia-1.1% 5. Oregon-1.1% California not being in the number one spot would surprise lots of people. For the USA the percentage is far less than 1%. Hybrids are another matter. 24% of Americans use hybrids (that's the claim!) and many if not most hybrid owners have other vehicles, too. Hybrids are REALLY getting popular and eventually electrics will get much more popular as well. Prius cars are everywhere, but pure electrics are as rare as the Prius was a few years ago. The point is that it is going to be a LONG time before electrics get really popular and I think all of us are for them to succeed. Electric vehicle prices have to come down and charging stations have to go up, and that's happening, just not fast enough to satisify some people. I think my next vehicle will be a hybrid. They are already practical, and almost cost competitive right now.
Schmidt Wrote: The Europeans will lead the way... CleanTecna: Tesla Model S Is Best Selling Car In Norway — Busts Norway’s Monthly Sales Record… For Any Car Or maybe I should say the Norwegians, with the highest gasoline prices in Europe at $9.79 per gallon. The price of gasoline, of course, is the driver on Tesla sales in Norway. The point I make is that the future is closer than you think. If we were to place a carbon tax on gasoline sales, then sales of all electric vehicles would increase. If we were to price gasoline using "full cost accounting" then prices would immediately go up.
Schmidt Wrote: Dutch -- Yes on all that. However, gasoline powered cars are not without faults. Just count the recalls. Electric vehicles are not yet the "all purpose vehicle". I'm not making that claim. Look how long internal combustion engines have been around. A very long time. Once more and more cars are built, battery efficiencies will improve with time and demand. And the number of charging stations will increase. Today for people that commute to work in urban settings, there is an attraction. They don't need to "top up" with an electric charge, but I will expect more and more employers will install charging stations at work for their employees. It is the future. In any case, they can always recharge at home, and the average commute is probably less than 20 miles a day. I look at all the positives...how the technology is evolving so fast, and I get excited. You guys are looking at all the negatives...nay sayers. "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." --Thomas Watson, president of IBM, 1943