Archive for the 'Energy Efficiency' Category

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is considering changes to the Zero Emission Vehicle Program (also commonly known as the “ZEV Mandate”). If you’ve seen Who Killed the Electric Car? you have an idea of what the ZEV Mandate is and how its implementation has been challenged and impeded by traditional auto manufacturers for more than a decade.

On March 27th, the Board met in Sacramento to consider CARB Staff recommendations for changes to the Mandate.  During the open hearing, the Board directed the staff to lower the minimum number of pure ZEV’s that the six largest automotive manufacturers are required to deliver in the period from 2012 to 2015 (known as Phase III) by 70% – from 25,000 to a mere 7,500! This is an absurdly low number given the emerging developments in the EV space, not to mention the progress we’ve demonstrated at Tesla Motors specifically.

Following the March 27th hearing, the Board directed the Staff to draft new regulatory language based on the Board’s decisions and then to open that draft language to a 15 day public comment period which opened on July 25th.Tesla Motors strongly disagrees with the Board’s decision, and with the Staff’s interpretation of that decision with regard to the Phase III minimum. We also object to other key provisions in the revised mandate as proposed by the staff. On August 11th, 2008, Ze’ev sent the letter below to outline Tesla’s position directly to CARB Chairperson Mary Nichols.

If you support Tesla’s position, you can help by calling Board Members or Staff, mailing, or e-mailing the Air Resources Board immediately. Read more…

Okay everybody, I need a little help from you.

What is the biggest EV charging circuit that could be installed in your house? This sounds like an easy question, but it turns out not to be. The answer depends on a lot of factors, all spelled out in the National Electrical Code (NEC).

Now those of you who are familiar with the NEC, or other such regulatory language, know that the answer is never simple. Our guy in charge of installations is (Vice President of Customer Service and Support) Mike Harrigan, and his people have asked about 10 qualified electricians for a definitive way to answer this question and got about 10 different answers. This is not helpful… Read more…

I’m taking a break from answering questions to tell you things about Nikola Tesla that piled on me this week. But before I start, here are a few quick answers: Read more…

Elon and Martin both recognize the synergy between solar panels and electric cars. As Martin pointed out to Gov. Schwarzenegger, a million solar rooftops in California will not reduce California’s oil dependency by one drop unless we have electric cars also. Read more…

Many of you have asked me about hybrid technologies, forcing me to gather my thoughts on the subject. Let me start off by drawing a clean distinction between today’s hybrids (like the Prius), and “Plug-in Hybrids” as proposed by James Woolsey and others. Read more…

Editor’s Post: Martin has been here, there, and everywhere this week, presenting to a variety of audiences to spread the word about the new Tesla Roadster. Sadly for us, this means that he has not had time to write a blog article this week. However, all is not lost. I have taken a section from Martin’s latest presentation. Click on the button below to see a slide presentation that answers the right questions.

This might take a while to load (it is about 3Mb), so please be patient.

Many of you have asked me about several alternative technologies and why they are not used in the Tesla Roadster. These technologies range from other existing battery technologies (e.g. lithium iron phosphate) to technologies that are on the horizon (e.g. ultracapacitors) to impossible technologies that ultimately boil down to perpetual motion. I will try to address as many of these questions as I can this week. Read more…

Ethanol (a.k.a. alcohol) will certainly grow as a business and serve as a partial solution to our energy problem, particularly given that it is now taking the place of the gasoline additive MTBE. However, even if large-scale cellulosic ethanol technology is perfected, I don’t believe it can become the primary solution to the world’s energy needs. Read more…

Not too long from now, most cars will be electric. Why? Two reasons: because electric cars are far more efficient than any other kind of car, and because they are the ultimate multi-fuel cars. Sound bold, maybe crazy? Read on. Read more…

Backgrounder: My day job is running a space transportation company called SpaceX, but on the side I am the chairman of Tesla Motors and help formulate the business and product strategy with Martin and the rest of the team. I have also been Tesla Motor’s primary funding source from when the company was just three people and a business plan.

As you know, the initial product of Tesla Motors is a high performance electric sports car called the Tesla Roadster. However, some readers may not be aware of the fact that our long term plan is to build a wide range of models, including affordably priced family cars. This is because the overarching purpose of Tesla Motors (and the reason I am funding the company) is to help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy towards a solar electric economy, which I believe to be the primary, but not exclusive, sustainable solution. Read more…